Upcoming Themes for ODYSSEY ^TM

2007-2008 School Year

September	Got Milk? Cows, dairy farming, other sources of milk, nutrition, antibiotics and milk, whey protein.
October	Tagged! Your Fragile Identity Neural roots of identity, animals and identity, identity theft, technology and identity.
November	Twisted! Tornadoes, galaxies, earthquakes, ocean vortices, knot math, DNA, dust devils.
December	ColorWorks Why is blue, blue? Why does the color red make us hungry? The physics, chemistry, technology, and psychology of color.
January	Unwired! The New Net Internet 2, mobile Internet devices, YouTube, VOIP and SKYPE, Facebook founders, future of telecommuting, unexpected social changes of the Internet, Wi-Fi in developing world, Wi-fi security paint, Internet impact on homework, avatars (Second Life), gaming, podcasting, Wikis, and more.
February	Can Science Save the World? Can it halt global warming? Stop a killer asteroid? Alleviate world hunger, thirst, cancer? A look at the problems facing our world, and the science and scientists who might solve them. Which problems deserve the greatest attention? Can science always find a solution?
March	What a Waste! Poop All animals do it, and some even use it ""- to build homes, hide from enemies, attract mates, send messages, and cool off. Some even eat it. Forensic applications, Turd Trivia, Panda Poop power, dinosaur scat, waste problems, poop in space.
April	Jane Goodall: Chimp Champion A biographical issue about Dr. Jane's revolutionary work with chimps in Tanzania that began 40 years ago; plus Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf and the new researchers of Gombe. Jane Goodall Institute. How smart are chimps? Primates and morality.
May	Just Think! Magic of Memory Can animals remember?, memory as time travel, memory and grades, memory and genius, when you can't remember (amnesia and other disorders), mechanisms of memory, first memories, digital memory.

2008-2009 School Year

September	Piracy: Science of Plunder Clutch piracy in amphibians, frigate birds, pirates of the air; celestial navigation, computer spammers, pirates, and hackers; seafloor mapping, art piracy and science detection, science of sailing, weather in the open waters, Darwin and other bio-pirates, piracy in space, treasure under the sea.
October	Stiff: The Engrossing Cadaver BodyWorld and the process of plastination, human decay and what to do about it (mummies, etc.) cadaver dissection, impact tolerance on the human body, brain death, organ donations, practicing surgery on cadavers.
November	Robo-Buddy Slinking and squirming, life-imitating, soft robots are on the drawing board. Hard component little roombas that suck up dirt on the carpet and mow the lawn are already here. This issue will look at the expanding world of helper robots.
December	Glassworks From fiber optics to breathtaking skywalks, glass is everywhere. Remains of Bronze Age glass factory discovered; emulsion glass, glass from space, color and shaping of glass, optical properties, glass structures (Grand Canyon skywalk).
January	Babies: Journey to Life All kids are fascinated by birth, especially their own. This issue will look at embryology; multiple births; pix from the womb (Doppler and ultrasound); girl or boy?; baby in trouble; testing, testing; Dad's influence on the developing fetus, creature births.
February	Science in the City Cities are home to half of the world's 6.6 billion people. This issue will look at the present and future of cities: traffic, architecture, sprawl, patterns and scale, crowd psychology, noise and other health issues, "eco-cities," natural disasters and terrorism, vertical farms, "supercities," cities without us.
March	Bread: Feeding the World Grain is in short supply. Increasing populations, use of farmlands to grow biofuel crops, and increased feed consumption to produce meat for China are all depleting stores. This issue will take a new look at the chemistry of bread-making and the grains and techniques used. New and old grains; "miracle" wheat; why bread rises; yeast vs. sourdough; the whole-grain advantage; all about gluten and celiac disease; it's a bake-off!
April	The Carbon Connection Carbon dioxide has turned Earth into a greenhouse and is acidifying our oceans. But without carbon-based molecules, life as we know it would not be. This issue will look at carbon as the basis for life and as the culprit that could change our planet forever. Computers made of diamond, flat carbon that's faster than silicon for electronics, the nanopencil, buckyballs, carbon capture and carbon markets.
May/June	Swimming with the Sharks Humans have a love/hate relationship with sharks. They are fascinating on a movie screen, but terrifying in the surf. This issue will look at their importance to the ocean ecosystem, their amazing "sixth sense" (electroreception), various species (whale, basking, wobbegong, etc.), declining populations, the shark "superhighway," shark finning, how to stay safe while swimming, and more.
Jul/Aug	Let's Play! The Biology of Fun Humans have a love/hate relationship with sharks. They are fascinating on a movie screen, but terrifying in the surf. This issue will look at their importance to the ocean ecosystem, their amazing "sixth sense" (electroreception), various species (whale, basking, wobbegong, etc.), declining populations, the shark "superhighway," shark finning, how to stay safe while swimming, and more.

2009-2010 School Year

September	Techno Travel: Getting Around the Future Will there ever be hovering cars that lift us off to school and work? Or are we permanently grounded as energy issues dominate transportation? How close are we to hydrogen-powered cars? Automobiles are "smart," but how smart will they get? A look at Segway and other innovative ways to get around. Commercial rides to space. New Space Shuttle on the drawing board. Progress in teleportation.
October	Our Story: A Cast of Humans The various fossil species of humans have tongue-twisting names like Australopithecus Africanus. But when did early humans gain language themselves? With more than 20 species and still counting, understanding the origin of humans can be confusing. This issue will look at the earliest species to contemporary homo sapiens and at scientists' amazing odyssey to discover who we are and where we came from.
Nov/Dec	Einstein: The "E" Factor If science had a saint or all-time superstar, it would be Albert Einstein. This issue will take a fresh look at the man of reason and logic, the pacifist, the musician, his miracle year (1905), the power of the equation; Einstein's brain; Einstein's dream: a "theory of everything."

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Updated: 7/23/08 06:26 pm
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