Science Adventures for Kids!

This will be fun to see how the same amount of liquids in a container, may be heavier or lighter. So if that is the case, which liquids will sink or float. What about putting objects in these liquids? Which objects will sink or float?

It's time for some investigation!

At the end of the summer we caught a Carolina Mantis, and it laid an egg sac before breathing it's last breath. My son had a hunch that it was a female and she proved it for him.

We had given up on the egg sac since we were not regularly misting it. In the past we assumed that is why others didn't come out.

But, lo and behold a week ago we got a bout 10 or so baby Mantids coming out! It really is a wondrous sight, as these tiny delicate creatures of a pale color wiggle their way out. after a short while their color starts to darken. They have undergone at least 1 or 2 molting s and there are about 4 survivors now.

We are feeding them with flightless fruit flies, of which the first wave has died, and there are still maggots developing in the container they come in. The few that are left over are very alert and active. It's quite a treat in the middle of winter to have signs of spring come upon us.

I'll need your patience!

Doing this lens is a big experiment for me right now! I spent quite a few hours the other day setting up a new link list, and I kept getting an error for some and not for others, so I tried saving several times and lost all of them when I opted to try another way around it. :-( I was not happy, since I had quite a bit of text to go along with each link, subtitles and descriptions. So, instead of battling with the ones that kept getting an error, I am going to list them in a regular text module here, and you will need to highlight them one by one with your mouse, copy and then paste. My apologies, that'll have to work for now, since time is a precious commodity in my neck of the woods, Thanks for your patience!:-)

We've been experimenting with matter and states of matter which are: Solid, Liquid, Gas, and Plasma, (which is extremely simplifying it= energized gas-the sun is a ball of Plasma they say. here's a link to cut and paste- http://education.jlab.org/qa/plasma_01.html ), for the past few weeks. So far we have just been dealing with, liquids and solids, and well, Oobleck and Flubber are more like both, aren't they?

Here are a number of links for some of the experiments that have been keeping us busy in class. There are different explanations for what is happening and also

More non-Newtonian, (that just means that these don't fit nicely into his matter classifications of solid, liquid, and gas) Formulas to try, like Oobleck and Flubber, and other Silly Puttyish type substances:

http://www.nipissingu.ca/education/jeffs/4284Winter/TLS/Matter_and_Energy_grade5/Cornstarch_Experiment_(Oobleck).pdf

http://www.guam.net/planet/oobleck.html

http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/science/glopgloop.html

http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/projects/oobleck/projectdescrip.html

http://www.getty.edu/education/teacherartexchange/archive/Jul00/0269.html

FYI: scientists are still trying to find a concrete answer that everyone agrees with for what is happening with the molecular structure of Oobleck when it behaves as a liquid and then a solid depending on the type of force used! Maybe one day you will be the one with the prize-winning explanation hailed as awesome by the scientific community all over the world! So keep Experimenting!

Everything Floating

http://floatingclassroom.tamu.edu/TrainingInfo/ShoresideDisplacement.pdf

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/e-set/science_is_here/ship.html

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/124Adensityliq.html

http://www.factmonster.com/cig/science-fair-projects/objects-float-better-salt-water-fresh-water.html

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy00/phy00291.htm

http://www.teachingk8.com/archives/integrating_science_in_your_classroom/oil_and_floating_objects_by_john_cowens.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/10401/floatbgno.html

I would love to hear about your amazing discoveries!

As Ms. Frizzel from the magic school bus says "be ready to get messy, make mistakes..." and learn what it takes to be a scientist.

For this class, you will need a mind that thinks out of the box, isn't afraid to ask questions, and you'll need to bring a science journal.

This is where you will write all of your notes/data/info from the experiments, down so that you can go back and study, and get the most out of them.

You'll need a pencil, or whatever else you need for taking notes. They can be written, but you may find that making pictures and or diagrams as well, can make the information a bit more meaningful to you.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your observations. That will be the only thing besides class participation that you will be graded on, so do remember to spend some time and effort on communicating your observations, tests, and conclusions!

I had asked you what it was you would like to do for experiments, knowing how wide open a field science is, and you replied with the following:
*Volcano eruptions
*Can pencils float
*Chain reactions
*Gliders
*Chemical reactions
*How cars are made
*How to extract minerals out of rocks

That's it so far, we've got some great ideas to work with already! I will add more as I hear from you!

Before beginning these experiments, you can start off by making a prediction/hypothesis that you can in turn test by doing the experiments. Then write down your observations and any data from your results, into your journal. Analyze the results based on your hypothesis.

This is How to make Flubber.
* In one container pour 2/3cup of water and add 2 teaspoons of borax. Stir it up.
* Now pour 1/3 cup water into another container and add food coloring to it, add 1/3 cup of glue, stir it up really well.
* Finally, pour both mixtures into a bowl and mix until you get a rubbery type substance, some call Flubber.

Now play with it and see what questions you can come up with for a hypothesis and how can you test these questions? Are the answers what you thought they would be? Have you learned something new? Compare this substance to Oobleck.

This is how to make Oobleck.
* Mix 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water, add food coloring if you'd like.
Now play with this and see what you can do with it.
Compare this to Flubber.
See if you can come up with some hypotheses. Then test them, and record your results, and then communicate them with someone else.

This is how to conduct the milk experiment.
* Pour some milk into a flat dish, and put several drops of food coloring next to each other towards the middle.
* Then dip a toothpick into a bit of dishwashing liquid.
What Happens? What do you wonder about in this experiment? What are your hypotheses? Test these, and write your results. Did the results confirm your ideas? Or prove you wrong? What have you learned?

This is how to make the mini volcanoes.
* Fill the containers about a 3rd full with baking soda.
* Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid.
* Then, pour a little at a time some vinegar with food coloring into the baking soda.
What happens? Why do you think? Did you make predictions? What is how you supposed it would be? And what is different? Don't forget to record your data. And make conclusions based on your findings.

I am a person enamored with learning new things and understanding the world around me. I love to know what makes people and things tick. My family is beginning to know me as being the google queen; I figure, if I want to know it, surely someone else has posed the same question?

Other things I love include, creating, motivating, meeting people, travelling, eating good food, going on walks, reading, writing, and wondering about the universe we find ourselves in.

Last, but definitely not least, I am on a mission to know the God of this universe personally, and to take on His great character of love.

I teach because it is like breathing to me. I am constantly learning, and being the funnel that I am, I am constantly sharing what I learn along the way.

I teach because I think students want to know how to think, and I aim to teach how to think for themselves given the facts and the theories and the moral climate surroundiing any given subject.

I also teach because I am selfish. Yes, that's right, I can almost get high off of seeing my students reach their "aha" moment!

I also teach because of all of the great teachers in my life. The ones that taught me how to think out of the box. The ones who directed me towards finding my own information, and not just swallowing only what the books says, which we were given as the only authority on any given subject.