Jessie Antonellis-John

Math and Science Instructor

Jessie Antonellis-John is a Math and Science Instructor who teaches at Southwestern Oregon Community College. With over 10 years of experience, she specializes in curriculum development. Jessie earned her PhD in Teaching & Teacher Education from the University of Arizona, her Master of Education from Western Governors University, and her BS in Astrophysics from Mount Holyoke College. She’s also co-authored several peer-reviewed journal articles in professional publications.

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Forum Comments (1)

What are some good science expo ides?
Check the exact specifications of your expo to see if this is allowed: a scientific question that is related to your life and interests, that you can answer through an experiment with variables you control, which is often interesting to judges, too. For instance, “my brother has cochlear implants, and I wanted to know how their sensitivity at different frequencies and volumes compared to his friend the same age with typical hearing,” or “my pet rabbit eats these specific types of plants, so I tested which would grow best inside my house using soil taken from my backyard.” If you need some inspiration, there are numerous sources of ideas online, such as Science Buddies and Polygence. But again, the best ideas are your own!

Q&A Comments (8)

What's your advice for students attempting the lemon battery experiment?
I'd say let the students play around with it first without too many step-by-step instructions. While some background on electricity flow is helpful, it's also great to just let them explore on their own. This not only gets them to better understand the process, but also builds curiosity and deeper learning. Encourage them to not just blindly follow directions, but to dig into the science behind why it works. Guide them but also foster that genuine curiosity to figure out the principles behind making a battery from lemons. Hands-on exploration is key for science experiments like this.
How can I accurately represent the scale of the solar system in my model?
The tricky thing with solar system models is showing the huge differences in sizes and distances realistically. You have to decide if you want to focus on planet sizes relative to each other, or the distances between them. It's really hard to nail both in one small model. My advice would be to first pick a unit of measurement as your scale baseline. For distances, use the Earth-Sun distance as the unit. For sizes, start with a small planet like Mercury as the unit, then scale up from there. Remember the differences get extreme fast when you scale up, so stick clearly to the scale you set. It's all about choosing a consistent scale and units to work from in order to get those proportions right.
What type of vessel works best for creating a Diet Coke and Mentos rocket?
When making a Diet Coke and Mentos rocket, it's helpful to use a container that can open up on its own as pressure builds. An old but effective vessel I've used in the past is a film canister holder. These small canisters allow pressure to accumulate because of their smaller opening. If you're doing this with kids or for a class demo, it can be a safer, more controlled choice to show the reaction.
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Co-authored Articles (43)

How to

Read a Ruler

Need to measure something but getting hung up on all those lines on a ruler? You're in the right place. We're here to explain what the ruler markings mean so taking measurements will be a breeze. Whether you need to know...

How to Use a Ruler to Measure in Millimeters (Plus Estimating Lengths)

Learn to measure milliliters with rulers and other objects—and how to convert from inches, meters, and other units A millimeter (also spelled “millimetre”) is a unit of length in the metric system—a system of uni...

How to

Make a Faraday Cage

The Faraday cage (or shield), named after Michael Faraday, is a device that is used to protect from electromagnetic radiation. A Faraday cage may be formed by a continuous covering of conductive material, or a mesh of su...

How to Make a Bottle Rocket at Home

Two different kinds of bottle rocket designs to soar into the sky You’re never too young to be an astronaut! You might not be making a trip to the moon for a few more years, but you can launch your very own rocket righ...

How to Write Latitude & Longitude in Degrees, Minutes, Seconds, & Decimals

A guide to writing longitude & latitude in different formats, complete with examplesIf you’ve ever read a map or a globe, you’re probably familiar with latitude and longitude. These coordinates can you help you pinpo...

How to

Read Latitude and Longitude on a Map

Latitude and longitude are measurements of location on the globe. If you know how to read latitude and longitude on a map, you can determine the geographic coordinates of any spot on the map. While online maps make it ea...

How to Set and Read a Sundial + Find the Exact Time

Plus, learn about the history of sundials and how accurate they areSundials have been used to measure time, based on the sun, for thousands of years. This simple device can be made up of nothing but a flat dial and a gno...

How to

Make a Model of the Earth

Making a model of the Earth is a fun project for learning about geography, geology, and astronomy. Pick up your paints and get started making the whole world.https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/earth-model/

How to

Make a Solar System Model

There are eight known planets orbiting our sun, including Earth. Making a model is a fun introduction to this solar system, and a good art project for primary school science classes. This detailed example can take a few ...

How to

Write Electron Configurations for Atoms of Any Element

An atom's ''electron configuration'' is a numeric representation of its electron orbitals. Electron orbitals are differently-shaped regions around an atom's nucleus where electrons are mathematically likely to be located...

How to

Make a Diet Coke and Mentos Rocket

Dropping Mentos into a bottle of diet soda causes a physical reaction: as they fall through the soda, the Mentos candies break the bonds between the carbon dioxide and water (the combination that makes soda fizzy), relea...

How to

Make a Simple Rocket

Rockets capture the imaginations of adults and children alike. Unfortunately, we often refer to “rocket science” as if it is the most complicated subject on the planet. While some highly advanced rockets are engineer...

How to Create a School Project on the Layers of the Earth: 3 Fun Ideas

Make a 2-D or 3-D Earth layers diagram that’ll wow your teacherIf you have to make a model of the Earth’s layers (i.e., the crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, liquid outer core, and solid inner core) for a school pro...

How to

Make a Sundial

A sundial is a device that uses the position of the sun to reflect the time. An upright stick, called a gnomon, is positioned to cast a shadow onto a pre-marked sundial face. As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow a...

How to

Make a Planet Model

Few science fair projects are as timeless as a planet model, and for good reason. Planet models showcase knowledge about the planet, as well as skill at portraying its physical characteristics and scale. Whether you're c...

How to

Identify the Stars

There are billions of stars in the night sky, and stargazing is a very popular and enjoyable pastime. Getting started identifying constellations and stars in the sky is easy. Most of the major stars, like Polaris or Alph...

How to

Make a Water Bottle Cap Pop off with Air Pressure

There is a cool trick using an empty plastic bottle and air pressure that will allow you to shoot the cap of the bottle across the room. The cap is capable of coming off with quite a bit of force, so be sure not to aim t...

How to

Find the North Star

The North Star, also known as Polaris, is often used by campers to help them find their way when lost. You may also just want to find the North Star for fun if you're into star gazing. You can rely on constellations in t...

How to

Find the Andromeda Galaxy

Your easy guide to locating Earth’s closest astronomical neighbor The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31 or "the Great Spiral Galaxy" is one of the most distant objects that the unaided human eye can see. Use t...

How to

Make a Tornado in a Bottle

With water, dish soap, and a bit of spinning, you can make a tornado in a bottle! This can be a great way to learn how tornadoes work. For a basic experiment, try making a tornado in a single bottle. If you want to get m...
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