Alcatraz Escape, Duck Echo, Red Cross Microchip

This episode is not part of any Collection. It is the seventh episode of Season 2.

Myths tested:
Was it possible to survive an escape from Alcatraz?
Does a duck's quack echo?
Does the government implant secret chips in people and can stud finders be used to find them

The Science behind Alcatraz Escape
I took my students on a field trip to the Bay Area Model in Sausalito and we watched this episode before AND after, to extra learning. The key questions:
• Was it possible to survive the conditions on the night of their escape?
• How does using models help understand conditions that can’t be recreated?

Students can study the history of the actual escape and make their own predictions, build boats, learn about tides and even how to evade detection by crafting a fictional identity, but I find the lesson of this myth is more about the use of models for understanding complex systems, and the history of the Bay Area Model and its implications for computer-based modeling.

The Science behind Duck Echo
Sound waves and hearing are the main ideas here. The key questions:
• What is an echo, technically speaking?
• Why do ducks quack?

Students can explore the structure of sounds, and the variety of bird songs. My mind was blown when I learned about the evolutionary function of bird calls…

The Science behind Red Cross MicroChip
Tracking technology and the powers of magnets are the main science ideas here. The key questions:
• How do tracking microchips (like the kind injected into dogs at the SPCA) work?
• How do studfinders work? Can you map the studs in your classroom?

Students can explore the ever-changing world of microtech (and get all paranoid if they want to). Studfinders make fun hands-on tools for even very young students—its fun to detect the invisible!