Curious Minds ATX

06/03/2025

If you know anyone who wants to take AP Environmental Science in a small group setting with some awesome kiddos, I'll be teaching it at Austin Arts + Academic Collaborative next year!

This is not my first time teaching this course, but it’s one I really enjoy teaching because it is so incredibly relevant.

03/12/2025

2025-2026 Class Offering!

AP Environmental Science is a college-level environmental science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, long-term studies, and field investigations. While not required, students will find it beneficial if they have already taken high-school biology and chemistry prior to this class.

Topics covered in this course include:
* Ecosystems
* Biodiversity
* Populations,
* Earth Systems and Resources
* Land and Water Use
* Energy Resources and Consumption
* Atmospheric Pollution
* Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution
* Global Change

Please Note: It is not required to sit for the AP exam to take this class. Students can still list it on their transcript as an AP class, whether or not they take the exam. To be eligible for college credit, most colleges/universities require a 4 or 5 on the exam.

Read more about this course on my website!

AP Environmental Science is a college-level environmental science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, long-term studies, and field investigations. While not required, students will find it benef....

03/10/2025

2025-2026 Class Offering!

Chemistry I is an honors-level high school science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, and long-term studies. Previous experience with a course in chemistry will be very helpful. Students will have the opportunity to conduct and present on their own research experiments in this course. There is an additional lab fee for this course.

Topics covered in this course include:
* Scientific Method and Measurement
* Matter and its Properties
* The Periodic Table
* Atomic Theory
* Structure and Bonding
* Acids and Bases
* Chemical Compounds
* Thermal Chemistry
* Hydrocarbons
* Stoichiometry
* Organic Chemistry

Read more about this course on my website!

Chemistry I is an honors-level high school science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, and long-term studies. Previous experience with a course in chemistry will be very helpful. This is a grade....

03/06/2025

2025-2026 Class Offering!

Biology I is an honors-level high school science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, long-term studies, and field investigations. My class emphasizes discussion and active learning over a straight lecture format. Previous experience with a course in life science will be helpful. Highly motivated 8th graders may be admitted; please email me before registering!
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Topics covered in this course include:
Biochemistry
Ecology and ecosystems
Cell Biology
Genetics and heredity
Biotechnology
Evolution
Classification
Anatomy and physiology​
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My hope is that you will see how these themes are interrelated and leave with an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the world around you.

Students will have the opportunity to conduct their own research experiments. There will be an option for dissection for students who choose to participate. Dissections are not required to take this class.

Read more about this course on my website!

Biology I is an honors-level high school science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, long-term studies, and field investigations. My class emphasizes discussion and active learning over a straig....

03/04/2025

2025-2026 Class Offering!

Forensic Science is a science course that incorporates biology, chemistry, math, and physics and is recommended for upper middle school or high school students. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, and short-term projects. A previous course in biology and/or chemistry will be helpful, but is not required. This is a graded course. Students should expect to spend 2-3 hours a week outside of class doing assignments, watching videos, and working on projects.
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Topics covered in this course include:
- Crime Scene Processing
- Types of fingerprints, fingerprint analysis, and fuming for fingerprints
- Hair and fiber analysis
- Identifying glass fragments using physical matches and refractive analysis
- Soils and impression casts
- Ballistics and tool markings
- Blood spatters
- DNA Evidence
- Drug analysis and toxicology
- Forensic entomology and anthropology
- Careers in Forensic Science

Read more about this course on my website!

Forensic Science is a science course that incorporates biology, chemistry, math, and physics and is recommended for upper middle school or high school students. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, and short-term projects. A....

03/03/2025

2025-2026 Course Offering!

Earth Science & Astronomy is an honors-level middle school science course. It is designated as honors not because it’s more work, but because I will introduce additional advanced topics in this course that are not generally introduced until high school. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, long-term studies, and field investigations. No previous formal science classes are required to be successful in this class. Grades are provided for this course. Students should expect to spend 2-3 hours a week outside of class doing assignments, watching videos, and working on projects. There is an additional lab fee for this course.
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Topics covered in this course include:
The Scientific Methods and Models
- Rocks & Minerals
- Energy Resources
- The Fossil Record
- Volcanoes
- Weathering & Soil Formation
- Water, Erosion, & Deposition
- Oceanography
- The Atmosphere and Weather
- Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe
- Formation of the Solar System
- The Planets of our Solar System
- Space Exploration​

Read more about this course on my website!

Earth Science & Astronomy is an honors-level middle school science course. It is designated as honors not because it’s more work, but because I will introduce additional advanced topics in this course that are not generally introduced until high school.This course is taught as a traditional scien....

02/28/2025

Science News Friday!

Last March, a Big Bend National Park botany program volunteer along with a supervisory interpretive park ranger found some small plants growing among the desert rocks within a northern portion of the park. They noted the plant’s “fuzzy foliage and interesting flower” that didn’t resemble plants they’d seen previously.

The plant’s name, Ovicula biradiata, pays tribute to its fuzzy exterior. Ovicula means “tiny sheep” — apropos for the white “wool” coating the plant’s leaves, the National Park Service added. “Biradiata” refers to the two ray petals found in each of the flowers.

Staffers at Big Bend National Park discovered a new plant species “previously unknown to science,” the National Park Service confirmed Monday.

02/27/2025

2025-2026 Class Offering!

Middle School Biology: Life Science is an honors-level middle school science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, long-term studies, and field investigations. No previous formal science classes are required to be successful in this class and this ia a great first formal science course for a middle schooler. My class emphasizes discussion and active learning over a straight lecture format.
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Topics covered in this course include:
- The Scientific Method
- Characteristics of Living Things
- Cell Biology
- Genetics and heredity
- Evolution
- Classification
- Anatomy and physiology
- Biochemistry
- Ecology
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There will be an option for dissection for students who choose to participate. Dissections are *not* required to take this class.

Read more about this course on my website!

Middle School Biology: Life Science is an honors-level middle school science course. This course is taught as a traditional science course, incorporating laboratory activities, virtual activities, short-term projects, long-term studies, and field investigations. No previous formal science classes a....

02/24/2025

A meeting of my two favorite things - science and knitting!

Niu explains that knitting, at its core, is a method of transforming a one-dimensional strand of yarn into a structured, flexible two-dimensional sheet, which can then fold itself into complex three-dimensional shapes. The researchers realized that this transformation could be described mathematically using the same principles that govern how surfaces curve in space.

By controlling the stitch pattern—just knits and purls—you can essentially encode instructions for how the fabric will behave once it comes off the needles. That's why a scarf, a sock, and a sweater can all come from the same kind of yarn but behave so differently.

This could lead to garments that adapt to movement, medical textiles that mold to the body, or even large-scale deployable structures that assemble themselves.

The practice of purposely looping thread to create intricate knit garments and blankets has existed for millennia. Though its precise origins have been lost to history, artifacts like a pair of wool socks from ancient Egypt suggest it dates back as early as the third to fifth century CE. Yet, for al...

10/15/2024

Take a walk through my Life Science classes this fall. Their first project was a biome diorama and these kids did a fantastic job learning and then presenting their biomes!

09/19/2024

Snippet from my Algebra I class this week:

Me: Before we get started, does anyone have any questions over their homework?



Student : Could we go over multiplying fractions again?

Me: Absolutely! I love questions and I love that you were brave enough to raise your hand and ask. You get a gold star for today.

Student: 🥰

Rest of class: Wait, there are stickers??

Me: It’s more like a saying. Why, do we need gold stars for real?

Entire class: YES!

Never underestimate the power of a sticker. They have no idea what is coming for them next week.

09/18/2024

I thought I’d share a little tour of my room this year! The skeleton in the corner is Bill Die, named by one of my students last year. It makes me so happy to share this space with groups of kids each week while we geek out over science and German!