Science

Leslie Davis is exploring new territory in science, but she doesn’t work in a lab. Opening Saturday at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana is “Regeneration,” a multi-artist exhibit celebrating advances in stem-cell research. Davis is the exhibit’s curator and featured artist. The exhibit is dedicated to the newly opened Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UC Irvine. The research lab is named after Bill Gross, co-founder of Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co., and his wife.

Jimmy Stroup On a floor covered with the residue of experiments past, a dozen eager scientists between the ages of 5 and 9 spent their mornings making Tootsie rolls, sidewalk chalk, chromatographic shirts and even slime. Under careful supervision, of course. Carl Johnson, a 21-year-old senior at UC Irvine, leads one of the Radical Reactions classes offered through the Newport Beach Recreation Services department. The classes aim to make learning the fundamentals of science fun as well as educational.

The science curriculum in Janet Sugiyama's fifth-grade class just keeps getting smaller and smaller. To start the year off, her students studied astronomy and earth science, learning about the solar system and the origins of weather. In spring, the focus turned to smaller objects ? humans ? and the different organs that make up their bodies. Now, Sugiyama has turned to the tiniest subject matter in the world. Armed with dried beans, rice, marshmallows, toothpicks and plenty of Elmer's Glue, her students spent the last week in class creating models of atoms and molecules.

While most of the national news touching Costa Mesa lately has been about the city's immigration plan, its congressman has been relegated to the inside pages. But Rep. Dana Rohrabacher may claim headlines in early 2007, if, as he's hoping, he's named chairman of the House science committee. Rohrabacher led the subcommittee on space and aeronautics for eight years, and he's been a member of the science committee since he was elected to Congress nearly 18 years ago. "That was my first committee assignment.

It's the pastime of thousands of children. It's the irritant of parents who foot the grocery bill. But at Newport Heights Elementary School last week, it was science, pure and simple. In the multipurpose room during lunch on Tuesday, one class after another filed in to do the classic fizzy science experiment: combining baking soda and vinegar. When the two substances are combined, they create salt, which stays at the bottom of the cup, and soda water, which releases carbon dioxide.

It's been a golden month for science in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District — and after the 20th annual Harbor Heritage Run on Saturday, it may get even brighter. Every year, the Newport Harbor High School PTA holds the race on the campus track to raise funds for the school. With Newport Harbor planning to overhaul its science computer lab in the coming months, the parent organizers will divert Saturday's proceeds to buying new computers and software for the facility.

Four Costa Mesa High School seniors will participate in the 2007 Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement USA National Engineering Design Competition, held at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, where they will compete against teams from eight states. It's the first time a high school team affiliated with Cal State Fullerton's program has advanced to a national competition, according to a press release statement issued by the program's 6-12th grade director, Vonna Hammerschmitt.

For most of us, our study of science consists of high school or college courses. While our formal instruction usually ends there, the influence that science exerts on our daily lives does not. So, where should the scientifically minded turn for information about these forces? Here are a few books at the Newport Beach Public Library that are both fun and informative about the physical world around us.  Ira Flatow is a veteran NPR science correspondent and host of a popular science radio program.

In a time of budget woes, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District on Wednesday received a quarter-million dollars from the Irvine Co. to enrich its science program. The check was the fourth installment of what will be a $2.5-million gift from the company. “We made a commitment four years ago to help the district focus on improving its curriculum in science,” said Daniel Miller, Irvine Co. senior vice president of Entitlement and Public Affairs. Since then, the district has created dedicated science labs at all of its elementary schools, and hired eight full-time science resource teachers who rotate between the different campuses to teach kids in grades four to six. Every student receives at least an hour a week of science instruction by the dedicated science teachers, who go beyond the standard required curriculum.

As the Great Bonfire War of 2013 continues, we can agree to one thing: If beach fire rings really do generate demonstrably dangerous levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions, they probably need to go or be reduced ("Fire ring hearing may be delayed," April 7) . How much PM2.5 do the fire rings actually generate? Curiously, that's the one question the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) seems determined not to answer. The AQMD's standards provide that an emissions source is significant if it raises particulate concentrations at nearby "sensitive receptors" — residences and similar sites — by at least 2.5 micrograms per square meter (ug/m3)

When Mihir Worah, managing director at the asset management giant Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO), arrived in Newport Beach, he had a quibble. "I moved to Orange County about 10 years ago, and I'm always complaining about how folks here don't care about science, and they're not excited," the particle physicist said. His son attends Sage Hill School on Newport Coast, so when administrators asked Worah to join a team advising the private college preparatory academy how to build a science center that would benefit the county, he agreed.

Q: The Bible states that the Red Sea was parted by God and the Hebrews walked on dry land with a wall of water on each side. The History Channel claims this is a fantasy. In fact, they claim it wasn't even the Red Sea but the "Reed Sea," and it was shallow and the Egyptians couldn't get at the Hebrews because their chariots got stuck. Can you comment on this? - P., via godsquadquestion@aol.com A: Questions about miracle turn up nearly every week in my e-mailbox. Miracles seem to be a great obstacle to faith for many people.

Parents at Woodland and Kaiser elementary schools started an experiment in 2010. Now, after two rounds of privately funding a dedicated science teacher, they have a simple conclusion: "It works," said Tricia Lamb, the teacher funded by the Kaiser Woodland Schools Foundation. Lamb holds one of two dedicated science positions at the twin elementary schools. When her job was at risk of disappearing in 2011, parents fought to keep Lamb in the lab and kids experimenting with fulcrums, sound and states of matter.

SANTA ANA - It belongs in a museum! That's what Indiana Jones said as he traversed the globe in search of elusive ancient artifacts that others wanted only for themselves. Now, however, the tables have turned, and the greatest archaeologist who never was has stepped into a museumlike setting near you. Through April 21, the Discovery Science Center will play host to the U.S. premiere of "Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology," an interactive exhibit spanning more than 10,000 square feet and featuring items from all four Indy films.

Daniel Villalpando, with a furtive smile, pushed down his mini catapult as his classmates, all lined up on either side of a tape measure, sprang forward, yelling in surprise as the candy pumpkin flew past them. "Wow!" yelled classmate Logan Donahoe. "It went over the measuring tape!" They had set a class record. At Woodland Elementary School, Nancy Jang's second-grade class held the finals of its Pumpkin Chunkin Project using catapults individually made out of tongue depressors and rubber bands to see who could "chunk" their pumpkin the farthest.

Tucked away in the corner of UC Irvine is a 100,000-square-foot structure against a grassy hill. For those working inside the campus' relatively new addition, the mission is simple: Discover new technologies that help people who suffer from debilitating diseases. Dr. Weian Zhao is one of the latest academic superstars the university has added to its roster. He was recently recognized in MIT's Technology Review list of 35 innovators younger than 35 who are making profound and lasting societal contributions.

Quantum mechanics and physical chemistry student Stephen Shinjiro Sasaki loves teaching, but he isn't interested in rushing through the curriculum to meet rigorous state standards. So when he finished UC Irvine's Cal Teach program, which trains math and science teachers, he started his own course that allows him to spread his passion for science to kids, but also go in-depth about higher-level science topics. "I wanted to make the program because essentially I could do all the fun things," said Sasaki, who aspires to become a UCI professor.

If you are reading this, somewhere right now, a librarian is smiling in satisfaction over a job well done. To further promote the love of reading — a chief tenet of the librarian code — in all age groups, the Newport Beach Public Library is hosting a full week of free programming in observance of National Library Week, Sunday through April 14, at branches throughout the city. "The goal for any of our programs is to bring people into our branches and make them aware of what we have to offer," Youth Services Manger Debbie Walker said.

It started like any other flag deck at Killybrooke Elementary School on Friday, but after a performance by the school band and the pledge of allegiance, the Costa Mesa school's sixth-grade students received an exciting surprise. "All of us are going to camp," Principal Lorie Hoggard announced. "With Rock Harbor's donation we have met our goal. We're all going now. " Thanks to a $4,200 donation from Costa Mesa's Rock Harbor Church, Killybrooke can cover the remaining costs to send its students to sixth-grade science camp this March at Arrowhead Ranch Each student also received a blue camp sweatshirt that they quickly donned.