I just returned from a long six day trip through Texas. As hard as it is to be away from the family that long, Texas is such a great place to visit!
After visiting a few of our valuable distributors in San Antonio and Austin, I headed to Dallas for the annual "CAST" show. This show rarely disappoints and this year was no different. United Scientific Supplies had two booths to exhibit their best selling Genetics Manipulative Kits. These kits were designed by Pat Traster, a retired teacher and genetics researcher. I was fortunate enough to have Pat join me in the booth for the duration of the show and his passion and knowledge were appreciated by the hundreds of teachers who stopped by our booth.
Foot traffic was very high at this show and all of the major vendors were there. I'd even go as far to say that if you only exhibit at one science education show per year, this is the one to choose. I find this show to be more profitable and effective than even the NSTA National show.
Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone and wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season!
John
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Promoting our products on Facebook or Twitter?
Thank you very much to our valued distributors that promote our products and those from our principals on Facebook and Twitter. We also appreciate when our dealers use their websites to feature our products with special incentives.
As a token of our appreciation, we'd be more than happy to add any promotions you have on our products to our Twitter feed and Facebook page. Please email me any upcoming promotions you have to Jgura@fischertech.com or direct message me on facebook or twitter:
Twitter: @JohnGura
www.facebook.com/pages/Fischer-Technical-Company/156828747746480
Have a great day and I hope to see many of you next week in Dallas at the CAST show! Don't forget to stop by and say hello at booth 1030!
As a token of our appreciation, we'd be more than happy to add any promotions you have on our products to our Twitter feed and Facebook page. Please email me any upcoming promotions you have to Jgura@fischertech.com or direct message me on facebook or twitter:
Twitter: @JohnGura
www.facebook.com/pages/Fischer-Technical-Company/156828747746480
Have a great day and I hope to see many of you next week in Dallas at the CAST show! Don't forget to stop by and say hello at booth 1030!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Talking Genetics at CAST!
As previously mentioned, United Scientific will be exhibiting at the CAST show in Texas from November 17 - November 19 at the Dallas Convention Center. We will be in booth 1030 and 1032.
We're pleased to announce that Mr. Patrick Traster will be in our booth demonstrating our genetics manipulative kits. We invite you to come by the booth and try these great teaching tools out for yourself! Pat taught Genetics for many years and is well known and respected in his field. You can view two of the products demonstrated on United Scientific's YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedScientific
We'll be exhibiting the following kits:
DNA MANIPULATIVE KIT
Developed by teachers, this kit aids students in understanding the principles of recombinant DNA technology. It consists of teacher demonstration models and student manipulative sets, sufficient for a classroom of thirty students. Using the manipulatives, students learn the process of recombinant DNA technology. Plasmid DNA is cut with restriction enzymes and recombinant plasmids are formed. Laminated teacher and student gel electrophoresis boards are also included. Our kit allows students to learn DNA technology without the need for expensive laboratory equipment. Kit contains no consumable parts. It can therefore be used over and over again, and/or can be shared by the entire science department. Includes 78 peices of specially designed plastic manipulatives. Also included are a manual and instructional videotape in which an experienced teacher demonstrates use of the manipulatives included in the kit. Shipping weight 8 lbs., dimensions 22" x 17" x 4".
PROTEIN SYNTHESIS MANIPULATIVE KIT
The kit was developed by the same teacher who brought you recombinant DNA technology manipulatives. Now available are manipulates for teaching protein synthesis. Whether you have taught this content a thousand times or this is your first, you will find that all students can learn this material! What makes this kit different than any other kit is hands-on experience. This kit includes Teacher Manipulatives, Student Manipulatives, and Assessments. Shipping weight 7 lbs., dimensions 29" x 14" x 4".
MITOSIS MANIPULATIVE KIT
Using the same format as our popular Protein Synthesis and DNA kits, this hands-on set includes a demonstration teacher model and enough materials for students to construct their own models. None of the parts are consumable, so the kit can be used again and again. Includes a detailed instructional video to show teachers how to use all of the kit components.
MEIOSIS MANIPULATIVE KIT
Teaching meiosis presents challenges for both teaching and learning because it is an abstract concept that requires visual and tactile models for most students to conceptualize. The exchange process of maternal and paternal alleles during cross-over is especially difficult without such a reference. A lot of time was spent designing, testing and refining this kit in classrooms to meet your needs. This kit will make teaching and learning meiosis much more enjoyable for you, just as it has for others. The kit inlcudes: Teacher Demonstration Models: Thirty large chromosomes arranged in five colorful sets that can seen on your board from the back of your classroom. Each set consists of a maternal and paternal homolog and four sister chromatids. Alleles and parental lineage are clearly identified. The fifth set has removable alleles for demonstrating cross-over. Student Models: Students carry out teacher directed assignments at their desk using their own smaller sets of chromosomes. There are no consumables so the kit can be used over and over again. Instructional CD and Teacher Manual: We will walk you through using the kit for the first time in an easy, familiar and pictorial slide show fashion. Don't worry if this is your first time teaching meiosis because absolutely everything you need is in the kit. Recommended student activity and assessment options are also included. We even provide a student activity sheet that you can copy. This is a complete package that makes the complex biological process of meiosis come alive in your classroom. It makes teaching fun! Shipping weight 7 lbs., dimensions 21" x 19" x 5".
We're pleased to announce that Mr. Patrick Traster will be in our booth demonstrating our genetics manipulative kits. We invite you to come by the booth and try these great teaching tools out for yourself! Pat taught Genetics for many years and is well known and respected in his field. You can view two of the products demonstrated on United Scientific's YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedScientific
We'll be exhibiting the following kits:
DNA MANIPULATIVE KIT
Developed by teachers, this kit aids students in understanding the principles of recombinant DNA technology. It consists of teacher demonstration models and student manipulative sets, sufficient for a classroom of thirty students. Using the manipulatives, students learn the process of recombinant DNA technology. Plasmid DNA is cut with restriction enzymes and recombinant plasmids are formed. Laminated teacher and student gel electrophoresis boards are also included. Our kit allows students to learn DNA technology without the need for expensive laboratory equipment. Kit contains no consumable parts. It can therefore be used over and over again, and/or can be shared by the entire science department. Includes 78 peices of specially designed plastic manipulatives. Also included are a manual and instructional videotape in which an experienced teacher demonstrates use of the manipulatives included in the kit. Shipping weight 8 lbs., dimensions 22" x 17" x 4". PROTEIN SYNTHESIS MANIPULATIVE KIT
The kit was developed by the same teacher who brought you recombinant DNA technology manipulatives. Now available are manipulates for teaching protein synthesis. Whether you have taught this content a thousand times or this is your first, you will find that all students can learn this material! What makes this kit different than any other kit is hands-on experience. This kit includes Teacher Manipulatives, Student Manipulatives, and Assessments. Shipping weight 7 lbs., dimensions 29" x 14" x 4".MITOSIS MANIPULATIVE KIT
Using the same format as our popular Protein Synthesis and DNA kits, this hands-on set includes a demonstration teacher model and enough materials for students to construct their own models. None of the parts are consumable, so the kit can be used again and again. Includes a detailed instructional video to show teachers how to use all of the kit components.MEIOSIS MANIPULATIVE KIT
Teaching meiosis presents challenges for both teaching and learning because it is an abstract concept that requires visual and tactile models for most students to conceptualize. The exchange process of maternal and paternal alleles during cross-over is especially difficult without such a reference. A lot of time was spent designing, testing and refining this kit in classrooms to meet your needs. This kit will make teaching and learning meiosis much more enjoyable for you, just as it has for others. The kit inlcudes: Teacher Demonstration Models: Thirty large chromosomes arranged in five colorful sets that can seen on your board from the back of your classroom. Each set consists of a maternal and paternal homolog and four sister chromatids. Alleles and parental lineage are clearly identified. The fifth set has removable alleles for demonstrating cross-over. Student Models: Students carry out teacher directed assignments at their desk using their own smaller sets of chromosomes. There are no consumables so the kit can be used over and over again. Instructional CD and Teacher Manual: We will walk you through using the kit for the first time in an easy, familiar and pictorial slide show fashion. Don't worry if this is your first time teaching meiosis because absolutely everything you need is in the kit. Recommended student activity and assessment options are also included. We even provide a student activity sheet that you can copy. This is a complete package that makes the complex biological process of meiosis come alive in your classroom. It makes teaching fun! Shipping weight 7 lbs., dimensions 21" x 19" x 5".
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Fischer Technical/United Scientific will be at the ILDA meeting
ILDA is the Independent Laboratory Distributors Association and is composed of several lab supply dealers, manufacturers, and importers.
United Scientific has joined ILDA and Raj Soni, president of United Scientific, will be joining me at this year's fall meeting in Louisville. ILDA is a group designed to help laboratory supply dealers best serve their customers through networking, educating, and introducing great manufacturers to dealers.
This meeting will feature the largest attendance ever seen at an ILDA meeting and we can't wait to attend. We'll be arriving Sunday morning and look forward to seeing many of our valued distributors and friends in the industry. Please contact me to set up a meeting if you plan on attending!
See you in Louisville!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Great new posters from Feenixx Publishing now available!
FEENIXX PUBLISHING NEW FOR 2011-2012
E110L History of the Earth
Geologists divide the history of the earth into four eons. Each is represented by a strip of illustrations and captions prefaced by an introduction. Our planet began as a sphere of molten metal. Heavier ores sunk to the center, resulting in gravity. As Earth cooled, its crust was formed. Other topics include the creation of the moon, the appearance of various atmospheres, the formation of continents, continental drift, snowball Earth, and the development of life. The third through fifth pictures on the bottom row reflect the period covered by Eras of Life. The last picture shows the near future - the results of humans destroying the environment.
E107L Introduction to Gemstones
It then presents an assortment of jewelry. The focus is on affordable items, including some that enthusiastic can make themselves. Next comes non-jewerly use of gemstones - collectible eggs, carvings, decorative slabs, and royal crowns. Of course we had to include a famous Faberge egg. The bottom row presents all the birthstones, in accordance with modern-day standards.
E109L Collectible Fossils
This poster presents the fossils that are widely available to private collectors. These include the well-known fish from Wyoming’s Green Mountain Formation, the famous ferns from St. Claire, Pennsylvania, the Chesapecten so abundant around the Chesapeake Bay and the petrified wood of the American Southwest. It includes such favorites as trilobites and coprolite. The latter is petrified dinosaur dung. Kids love talking about "dinosaur poo poo." Many outstanding specimens are shown. All are accompanied by an illustration of the prehistoric species, except in cases where appearance is unknown due to soft parts not fossilizing. In such cases, an illustration of a closely related modern species is presented. Interesting captions provide information and cite the geological period in which the species. A geological time chart puts everything in perspective.
A228L Arachnida
Arachnids differ from insects as they have eight legs. Insects have six. The title provides a comprehensive overview of the entire class / clade, which includes mites and tick, spiders, scorpions and other critters. Each group is introduced by informative text. An abundance of outstanding illustration show representative species.
A312L Sauropods
This exciting new posters shows all the largest species. Some were close to 200 feet long - the length of four school buses. Also shown are some of the more unique species. Mamenchisaurus had 31 foot long neck that comprised half of the body length of the animal. Camarasaurus vertebrae were hollowed out or riddled with passages and cavities, which inspired its name, "Chambered Lizard."
The unique body structure of these fascinating animals is explored. Could they rear upright like a horse. Other interesting topics are intelligence, teeth and diet, eggs, skin texture and social behavior.
Created with the help and cooperation of the American Museum of Natural History.
Contact me at JGura@fischertech.com for digital images or more information as to how to become a distributor or dealer for these great posters!
John
Monday, October 3, 2011
Top Ten Favorite High School Science Experiments
Someone had recently asked me what my favorite science experiments were when I was in High School and after giving it some thought, I've got my list ready! I was always a very visual learner and these were the experiments that stuck in my head:
10. Free Fall Tube demonstration - evacuating the air from a tube and watching the feather and the coin fall at the same rate.
9. Toothpick Bridge - although I was never very good at this, the engineering shown by some of my classmates was impressive. We had to make a bridge using only toothpicks and glue that must be a specific size and would be tested with weights to see how much it would hold.
8. Dog Mouth/Human Mouth - I was crushed to find out that the petri dish swabbed from my pug's mouth had significantly less growth on it than one swabbed in my own mouth...especially after years of watching him eat any kind of garbage he could get into!
7. Pie in the Face - a great high school physics teacher of ours would allow us to throw a pie in his face if we could correctly figure the speed of said pie in the moment before impact.
6. Table Cloth (Inertia) - I think we all did this as a youth....yank the tablecloth swiftly enough so that the china didn't move but the table cloth came out!
5. Physics of a Curveball - I was fascinated to learn about the rotation and the laces on the ball causing a baseball to curve.
4. Blow up the Peep! - Stick one of those marshmallow peeps in a bell jar and evacuate the air and watch it grow!
3. Toilet vs. the phone - I still to this day wipe my office phone quite often after seeing how much more bacteria was on my phone compared to the toilet seat!
2. Watermelon Toss - In High School Physics, we took into account wind, height, weight, etc and place a hula hoop in the parking lot and rolled a watermelon off of the top of the bleachers. It was amazing to see it land exactly as we predicted with a very messy result!
1. Physics Day - Our local amusement park, Six Flags Great America, would host Physics day each year and we would be given handouts where we had to calculate the speed, acceleration, etc of many of the rides. Lots of fun topped off by riding a few roller coasters. There are few better ways than to keep the interest of a high school student!
Which ones were your favorites??
10. Free Fall Tube demonstration - evacuating the air from a tube and watching the feather and the coin fall at the same rate.
9. Toothpick Bridge - although I was never very good at this, the engineering shown by some of my classmates was impressive. We had to make a bridge using only toothpicks and glue that must be a specific size and would be tested with weights to see how much it would hold.
8. Dog Mouth/Human Mouth - I was crushed to find out that the petri dish swabbed from my pug's mouth had significantly less growth on it than one swabbed in my own mouth...especially after years of watching him eat any kind of garbage he could get into!
7. Pie in the Face - a great high school physics teacher of ours would allow us to throw a pie in his face if we could correctly figure the speed of said pie in the moment before impact.
6. Table Cloth (Inertia) - I think we all did this as a youth....yank the tablecloth swiftly enough so that the china didn't move but the table cloth came out!
5. Physics of a Curveball - I was fascinated to learn about the rotation and the laces on the ball causing a baseball to curve.
4. Blow up the Peep! - Stick one of those marshmallow peeps in a bell jar and evacuate the air and watch it grow!
3. Toilet vs. the phone - I still to this day wipe my office phone quite often after seeing how much more bacteria was on my phone compared to the toilet seat!
2. Watermelon Toss - In High School Physics, we took into account wind, height, weight, etc and place a hula hoop in the parking lot and rolled a watermelon off of the top of the bleachers. It was amazing to see it land exactly as we predicted with a very messy result!
1. Physics Day - Our local amusement park, Six Flags Great America, would host Physics day each year and we would be given handouts where we had to calculate the speed, acceleration, etc of many of the rides. Lots of fun topped off by riding a few roller coasters. There are few better ways than to keep the interest of a high school student!
Which ones were your favorites??
New Line of Clamps available from United Scientific
For years, we've seen two major styles of clamps: Low cost imported clamps and high priced, high quality domestic manufactured clamps. United Scientific is proud to announce that they now stock a new line of clamps featuring the high quality of the domestic clamps at a fraction of the price. Contact me at jgura@fischertech.com for dealer pricing, digital images, or if you'd like to evaluate a sample. These are the best quality imported clamps I have ever seen and I believe dealers will do very well with these.
3 Prong Extension Clamps:
Our deluxe line of 3 prong extension clamps are constructed of pressure die casted zinc alloy and are chrome plated. Clamps open to about 3” (7.5cm), have a recommended maximum grip size of about 2 ¼” (5.5cm), and feature double keyed spring type adjustment screws.
Available with an extension rod 8 ¼” (22cm) long, 5/16” (0.8cm) OD, with an overall length of 12 ¾” (32cm),
Or with a boss head clamp that can swing freely and is lockable at any angle up to 360°, and can be used with rods up to 19mm.
Recommended maximum working temperature is 80°C for the PVC version, and 280°C for the silicone sleeve version
| ITEM NUMBER | DESCRIPTION |
| ECPVC1 | 3 prong extension clamp with rod, PVC Coated grips |
| ECSIL1 | 3 prong extension clamp with rod, silicone coated grips |
| ECPVC2 | 3 prong extension clamp with boss head, PVC coated grips |
| ECSIL2 | 3 prong extension clamp with boss head, silicone coated grips |
2 Prong Burette Clamps:
Our deluxe line of two prong burette clamps are made of pressure die casted zinc alloy and are chrome plated. Adjustable to hold up to 60mm OD burettes, these clamps feature double keyed spring type adjustments.
Available with an extension rod 8 ¼” (22cm) long, 5/16” (0.8cm) OD, with an overall length of 12 ¾” (32cm),
Or with a boss head clamp that can swing freely and is lockable at any angle up to 360°, and can be used with rods up to 19mm.
Recommended maximum working temperature is 60°C for the cork lined version, 80°C for the PVC version, and 280°C for the silicone sleeve version
| ITEM NUMBER | DESCRIPTION |
| CLCORK1 | 2 prong burette clamp, with rod, cork lining |
| CLPVC1 | 2 prong burette clamp, with rod, PVC sleeves |
| CLSIL1 | 2 prong burette clamp, with rod, silicone sleeves |
| CLCORK2 | 2 prong burette clamp, with boss head, cork lining |
| CLPVC2 | 2 prong burette clamp, with boss head, PVC sleeves |
| CLSIL2 | 2 prong burette clamp, with boss head, silicone sleeves |
Deluxe Burette Clamps:
Deluxe Burette clamps are die casted from aluminum and feature black rubber sleeves for firm gripping of burettes. The adjustable clamps hold up to 30mm OD burettes which are held in place by the pressure created by the springs. For use with rods up to 19mm diameter.
| ITEM NUMBER | DESCRIPTION |
| CLBURDS | Single Burette Clamp |
| CLBURDD | Double Burette Clamp |
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