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Do Not Trust That Stranger’s 5-Star Review
Last Saturday, I was desperate for Mozart sheet music. It had to be for piano, and it had to be easy to play. Out of 84 options on Amazon, a book with 4.7 stars caught my eye — good enough for a 9-year-old’s music-class presentation. Later that afternoon, I needed to book a hotel for our summer vacation and I trusted the 1,310 reviewers on TripAdvisor who gave my pick an average of four stars, along with a good number of “fantastics” and “wonderfuls.” Dinner was a 4.5 star meatloaf recipe.
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‘For-Now Parents’ and ‘Big Feelings’: How Sesame Street Talks About Trauma
ASTORIA, NEW YORK—Inside the Sesame Street studio in Queens, Elmo is playing “monsterball” with his friend, a new Muppet named Karli who has lime-green fur and two ponytails. (Monsterball, for what it's worth, appears to be the same as soccer, but with a furry ball.) Puppeteers, with their hands raised high and their heads cranked to the side to stay out of the camera’s shot, run around, making Elmo and Karli kick, laugh, and throw the ball. Outside, it’s a chilly gray December Monday, but on set the monsterball park is brimming with plant life, and butterfly puppets held up on long metal wires flap their wings.
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School’s (somewhat) out for summer: Five tips to help academics make the most of the season
Family member: What are you going to do while you’re off for the summer? Academic: I’m not off. Family member: But you’re not taking classes or teaching. Academic: I know, but I’m still working—I’m doing my research. It’s summertime! (Well, almost.) Classes are ending, grades are being finalized, and colloquiums and other meetings are winding down. Many academics will soon open their calendars and see plenty of blank spaces over the next 3 months. On one hand, that can feel liberating: “Finally!
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APS Fellow Receives Prestigious Appointment in New Zealand’s Queen’s Birthday Honours
Devon Leigh Logan Polaschek APS Fellow Devon Leigh Logan Polaschek has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contributions to criminal psychological science. Polaschek, a professor of psychology and crime science at the University of Waikato, is among 56 individuals appointed as Members of the Order by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, in her right as Queen of New Zealand.
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Weigh in Now on the NSF 2026 Idea Machine Competition
NSF received over 800 idea submissions for its 2026 Idea Machine competition, and now needs your help deciding which of 33 entries should advance to the final stage.
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Bus Stops May Be as Good a Place as Any for a STEM Lesson
Be it for school or just running errands, thousands of children and their parents wait for the bus every day. A pilot program in Pennsylvania is trying to squeeze a little more science, technology, engineering, and math learning into those waits. In the Urban Thinkscape project in Philadelphia, researchers and local architects built spatial and science-related art at neighborhood bus stops in Philadelphia, including spatial puzzle walls, patterns of footsteps for jumping, or pictures containing hidden objects and shapes. Prior studies have suggested children who talk more about math outside of school do the same in class, and that play and simple prompts can increase such conversation.
