Troubleshooting Tips:
Measuring Time
Magnets and Motors
How Do I Open the Box?
STC Adoptions – State and District
STC has been approved for adoption in Idaho, Utah, and Alabama, and is under consideration in some other states. There seems to be a trend in state textbook adoptions toward more flexibility in the type of materials considered and less control exercised at the state level. The greater flexibility stems from the prevalence of and demand for technology-based and kit-based programs in various subject areas.
The lesser control comes in various forms, notably an increasing tendency away from tying state textbook funds strictly to adopted materials. Georgia, for example, very recently became an open-adoption state, in which the list of adoption materials is for advisory purposes only, with districts also allowed to use state funding for materials of their own choosing. Our adoption in Utah was done through a newly developed program, whereby sample materials can be piloted in a district rather than simply sent to a review committee. The review committee has an opportunity to see the materials in use or at least to have close contact with the piloting school's personnel. The materials were piloted in Cache County. They met with an enthusiastic response from the faculty at Sunrise Elementary School and Summit Elementary School.
Local districts nationwide are adopting STC units as the rush toward kit-based science programs gains momentum. Typically a system pilots a few units at one or two sites before making the decision to adopt. Often, the lead teachers involved in the pilot become the STC trainers for the district.
The percentage of districts that decide to adopt STC units after piloting them is very high – in the mid to upper 90s. We are pleased with this result because it verifies our belief that STC units are the most effective ones available. If adoption is coming up in your district and you would like information about piloting, please give us a call.
Food Chemistry
From time to time we get calls about some discrepancies in the food test results in the Food Chemistry unit (e.g., one group's apples tested positive for glucose and another's didn't, or one group's granola bar had starch and another's didn't). Remember that some valuable lessons to be learned in this unit are that discrepant results call for careful retesting and that observation and record-keeping are critical. (If in one instance granola bars tested positive for glucose and in another they didn't, what was different? Were they mashed more or less? Wetted more or less? Was there some contamination one time or the other? Did the original pieces of granola bar look different? Was the food applied to the test paper in the same way?)
We have recently had a couple of calls about the glucose test sticks failing to register a positive result "even with pure corn syrup," and our only guess was that the paper had somehow gone bad due to improper storage, but we have never been able to make any test sticks go bad. With the sound of "even PURE corn syrup" ringing in our ears, we tested pure corn syrup. In fact, it doesn't yield a positive test for glucose – it is so thick that the test paper does not absorb it. I wonder if some of you aren't trying to overdramatize the positive test standard and thus "diluting" your results. Make sure to mix the test liquids and foods according to the directions in the book. Diluted corn syrup yielded a positive result even on the oldest test sticks we could find.
New Scope for Microworlds
There's a change for the better in our Microworlds unit – a new design for the student microscopes. We
got suggestions from staff and customers, jumped off from the basic design of the previous scope, and came up with
an improved version. 
The
new scope has sturdier slide mounting clips and a wider base for more stability. It is produced in a better-tooled
mold that eliminates any rough edges. A short screw has been incorporated onto the lens tube, which is still easily
removable for use as a high-powered hand lens. When the lens tube (eyepiece) is pushed down in the scope until
it meets resistance and is then turned, the screw engages. This affords more control over focusing and helps the
scope maintain a focus once it is achieved. The magnification is 30x, as with the earlier scope.
Each microscope is now stored and shipped in its own small box for added protection. The first thing you'll notice when you see the scope is that it is bright pink (color-coordinated with the Microworlds Teacher's Guide). Of additional benefit is the fact that we have produced the scopes in sufficient quantity to maintain the same price – $6.60.
We feel that these microscopes provide an opportunity for young students to really get their hands on scopes and start seeing things themselves, rather than having to take turns and carefully look at teacher-prepared slides set up in scopes that are much more expensive (and breakable and scarce). For this reason, we think they will also sell well as individual items apart from the Microworlds unit.