ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • APRIL 14 - 20, 2016 A15

DID YOU KNOW?

SCIENCE CORNER

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides

newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and

students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

African-American Inventor Miriam E. Benjamin

Miriam Benjamin was born

in 1861 in Charleston, South

Carolina. She was the oldest of

five children. Benjamin moved

to Boston, Massachusetts, where

she attended high school. She

attended Howard University’s

medical school and worked as

a clerk for several government

departments. Then, she attended

Howard University’s law school

because she was interested in

learning about patents. Her brothers, Lyde and Edgar, were

both attorneys and inventors who

received patents. Benjamin also

worked as a school teacher in

Washington, D.C.

She was the second African-

American woman to receive a

patent (patent number 386,289)

on July 7, 1888. She invented

the gong and signal chair. This

device was used in hotels. With

this invention, the hotel customer

could be comfortably seated and

press a button on the back of

the chair which caused a light

to signal the wait staff. The wait

staff could easily see who needed

help. This allowed the customers to

receive prompt service. Benjamin

created this device because she

noticed many hotels seemed over staffed; they had too many

employees. There were several workers walking around to

be available when someone needed them. The hotels were

able to save money because they did not have to hire as

many workers. In her patent application, Benjamin explained

that her invention would “reduce the expenses of hotels by

decreasing the number of waiters and attendants, to add to

the convenience and comfort of guests and to obviate the

necessity of hand clapping or calling aloud to obtain the

services of pages.” Benjamin’s invention was so successful,

it was used in the U.S. House of Representatives. Today, a

similar current device is used on airplanes to signal airline

attendants during a flight

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about

a person who has made a contribution in the fields of

science, technology, engineering, and math.

I can make text to text and text to world

connections.

Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: nie@stlamerican.com.

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

MAP CORNER

Enjoy these

activities that

help you get to

know your St.

Louis American

newspaper.

Activity One — Noun/Verb Stories:

Choose a story in today’s

newspaper. Rewrite the story

in sentences that only contain

two words—a noun and a verb.

For example, “Snow predicted.

Coats needed.”

Activity Two — Tax

Money:

Clip three

pictures of news items

from the paper to illustrate the

various ways tax money is

spent.

Learning Standards: I can use a newspaper to

locate information. I can

write for a specific purpose

and audience. I can identify

the purpose of taxes.

MATH CONNECTION

Inventors see a problem and think of ways to solve it. They

have sharp minds and strong critical thinking skills. Practice

your critical thinking skills with these math review problems.

z If the original price of a video game is $39, and it

is on sale for 50% off, how much does the game cost?

___________

x Which is the better

buy—a 4-pack of museum

tickets for $57, or a 9-pack

of museum tickets for

$110? ___________

c How would you write 43%

as a decimal? __________

How would you write 43% as a fraction? __________

v The track team voted for a team captain. If 85% of the

60 team members voted, how many track team members

voted in the election? ___________

b A train traveled at the same

speed for 5 hours. It went 113

miles in all. How fast was the

train going? Write your answer as

a decimal. __________ miles per

hour

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to solve a problem.

Mixed Review

The upside-

down ketchup

bottle earned

its inventor,

Paul Brown, $13

million.

Leonardo da Vinci

never built the

inventions he

designed.

Thomas Edison patented

almost 1,300 inventions in

his lifetime.

The can opener was

invented 48 years after

cans were introduced.

Have you ever had someone take

credit for a good idea that you

had? When inventors have good

ideas, they receive a patent from

the government that gives them

credit for this idea. In order to

receive a patent, an inventor has

to be sure that it meets the criteria

for receiving a patent. In order to

be able to get a patent, it must be a

process, a machine, a manufactured

good, or an improvement of any of

these. Next, the patent will fit into one

of two categories—a design patent or a

plant patent (if it is a new type of

plant created through scientific

processes). Third, check to make

sure there is not already a patent

in place for this idea. To do this,

you can search the United States

Postmark Trademark Office (USPTO)

database. Finally, a lawyer will assist

in the process of filling out a patent

application.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main

idea and supporting detail. I can make

text to text connections.

How to Receive a Patent

Are you ready to be an inventor? Your goal is to

create a device that will lift a tennis ball in

the air without using your hands.

Materials Needed:

• Tennis Ball • 2 Plastic Cups

• 2 Feet of String • Broomstick

• 50 Pennies • Tape • Scissors

• Table • Meter Stick

Procedure: q Your goal: Use two cups, string,

scissors, tape, a broomstick, a table,

and up to fifty pennies to create

something that will allow you to lift a

tennis ball 50 centimeters into the air without using your

hands.

w Sketch your design.

e Build your design.

r Revise as necessary.

t Evaluate: What did you build? What

was the most difficult part? How did you

solve the obstacle?

Learning Standards: I can use

prediction, trial and error to solve a

problem. I can evaluate and revise my

strategy. I can draw conclusions.

Tennis Ball LiftSCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Lucas Crossing

Elementary School

4th grade teacher

Trina Moorehead, shows

Ravyn Thomas, Omaruy Franklin,

Ataxia Bland and Marian North

how to use the newspaper to find

words of encouragement as a STEM

lesson. Lucas Crossing Elementary

is in the Normandy Schools

Collaborative. Photo by Wiley

Price/St. Louis American

Leo Fender, inventor of the Telecaster

and Stratocaster, could not play guitar.

Ruth Wakefield, the

inventor of the chocolate

chip cookie, sold the

idea to Nestle Toll House

in return for a lifetime

supply of chocolate.