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Navigating the Space between Art and Science
As a high school student, I had a love of technical subjects, such as physics, math and computer programming. I also spent a great deal of time in art classes. I was blessed with a generous and...
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Join us for the 5th Annual Chicago Science Fest!
The Illinois Science Council invites you to join us at our 5th annual Chicago Science Fest! We have a supercharged week of science lined up just for you, including our signature event: the Chicago...
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Is the Measles Really That Bad?
It’s official. In 2019, the United States (U.S.) is experiencing the nation’s largest outbreak of measles since 1994. As the pairing of “measles” and “outbreak” screams across the headlines of...
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The Truth about Cannabidiol (As Far as We Know)
“CBD.” Perhaps you’ve seen these letters shining bright, in green neon, on a store window in a seedy part of the city, fronting a shop with glass vials and trinkets lining the shelves and creepy men...
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Be a Superhero with Biomimicry
Have you ever wanted to build a suit that gives you superhuman capabilities? What would you do if you could store energy in the fabric of your clothes or had gloves with extra sticky fingertips that...
View ArticleThe Bicycle: A Marvel of Physics and Engineering
Oh, how I love riding my bicycle! It has gotten me all over Chicago, all along the lakefront from the far south side to the north suburbs, through the college neighborhoods and the ethnic...
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The Father of the Periodic Table
Think back to your days in chemistry. What tools were most useful to you? Your goggles? A lab coat? Maybe it was the notebook where you scribbled furiously so as not to forget anything. However,...
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Viva Las Vagus
Chances are, you’ve had a few opportunities to be crippled by symptoms of anxiety in your life. Maybe it was a first day at a new job or a social occasion with no familiar faces. Perhaps it happened...
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How to Take Great Photos: The Three Pillars of Photography
If you ever decide your smartphone camera isn’t cutting it and you want to buy a standalone DSLR camera, you’ll find that you have a lot more control over how your photographs come out. DSLRs come...
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Stripping, Drugs, Neurosurgery: Living With Epilepsy
Somehow, the first seizure I recall makes me giggle. I was getting changed after sports at school, age 6-ish, when I had a focal seizure, a seizure that starts on one side of the brain. The problem...
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Liquid Rocks and Where to Find Them
Summer in Illinois can feel unbearably hot, but how hot is that exactly? At 80ºF, Illinoisans can be found enjoying the sunshine and the reprieve from our winters. At 100ºF, Chicagoans complain...
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The Hunt for the Elusive Neutrino
About 100 trillion neutrinos just passed through your body a second ago. Did you feel them? Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe, but they’re also the most elusive. They can...
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Piping Plovers: Conservation in Action
You may have heard that some little birds, the Piping Plovers, are making big waves at Montrose Beach this summer in Chicago, as well as other beaches around the country. Piping Plovers are federally...
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Kombucha: the Science Behind the Craze
It seems like every year there’s a new miracle food. First it was kale, then it was açai bowls, and now kombucha (pronounced come-BOOCH-uh) is the new health craze. You may have heard friends or...
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Studying Urban Wildlife in Chicago
As director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Seth Magle, Ph.D., looks out for the wildlife that lives in our cities. Seth is passionate about conserving rare and...
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Does Sprinkles McFluffington have Resting Cat Face?
Why is your cat so judgmental? Sure, you’ve been lounging on the couch stuffing your face and binging on Netflix for like seven hours. But still. A animal who uses their tongue to shower doesn’t get...
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On a Small Island in Indonesia: The Last Dragons on Earth
Halfway across the Earth, nestled deep within the Indonesian archipelago, lie two small, tropical islands unlike any others on the planet. From the United States, it takes at least three planes, a...
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Blood, Sweat, and… Saliva: How Our Bodily Fluids Can Save Us
Picture a fighter pilot commanding a plane as they engage in aerial combat. When you think of the greatest threats to the pilot’s safety, you probably think of attacks from other aircraft or the risk...
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Aluminum as Fuel? It’s Not Science Fiction
Aluminum might seem like an odd choice for a fuel. When you think of aluminum, you probably think of aluminum cans and foil. But this dependable metal has a few tricks up its sleeve. One of those...
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A Cell’s Search for Identity
All of us have gone through the torment of high school—the growing pains and the mood swings and the cliques. It turns out that during development the cells of your body also go through something...
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