Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
-
Energy Source Graphs
These graphs illustrate trends in human energy use. I am just getting going on creating a series of graphs. The first will compare major sources of generated electricity in the USA: natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar and hydro. I also intend to add a graph showing total energy use in the USA (not just…
-
Atmosphere Layers
Earth’s atmosphere is composed of a series of layers with different properties. Some of the planets and moons in our Solar System also have atmospheres with layered structures comparable to Earth’s. This self-paced, online lesson provides an overview of layers of the atmosphere – on Earth and beyond! Click the image below to begin your…
-
iPad Size Test – Phaser 3
-
Memory Game
-
Time Hopper
Early prototype of a JavaScript-based game using the Phaser 3 library. This game is an “infinite jumper” that draws attention to important events that have happened throughout the “deep time” history of the Universe.
-
Unity Test
This page is a proof-of-concept test of publishing games made with Unity onto a web page on my WordPress site. This first test displays an early version of Planetary Pong in an iFrame.
-
Portfolio: Drone Science Mission Board Game
The Drone Science Mission Board Game simulates a scientific mission to monitor a volcano, using sensors carried by a drone aircraft. Randy Russell developed the game, while working for the UCAR Center for Science Education (UCAR SciEd), as part of a larger engineering education project. The Engineering Experiences project, geared towards middle school students, was…
-
Portfolio: Eratosthenes Measured Earth (Animation)
The Greek astronomer, mathematician and geographer Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276-194 BC) was the first person to accurately measure the circumference of Earth. This animation illustrates his method. Randy Russell developed this animation (using the now-defunct Flash animation software) for a citizen science project as part of his work on the Windows to the Universe web…
-
Mars Helicopter Lesson Plan
NASA’s Mars 2020 Mission, featuring the Perseverance rover, landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. The rover carried a small helicopter named Ingenuity. On April 19, 2021, Ingenuity became the first aircraft to fly under its own power on a planet other than Earth. This page presents two options for a lesson about Ingenuity’s historic…
-
Engineering Sims – Binghamton Webinar – July 2020
I presented a webinar about the use of simulations and virtual labs for engineering education to the faculty of the Watson School of Engineering at Binghamton University in New York on July 22, 2020. The title of the presentation was “Minds-on Virtual Education via Simulations, Games and Web-based Activities”. Links to resources mentioned in the…
Got any book recommendations?