Yes, yes, I know I’m a stuck record about this, but: you only have a couple of hours left to back Mirobot. The Kickstarter hit its last stretch goal last night, so the full package now includes the line-drawing robot, obstacle detection, line following and a speaker.
I’m delighted for Mirobot’s creator Ben Pirt, and looking forward to the production run later in the year.
Our favourite Kickstarter of the moment, Mirobot, reached its second stretch goal overnight, which adds a line-following add-on to the dinky little educational robot. Still a few days to book your unit!
UCL chemist and demonstrator extraordinaire Andrea Sella, on his blog:
the wearing of gloves in the lab may, counter-intuitively, put us, our students, and our fellow lab workers at greater risk than riding their flasks bearback.
Do read the rest of his post, and likely the rest of his blog too.
I should talk to CLEAPSS about this sometime – Andrea’s comments on gloves make a lot of sense to me, but I’ve no idea what the standing advice for schools is. Ah, the simple life of not actually being a teacher.
With patience and a bit of wiggling, you can detect the magnet from nearly nearly three metres away. Which is astonishingly sensitive for a cake stand.
TV presenter & props chap Marty Jopson built a magnetometer using a laser pointer, a fridge magnet, and an Ikea cake stand. It was used a few weeks ago on BBC Stargazing Live.
(via Marty on Twitter).
You need more π? We got more π: Mile of π download, at Think Maths. A printable version of everyone’s favourite transcendental number, ideal for classroom or general decorative use.
Comments regular Michael de Podesta has an excellent post about experimental technique:
Do it quick. Then, do it right.
Be sure to read to the end of the link for a particularly lovely aphorism.
It’s Friday night, so of course we’re sitting at home doing… geometrical constructions. Of course we are.
(via Matt Parker and Katie Steckles. Reminds me of gearsket.ch, which is also very good indeed on an iPad.)
Ofqual […] has decided that practicals will not be included in the reformed science exams because teachers mark them too generously. The science establishment is despairing.
— Guardian editorial, yesterday. Tip of the hat to the Wellcome Trust’s Clare Matterson, via Twitter.