MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER ECHO LIVE

For their days science lesson today, the teachers at my kids school had all the 5th Graders log onto Facebook Live to witness a presentation from the Michigan Science Center. With the school building closed due to the pandemic, the teachers have been teaching online via live Zoom sessions, recorded YouTube videos and having the kids participate in different activities like this. The Michigan Science Center ECHO Live! presentations let students participate in a different experiment each day asking questions and interact with the host through the Facebook Live chat feature.

These free 1/2 hour video presentations will take place every weekday at 2:30 pm ET for what would have been the remainder of the school year. If you miss a live experiment and chat session, the videos are posted later on the Michigan Science Center YouTube channel. I watched along with my son and daughter and have to say the presenter did a very nice job of conducting the experiments in a relatable way to children as well as interacting with the viewers through the Facebook Live chat feature as if she was doing the presentation with the kids sitting right in front of her at the science center. I give her a Geek Daddy nod of approval for a job well done!



The presentation we saw today involved experiments with electricity and showing how a circuit works. Viewers learned how to turn a potato or lemon into a battery. While moms may tell kids to never play with their food, I think it is ok for science experiments. I know my kids would much rather do experiments with carrots than eat them! My son and daughter both want us to do some science experiments with the fruits and vegetables in our kitchen pantry now.



If you are home schooling children, these videos provide some nice science curriculum that is both educational and entertaining. They'll be covering different topics so tune in each day to see what new experiment is taking place. Check out these great Michigan Science Center ECHO Live sessions while staying home and staying safe.

SURGEON X

Antibiotics have revolutionized medicine over the last century saving millions of lives.  Overuse though is starting to have consequences as more and more bacteria are developing resistance to these drugs.  Image Comics' medical thriller SURGEON X portrays a future where antibiotics are no longer effective creating a deadly impact on society.  SURGEON X is the comic book writing debut of documentary, factual drama and animation filmmaker Sara Kenney (Angels & Ghosts) and features artwork from acclaimed artist John Watkiss who recently passed away last January.

It is the year 2036 and there are great futuristic advancements available in medicine and surgery, yet in this near-future reality what was once a simple treatable infection can now kill because antibiotics are no longer effective.  Rosa Scott, a brilliant and obsessive surgeon becomes Surgeon X, a vigilante doctor who uses experimental surgery and black market drugs to treat patients.  As Surgeon X, Rosa develops a godlike-complex, deciding who will live and who will die.  Risking everything to save lives, Rosa believes that to survive she must follow her own moral code which ultimately warps her Hippocratic Oath to suit her own decisions.  These actions though begin to endanger those closest to her that trying to protect led her down this slippery slope of ethical decisions in the first place.

If you missed the initial monthly issues at your local comic book shop now is your chance to catch up reading the first story arc of this series.  SURGEON X Volume 1: The Path of Most Resistance will be available everywhere books are sold as of May 2, 2017 both in print and digital editions.  The 208 page  graphic novel is a collection of issues #1 - #6 from the comic book.  This is John Watkiss' last published work and the graphic novel also features a gallery of his incredible charcoal development drawings used to set the tone and imagery for SURGEON X.

In addition to the graphic novel, Image Comics has also just published an all-new digital exclusive 10 page comic book called SURGEON X SPECIAL: Trial and Error that is available on Comixology for .99 cents.  This standalone story featuring art by Warren Pleece (Incognegro) set in Bristol, England in 2037 introduces readers to Rosa's cousin Sun Walker.  Rosa decides to help Sun, a chemical scientist with a risky plan that could either kill or cure a loved one.

Publication of Trial and Error was subsidized by the Royal Society of Chemistry.  Join in a FACEBOOK LIVE conversation on Wednesday May 3, 2017 with SURGEON X author Sara Kenney, artist Warren Pleece and chemical scientist Dr. Jess Healy who is serving as a science advisor to the comic book series.  Kenney and Healy will discuss the scientific aspects portrayed in SURGEON X while Pleece will do some live sketching for the audience. The FACEBOOK LIVE event will be for a 1/2 hour beginning at 3pm (British time) and if my calculations are correct that would be 10 am (ET) here in the United States.

For more information about this sci-fi franchise, please visit surgeonx.co.uk