A place for insight, inspiration, and experiments.
An Experiment to Help You Transform Your Chemistry Class into a Forensic Lab
Want a way to make chemistry class more exciting for your students? One approach is to use make-believe crimes to provide real-world learning opportunities with forensic chemistry experiments.
Three Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of the Go Direct Motion Detector
One of the most versatile ways for students to measure motion—a key scientific concept—is the
Go Direct® Motion Detector.
Supporting GEAR UP Schools with Science and Math Instruction and Technology Implementation: A Q&A with Linda Antinone
Linda Antinone’s overarching goal is simple: help more underrepresented students be successful, especially when it comes to STEM. Linda is an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, educational specialist, coach, trainer, and author with extensive experience teaching advanced mathematics and science courses in urban high schools, creating STEM education curricula, and developing legislation on education, poverty, science, and technology.
Three Experiments that Highlight How Vernier Graphical Analysis® Pro Can Elevate Physics Learning
Energy, acceleration, and simple harmonic motion are just a few important physics principles for students to learn—and using the Graphical Analysis Pro app with our Go Direct® sensors can help bring these abstract scientific concepts to life.
Everything You Need to Know about Summer Sensor Storage
Proper storage over the summer is key to extending the useful life of your laboratory’s sensors. Before you enjoy your well-deserved summer break, it’s a great idea to take stock of your Vernier probeware and make sure it’s correctly stored for the next few months.
Five Common Household Items You Can Use to Teach Your Students Key Chemistry Concepts
It can be challenging for students to wrap their minds around key chemistry concepts, such as pH, Beer’s law, and gas conversions. You can help demystify these abstract scientific ideas with hands-on learning that incorporates common household items.
Six Tips for Getting the Most Out of the Go Direct® Weather System
Want a way to easily monitor a variety of environmental factors with just one sensor? The Go Direct Weather System gives students the tools to measure ambient temperature, humidity, wind chill, dew point, barometric pressure, and more.
Three Experiments for Exploring Physics with the Go Direct® Force and Acceleration Sensor
Understanding key physics concepts, such as Newton’s laws of motion, gives students a solid foundation for exploring real-world physics applications—and the Go Direct Force and Acceleration Sensor is a great tool for laying that groundwork and building on it.
How to Choose the Right Spectrometer for You
Spectrometers are a great tool for helping your students explore important scientific concepts across a range of biology, chemistry, and physics courses—and Vernier offers a suite of spectrometers that are fast, compact, and easy to use.
Four Experiments to Help Your Students Explore the Science Behind Climate Change
Climate change is a complex, long-term process, so it can be challenging to conduct classroom experiments that show the phenomenon.
Five Ways to Take Physics Learning on the Go with the Go Direct® Acceleration Sensor
With the right tools, your students can explore important physics concepts in the real world—even when they’re traveling.
Determining the Best Light Source for Photosynthesis
One of the fundamental concepts in biology is photosynthesis, the process by which plants use carbon dioxide, light, and water to make their own food. Sunlight contains a broad spectrum of wavelengths, both visible and invisible—but plants use only specific parts of the visible spectrum for photosynthesis.
Getting a Taste for Food Chemistry with Three of Our Favorite Experiments
When you think about tools for teaching chemistry, potato chips, grape Kool-Aid®, and Gatorade® might not be the first things that come to mind. However, these items can be integral to food chemistry experiments—which are a great way to engage high school and college students in hands-on science learning with real-world applications.
Celebrating Darwin Day with Vernier Technology
Looking for an innovative way to teach your students about Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution? Comparative physiology experiments are a great approach to explore this central concept in biology.
Answers to the Top Five Questions about pH Sensor Care
Whether you teach college chemistry, high school biology, or middle school science, a pH sensor is a great tool to help your students explore the fundamental scientific concept of pH.
Five Tips for Collecting High-Quality Video to Analyze in Vernier Video Analysis®
Motion is an important concept that can be challenging for students to comprehend. However, Vernier Video Analysis makes studying motion easy and accessible.
Python® and LabQuest®: Opening Up Opportunities for STEM Educators and Students
When you think about ways to teach science, coding might not be the first thing that comes to mind.
What’s New at Vernier: May 2022
Want to know the latest goings-on at Vernier? Check out this roundup of product announcements, upcoming events, academic journal and media mentions, and other news.
Science Education Innovation: Analyzing Sunscreens with Data-Collection Technology
Note: A version of this story was originally posted on the Vernier website in March 2020.
College Experiments of the Month: Unlock Scientific Innovation
Vernier offers more than 1,000 experiments in biology, chemistry, engineering/robotics, and physics that can help you inspire students and integrate data-collection technology into your science courses.
All three of this month’s featured experiments involve our spectrometers. To further explore the use of spectrometers, check out our Illuminate Spectroscopy webinar.
Spotlight on Our Newest Spectrometers
Fast. Compact. Easy to use.
What’s New at Vernier: May 2022
Want to know the latest goings-on at Vernier? Check out this roundup of product announcements, upcoming events, academic journal and media mentions, and other news.
Science Education Innovation: Elevating College Chemistry with Cows, Kombucha, and Data CollectionNote: A version of this story was originally posted on the Vernier website in July 2021.
Dr. Jerry Easdon is a proponent of using inquiry-based, hands-on experiments to reinforce key concepts in his General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry courses at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri.
Spark Scientific Curiosity with These Award-Winning Apps
To help educators reignite students’ love of learning science this spring, Vernier is providing
Boost Pressure Measurement with Our New Go Direct® Wide-Range Pressure Sensor
At Vernier, we value educators’ feedback and ideas. So, when college chemistry instructors told us they were looking for a high-end gas pressure sensor for their upper-level courses, we created the Go Direct Wide-Range Pressure Sensor.
What’s New at Vernier: April 2022
Want to know the latest goings-on at Vernier? Check out the newest edition of The Caliper for a roundup of product announcements, academic journal and media mentions, upcoming events, and other news.
College Experiments of the Month: Unlock Scientific Innovation
Vernier offers more than 1,000 experiments in biology, chemistry, engineering/robotics, and physics that can help you inspire students and integrate data-collection technology into your science courses. We will be featuring at least one of our experiments in each edition of The Caliper.
What’s New at Vernier: March 2022
Want to know the latest goings-on at Vernier? Check out the newest edition of The Caliper for a roundup of product announcements, academic journal and media mentions, upcoming events, and other news.
Featured College Experiments: March 2022
Vernier offers more than 1,000 experiments in biology, chemistry, engineering/robotics, and physics that can help you inspire students and integrate data-collection technology into your science courses. We will be featuring at least one of our experiments in each edition of The Caliper.
Science Education Innovation: Taking Human Anatomy and Physiology Labs Online
We’re always excited when educators share the ways they use Vernier products in their science courses—and we’re always so impressed by their ingenuity. We will be showcasing at least one example of science education innovation in each edition of The Caliper.
How Colleges and Universities Can Prepare Students for Careers That Don’t Exist Yet
App developer. Drone operator. Cloud computing specialist. These were some of the careers listed in a 2016 report from the World Economic Forum titled “10 Jobs that Didn’t Exist 10 Years Ago.”
Creating Culturally Representative Science Curricula: A Q&A with Dr. Catherine Quinlan
Dr. Catherine Quinlan is a science education researcher and assistant professor at Howard University, one of the premier Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. She recently discussed with Vernier the crucial work of creating culturally representative science curricula for both K–12 and college students. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Three Nonprofits Dedicated to Black Educators’ Development, Retention, and Success
In the United States, more than half of public school students—but only about 20 percent of public school teachers—identify as people of color, according to a recent article in Time magazine. In addition, a 2020 study by Digital Promise found that the turnover rate is higher for teachers of color than white teachers, and it may be increasing.
Featured College Experiment: "Aerobic Respiration"
Vernier offers more than 1,000 experiments in biology, chemistry, engineering/robotics, and physics that can help you inspire students and integrate data-collection technology into your science courses. We will be featuring at least one of our experiments in each edition of The Caliper.
What’s New at Vernier: February 2022
Want to know the latest goings-on at Vernier? Check out the newest edition of The Caliper for a roundup of product announcements, academic journal and media mentions, upcoming events, and other news.
Featured College Experiment: “Understanding Polarimetry”
Vernier offers more than 1,000 experiments in biology, chemistry, engineering/robotics, and physics that can help you inspire students and integrate data-collection technology into your science courses. We will be featuring at least one of our experiments in each edition of The Caliper.
What’s New at Vernier: January 2022
Want to know the latest goings-on at Vernier? Check out the newest edition of The Caliper for a roundup of product announcements; academic journal and media mentions; upcoming conferences, webinars, and workshops; and other news.
Exploring the STEM Career Cluster
Career and technical education (CTE) “provides students of all ages with the academic and technical skills, knowledge, and training necessary to succeed in future careers and to become lifelong learners,” according to the national nonprofit Advance CTE.
Career and Technical Education: A Strategy for Setting All Students Up for STEM Success
Time waits for no one when it comes to workforce readiness. Put another way, it is critical to equip today’s students with the skills they will need for tomorrow’s careers, especially in STEM fields.
The Caliper: A 37-Year Evolution and the Top Stories of 2021
In 1984, mullet haircuts were the rage, Purple Rain topped the Billboard charts, and a loaf of bread cost less than 75 cents. In addition, “just 8 percent of households had a personal computer, the World Wide Web was still five years away, and cellphones were enormous,” according to The Washington Post.
How Equitable Broadband Access Supports STEM Learning in Tribal Areas
Reliable and high-speed internet connectivity is a must-have for effective online learning. However, only about 65 percent of the population in rural tribal areas has broadband access, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, compared with 99 percent of the population in urban areas.
What Educators Need to Understand to Fully Support Native Students
Note: Jacqueline Keeler is a Diné/Dakota writer living in Portland, Oregon. Her writing has appeared in The Nation, NBC News, The New York Times, and many other publications. Keeler has been interviewed on PRI's The World, BBC, MSNBC, and Democracy Now.
The Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program: Developing Leaders
What if there were a way to set students up for STEM success starting in kindergarten and going all the way through graduate school?
How One Nonprofit is Increasing Indigenous Representation in STEM
A lack of diversity persists in the higher education pipeline for STEM jobs, especially in fields like computing and engineering, according to a recent report by the Pew Research Center.
Classroom Resources for Examining the Impacts of Climate Change
Teaching students about climate change can be challenging; it’s a broad, interdisciplinary topic, and it’s not always part of an established curriculum. However, teaching students about the impact of climate change can be relatively simple.
Three Must-Watch Videos about Climate Change
Although climate change is a complex topic, many free videos and documentaries are available to help educators teach students about climate change and how it impacts their everyday lives.
Going Green at the University of Washington
Today’s college students are highly engaged, equipped with new digital technologies, and committed to tackling the world’s biggest challenges—including climate change. These digital natives, social media experts, tinkerers, creators, and activists are organizing student-led programs to encourage sustainable behaviors across college campuses. One such program is EcoReps at the Seattle campus of the University of Washington (UW).
A Wake-Up Call and a Learning Opportunity: Teaching Students About the UN Climate Change Report
In August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a body of the United Nations) released a report that the UN secretary-general described as “a code red for humanity.”
Supporting Educator Diversity in Today’s Classrooms: Three Teacher Preparation Programs to Check Out
With young Latinx learners representing a large percentage of the student population, more Latinx educators are needed in today’s classrooms. The Latinx student population is expected to continue to grow, and “research shows that schools and districts with teachers that reflect the cultural, racial, and/or linguistic backgrounds of Latinx students are better equipped to support them,” according to the education policy report Paving the Way for Latinx Teachers: Recruitment and Preparation to Promote Educator Diversity from New America.
Empowering Ideas for Engaging Latinx Students in STEM
Boosting STEM exposure, opportunities, and engagement all go a long way in creating STEM-literate students and supporting the next generation of Latinx STEM leaders. But, outside of the classroom or lab, where can students go to receive STEM support? And where can they learn more about potential careers and research environments they could pursue in the field?
Celebrating Latinx Scientists and Their Work: Resources for Your Classroom
National Hispanic Heritage Month offers a great opportunity for students to learn about the many Latinx contributions to STEM.
Raising Climate Change Awareness: Spotlight on Researcher and Advocate Nicole Hernandez Hammer
Nicole Hernandez Hammer wears many hats—she is a sea level researcher, a climate change expert, and an environmental justice advocate. And, as part of this overarching work, she is focused on the important and timely issue of how climate change disproportionately impacts communities of color.
Transforming Science Education Post-Pandemic
If nothing else, the last 18 months during this worldwide pandemic have demonstrated the fragility and limitations of our education system. We asked more of teachers as they addressed a broadening range of student needs during an exceedingly difficult time that was amplified by gross inequities in technology for teaching and learning.
Breaking Down Barriers for Remote Learning
When the global pandemic forced the closure of college science departments across the nation, Dr. Kari van Zee, Dr. Ryan Mehl, Dr. Rick Cooley, and graduate student Phil Zhu—department faculty and research members at Oregon State University—had to think fast. They were faced with the unprecedented challenge of changing their hands-on senior-level research methods course so it could support remote and hybrid models of learning.
A Ready STEM Lab: Your Local, State, and National Parks
For over a year now it has been undoubtedly challenging to deliver the hands-on learning experiences that are so important to helping students make meaningful scientific connections. Even as next school year will likely begin under more normal circumstances, new challenges will need to be addressed.
A Call to Action for Science Education
A Call to Action for Science Education, a comprehensive report published by the National Academies of Sciences, outlines the need for equitable access to quality science learning experiences that help enable students to develop the deep scientific literacy skills and understanding they need for personal and professional success.
A Guide to Choosing the Right Edtech Partner
Based on the sheer amount of marketing emails and sales calls received on a weekly—or even daily—basis, district leaders can surely attest to the seemingly countless number of technologies on the market today. But just how big is the edtech industry?
Exploring Ocean Acidification Easily and Affordably
Climate change is the cause of a number of devastating consequences facing our planet. However, one often overlooked problem keeping the environmental science community busy right now is ocean acidification.
Sign Up for The Caliper
The Caliper started as a printed, biannual newsletter in 1984. See the evolution of STEM education over 39 years.