Every Jewellery Metal Ranked (Some Are Terrible)

I don't know Mason Mignanelli from Adam, but he clearly knows more about working with metals for jewelry than I do.

As an aside, sources seem to say that jewelry (as my browser wants me to spell the word) and jewellery (as Mason spells it in his video title) are both correct, but that the shorter spelling is more prevalent in the US (where I am) and the longer is more prevalent in the UK (where I assume Mason is).

tl;dr - no one metal is perfect. They all involve tradeoffs or workability/hardness, cost, and appearance. 

Perfect Aircrete, Kitchen Ingredients.

I've said it before that I'm not much of a DIY-er, so I'm not likely to make my own cement blocks to build anything, but I like the idea of trying this as a project with my students to balance strength/weight/cost in a building material.

The short version of the above video is that a version of aircrete can be made with xanthan gum, rubbing alcohol, water, dish soap, and cement with some vigorous mixing (a kitchen blender, a drill with a drywall mud attachment, or a smallish cement mixer).

The pastry and marble counter myth

I demonstrate something like this in my classroom using Flinn's ice melting blocks and a knock-off MiracleThaw from a second-hand store.

As one of the comments for the above video notes, "Thermodynamics is often very counter-intuitive." 

See, it's funny because Adam's talking about counter materials in the kitchen.

I'll wait while you laugh.

Remember, vinegar leg on the right.

Color Changing Glass - Rocks in a Box 30

I make glass in my classroom.

I've made glass colored with cobalt oxide (dark blue), copper (II) oxide (light blue), chromium (?) oxide (green), manganese (?) oxide (purple), and silver nitrate (disappointingly colorless).

I've not made any glass with neodymium oxide, but I'm thinking I want to do that as my next experiment.

Anybody know of a better, reliable, cheap source of neodymium oxide than these sources? I'll be honest that 1/2 a pound - even 1/4 pound when we're using less than a gram per batch - would last me pretty much forever.

BUILDING with RAMMED EARTH - An Impressive & Super Durable Natural Material!

I'm not a 'build my own home' kind of guy, but after watching this video, I would absolutely explore the use of rammed earth as a building material if I were in the business of building my own home.

The environmental benefits seem like a slam dunk, and the striations in the finished walls are gorgeous.

Bullseye Factory Tour

You might've seen the factory tour videos of Kokomo Opalescent Glass that I've posted before

If so, you might also have seen my comments that the lack of PPE used when the glass ingredients are being measured out. I comment on that every year with my students because I make them wear N95 masks when they measure out the silica and other glass batching ingredients. They're doing it once, and I insist on PPE. The Kokomo folks are assumedly doing that every day and - at least as of the time of the videos being filmed - they aren't using any breathing protection at all.

Today's video works as a contrast to that with Kokomo representing an old-school, 'that's how we've always done things' look at manufacturing, and the Bullseye Factory Tour shown above shows how more modern manufacturing should look.

I went looking for more Bullseye factory tour videos to check for PPE again. The above one was posted in 2017, and it shows PPE. The below one was posted in 2016, and it shows PPE. There's another that's dated 1979 that doesn't show the same PPE, but it also doesn't show the ingredients being measured out, and that's where I'm most concerned about the use of PPE masks. It does, however, show smoking on the floor of the glass factory which feels incredibly dated. The second video below, the one from The Oregonian specificially mentions some of the environmental concerns involved in the production of glass. It's more about the use of heavy metals, but it's a valid concern.

2026 Teacher Camps

Here we are, folks, with the 2026 ASM material science teacher camp schedule.

Through the teacher camps, ASM Materials Education Foundation offers a week of professional development focused on five goals...

• Teachers will grow in their curiosity and enthusiasm for materials science and translate that excitement into engaging learning experiences for their students.
• Teachers will select and adapt labs and demonstrations from camp that can be integrated into their existing classroom curriculum.
• Teachers will have the opportunity to observe, explore, and practice a variety of teaching strategies, such as inquiry-based learning, collaborative learning, hands-on experimentation, questioning techniques, and lab management skills, among others.
• Teachers will identify and implement real-world applications of materials science concepts to make lessons more relevant and engaging for students.
• Teachers will establish connections with local ASM chapters, STEM industries, and fellow educators for foster collaboration and professional growth.

Attendees will do roughly thirty labs in the week and see another twenty+ demonstrations connecting material science concepts to the curriculum attendees already teach.

The workshop is free...and some are even provide housing for out of town attendees.

Attendees earn professional development / contact hours.

Attendees can pay for graduate credit hours through University of Missouri - Kansas City ($250 for 2 graduate credit hours).

Plus, it's just lots of fun.