The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 42

With a diverse group of opinionated art aficionado contributors, this blog from Sartle aims to mix serious art history with silly and shocking art world facts, peppered with more than a few snarky observations. Sartle seeks to disrupt and democratize the traditional academic art history model, to benefit the world by creating more art lovers, and to help students and teachers spice up their curriculum. Some of the currently featured posts on the blog include: "Judy Chicago: A Retrospective at De Young Museum in San Francisco," which alerts folks in the Bay Area to prepare for a brand new smoke sculpture on the front lawn of that museum; and "Permanent Collection: Andy Warhol and Pop Art Tattoos," which despite the title, discusses not just tattoos inspired by Warhol, but by Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, and Henri Matisse as well. The blog also features Art History Readers on topics such as "Women Were the First Outsider Artists," "Modernism," and "Neoclassical Art." In addition to the blog, visitors can check out Sartle's features on "Artworks," "Artists," and "Places," which can be navigated using the menu at the top of the page. [DS]

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PlayDecide is a free card game in which players learn about a particular topic, engage with different perspectives, and discuss the topic to refine their opinions and seek group consensus. Each 90-minute game can accommodate 4-8 players (recommended for ages 13 and up), which makes PlayDecide an excellent classroom resource for teachers or a team-building tool for professionals, organizations, and administrators. The gameplay (which is explained in a handy PDF guide, found by clicking "PlayDecide basics" on the page linked above) consists of three phases. In the first phase, players familiarize themselves with the issue at hand (e.g., "Young people in the media," "Future food systems," "Plastic pollution"). In the second phase, players share their opinions, listen to others, and refine their perspectives. In the final phase, the group approaches the issue together and players vote on their positions. PlayDecide games cover more than 350 topics and are available in 30 languages. The game is available under a Creative Commons license and materials for different topics are freely available to download (note: to download games, users will need to create a free account). PlayDecide was developed as part of a project funded by the European Union and coordinated by Ecsite, the European network of science centers and museums. [MJZ]

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Art Manuals Unwrapped is a podcast that currently features 8 episodes recorded during 2020. Hosts Iyabo Oba and Priscilla Wrightson "unpack the ideas and thoughts of different art manual creators and their unique contributions to the Western European art scene," concentrating on the methods artists and art instructors have used to teach people how to draw and paint. For example, Episode 5 is about Flemish physician and anatomist Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), who created the art manual De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem (On the Fabric of the Human Body). In Episode 7, listeners can learn about J.D. Harding (1798-1863), a British artist who gave lessons to the famous art critic John Ruskin and created the manual Elementary Art; Or, The Use of the Lead Pencil Advocated and Explained. Images selected from the manuals are on view on the Art Manuals Unwrapped Instagram (@artmanualsunwrapped). [DS]

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Readers who find their typical weather forecasts overly dry and insufficiently cute should check out the Weather Puppy smartphone app, which pairs forecasts from Weather Underground with weather-themed background pictures of puppies and dogs. The weather data presented include current conditions, hourly forecasts, and 10-day forecasts. Two image themes are included with the free version of the app, each featuring dogs reacting to the reported weather conditions by, for example, playing outside when it is sunny or hiding inside when it is raining. Additional image themes are available for purchase, many of which were provided by animal shelters that have partnered with Weather Puppy and who receive proceeds from the app. The app also features ads and announcements from partner animal shelters. Weather Puppy is available for both Apple and Android devices. [CRH]

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The blog series From the Vault from the Interpretation, Collections and Education Department of the National Civil Rights Museum offers an exclusive look into some of the lesser known objects, documents, paintings, and other pieces from the museum's collection. Each blog post in the series focuses on a particular artifact and contextualizes it within the broader history of the struggle for civil rights in the U.S., which makes this series particularly useful for history teachers. For instance, the post "Honoring Jazz: An Early American Art Form," profiles prominent jazz artists and their impact on the Civil Rights Movement, such as Nina Simone addressing stereotypes of Black women with the song "Four Women," Billie Holiday calling attention to Jim Crow-era lynchings in the song "Strange Fruit," and Ella Fitzgerald paying homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with "He Had A Dream." Another post, "Water Dippers," looks at a pair of rusty ladles used by plumbing workers in 1940s Arkansas to drink water from a communal bucket. Innocuous at first, the letters "W" and "C" on these ladles highlights the daily experience of discrimination for Black Americans. The National Civil Rights Museum is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. [MJZ]

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The word "mucus" evokes strong feelings of disgust, yet this humble substance serves many important functions for our bodies. In this one-hour lesson plan written by educational program manager and former teacher Xochitl Garcia, students of all ages will learn about mucus, create their own slime and mucus models, and explore mucus in the animal kingdom. On the page linked above, visitors will find the lesson plan, including reference materials, audio-video resources, and directions for making mucus out of common household substances. In the section More Mucus Awesomeness Explained!, visitors will also find links to further reading suggestions. The lesson plan conforms to NGSS Standards and Science and Engineering Practices, which makes the materials and activities easy to integrate in life science, biology, or biochemistry classrooms. The Many Types of Mucus is offered by Science Friday, the highly regarded syndicated radio show and educational content creator (previously featured in the 07-02-2021 Scout Report). [MJZ]

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The Animal Grossology Activities listed in this document are tied closely to an exhibition of the same name at the Da Vinci Science Center. Originally part of the Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the center is now an independent non-profit with exhibits and programs that make science fun and accessible for learners of all ages. In a nod to Sylvia Branzei's popular children's books, both the exhibition and this curriculum are sure to appeal to kids of all ages with a focus on an array of fascinating subjects, such as creating models of animal skat, fish printing, and even making mealworm crispie treats. Through the exercises outlined in this PDF document, students will learn about the behaviors of birds, fish, reptiles, and mammals, as well as deepening their understanding of scientific observation, measurement, anatomy, dissection, and much more. The interactive activities "harness kid's natural curiosity about themselves and teach them about how animals function." Beyond their usefulness in traditional classroom settings, the lessons included would be ideal to integrate into science centers, after school programs, and homeschooling lessons. [REB]

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Trust Me, I'm an Expert is a podcast produced by the independent, nonprofit publication The Conversation (previously featured in the 03-24-2017 Scout Report). The podcast is dedicated to getting the facts directly from specialists in their field, often drawing in experts on unusual subjects. One such topic is the focus of this short interview, which discusses the value of insects in the field of crime scene forensics. The episode features conversations with two scientists from the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER), Maiken Ueland and James Wallman. AFTER is what some call a "body farm" - a place where human decomposition is studied. The experts discuss how insects can be an integral piece of the puzzle in crime-solving because of their ability to detect death long before humans can, their profound impact on decomposition, and their use in determining time elapsed since death. The AFTER scientists also discuss how weather and time of year are important factors for decomposition and for insects' life and breeding cycles, which further narrow down the possibilities for time of death. In addition to this episode, readers are sure to enjoy other episodes of Trust Me, I'm an Expert, which is available on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public, and more. [RMP]

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Produced by NOVA and PBS Digital Studios (previously featured in the 06-12-2020 Scout Report), the aptly named Gross Science YouTube series provides a variety of short videos and DIY experiments ideally suited for classrooms and other formal and informal educational settings. Answering questions many of us have wondered about, such as why vultures do not get sick from eating rotting meat, this well produced series provides a wealth of science-rich information through humorous and, frankly, really gross anecdotes and stories. Viewers will learn "about amphibians that eat their mother's skin, strange uses for bacon, how poop can be used to cure an infection, and more gross science topics." Hosted by Anna Rothschild, this series harnesses the storytelling ability NOVA is known for and employs a mix of live-action video and animation to explain everything from genetic drift to gastrointestinal issues. Tailored to a younger audience and designed to help kids understand fundamental scientific concepts, these appealing videos are short enough to easily integrate into in-person and online learning environments and are fully captioned for accessibility. Readers can find the videos embedded in the page linked above or go to the YouTube channel by clicking "Gross Science" in the text description. [REB]

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We have all felt disgust, to one degree or another, in many contexts. PubMed Central, the full-text biomedical and life sciences archive from the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine, offers the peer-reviewed article "Why Disgust Matters," from the journal Philosophical Transactions B. The article is an insight into this "powerful, but poorly-understood," feeling. Written by Valerie Curtis of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, "Why Disgust Matters" synthesizes ideas about how disgust as a system evolved to motivate infectious disease avoidance. It may seem obvious that disgust can be used to combat behavioral causes of infectious and chronic disease, but the article points out that disgust also plays a significant role in anxieties and phobias, has hidden costs for several fields of work, and can be abused to promote prejudice and stigma. This synthesis proposes that the study of disgust can help people flourish and provides a compelling model for the study of this very human emotion. [RMP]

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Last featured in the 03-15-2013 Scout Report, this resource from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute now includes Educator Tips. These brief video overviews explain how to integrate the lab into science classrooms, making this resource even more user-friendly for busy science teachers.

Created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the Bacterial Identification Virtual Lab provides a great way to learn about the science and techniques used to identify different types of bacteria based on their DNA sequences. Visitors can enter the interactive "lab" and get started by preparing samples from a patient, copying the desired pieces of DNA, and then sequencing and analyzing DNA. The entire experience is quite interactive: visitors can record their observations in the Notebook area and also learn about the various samples, which were obtained from stool, lymph nodes, urine, and blood. Finally, there's the Reference area, which contains a glossary of terms, a list of tools in the lab, and an encyclopedia of selected bacteria and other pathogens. The lab and associated lesson activities are designed for high school and college students. Materials for educators, including a PDF worksheet, Google folder, and even an iOS app, can be found in the menu on the right side of the page linked above. [KMG] [MJZ]

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