The magnetism of the north and south poles are what make a compass work. But the pull of those poles is affected by the ground beneath your feet. WHY? A magnetic anomaly at the eastern tip of Lake Ontario means that a compass reading there may be wrong by as much as 16° in either direction—east or west. How much it changes depends on exactly where you measure. Boats using autopilot can suddenly swerve into the nearby shoals because the readings change so much! Some call this the Bermuda Triangle of the north. Researchers measured the anomaly to find its strongest point, just 800 m offshore f ..read more

Did you think that fossils were all bones and nothing more? Nope! Some fossils are impressions left of footprints or tracks. Other fossils are impressions left by skin textures. Sometimes even the tissues of an animal can be preserved, or visible in the fossil. It can be hard to figure out what we're looking at in a fossil of a soft-bodied invertebrate from long ago, but dinosaur fossils are usually easier to recognise. Some later dinosaurs may have had skin rather like an elephant, while others had skin and feathers like modern birds. There are many fossils with skin impressions showing scale ..read more

The shape of a photograph is measured by its Aspect Ratio. This is the ratio of the width of the photograph divided by its height. Until smartphone cameras, the overwhelming majority of cameras used a ratio of 1.5 (width versus height being 3:2). This was the film format of “35 millimetre” (35 mm) cameras. 35 mm cameras were an offshoot of the movie industry. In the 1890s that fledgling industry standardized on that size of film. But the film was difficult to manufacture. Each batch was slightly different and had to be tested for its exact light sensitivity. Oskar Barnack, an engineer at the G ..read more

by L. E. Carmichael, PhD This Saturday, May 13, is Science Rendezvous! If you're not familiar, Science Rendezvous is a national STEM festival that aims to bring science out of the lab and into the streets. Hosted by universities across campus, it's a unique opportunity for people of all ages to meet scientists and explore real-life science. And it's 100% free! This year, I'll be at Science Rendezvous Kingston with three other children's science writers: Helaine Becker, Rochelle Strauss, and Ishta Mercurio. In addition to wowing visitors with STEM displays and activities, we'll be giving read ..read more

 Good news for homeschoolers! The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology is hosting its Homeschool Day on May 19, 2023. You can read all about this event and activities that are planned, at this link: https://tyrrellmuseum.com/whats_on/special_events/homeschool_days Programs are filling up already. Go to their website and book space in one of their terrific activities for young students! The prices are low and include gallery admission. This museum is well worth visiting at any time. I've been there with my family and recommend it for everyone interested in museums, fossils, or geology ..read more

by Elaine Kachala When Tucker wears his bandana, he knows he's a dog with a job! All dogs have a special gift. But when we saw how Tucker, our delightful, much-loved family pet brightened so many lives, we thought he should be a therapy dog. In 2017, Tucker became a certified therapy dog with St. John Ambulance. He also took a special test to visit with kids. For five years, he was a therapy dog. I was his handler. We were a team that visited nursing homes, youth shelters, schools, and libraries. Now, at thirteen years old, Tucker is retiring. As I reflect on Tucker's career, did he make a ..read more

by Jan Thornhill Deer sleeping forms.  They're pretty compact when it's below freezing, with their back legs tucked under. Deer put on a lot of fat in the fall, and their winter hair is hollow for added insulation.    Their skinny, uninsulated legs are heat exchangers – warm blood pumped from their core runs alongside veins filled with cooled blood. This arrangement preheats the cooler blood so it's not super-cooled before it returns to the deer's heart. Jan Thornhill is an award-winning (multiple awards!) Canadian author and illustrator. Her books include The Triumphant Ta ..read more

by Margriet Ruurs Not long ago I was at the Dead Sea in Jordan. This large ‘lake’ is about 65 KM from the capital city of Jordan, called Amman. Amman is at 700 meters above sea level and can be chilly in Fall or Winter. But a one hour drive to the floor of the Jordan River Valley takes you to the lowest point on earth: about -400 meters. The temperature differences can be impressive. You can go here in one hour from cold, even snow, to warm enough to sit on the beach and swim!   Along the main road south I spotted vendors selling inflatable beach floaties. But you don’t need a flotation ..read more

If you ask someone what animal has the best sense of smell, chances are that most people will answer “Dogs”. Not a bad answer, though not quite right. At least two others are better.     Dogs have an amazing sense of smell. That's why we use dogs to track and find people who are lost, buried in avalanches, trapped in earthquake- or bomb-damaged buildings. We use dogs to sniff out illegal drugs, explosives, buried landmines, soil contaminants, animals of specific endangered species, black truffles, and even diseases. They couldn’t do it without their remarkable ability to smell. But ..read more

Branching Outby Joan Marie Galat I love spending time in forest habitat. The air is fresh, animals signs are everywhere, and the world feels like a quieter place. My interest in these giants of the plant world led me to write a book for ages 8-12 that explores how people and animals depend on trees. Branching Out: How Trees are Part of Our World (Owlkids) is full of surprising facts about trees, but it is just as much a book about the animals (even fish!) who use them for food and shelter. India’s national tree—the banyan (Ficus benghalensis)—is one of eleven featured species. This ..read more