Let's start by employing some hyperbole. Announcing, the biggest news in The Thinking Spot's history - we have a space, a place to call home, a place to call The Thinking Spot!
We are super excited to have signed the lease for 3311 County Rd 101 in Minnetonka.
We are committed to adding to this already vibrant neighborhood, that boasts several independent stores offering unique products and services, by creating a wonderful space for all the science and book-loving members of the community.
Work is underway to transform this former laundry and dry cleaning space into an exciting, fun, and cozy place filled with books and the buzz of thoughtful activity! Stay tuned for updates as we move forward.
Meanwhile, we continue to add several new books each week to the website as they are released. We now have over 400 books available from the site in a multitude of genres including fiction!
Bookshop dot org continues to be a great resource for extending our reach of books. We have added a couple of new booklists this month - "New Releases for July": best of Nonfiction science books released in July, and "Elementary Favorites": our favorites for the under 10 crowd.
The website has a few updates as well. We've tweaked the logo and the layout slightly. Hopefully, it reads better on all devices now. We now have 14 blog posts, 4 of which are book reviews. We've broken those out into a new category so that they are easy to find. We have also added a member's section. You can now create a login for yourself. Once logged in you can setup your notifications, check on orders and best of all, you can setup your own wishlists and favorites so that you come back and find them when you're ready!
In other news, we ran two weeklong campaigns this month on social media.
First, a week where we discovered unique local businesses tackling a variety of STEM problems. See if you can name them (answers below):
Most of us know of someone who's needed inner ear tubes due to persistent ear infections. This MN company recently invented a cool new device that makes those inner ear tube placements available in the doctor's office with local anesthesia, making it much easier on those kiddos! What is the name of the company and the device?
An MN couple recently invented a game to give kids a way to discover how computers work and to help them start coding and designing algorithms. It lets kids code without getting bogged down by language syntax, and it doesn’t require a computer, phone, or tablet to operate. Name the Game!
This tech manufacturing services company recently went public, was listed as one of the top 100 startups to watch in 2021, and was touted by Senator Amy Klobuchar as a success story for keeping manufacturing in the US. Name the company!
We all know the housing market is super hot lately. Ever wonder how real estate agents keep track of all that home market data that is changing so rapidly? This MN company has developed apps to help brokers and agents access and navigate data compiled from multiple sources, to ultimately help you the home buyer or seller through the process. They were recently acquired by a national real estate tech company. Name the company!
For the final question of the week, my favorite find, this company offers archaeology as a service to governments at all levels, as well as private developers and individuals. Their goal? To help preserve historic and cultural resources and uncover powerful stories! They were part of a team that won a national award for their work on the Eden Prairie flying cloud drive reconstruction project. Can you name the company?
This past week, we scanned the web for interesting Olympics and STEM-related news. Below are the links we shared:
This week let's find the science and technology behind the games! To start out - here's a great article on the Torch from Popular Science: https://www.popsci.com/technology/olympic-torch-tokyo-design-explained/
News of Simone Biles dropping out reminded me of the work of cognitive scientist Sian Beilock and her book Choke. She attempts to explain why even the most prepared, the experts, the best in class "choke" sometimes when it matters the most. And there are few places where the pressure is higher than at the Olympics! Find her book at the shop: https://www.thethinkingspot.us/product-page/choke
Ready for your digital twin? Check out this article on Intel's 3D Athlete tracking https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-olympic-tracking-systems-capture-athletic-performances
A cool collection of some of nature's best swimmers, divers, jumpers, and wrestlers. What if they were allowed to participate? Who wins? http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/mcvmagazine/young_naturalists/young-naturalists-article/natural-champions/julaug2016_young_naturalists.pdf
Another interesting link in the same vein: https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/animal-olympians/
On the other hand, a few years ago, Daniel Lieberman, author of "Exercised", took part in a 25-mile “man against horse” race in Arizona: he beat 40 of the 53 horses! Lieberman argues that we are born runners, and although we struggle to outpace many animals over sprints, we can outrun them over longer distances.
This NSF site has a good collection of the science behind several Olympics sports: https://nsf.gov/news/mmg/?series_name=Science%20of%20the%20Summer%20Olympics:%20Engineering%20in%20Sports
Keep reading, keep sending in ideas on what you'd like to see at The Thinking Spot - whether it's a book or an activity or a speaker. Help spread the news and watch for updates as we get closer to opening!
Answers to the business quiz: 1)Preceptis Medical (hummingbird). 2)Turing Tumble. 3)Sky Water Technologies. 4)HomeSpotter. 5)106Group.