February, 2017 - Horizon Academy

Archive

Building a Better Volcano

February 28, 2017

Written by Mr. McConnell, Upper Team Instructor   Early in February, my Earth Science class learned about the forces that produce volcanic eruptions. This presented an opportunity for a classic high school science demonstration, the baking soda and vinegar volcano. Though, despite its popularity, I dislike this demonstration. Beyond superficial similarities it has nothing to do with volcanoes. A baking soda and vinegar volcano is powered by a chemical reaction evolving carbon dioxide, but a real volcano is a driven by convection. So I set to work on making a better volcano model and putting an end to the old…

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Process Over Product

February 17, 2017

Written by Ms. Bardwell, Arts & Extracurricular Coordinator   Unlike music, where talent is passed on through genetics, art is developed over time with lots of practice. Along with developing fine motor skills, art students also learn how to see. It is the learning to see that takes children from painting trees with brown trunks and big green blobs for leaves to rendering them as an architectural wonder with thousands of shades of brown, grey and green in their barks and individual leaves of varying hues of green.   While most schools embrace curriculums that lead the students to study…

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