This new blog post from the Library's Manuscripts Division is just so much fun! I think there are enough stories in it to entertain and challenge a science class for some time. 

Of Note: Eleanor Roosevelt, Alien Investigator tells the story of a sighting of nine strange, bright objects over the state of Washington in 1947 and Eleanor Roosevelt's involvement in the search for an explanation. What fascinated me most were her questions for Robert Oppenheimer, as well as his response. My favorite sentence from the blog post was this: "The lesson, for Oppenheimer, was that 'arriving at the truth can often be a more difficult and troublesome thing than we like to think,' and that 'even a group of scientists is not proof against the errors of suggestion and hysteria.'" 

That's a strong statement for science students to consider, especially in light of the culture of conspiracy theories so prevalent today.

J. Robert Oppenheimer to Eleanor Roosevelt, May 19, 1950. Box 62, J. Robert Oppenheimer Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

We've had a few interesting posts here in the TPS Teachers Network about pseudoscience. For example, this Pseudoscience discussion by   Jacqueline Katz  leads to a wonderful series of her Library blog posts that could be used to expand upon discussions around the alien investigator blog post. 

How would you use all this information in your science classes?

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