Written by Alana Hughes, Digital Marketing Intern.
Between school, homework, practice and spending time with loved ones, it’s easy to miss out on the latest in science, technology, engineering, art and math. But don’t worry, Thinkery’s got you covered. Here are some of our favorite STEAM discoveries from the previous week. It’s fuel for your weekend.
Did you know that it’s possible to create artificial aquatic reefs? As climate change has caused more and more natural reefs to die, artists and scientists have gotten creative when it comes to designing these underwater ecosystems. The BVI Art Reef is one of the most unique artificial reefs yet! The reef is composed of an abandoned WWII barge called the “Kodiak Queen” topped by an elaborate 80-foot mesh kraken. The entire structure works with the existing ecosystem and the kraken’s mesh shell is designed to promote coral growth and house local species. Photos taken in July show that the reef is already showing signs of life. Click here to learn more about this awesome project!
Have you ever thought your dog was trying to tell you something? Turns out that the expression on your dog’s face is actually their way of communicating with you! A new study looked carefully at canine-human interactions and examined the dog’s facial movements in different scenarios. They noticed that the dog’s made twice as many unique facial expressions when people were looking at them. These results suggest that dogs really do use facial expressions to communicate with their owners. Hopefully one day we will understand exactly what they are trying to say! Click here to learn more about this study.
Scientists at Harvard have developed a tiny robot bee that can dive in and out of water. This is a big achievement for such a small robot—the RoboBee weighs only 175 milligrams! The robot uses the water as fuel and with the help of a tiny combustible rocket it can break the water’s surface tension. The RoboBee is now able to fly, land in water, swim and burst back out again. Scientists aren’t done yet though and are still working to add more exciting features to this tiny robot.