Why would you want to revamp your garage?
Most garages are boring. They’re boxes stuck on the side of a house, with a metal up and over door painted a boring colour and filled with all kinds of junk – but are never home for a car unless you happen to be the lucky owner of a classic car or are a bit of a control freak.
In fact, many new garages in houses built over the last few years barely have room for anything larger than a Mini; in other words, they don’t even pretend to be a home for cars.
So we may be going greener in our motoring with low emission cars – but what about their “houses”. Garages simply don’t have to be so dull and boring-looking. What goes inside them is another matter, but why not make them more interesting from the outside?
Are you hoping to be greener?
Why not sink your garage down a few feet, reinforce the roof supports and cover it with turf to make a green statement and help attract more wildlife into your garden? The kids will love it as well; tell them it’s the Teletubbies’ house! It’s also a great way of making your garden more aesthetically pleasing too – if you’re lacking space for flowers and foliage elsewhere, you can just plonk it on the garage roof!
Alternatively, why not mount solar panels on the south-facing slope of the garage roof (if you have one)? You’ll save yourself some money in the long term if you do that. Or you might even want to slope the roof and catch the rainwater, recycling it elsewhere in your home.
Smoked safety glass for the front can look a lot nicer than a metal door and lets in the light. Hanging baskets can brighten up a boring garage and wooden cladding can give it a pine ski lodge effect if it’s done well (and may not be half as bad as it sounds in the right location).
If your garage is big enough with sufficient supporting walls, you may be able to build a playroom on top with planning permission – or an office of course.
It seems we’re all making greener choices like driving hybrid cars, recycling, lowering emissions and cutting energy usage – without making our own homes reflect the way we’re thinking – and garages are one of the worst culprits!
So at the very least, paint the door some interesting colours; life is for living.
Written by Lisa, who’s a keen motoring enthusiast. Her latest fad is low emission cars, as she wants to help do her bit for the environment in 2012!
Tags: crazy green garage ideas, eco friendly decorating, green garages, green motoring, green science fair projects, high school science fair projects, hybrid cars, low emission vehicles
Posted in environmental science | No Comments »
 When NASA was looking for ways to purify air in space stations, they studied plants. Common houseplants freshen indoor air by removing toxic chemicals.The studies looked at several representative kinds of toxins: formaldehyde, benzene, tricholorethylene, ammonia, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. |
Though all plants probably have some filtering ability, the following plants did the best job in combating indoor air pollution:
Heartleaf Philodendron – Philodendron scandens ‘oxycardium’
Elephant Ear Philodendron – Philodrendron domesticum
Cornstalk Dracaena – Dracena fragrans ‘Massangeana’
English Ivy – Hedera helix
Spider Plant – Chlorophytum cososum
Janet Craig Dracaena – Draceaena dremensis
‘Warneckii’ Dracaena – Dracaena dremensis
Weeping Fig – Ficus benjamina
Golden Pothos – Epipiremnum aureum
Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’
Selloum – Philodendron selloum
Chinese Evergreen – Aglanema modestum
Bamboo Palm – Chamaedorea sefritzii
Mother-in-law’s Tongue – Sanseveria trifasciata
Red-Edged Dracaena – Dracaena margnata
Diffenbachia
Chrysanthemum
Gerbera Daisy
Spider plants are good at removing carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.
The best plants for removing trichloroethylene (found in paint, varnish, adhesive and ink) are dieffenbachia, English ivy, gerbera daisies, chrysanthemums, peach lily, bamboo palm, Dracaena Warnecki, and mother-in-law’s tongue.
Formaldehyde is most effectively removed by spider plants, bamboo plams, golden pothos, peach lily, Dracena Maginata, Dracena “janet Craig”, mother-in-laws’ tongue and philodendrons. Think of these plants when you get new furniture or are remodeling.
Painting? Benzene is in paints and oils, and is used as solvents. The best plants to remove benzene are dieffenbachia, English ivy, gerbera daisy, chrysanthemum, peach lily, bamboo palm, Dracaena Warneckei, and mother-in-law’s-tongue.
One plant cleans about 100 square feet. About 15 planst in six inch posts will be enough for a home under 2,000 sq. ft.
Google: how to test indoor air pollution and you will find many instruments to measure your air quality for a science fair project.
Link for how to test for air quality.
Precaution: List of plants that could be poisionous to children and animals.
Tags: 6th grade, biology science fair projects, environmental science fair projects, high school science fair projects, science fair project ideas, science fair projects
Posted in environmental science | No Comments »
Question: Dear Madeline
Some time ago you had something in one of your newletters about a science fair project dealing with chocolate. (coffee, cacao etc.) that one can use. Is it possible to forward the information to me. We would like to do something along that line for our next project. My Child is 12 years old.
E Leonarde
Answer: Elbie, I honestly don’t know where it is at.
There are about 5000 pages on the site and I hired a professional science writer
who just got her Phd to write the articles.
Go to www.super-science-fair-projects.com and use the search button,
put in the word coffee, then try cacao if you cannot find it.
Here are a couple that I found. You may be able to find more:
Renal Function Science Fair Project and Science Fair Project on Foliage and Nutrients.
Tags: coffee science fair projects, cool science fair projects, experiments, high school science fair projects, hypothesis, ideas, middle school science fair projects, research, school science fair projects, science fair contest, science projects, scientific method, super science fair projects
Posted in questions & answers | 13 Comments »
This week we are going to be looking at the National Energy Education Development Project Youth Awards Program. While this is not a science competition, per se, it is a way for schools to recognize outstanding students for their science achievements. The focus of this program is classroom science exploration. It is designed to encourage schools and students to explore energy science in the classroom and then apply the lessons learned to the community.
This year’s Youth Awards Program will be held in Arlington, Virginia from June 20 through June 23. The application deadline for this program is May 12, 2008. In addition to submitting your application fee of $525 per student, your application and your release forms, you will also need to secure a nomination from one of your state’s senators.
The registration fee of $525 is going to cover most of the student’s expenses during their trip to the Youth Awards Program. It will cover their lodging, their local transportation, their meals, and their tour of Washington, D.C. This is a great program that helps to recognize superior science students, to reinforce the value of developing science skills and a great chance for kids across the country to network with one another. Participation in this program also looks great on college entrance applications.
Science is an important subject to do well in. If you want to get into a great college or technology school development program, then you can develop your skills by working with middle school science fair projects, high school science fair projects and fuel cell car experiments science kits.
Tags: fuel cell car experiments science kit, high school science fair projects, middle school science fair projects, super science fair projects, youth awards program
Posted in science fair contest - competitions | 3 Comments »
Question: How are you today? I need to know do you have any science fair project kits on ROCK SLIDES for grade 9. Kenny
Answer: Have you considered doing a science fair project on how gravity contributes to rock slides?
Another possibility is to do a science fair project on how global warming is affecting the glacial slides along with the rocks that are embedded in them. This is called iceberg claving. You can read all about it on the Science News For Kids website.
Tags: 9th grade science fair projects, gravity science fair projects, high school science fair projects, rock slides
Posted in questions and answers | 6 Comments »
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