OT: Magazines/Journals for the budding Scientist?

[William]

To be more specific, Marine sciences/Oceanography. Our daughter is a budding scientist in her first year of HS and I was curious if our diverse forum members had any suggestions on magazines or journals that focus on the Marine sciences? I grew up on Discovery and Scientific American but I would like to find something a little more specific for her.

Thoughts?



Thanks!:cool:
William

[Louis]

I would check out the folks at Woods Hole:

http://www.whoi.edu/main/k-12

[AngryScientist]

not specific to marine science, but national geographic is consistently excellent. i've got a subscription and the content is surprisingly interesting.

[FlashUNC]

Not a magazine per se, but Nature's news website is a must-read if you're a science geek.

http://www.nature.com/news/index.html

[gasman]

If she is interested in marine science I bet she would be interested in other areas of science. Nat Geo is nice, I still read Scientific American after 40 years. I started in high school being very interested in marine science my sophomore year. I ended up getting both a biology and a chemistry degree in college as my interests broadened over time. Discovery is a good magazine also. I bet she will love anything you get her.

[CNY rider]

Agree, NatGeo and Sci Am are quality publications. We subscribe to both and I am happy when I see one arrive.

[bcroslin]

Smithsonian is worth checking out as well as Wired

[Louis]

This thread is smoking out all the science geeks. :eek:

[malbecman]

As a PhD myself (stands for Piled Higher & Deeper, btw), I have to agree with what everyone else has said......any journal that is really specific on marine sciences or oceanography is going to be dry & as boring as heck to a high schooler. Most scientific journals get pretty technical and can be full of jargon.
Stick with the Scientific American level journal and just keep her scientific interest alive. :)

I see you are in Rhode Island. There is a great summer program on Appledore Island (off the coast on NH/Maine) that is run by Cornell and Univ. of NH that I can highly recommend...its primarily for college students but they do admit high schoolers. No relation to it, I just attended it myself and HIGHLY enjoyed it.

http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_students_highschool.html

[malbecman]

Another thought for summer fun to engage her interest is to try and hook up with a faculty member at a local university (Univ. of Rhode Island?) for a research internship. Most faculty love to work with a bright, interested high schooler and pass the torch on to the next gen.
I'd start by browsing their web pages and then maybe working in tandem with your high school science teacher/dept. She may be able to get credit for it.

[Marburg]

I prefer magazines myself, but I wonder if web journalism isn't the way to go. Two recent discoveries:

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/

and

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/?source=NavEnvOcean

I found a neat series of blog posts on fish surveys in the Pacific (no, really), but the link is in my other pants.

[verticaldoug]

She has probably seen it, but get the Blue Planet series narrated by David Attenborough. When I was young, anytime Jacques Cousteau was broadcast was a cause for celebration. (I grew in the days of broadcast ABC, NBC, CBS with one independent and PBS. VCRs hadn't even been invented yet)

[572cv]

We went with a subscription to Science, which our son still keeps. Admittedly, it is a general journal, but it is nicely organized into general news and then specific work on going, finally with papers later. The learning value is in showing what a real "paper" looks like, and the detail of explanation.

I know you are on the coast, but personally, I think it is good to encourage science generally, not just in the oceanographic field, particularly at a young age. It keeps things in context, and might open up interest in a related field as well. Seems to me it is our young scientists who more easily make intuitive leaps between fields which turn into breakthroughs all the way around. Well done, Dad !

[Dave B]

I deal with this daily as I have 100+ 6th graders who I am trying to make science extraordinary for them. I think coming at science with a very wide lens makes the most sense when it relates to young learners.

Just because your young scientist like a particular aspect, my advice would be to broaden it to allow for things she might not have thought about. Take engineering for example. There are fascinating ideas for building sustainable biomes for humans in deep oceans for, no pun intended, deeper research.

Additionally look to iPad apps for ideas as my shoot district has implemented a 1:1 program and all 5th and 6th graders are piloting ipad learning. Next year 7th - 12th graders will get iPads.

Seriously, look for online versions of these magazines as they will cross promote other journals.

I have had to rethink how to teach and I will say the kids love the new avenues I am leading them on.

So in summation look outside the box for ideas and know what we used to learn is changing very quickly.

[tumbler]

Another good resource is the Science Friday radio show and Podcast on NPR. They cover a lot of interesting news and developments in science at a level that even I, a non-scientist, can understand. The host is great and the guests are usually top notch. I listen to the podcast at work, while doing laundry, etc. You can also search past episodes to find ones you're interested in.
http://www.sciencefriday.com/
(http://www.sciencefriday.com/)
I would also recommend this video specifically for marine biology...
http://youtu.be/0u8KUgUqprw

[atrexler]

The journal Science has good summaries of current research "This Week in Science" and "Editor's Choice" which are geared towards a general audience. Since its in Science its the hottest stuff going, allegedly, and I often see marine bio type stuff in there. Science also has some good general science and policy news sections that are better reading for a broad audience. As to the research articles, select ones will get a Perspective written about them, which is usually geared towards a general audience and much better reading than the research articles themselves. Actual research articles in any journal and certainly specialty journals for Marine bio or whatever are pretty impenetrable for even non-specialist scientists, so for a HS student I can't imagine them being anything other than boring nonsense. If you want to get a taste of that stuff, there are some good open access journals, PLOS One for example, which you can freely access on the web and get articles. I had a look and PLOS has both marine bio and oceanography articles. Further, any research supported by the NIH (which is alot of it) has to be made open access within a year or two of publication, so even outside of the truly Open Access journals you can get alot of articles for free.

I agree with the Scientific American suggestions as well. I think for a young student, better to read widely, and material geared towards a general audience. These kinds of articles tend to be much better reading and much more exciting to everyone (scientists and non-scientists alike).

[verticaldoug]

Since you are in Rhode Island, why not see what programs Dr. Robert Ballard and the University of Rhode Island have for HS students.

http://www.jason.org/about

[William]

Great suggestions everyone, thank you!:cool:

NG is already a longtime stalwart in our home. I think you folks are correct in keeping it more general now is a good one. I may help give her interests time to broaden before trying to get focused.







William

[William]

Since you are in Rhode Island, why not see what programs Dr. Robert Ballard and the University of Rhode Island have for HS students.

http://www.jason.org/about

Nice!:cool:





William

[staggerwing]

If possible, perhaps try to find an immersive experience, which might fan the flames further.

I'm sure this isn't the only program of its type, but:

http://www.seacamp.org/

Only know about that one because Jimmy Buffett picks up the tab for 10 local Cincinnati Public School students to attend every year.

All three of my kids got took their 8th grade intercession to FOFAR field station on Andros. Despite being the "Bahamas", Andros is nether a tourist destination nor luxurious.

http://intlfieldstudies.org/field-studies.html

Sometimes Jimmy's yacht is over there while the 8th graders are at camp, and they are free to take a tour on board. Andros is pretty low key.

[Anarchist]

Nature and New Scientist

[45K10]

My wife is a marine biology professor and here is her two cents:
Have your daughter research the local university and see which professors do things she is interested in
Then read some of professor published papers so your daughter is familiar with what the professor does
Then make specific references to this work in an email to the professor and ask if for an informal meeting
Your daughter may then get invited to join a discussion group or help out with a grad student's research

Don't be discouraged if she doesn't get receive a response right away be persistent and polite. Most professors are extremely busy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jh_on_the_cape]

Oceanus, put out by WHOI. A general magazine with research projects distilled down for the educated layman.
As a PhD alum from the WHOI-MIT program, I receive it. I think it's sort of directed at potential donors. Lots of pictures highlighting the 'sexy' aspect of oceanography. As opposing to the real work of a bunch of people looking at computers all day analyzing data, writing papers and funding proposals.

If she wants to do any sort of science, please make sure she is good at math. That means exceeding the very low standards set by public education. I suggest just getting her some cool books on how to solve little logic puzzles and problems.

Interest in science but not good at math... tough to get too far with it. Too many people think marine science is swimming with dolphins or doing polar exploring.

There are tons of programs to get girls/women into STEM fields. Keep an eye out for them.

http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/

[drewski]

If she has not read it already she should be a copy of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Classic book and she studied at Wood's Hole. There is a memorial to her near the institution.

[45K10]

If she wants to do any sort of science, please make sure she is good at math. That means exceeding the very low standards set by public education. I suggest just getting her some cool books on how to solve little logic puzzles and problems.


http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/

This is so true. My wife's undergrad was in Physics before she went on to get a PHD in Biology.

Her work is mathematical (statistical analysis) and coding based, along with some field work. She constantly complains about undergrads and grad students who lack basic math/analytic skills.

[jh_on_the_cape]

My wife has invited local students to work in her lab after going through this process. It generally weeds out the 'swim with dolphins' kids.
If a stint in a lab works out for both student and faculty it can be beneficial.

My wife is a marine biology professor and here is her two cents:
Have your daughter research the local university and see which professors do things she is interested in
Then read some of professor published papers so your daughter is familiar with what the professor does
Then make specific references to this work in an email to the professor and ask if for an informal meeting
Your daughter may then get invited to join a discussion group or help out with a grad student's research

Don't be discouraged if she doesn't get receive a response right away be persistent and polite. Most professors are extremely busy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[weisan]

The Economist.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/The_Economist_(Cover-_June_14,_2012).jpg

[William]

Actually she is very good at math.....which she most certainly does not get from me.:D Mrs. William is the number cruncher in the family.

Thank you again for all the great suggestions. This is one of the many reasons I love this place: So many smart people from varied backgrounds that all love cycling.:cool:





William

[Marburg]

Here's the other blog I couldn't think of earlier. Also from NG:

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/blog/ocean-views/

Good combination of beautiful images and some real science.

JH's suggestion of Oceanus is a good one. Sure, it's glossy self-promotion, but shows what real work in the ocean looks like.