tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571679296716241372024-03-13T13:02:29.235-07:00Science MattersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger553125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-72846036986825866762015-05-27T05:56:00.000-07:002015-05-27T05:56:59.476-07:00CSI Science: Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Days 4 and 5This post is the fifth in a series of posts about a CSI program I ran at our library. You can read the background information <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies.html">here</a> and<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies_75.html">here</a><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>and <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies_22.html">here</a> and <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies_25.html">here</a><span style="color: #cc0000;">. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vZL9UAoNWruo30VMsdULGkRUqWWE-ta3aAawFWKaSfi9q0xGLE_zEdr3EDvjqLTJ-Ngi61jxfLP9LBPYMTTu3IzYwPR_lPyq3ESugRnoHOLpW0Jt5QqasqQOlzQ-b8a_ztYsJO7Cd1E/s1600/IMG_0650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vZL9UAoNWruo30VMsdULGkRUqWWE-ta3aAawFWKaSfi9q0xGLE_zEdr3EDvjqLTJ-Ngi61jxfLP9LBPYMTTu3IzYwPR_lPyq3ESugRnoHOLpW0Jt5QqasqQOlzQ-b8a_ztYsJO7Cd1E/s320/IMG_0650.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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For Day 4 we performed the dirt analysis. It was fairly straight-forward and completed without much fanfare. The students once again enjoyed taking the information they collected and comparing it to the map that was provided and then matching up that information with what they found in the suspect bios.<br />
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Day 5 was DNA analysis day. We had a short conversation about what DNA is and I gave them a <i>very </i>simplified explanation of what a lab would do with a DNA sample that would lead to the results we were provided with in the kit. With all of that in mind, the actual analysis became more of a graph reading exercise than anything else. But, they did very well with it and enjoyed it quite a bit (I know one person mentioned it has being the favorite activity we did). Hopefully some small pieces of information will stick with them and will click into place when they're exposed to it again some day.<br />
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It was really great to have 5 weeks worth of library programming assembled into one place and ready to use. As I went through each of the activities, I thought about what/how I might do things if I were designing my own unit (and maybe I will sometime down the road.... a<i>dd it to the bottom of the to-do list</i>), and while there are changes I would like to make, it's hard to ignore the convenience of having everything ready-to-go. It would be a major investment of time to gather the supplies for a crime scene set-up and 4 days worth of lab activities, not to mention the time that would need to be spent planning a story line and creating all the other materials: suspect bios, maps, newspapers, ransom letters, etc. Many thanks to <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> for allowing us the opportunity to carry out such a comprehensive program while saving my sanity (my family is much appreciative)!<br />
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*****<br />
The <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/product/case-of-the-kidnapped-cookies-a-crime-scenario/forensic">Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Kit</a> was provided to me at no cost, for use with a group of students at my library. I was not compensated by <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> in any other way, and all opinions expressed are my own.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-62752286804724504072015-05-25T06:56:00.000-07:002015-05-25T06:56:52.593-07:00CSI Science: Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Day 3This post is the fourth in a series of posts about a CSI program I ran at our library. You can read the background information <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies.html">here</a> and<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies_75.html">here</a><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>and <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies_22.html">here</a><span style="color: #cc0000;">.</span><br />
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Day 3 found us analyzing the red marks on the ransom note envelope. It was (somewhat mysteriously) determined that the red marks are lipstick and lipstick samples from each suspect have been collected. <br />
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This is the only part of the unit that requires you to gather your own materials. The kit comes with one lipstick sample, and it's necessary to come up with 3 additional samples, as well as some acetone to act as solvent. This was the only part of this product that I found frustrating. For all of the other materials included, it seemed silly that the lipstick was not. It wasn't terribly hard to find inexpensive lipstick to use for the activity, but once you remove a chunk of the lipstick to have available for testing, it makes the rest of the lipstick fairly useless (and there's a lot of it left).<br />
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I'd recommend having your students perform a different chromatography experiment prior to this investigation (a simple <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/chromatography-basics.html">black marker chromatography</a> works great). The results of our lipstick chromatogaphy were basically all the same, and these students, being unfamiliar with the process, were looking for differences that just weren't there. I think that if they had some background with the process, they'd better understand what different results look like (and how fun it can be to watch the colors separate).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIY2agsuTO8EBbrKXAwTseId0L4w67cbAmmTsrEmf0nTq3wE0cv93yaZEk2OE-ZhJ_XZ3FYi7DeL20PeTjkrHyz7kExxqF_E1TvWa57rhJMqXF3UjJ7QzBvwKNOcSVr9GZ6lvPENufTQM/s1600/IMG_0652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIY2agsuTO8EBbrKXAwTseId0L4w67cbAmmTsrEmf0nTq3wE0cv93yaZEk2OE-ZhJ_XZ3FYi7DeL20PeTjkrHyz7kExxqF_E1TvWa57rhJMqXF3UjJ7QzBvwKNOcSVr9GZ6lvPENufTQM/s320/IMG_0652.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our chromatography strips.</td></tr>
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The best part of this activity was the container provided to run the chromatography in. It was a small plastic container, like you might get in the deli of a grocery store. At first I was very skeptical of how it work, but it turns out, it was great! There's a small ridge in the bottom of the container, and you can prop the chromatography paper strips up along that ridge. You only need a very small amount of solvent, and you don't have to mess around with trying to suspend the paper strips from a pencil and trying to get height of the strips and the height of the solvent appropriately aligned. I'll definitely try it that way again!<br />
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After we finished the chromatography, some students worked on putting their word-by-word Spanish translation together into something that made sense and others worked on determining which newspaper(s) the letters on the ransom note had come from. <br />
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Throughout the meeting (and all the others for that matter), the students regularly returned to the suspect bios to compare what new information they'd learned with the information about the suspects. <br />
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*****<br />
The <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/product/case-of-the-kidnapped-cookies-a-crime-scenario/forensic">Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Kit</a> was provided to me at no cost, for use with a group of students at my library. I was not compensated by <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> in any other way, and all opinions expressed are my own.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-4340097184480680242015-05-22T11:02:00.000-07:002015-05-22T11:02:06.393-07:00CSI Science: Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Day 2This post is the third in a series of posts about a CSI program I ran at our library. You can read the background information <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies.html">here</a> </span>and<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies_75.html">here</a>. <br />
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On day 2, we got to dive into the laboratory procedures with a white powder lab. Once again, all of the materials were provided (even water!), which was wonderful! It was really great to arrive just before the students and get right to work - no long hours of prep work!<br />
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Being a small group, we all worked together, so each kid got to see exactly how each powder reacted to each test, which was nice. Also, we used magnifying glasses instead of a microscope. A microscope probably would have been more fun, but we used what we had and it worked just fine. <br />
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The second activity of the day was to try to decipher the ransom note. I assume that students with even a small background with Spanish would have quickly recognized at least part of the letter as being in Spanish. But, this group was really unfamiliar with the foreign language, so there were all sorts of thoughts on what it might be. One of their thoughts was that it might be Spanish, and they eventually got to the point where they realized that if it was Spanish, they could use a computer to help them translate it. They worked on their translations until it was time for them to leave, and we returned to it the next week. <br />
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*****<br />
The <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/product/case-of-the-kidnapped-cookies-a-crime-scenario/forensic">Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Kit</a> was provided to me at no cost, for use with a group of students at my library. I was not compensated by <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> in any other way, and all opinions expressed are my own.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-36823821458583910552015-05-21T11:16:00.000-07:002015-05-21T11:16:27.726-07:00CSI Science: Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Day 1This post is the second in a series of posts about a CSI program I ran at our library. You can read the background information <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/csi-science-case-of-kidnapped-cookies.html">here</a>. <br />
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As mentioned earlier, our program was advertised for 3rd through 8th graders. At our first meeting we had the following patrons attend:<br />
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<ul>
<li>a 6th grade boy </li>
<li>two 5th grade girls</li>
<li>a 4th grade girl</li>
<li>a 3rd grade boy</li>
<li>a 3rd grade girl</li>
<li>a 2nd grade girl</li>
</ul>
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The 6th grade boy didn't attend after the first meeting (he was hoping to be part of an older group), but the rest of the group remained consistent throughout the 6 week program. They were a blend of 2 homeschool students and 4 pulic school students. And they all came from unique families - no siblings.<br />
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Because it was a small group and a young group, we did a lot of the work together. It was a much more casual effort than it would be if I were using this in a classroom setting - we tended to keep one data sheet and just talk through the questions. <br />
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Since the "story" surrounding the crime takes place in a school and we were clearly not in that setting, I used the suggested "excuse" that I had read about the crime in the paper and thought it would be interesting to try to recreate the crime scene and solve it ourselves. In the end, it didn't really matter what I said. This group of kids just wanted to solve the crime, it didn't matter to them where it had come from. <br />
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Before started the outlined procedures, I wanted to provide the group with some crime scene/forensic science terminology. I used the Crime Scene Basics <a href="http://sciencespot.net/Media/FrnsScience/crimescenebasics.ppt">PowerPoint</a> and <a href="http://sciencespot.net/Media/FrnsScience/crimescenebasicswkst.pdf">student worksheets</a> from <a href="http://sciencespot.net/">The Science Spot</a>, tweaked slightly. [Side Note: If you're planning a forensic science unit (or any other unit, for that matter), I<i> highly</i> recommend you check out <a href="http://sciencespot.net/">The Science Spot</a> - Tracy has so many materials for you on her site. It's a wonderful collection that I can't say enough about!] Most of the students were familiar, at least on some level, with the terms, so we were able to go though it pretty quickly; and it ensured that everyone was using the same 'language'.<br />
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Day 1 of the investigation calls for an analysis of the crime scene and collection of the evidence. The crime takes place in a kitchen - the community room attached to our library has a kitchen area, so that made things simple. The book that comes with the kit tells you exactly what you need to do. All of the materials are included in the kit and the set-up only took a few minutes. Perfect!<br />
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The kids really enjoyed checking the crime scene out and speculating what each of the items might be - especially those strange red marks on the envelope!<br />
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The kids did draw simple maps of the crime scene. Because it was a pretty young group, we didn't worry about drawing it to scale. The kids also spent some time reading through the suspect bios, but we didn't worry about taking copious notes. With such a small group, they could all access the bios any time they needed to without any problems. <br />
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*****<br />
The <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/product/case-of-the-kidnapped-cookies-a-crime-scenario/forensic">Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Kit</a> was provided to me at no cost, for use with a group of students at my library. I was not compensated by <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> in any other way, and all opinions expressed are my own.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-26044787748692964252015-05-20T06:12:00.000-07:002015-05-20T06:12:15.736-07:00CSI Science: The Case of the Kidnapped CookiesThis post (and the ones that follow) has been in the works for a long time. <br />
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Quite a while back, I got in touch with the folks at <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> (I've written about them before, <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/website-educational-innovations.html">here</a>) and we began talking about a possible collaboration. Last spring, I was finishing up a series of science club programs at our local library (where I work part time), and the folks at <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> decided they'd like to provide something for me to use with a future science club. <br />
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The conversation was tabled for a bit, as I had already established my plans for last summer, and I wasn't planning any science programming for the fall. When we began talking again, it was decided that <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> would provide me with a <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/product/case-of-the-kidnapped-cookies-a-crime-scenario/forensic">Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Kit</a> to use with a group of kids at the library, to be used this spring. <br />
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Somewhere in the middle of our planning, communication got cut off for a time. Since, for a time, I wasn't sure if I was going to receive the product or not, I started looking at alternatives, since I still had some programming hours that needed to be filled. There are lots of forensic science lesson plans out there, and I knew I could come up with a story and pull several different CSI techniques/elements into it, but I really was hoping to find something that had everything pulled together for me. <br />
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I eventually found, and was able to get my hands on, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0912511893/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0912511893&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=2XBBZZGDXTEY2GNS">Mystery Festival: Teacher's Guide (Gems)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0912511893" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> , which was exactly what I was looking for - it was a whole CSI unit, with the story already written, materials lists, and a comprehensive list of what prep work needed to be done for each day of the unit. Perfect, except it was still a lot of work and I wasn't really feeling up to putting that much effort into this series of programs.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0912511893" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0912511893/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0912511893&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=AN7NOUCJERHGXQGS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0912511893&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a></div>
<br />
But, I was in luck - communication with <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> resumed and my kit arrived quickly after that. After spending the time looking into what it would take to pull together my own unit, it was so fabulous to open the box and have everything ready and waiting for me! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.teachersource.com/images/products/pop/csi730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.teachersource.com/images/products/pop/csi730.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture from <span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://www.teachersource.com/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Educational Innovations</a>. The contents in mine were packaged slighly differently, but the same materials were included. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This kit is intended to be used over the course of 5 days (more if you wish to stage a trial at the end); and is intended to be a cross-curricular undertaking. Each day includes multiple lessons - one to be completed in science class, the other one or two to be completed in other classes - math, English, Spanish, social studies. <br />
<br />
I scheduled 5 meetings of our group to work our way through the different lessons and come to a conclusion. We advertised the program as being open for 3rd - 8th graders. It probably would have been ideal to keep the group to the older end of that range, but, as a rule, we struggle to get that age group to participate in library programs. <br />
<br />
I'm going to break down what we did each day and how it went in some additional posts, so this doesn't get too long.<br />
<br />
<br />
*****<br />
The <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/product/case-of-the-kidnapped-cookies-a-crime-scenario/forensic">Case of the Kidnapped Cookies Kit</a> was provided to me at no cost, for use with a group of students at my library. I was not compensated by <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/">Educational Innovations</a> in any other way, and all opinions expressed are my own.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-42267323164046344022014-05-13T00:01:00.000-07:002014-05-13T00:01:00.291-07:00Mapping the Solar System<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgYpHUADYJ1gy-o5ToAtX4Hg4Ou8Y0X8LlDvl3uMYRopgEZe-Ce6dD38adShvcBAGAkc651s1-e6MgitLzPS_h1wzynrIFHORyC6lYuRmJnP4bqVoTK4g9ZgV84eOXMbeo2GNQ3n1aOY/s1600/IMG_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgYpHUADYJ1gy-o5ToAtX4Hg4Ou8Y0X8LlDvl3uMYRopgEZe-Ce6dD38adShvcBAGAkc651s1-e6MgitLzPS_h1wzynrIFHORyC6lYuRmJnP4bqVoTK4g9ZgV84eOXMbeo2GNQ3n1aOY/s1600/IMG_0069.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
I recently encountered this activity for the first time, on the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCsQFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmcdonaldobservatory.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FScaleDistancesSolarSystem-teacher.pdf&ei=OKxnU_WAGMm0sASQl4CYBQ&usg=AFQjCNFJMMsTE2uTAIM5VVvN50yaZVWqzA&sig2=uDYLe8N8K4c-1Rgue_LFTw&bvm=bv.65788261,d.cWc">McDonald Observatory website</a>. I've since found the same activity on numerous other sites. I don't know where it came from first, but I'll give credit to the place where I first saw it. <br />
<br />
Anyway... it's a super simple way for students to map the solar system and get a feel for how much distance is between the planets. In short, it's brilliant!<br />
<br />
Each student will need a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AN7G0O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000AN7G0O&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=5OQFLWSMDAF27VLO">sentence strip</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000AN7G0O" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
or a length of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001604PU4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001604PU4&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=RTBLPXSHFC7LMOUH">adding machine/calculator paper</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001604PU4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AN7G0O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000AN7G0O&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=GZ6JCNRQDWIZWLK4" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B000AN7G0O&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001604PU4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001604PU4&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=4IGTXHHZ6ORKIBGP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B001604PU4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a></div>
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<br />
Hold the paper vertically and label (in small letters) one end of the strip "Sun" and the other end "Pluto". <br />
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At this point, you can have students fill in the planets with their best guesses as to their placement. Or you can just make the accurate map. It's up to you and your situation.<br />
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To make the map:<br />
Fold Pluto to the Sun. Label Uranus on the crease.<br />
Fold Pluto to Uranus. Label Neptune on the crease.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RJsGidjzANPyzJRV9UZOiRn0gwMjko86VbyyzhbKKc9LjG3m5PLw8E-APoP2mibDv3IiLx3R0A5Sahwwi_A61Te0EyUiuC04vRgn87jC9grD10ymkS6125LtksliWdK3_wfIrtegXWw/s1600/IMG_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RJsGidjzANPyzJRV9UZOiRn0gwMjko86VbyyzhbKKc9LjG3m5PLw8E-APoP2mibDv3IiLx3R0A5Sahwwi_A61Te0EyUiuC04vRgn87jC9grD10ymkS6125LtksliWdK3_wfIrtegXWw/s1600/IMG_0071.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fold the Sun to Uranus. Label Saturn on the crease.<br />
Fold the Sun to Saturn. Label Jupiter on the crease.<br />
Fold the Sun to Jupiter. You can label the crease Asteroid Belt or leave this space blank.<br />
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Fold the Sun to the Asteroid Belt. Label Mars on the crease.<br />
Fold the Sun to Mars. Label Venus on the crease.<br />
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Label the space between the Sun and Venus, Mercury. (You could fold the Sun to Venus and label the crease, but the space gets a little tight to make more folds at this point).<br />
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Label the space between Venus and Mars, Earth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5K9iPTZfgpkweQ1DAy92IbvbdGVcnY3oQitoOCKFLmV4gpvA8uKzGzH0SVjnuRs-tAj2PjedkA4VjyG_LyAdWxKch5VXgOfYCVVjlYyePf8LSq6X05GEElkG0b2xXmIsZdKtvbmJn2uY/s1600/IMG_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5K9iPTZfgpkweQ1DAy92IbvbdGVcnY3oQitoOCKFLmV4gpvA8uKzGzH0SVjnuRs-tAj2PjedkA4VjyG_LyAdWxKch5VXgOfYCVVjlYyePf8LSq6X05GEElkG0b2xXmIsZdKtvbmJn2uY/s1600/IMG_0070.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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That's it! You've completed your map! And it's incredibly accurate for such a simple model. <br />
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I'm thinking it might be fun to convert distances to some other notable bodies in the cosmos to this scale and lay out the sentence strips to show kids the vast amount of space in space. I'll let you know what I come up with!<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000AN7G0O" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001604PU4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-72044162507185657572014-05-08T00:01:00.000-07:002014-05-08T00:01:00.088-07:00Shaving Cream + Corn StarchI'm not sure how to categorize this one, but it's a fun concoction to make and play with. It'll definitely be part of our slime day at the library, even if it's not actually a slime!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobZ-Z1SdEdGQJYyiDscCSQX0djgLUgGkIAxdnaavae8EsgGfHAb6nrK7qSvHUnUtx-yYVs0ksxQ9jkXIpCNY0xS5hs0xuozrkYgtBSUNXfiqi6a3WIXmf5qP1aV3xafHh8QfD1_ykfe0/s1600/IMG_0074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobZ-Z1SdEdGQJYyiDscCSQX0djgLUgGkIAxdnaavae8EsgGfHAb6nrK7qSvHUnUtx-yYVs0ksxQ9jkXIpCNY0xS5hs0xuozrkYgtBSUNXfiqi6a3WIXmf5qP1aV3xafHh8QfD1_ykfe0/s1600/IMG_0074.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Pour some corn starch into a bowl. Squirt in some shaving cream, about the same amount as you have corn starch. You're just eyeballing it. Quantities aren't terribly important and you can always adjust amounts as you go along.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHMbZErvaJ7A1ojkjtw0DJcxL0R3ULbdB152gFzkpprItVE0BkimUuI1B9F4-E6zsZKnaSOMGCSLtTb5rJf9um4LNPOf-ckGApF57fv7rDjuykQtBm_T-nV8vxqr24KzXmTnAktQVRHw/s1600/IMG_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHMbZErvaJ7A1ojkjtw0DJcxL0R3ULbdB152gFzkpprItVE0BkimUuI1B9F4-E6zsZKnaSOMGCSLtTb5rJf9um4LNPOf-ckGApF57fv7rDjuykQtBm_T-nV8vxqr24KzXmTnAktQVRHw/s1600/IMG_0075.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dive in with your hands and start squishing it all together - a very tactile experience! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvfrxcaKoeaZjcz0KR0HyNUTFZ6fhr4MI46Sl6vNren8XCcE4MrFct4kcdhSJD04g48cmhiUFcycYDWiNDZ0-m5HjRNQ44H_H8qteujOZVkwrPyTWWxlEgky8mvVQwgDpLE4omtNM4sc/s1600/IMG_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvfrxcaKoeaZjcz0KR0HyNUTFZ6fhr4MI46Sl6vNren8XCcE4MrFct4kcdhSJD04g48cmhiUFcycYDWiNDZ0-m5HjRNQ44H_H8qteujOZVkwrPyTWWxlEgky8mvVQwgDpLE4omtNM4sc/s1600/IMG_0076.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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It will become a soft clay that you can mold into all kinds of shapes. As time goes on, the clay will get stiffer.<br />
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So much fun!! <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-23830132688228904032014-05-06T00:01:00.000-07:002014-05-06T00:01:00.696-07:00Polymers: Glue + Liquid StarchI've been playing with around with recipes to make assorted slimes and such in preparation for a library program this summer. <br />
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A simple slime to concoct uses glue and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042SWOHI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0042SWOHI&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=3E7APSWHIETEBKRD">liquid starch</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0042SWOHI" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> (you can find it in the laundry aisle)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLwhXhlMVN3V3bX5Fhu4XSqz-zQnUPfZDDWhkmQbtpov7wdJ6PjGNw6wpH8u-bGS6vBvlY-T7F_NppOdjivcxvUC30YDgonyLUllx2-EWMFwwaL1v3d1KmSkX0TtkAdjhHf3TaolRz54/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLwhXhlMVN3V3bX5Fhu4XSqz-zQnUPfZDDWhkmQbtpov7wdJ6PjGNw6wpH8u-bGS6vBvlY-T7F_NppOdjivcxvUC30YDgonyLUllx2-EWMFwwaL1v3d1KmSkX0TtkAdjhHf3TaolRz54/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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You can find people using all different proportions, but I use about equal amounts of each (I eyeball it) poured into a cup. You can add food coloring to the mixture as you desire. Stir until things gel up (if it's too sticky, add more starch). Then you can knead it with your hands. (You can rinse off any extra starch). As you play with it, it will become more smooth and gel/putty like. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Kug4QEIfn9Z3mlKWTIB0WYOHikQIphvSShiRHitBTbXeM-la6Aj6kWBguU3pEZIxpVw6Ztv75o5RI5qO9_HA72IvqHMXV-wBc_UY3sYiaqvncQ4_j-9Amhyphenhyphen-jiz8o1W17YFZjX-1KwY/s1600/IMG_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Kug4QEIfn9Z3mlKWTIB0WYOHikQIphvSShiRHitBTbXeM-la6Aj6kWBguU3pEZIxpVw6Ztv75o5RI5qO9_HA72IvqHMXV-wBc_UY3sYiaqvncQ4_j-9Amhyphenhyphen-jiz8o1W17YFZjX-1KwY/s1600/IMG_0077.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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You might also want to try using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G9EBDG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001G9EBDG&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=QD4DY3NNTIH3K7RA">clear glue</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001G9EBDG" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
, with or without food coloring for a different effect. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G9EBDG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001G9EBDG&linkCode=as2&tag=adveinscie-20&linkId=R4E47Y7OAEVYGC7S" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B001G9EBDG&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a></div>
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001G9EBDG" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-84377137542268524182014-05-05T09:10:00.000-07:002014-05-05T09:10:01.615-07:00Science in the Library<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVQnpGOYVi_4T9lgTH3zO5_78TLc3MC7BsYTE2BfbCV22BicUK2K43Cl9zQhI3E_C_FBbnQ073WcPa3MOMGYPbW6h-NDUnn9zpco8mSn7MKNESf7BiPHIAsZyUipCmRjCRd0-bjjGPP8/s1600/LibraryWebsite.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVQnpGOYVi_4T9lgTH3zO5_78TLc3MC7BsYTE2BfbCV22BicUK2K43Cl9zQhI3E_C_FBbnQ073WcPa3MOMGYPbW6h-NDUnn9zpco8mSn7MKNESf7BiPHIAsZyUipCmRjCRd0-bjjGPP8/s1600/LibraryWebsite.png" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
For the past couple of years, I've been working part-time in our local library. In addition to typical library duties (checking out books, shelving books etc.), I've taken on responsibility for much of the children's programming that goes on at our location. <br />
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I've started a <a href="http://tinytownlibrary.blogspot.com/">blog</a> to share some of those programming ideas with others. I get so many ideas from the Internet, I want to give back what I can. <br />
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I thought I'd share the news here, as I know many of the Science Matters readers work with groups of children in a variety of settings. I have to keep things flexible, as I never know how many people will show up for the program or exactly what the age make-up will be. I'll let you know my contingency plans for each activity!<br />
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Given my background, it's probably not much of a surprise to hear that much of the programming has a science spin to it. In fact, we've started three science clubs at the library this spring. I'll likely cross-post the science ideas to the Science Matters blog, so the people interested in just science content can find it all in one place. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-72371441659931903062014-05-05T07:38:00.003-07:002014-05-05T07:38:48.240-07:00Winner, winnerThe winner in our <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten Household Objects</a> comment contest is...<br />
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Mrs. M at Orchard View!!! <br />
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Thanks to everyone who participated and make sure you check out those comments to find some more great ideas!<br />
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More new stuff later this week!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-59878354729281370052014-05-02T00:01:00.000-07:002014-05-02T00:01:02.387-07:00Top Ten Household Items #1#1 on the Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom is:<br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Food Coloring</span><br />
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Definitely a worthy winner! I use it all the time and I'm sure there are lots more ideas to add to the list!<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/solubility-tie-dye-nametags.html">Tie-Dye Name-tags</a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihS33Xscfg6SWtq5wnC6wjl_yhUK-3OnFX0AceYGBclwE1JiQKxtHRY5CNh12JSawGLfBaq2l6_VmcFAMuCm9sUSx8V6RumOcjhMXITSIE6W8_pag5Bt4izgram0tYfo3VFJUZjRLvHeE/s320/20100701_3754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihS33Xscfg6SWtq5wnC6wjl_yhUK-3OnFX0AceYGBclwE1JiQKxtHRY5CNh12JSawGLfBaq2l6_VmcFAMuCm9sUSx8V6RumOcjhMXITSIE6W8_pag5Bt4izgram0tYfo3VFJUZjRLvHeE/s320/20100701_3754.JPG" /></a><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/water-beads-of-color.html">Beads of Color</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/capillary-action-in-action.html">Capillary Action in Action</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-does-that-work-frustration-bottles.html">Frustration Bottles</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/mixing-colors.html">Mixing Colors</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/states-of-matter-food-dye-in-water.html">States of Matter</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/diffusion-food-dye-in-water.html">Diffusion Demonstration</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/transporting-water-and-finding.html">Finding Equilibrium (Water)</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/salt-water-painting.html">Salt Water Painting </a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/solubility-fireworks.html">Solubility Fireworks</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-does-that-work-magic-marble.html">Magic Marble</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/milk-fireworks.html">Milk Fireworks</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/density-sugar-density-column.html">Sugar Density Column</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/safety-contact-lenses.html">Contact Lens Safety</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/hole-in-water.html">A Hole in the Water</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/plants-celery-in-colored-water.html">Celery in Colored Water</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/osmosis-egg-speriment.html">Egg-speriment</a><br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for food coloring in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-26635851059443279732014-05-01T00:01:00.000-07:002014-05-01T00:01:00.631-07:00Top Ten Household Items #2#2 on the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Pennies</span><br />
<br />
Pennies have so many great uses in the classroom! What can you add to the list?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgufWfRTDoXlcu9YJeQcRgDlsr5pPOd-P839B4x_dcFwSSqhFZt-14FI22koYTyueH9QlRoL9AIRV3QaS1rX6CRTKOF4yyl8NER6pOCZf1l60Y-3hN880dpOXdZ9BSyIYcbW_Pi_9b_DIM/s1600/Picture+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgufWfRTDoXlcu9YJeQcRgDlsr5pPOd-P839B4x_dcFwSSqhFZt-14FI22koYTyueH9QlRoL9AIRV3QaS1rX6CRTKOF4yyl8NER6pOCZf1l60Y-3hN880dpOXdZ9BSyIYcbW_Pi_9b_DIM/s1600/Picture+001.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/density-penny-boats.html">Penny boats</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/inertia-penny-passengers.html">Penny Passengers</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/genetics-penny-flip.html">Genetics Penny Flip</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/inertia-penny-for-your-finger.html">Inertia Penny Finger</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/inertia-knock-penny-out.html">Penny Knock Out</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/inertia-penny-in-cup.html">Penny in a Cup</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/water-drops-on-penny.html">Drops on a Penny</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/half-life-penny-model.html">Half-Life Model</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/refraction-spot-penny.html">Spot the Penny (refraction)</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/projectile-motiongravity-ruler-and.html">Projectile Motion</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/air-pressure-penny-in-balloon.html">Penny in a Balloon</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/chemical-changes-pennies-salt-vinegar.html">Salt, Vinegar and Pennies (chemical changes)</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/simple-machines-balance-lever.html">Balance a Lever</a><br />
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Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for pennies in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-50723794603255217852014-04-30T00:01:00.000-07:002014-04-30T00:01:00.097-07:00Top Ten Household Items #3#3 on the<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html"> Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Balloons</span><br />
<br />
I didn't even realize how often I used balloons in the classroom... And I don't think this is a complete list! Share your ideas in the comments!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioynI_Dd-qUbRq3wJD3Tcn-Uvhx_mxz4Y7PN8FAW7C47tUxfaoX6OOLGR62M7Yuj7VY5knswxrmlGAo7MQkI-rD1kH7vgcRjACDRAAlNYVkmc5Bru0IU9FgtIabfUdzipxoqetpFjw1Ag/s320/20100330_3511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioynI_Dd-qUbRq3wJD3Tcn-Uvhx_mxz4Y7PN8FAW7C47tUxfaoX6OOLGR62M7Yuj7VY5knswxrmlGAo7MQkI-rD1kH7vgcRjACDRAAlNYVkmc5Bru0IU9FgtIabfUdzipxoqetpFjw1Ag/s320/20100330_3511.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-expanding-universe-balloon-model.html">The Expanding Universe</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/air-pressure-how-to-blow-up-balloon-in.html">Blow up a Balloon in a Bottle</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/cells-importance-of-cell-walls.html">The Importance of Cell Walls</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/air-pressure-penny-in-balloon.html">Penny in a Balloon</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/ideal-gas-law-with-balloon.html">Ideal Gas Law with a Balloon</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/molecules-shapes-of-molecules.html">The Shape of Molecules</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/air-pressure-balloon-in-flask.html">Balloon in a Flask</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/body-systems-respiratory-system-model.html">Model Lung</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/conservation-of-matter-steel-wool.html">Steel Wool and Vinegar</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/static-electricity-bending-water.html">Bending Water</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/cellular-respiration-in-yeast.html">Cellular Respiration in Yeast</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/coral-reefs-build-coral-reef.html">Build a Coral Reef</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/states-of-matter-from-solid-and-liquid.html">From Solid and Liquid to Gas</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/air-pressure-and-bernoulli-balloons.html">Bernoulli Balloons</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for balloons in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-9341103089497322242014-04-29T00:01:00.000-07:002014-04-29T00:01:00.056-07:00Top Ten Household Items #4#4 on the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Vinegar</span><br />
<br />
Vinegar is a great item to have on hand - it's a key component in many simple and safe chemical reactions<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkxfzAvlK4Xdyy7JkCVS_fPPEgiQC9qM698Ij-oymp75wa1S_o7A63xgCcK94yvJdPx0B6rWq1Uh_XYiYbUesjzi7nw_JrF734HwCLXZEp5UClYnmNaBEjOiTItqCj2xA2uXrz0EcsDsU/s320/May13+065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkxfzAvlK4Xdyy7JkCVS_fPPEgiQC9qM698Ij-oymp75wa1S_o7A63xgCcK94yvJdPx0B6rWq1Uh_XYiYbUesjzi7nw_JrF734HwCLXZEp5UClYnmNaBEjOiTItqCj2xA2uXrz0EcsDsU/s320/May13+065.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/oceanic-acidification-seashells.html">Seashells and Acidification</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/osmosis-egg-speriment.html">Egg-speriment</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/conservation-of-matter-steel-wool.html">Steel Wool and Vinegar</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/chemical-changes-pennies-salt-vinegar.html">Salt, Vinegar and Pennies</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/importance-of-brushing-your-teeth-part.html">The Importance of Brushing Your Teeth</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/acid-rain-and-baby-birds.html">Baby Birds and Acid Rain</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/body-systems-skeletal-system-why-you.html">Why You Need Calcium</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/states-of-matter-from-solid-and-liquid.html">From Solid and Liquid to Gas</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/volcanoes-make-model.html">Erupt a Volcano</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/acidbase-chemistry-cabbage-caper.html">The Cabbage Caper</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/acidbase-chemistry-mystery-solutions.html">Mystery Solutions Lab</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/acidbase-chemistry-ph-of-household.html">pH of Household Substances</a><br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for vinegar in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!<br />
<br />
By the way, vinegar won't be included in the prize box - can't figure out how to ship that easily. Guess I'll have to find a special surprise item to take its place!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-82274991740443892882014-04-28T00:01:00.000-07:002014-04-28T00:01:00.505-07:00Top Ten Household Items #5#5 on the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Salt</span><br />
<br />
Before I started compiling this list, I was certain that salt would end up in the top spot or two. It seems like I'm constantly pulling it out of the cupboard for one reason or another! <br />
<br />
I bumped it down a little on this list, because I just didn't have as many activity links to share as I did for some of the contenders.<br />
<br />
I'm sure you'll share lots more ways to use salt in science lessons! And take some time to try some of these ideas:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCY8hTKt2D4ycKauxZ_9q2YTar8F3MTMqLFaJopTrliHpzNUmWWuWitHFAdlRjSZJIsDQYu6MXsG33Ei3ipWj0ZsjvGWsqyNYCE6mMcdgMrBsM4arEpe0eg6Z8VgVovNbhUQRjnzOFU8U/s320/20100209_3108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCY8hTKt2D4ycKauxZ_9q2YTar8F3MTMqLFaJopTrliHpzNUmWWuWitHFAdlRjSZJIsDQYu6MXsG33Ei3ipWj0ZsjvGWsqyNYCE6mMcdgMrBsM4arEpe0eg6Z8VgVovNbhUQRjnzOFU8U/s320/20100209_3108.JPG" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/salt-water-painting.html">Salt Water Painting</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/chemical-changes-pennies-salt-vinegar.html">Salt, Vinegar and Pennies (chemical change)</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/mixtures-mistake.html">The Mistake</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/osmosis-should-i-salt-my-french-fries.html">Should I Salt My French Fries Before or After</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/density-float-egg.html">Float an Egg</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/cells-semipermeable-membranes.html">Semipermeable Membranes</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/comparing-crystals.html">Growing Crystals</a><br />
<br />
It's also really great to look at under a stereoscopic microscope, if you happen to have access to one!<br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for salt in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-2926776426390036542014-04-25T00:01:00.000-07:002014-04-25T00:01:00.687-07:00Top Ten Household Items #6#6 on the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Index Cards</span><br />
<br />
To be honest, I didn't even consider index cards in my initial list of possible items. But there are so many ways to use them, beyond just flashcards!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf40N7ieqojafffmw4k5lGx7HEIb5oQBK9Jta1YXSxERpD-ZVhp5lHWEDOZE8zl8w7yiel2-udla4XQFseYUpnQeEVblm60paWEaFgPqwG-Y218elkssi85ucW9Rb2tYW9yu6m3puDkdU/s1600/Science+Matters+407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf40N7ieqojafffmw4k5lGx7HEIb5oQBK9Jta1YXSxERpD-ZVhp5lHWEDOZE8zl8w7yiel2-udla4XQFseYUpnQeEVblm60paWEaFgPqwG-Y218elkssi85ucW9Rb2tYW9yu6m3puDkdU/s1600/Science+Matters+407.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/flatten-index-card.html">Flatten an Index Card</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/microscopes-index-card-slides.html">Index Card Slides</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/step-through-index-card.html">Step Through an Index Card</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/air-pressure-cup-index-card-some-water.html">An Index Card and a Cup of Water</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/inertia-penny-for-your-finger.html">A Penny for Your Finger</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/water-mystery-jars.html">Mystery Jars</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/inertia-penny-in-cup.html">Penny in a Cup</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/layered-water.html">Layered Water</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/mitosis-line-up.html">Mitosis Line-Up</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/boat-races.html">Boat Races</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/photosynthesis-photosynthesis-races.html">Photosynthesis Races</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/light-refraction-flip-arrow.html">Flip an Arrow</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/microscopes-water-drop-microscope.html">Water Drop Microscope</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/potential-kinetic-energy-jumping-frogs.html">Jumping Frog</a><br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for index cards in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-52693181256334483282014-04-24T00:01:00.000-07:002014-04-24T00:01:00.044-07:00Top Ten Household Items #7<br />
#7 on the<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html"> Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Sugar</span><br />
<br />
Granulated sugar can find its way into plenty of science activities, but I find that sugar cubes lend themselves to even more possibilities. And, you can always crush the cubes to get granulated sugar!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5s-Elw_GsADMG5uMrMlWoUzYJLd31CrFxi9oypJ0nJQ_xDIpURWvfEgWtN_aUJo5qTY4jhLdW9rpWhBSLye3kWhtBW6JTU0ogMRxLOvHhZcvM4e31CEPzPEQrYkCxH3lfhyphenhyphenXDdj6o3vNO/s320/Picture+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5s-Elw_GsADMG5uMrMlWoUzYJLd31CrFxi9oypJ0nJQ_xDIpURWvfEgWtN_aUJo5qTY4jhLdW9rpWhBSLye3kWhtBW6JTU0ogMRxLOvHhZcvM4e31CEPzPEQrYkCxH3lfhyphenhyphenXDdj6o3vNO/s320/Picture+005.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/rocks-sugar-cube-rock-cycle.html">Sugar Cube Rock Cycle</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/rate-of-solution-sugar-cubes.html">Sugar Cube Solubility</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/density-sugar-density-column.html">Sugar Density Column</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/density-coke-cans.html">How Much Sugar in a Can of Soda?</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/inertia-sugar-cubes-in-flask.html">Sugar Cubes in a Flask</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/solubility-floating-letter.html">The Floating Letter</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/photosynthesis-big-green-mixing-bowl.html">The Big Green Mixing Bowl</a><br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for sugar in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-27826915160115698532014-04-23T00:01:00.000-07:002014-04-23T00:01:00.946-07:00Top Ten Household Items #8<br />
#8 on the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Play Doh</span><br />
<br />
Play Doh gets bonus points because you can easily <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/make-your-own-play-doh.html">make your own</a> in the colors and quantities you desire, with minimal materials and effort! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QLxTGWL7rNxRLu8ywnonbf4-HwGfiAwHfrv0ljaUksAD3SXxq5fFvAHtDIjhYsekOo5mWVAXhCJkbpYfguckPTalLSF5cMIhgsEmEuambDYpYHtPmIE7HJZ5tyUZLuWMlK6KJtlW3dUf/s320/Picture+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QLxTGWL7rNxRLu8ywnonbf4-HwGfiAwHfrv0ljaUksAD3SXxq5fFvAHtDIjhYsekOo5mWVAXhCJkbpYfguckPTalLSF5cMIhgsEmEuambDYpYHtPmIE7HJZ5tyUZLuWMlK6KJtlW3dUf/s320/Picture+002.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
After you've got it made, try out some of these ideas:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/mixing-colors-play-doh-version.html">Color Mixing</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/moon-vs-earth-volume-comparison.html">Earth vs. Moon Volume Comparison</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/mapping-make-topographic-map.html">Make a Topographic Map</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/plate-tectonics-look-inside-folds-and.html">A Look Inside Folds and Faults</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/whats-inside.html">What's Inside?</a><br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for Play Doh in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!
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#9 on the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Dried Beans</span><br />
<br />
I love having a stash of a few different kinds of dried beans/peas/lentils on hand. Try out these activities:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6x1vVRtk9j4Mnc6GAokJnVevMKALVpqS7AufujXQUlX7GqkrxWjdOhYhhbYx6vWEFx2i9lxEkxmzAbM377e3bJCZz7CY5Z8TUzfz6TWcWBBD7HR45pPO6ayZP6XHWuqr9IhiKk06wCN5M/s320/Picture+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6x1vVRtk9j4Mnc6GAokJnVevMKALVpqS7AufujXQUlX7GqkrxWjdOhYhhbYx6vWEFx2i9lxEkxmzAbM377e3bJCZz7CY5Z8TUzfz6TWcWBBD7HR45pPO6ayZP6XHWuqr9IhiKk06wCN5M/s320/Picture+006.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/plants-seed-germination.html">Seed Germination</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/cells-semipermeable-membranes.html">Semipermeable Membrane Demonstration </a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/plants-dissect-seed.html">Dissect a Seed</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/natural-resources-geologists-dilemma.html">The Geologists' Dilemma</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/renewable-vs-non-renewable-resources.html">Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources </a><br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for dried beans in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-65125090511657205522014-04-21T00:01:00.000-07:002014-04-21T00:01:00.767-07:00Top Ten Household Items #10#10 on the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/coming-next-week-top-10-household.html">Top Ten List of Household Items to Use in Your Science Classroom</a> is:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Aluminum Foil</span><br />
<br />
Here are a few ways to use aluminum foil in your classroom:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsb_eNuIJ4ugU_H2WJ2N7BJL9uBnq5fSbfQkwGdeqCd6aALqAX9xU4vyd0G1TJRXTWIDQpAhqjOxAD97VQ9vdSGKaq10ug6j5QERnIWONODhF4yImURDqw3Mg5sfp1baiog3LmXGm1Zb0/s320/20100414_3532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsb_eNuIJ4ugU_H2WJ2N7BJL9uBnq5fSbfQkwGdeqCd6aALqAX9xU4vyd0G1TJRXTWIDQpAhqjOxAD97VQ9vdSGKaq10ug6j5QERnIWONODhF4yImURDqw3Mg5sfp1baiog3LmXGm1Zb0/s320/20100414_3532.JPG" /></a><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/chemical-changes-clean-your-silver.html">Clean Your Silver</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/density-penny-boats.html">Penny Boats</a><br />
<a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/rocks-sugar-cube-rock-cycle.html">Sugar Cube Rock Cycle</a><br />
<br />
I really thought I'd find more uses for it included in the Science Matters archives, as it seems like I use it more often just a few times per year. Regardless, I think it still makes the Top Ten. In addition, to the activities included, it's great to have on hand when you're talking about the elements on the periodic table and it's fun to throw a ball of it in with items to test with a magnet.<br />
<br />
Comment on this post to be entered to win a prize box containing most of the Top Ten Items. And remember, if your comment contains an additional use (not mentioned above) for aluminum foil in the science classroom, you'll receive a bonus entry! I can't wait to hear your ideas!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-68097341176210404472014-04-16T08:44:00.000-07:002014-04-16T08:44:57.078-07:00Coming Next Week: Top 10 Household Products to Use in Your Classroom<br />
<br />
I'm jumping back into the blogging world with a special-two-week event and a contest!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/t1.0-9/283612_165573943609194_1642638678_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/t1.0-9/283612_165573943609194_1642638678_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I've always proclaimed myself to be a hands-on science teacher who relies heavily on readily available household items to carry out experiments. <br />
<br />
These are items that are always kept close at hand, because as soon as they get put away, they're needed again. Sometimes it's for a planned lesson, other times you pull them out to help answer a question as it comes up. <br />
<br />
At various times throughout my time authoring this blog, I've debated which of those items I'd place at the very top of my list.<br />
<br />
So, this week I'm going to do a Top 5 list. Each day I'll reveal a favorite product and I'll share links to a plethora of activities/experiments you can carry out using said product.<br />
<br />
If you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win a prize pack containing most of the Top 10 items (one or two of them may not be appropriate to ship...). You'll get a bonus entry if your comment includes another way to use the item in a science classroom!<br />
<br />
I'll see you on Monday for #10!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-59163610863840421422014-01-07T00:01:00.000-08:002014-01-07T00:01:00.553-08:00Nursery Rhyme Science: Hot Cross Buns<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Hot cross buns!<br />
Hot cross buns!<br />
One a penny, two a penny,<br />
Hot cross buns!<br />
Give them to your daughters.<br />
Give them to your sons.<br />
One a penny, two a penny,<br />
Hot cross buns! </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Activity 1: Rising Up</b><br />
Hot cross buns are a type of yeast bread. Yeast is a living organism (a fungus to be exact), that is used to make bread dough rise. If you didn't use yeast, your bread would be small, flat and hard as a rock.<br />
<br />
When you open a package of yeast and pour some out, it doesn't look like much. It certainly doesn't seem to <i>do</i> anything. The yeast is in a dormant state - it's still alive but it's not actually doing anything; kind of like being asleep. <br />
<b> </b><br />
To get the yeast going you'll need to do two things:<br />
1 - warm up the yeast so that it "wakes" up<br />
2 - give the yeast something to eat<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432218997489328834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdMXav-Zl7pY14fW9H6QoLpfgLGhTGqa6w6iENOMOM1zQ3ZIBzxEq1cbmavptCRUMnNCpdwiqZRdYYF6qv0wTmL6zEGP1-Ou6yXdeljtuEEY6Z9bEX-f7bsTUsCn32wO_OtP3JE4VrVM/s320/20100127_3052.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /><br />
Put the yeast in a flask or small-neck bottle. Add some warm water (to wake up the yeast) and some sugar (to feed the yeast).<br />
<br />
Stretch a balloon over the top of the flask/bottle and allow it to sit somewhere where everyone can keep an eye on it for the next hour or two.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432218561553917506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFCey97-LmEnEC-pYAPCK7GfaeRUezho6kwIXW7EI8Y7-0CQy09wFZdsuMZqq59GuXAoRbriD-VH8Rkh11SIrdaLmGeBhPoTDFw138Xgd_uLUr3Uc8wyrz4Q0YqV6i6XXsvVquAo9QkQ/s320/20100128_3065.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /><br />
As time passes, you'll notice the balloon filling up. It's catching the carbon dioxide the yeast is releasing. When you make bread, the yeast does the same thing, creating small pockets of air within the bread!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Activity 2: Does "Hot" Always Feel the Same?</b><br />
<b> </b>Temperature can be a funny thing.... A 60 degree day in March feels fabulously warm and wonderful. That same temperature, in the middle of July, feels frigid. The temperature is the same, but the way in which it feels can vary depending upon our perspective.<br />
<br />
Here's a way you can actually feel that principle at work in a matter of minutes.<br />
<br />
You'll need three bowls: <br />
--Fill one bowl with water and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes (or more) to reach room temperature.<br />
--Fill the next bowl with water and add several ice cubes. Stir.<br />
--Fill the final bowl with warm tap water. Aim for something that just
feels warm on your wrist - you don't water so hot that it'll hurt you.<br />
<br />
Arrange the bowls on the table so that the room temperature water is in
the middle and the hot and cold water are on either side of it.<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
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Place one hand in the warm water and the other hand in the cold water. Leave them there for about 20 seconds. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcVpTw8sXTdl28VL8fVeQg57M2Zu4qS6KzbnNZ1XzcZvc3uvjtokNFxNVrNAuBb60AM63RLp1z81dv0rjZ5DzYPjlBRPiXX1IUDzq9MmsfKK79vi_HzlI_vuXHZusnPTt-k3RZZN9xaw/s1600/Science+Matters+109.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcVpTw8sXTdl28VL8fVeQg57M2Zu4qS6KzbnNZ1XzcZvc3uvjtokNFxNVrNAuBb60AM63RLp1z81dv0rjZ5DzYPjlBRPiXX1IUDzq9MmsfKK79vi_HzlI_vuXHZusnPTt-k3RZZN9xaw/s320/Science+Matters+109.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Remove your hands from the bowls and place them both in the middle (room temperature) bowl. How do they feel?</div>
<br />
Even though they are now in the same water, the hand that was in the
cold water feels warm and the hand that had been in the warm water feels
cold.<br />
<br />
The explanation.... <br />
You placed your hand in warm water. The energy (heat) moved from the
water, which was hotter than your hand, to your hand, making it feel
warm. Then you placed it in water that was colder than your (now
warmed) hand. The energy (heat) left your hand and flowed into the
water, leaving your hand feeling cold.<br />
<br />
You placed your other hand in cold water. The energy (heat) moved from
your hand into the cold water. When you placed that hand, with a
reduced amount of heat energy, in the room temperature water, energy
(heat) flowed from that water to you hand because there was more energy
in the water than your hand.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-35708262571629836862013-12-30T00:01:00.000-08:002013-12-30T00:01:00.018-08:00Snow ScienceIf you've got antsy kids at home and another week of vacation time to fill, here are a few more ideas to keep them busy, having fun and learning! <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Activity #1 - How Much Water is in Snow?</b> <br />
<br />
If you're finding yourself with an abundance of snow.... perhaps you'll
want to perform some investigations. <br />
<br />
The amount of water snow contains
can very greatly, depending upon the snow. <br />
<br />
Gather a set amount of
snow... I collected approximately 500 ml of snow.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1mOkWDg0k41WSKWt9o4uIeW9l9t8tII9GnvS7NRNsW1N0kbfRE5qHouwMtVIALBeODGNH3fqEmEz0oglCuQQu1tpMUQqbO2Ongo7Oj9f2k9yZp7x8GI8Ge08St8310nSROY6XnGEB3U/s1600/Science+Matters+133.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1mOkWDg0k41WSKWt9o4uIeW9l9t8tII9GnvS7NRNsW1N0kbfRE5qHouwMtVIALBeODGNH3fqEmEz0oglCuQQu1tpMUQqbO2Ongo7Oj9f2k9yZp7x8GI8Ge08St8310nSROY6XnGEB3U/s320/Science+Matters+133.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Allow the snow to melt - if you'll
be allowing it to sit for an extended time, you may wish to cover it to minimize
the amount lost to evaporation. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQrwf1iCamfXhl_xpu_f5FMzwCShZtHXA5jAX_eThAOmNSRWj9ioJYIw-hF-YU88dKJhSWEzk9wkjFI2hlA9iWuNbKqRjQm1gC_DhojUGvyOsgSNRx6LmGGGwju1SSQGvPZN7HHxG3V8/s1600/Science+Matters+155.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQrwf1iCamfXhl_xpu_f5FMzwCShZtHXA5jAX_eThAOmNSRWj9ioJYIw-hF-YU88dKJhSWEzk9wkjFI2hlA9iWuNbKqRjQm1gC_DhojUGvyOsgSNRx6LmGGGwju1SSQGvPZN7HHxG3V8/s320/Science+Matters+155.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
My 500 ml of
snow yielded slightly less than 50 ml of water. This was a very dry, powdery
snow. <br />
<br />
If you live in a place that gets snow throughout the winter,
you might want to repeat this activity with each snowfall and see how they vary
in water content.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Activity #2 - Learn About Snowflake Bentley</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Wilson Bentley was the first man to photograph individual snowflakes, in 1885. He's the person who determined that no two snowflakes are exactly the same. A fascinating man, indeed.<br />
<br />
Start your research at the <a href="http://www.snowflakebentley.com/index.htm">Official Website of Wilson A. Bentley</a>. You'll find a brief biography there, and some<a href="http://www.snowflakebentley.com/WBsnowflakes.htm"> wonderful, printable images</a> of his photographs. I printed<br />
out the collection and laminated them for my students to look at and admire.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Bentley-Jacqueline-Briggs-Martin/dp/0547248296?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Snowflake Bentley" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0547248296&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a>For a more thorough biography, and one to share with your students, check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Bentley-Jacqueline-Briggs-Martin/dp/0547248296?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Snowflake Bentley</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0547248296" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. It's a picture book intended for children. The biography is written as a story, with a lot of factual information in the margins - you can decide how much to share based on your students.<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Man-Biography-Wilson-Bentley/dp/0939923718?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0939923718&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a><br />
<br />
For your own knowledge, you may want to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Man-Biography-Wilson-Bentley/dp/0939923718?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0939923718" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. I haven't read the whole book, but have read an excerpt. You can probably get it through your library system.<br />
<br />
Two other books that look interesting are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowflakes-Photographs-W-Bentley/dp/0486412539?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Snowflakes in Photographs</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0486412539" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crystals-Dover-photography-collections/dp/0486202879?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Snow Crystals.</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0486202879" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> I'm not familiar with either book, but they are both collections of Bentley's images. Again, it might be worth looking for these at the library before investing.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crystals-Dover-photography-collections/dp/0486202879?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Snow Crystals (Dover photography collections)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0486202879&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowflakes-Photographs-W-Bentley/dp/0486412539?ie=UTF8&tag=adveinscie-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Snowflakes in Photographs" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0486412539&tag=adveinscie-20" /></a></div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0486412539" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adveinscie-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0486202879" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Activity #3 - Make Sparkly Snowflakes</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDNY1pvv28rv5OW7jLSIJPd_bWT33NzMbdSnTiAZuUNZi2iiKT8r7rYmMBtkvodSELHyk6B55Bz6i0ct1JUTZhQHK7lkoRgct4Kjn8nAwIAVYJEX7sfdcdhrzanywGrRQB43ZwRUT2PI/s1600/20100619_3731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDNY1pvv28rv5OW7jLSIJPd_bWT33NzMbdSnTiAZuUNZi2iiKT8r7rYmMBtkvodSELHyk6B55Bz6i0ct1JUTZhQHK7lkoRgct4Kjn8nAwIAVYJEX7sfdcdhrzanywGrRQB43ZwRUT2PI/s200/20100619_3731.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
This is a fun, artsy-craftsy project in which students can learn about solubility, super-saturated solutions and crystal shapes. <br />
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Make a super-saturated solution of Borax and water:<br />
--Fill a jar with hot water (boiling is best).<br />
--Add Borax, a little at a time, until no more will dissolve (you'll know you're there because instead of dissolving the Borax will settle to the bottom)<br />
<br />
Use pipe cleaners and thread to make a snowflake.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVksVDa-nfHQAkt6UWWg12vgZfnaZq9Jbb_tRZmMtjbTmL4DLIn0LHAbAs1abB-H07TNexJXwRQhAaX51qb-VdkOvDf_C76lGvUDFL_721SURKU9KW6ErHhFllYGw1JtZVFJGXkORazc/s1600/20100619_3730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVksVDa-nfHQAkt6UWWg12vgZfnaZq9Jbb_tRZmMtjbTmL4DLIn0LHAbAs1abB-H07TNexJXwRQhAaX51qb-VdkOvDf_C76lGvUDFL_721SURKU9KW6ErHhFllYGw1JtZVFJGXkORazc/s200/20100619_3730.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Attach a piece of thread to the snowflake.<br />
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Place the snowflake in the Borax solution and leave for several hours or overnight.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaTIztwJnwV6zcML5sfAIVA_RkUQM62YOocdJaiQi0Wx5LKJA4edqWJQvOAuA7Ev82CWgkMGpjxnRqa4NGlLjhMPYS0EEv2IZGYC65nijZV8Dt4oV6ry6YCEAe96y1UcbgpOKbyA7dXA/s1600/20100619_3732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaTIztwJnwV6zcML5sfAIVA_RkUQM62YOocdJaiQi0Wx5LKJA4edqWJQvOAuA7Ev82CWgkMGpjxnRqa4NGlLjhMPYS0EEv2IZGYC65nijZV8Dt4oV6ry6YCEAe96y1UcbgpOKbyA7dXA/s200/20100619_3732.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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In the morning, you'll have a beautiful, sparkling snowflake, covered with large crystals.<br />
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If you'd rather not make snowflake shapes, you can shape the pipe cleaner into stars or other shapes. You could also just place a straight pipe cleaner into the solution.<br />
<br />
The pipe cleaner works well because all the fuzz on it gives the crystals nice places to attach, and thus works much better than just a string. (Which may explain why all my attempts at making rock candy as a kid were met with utter failure (and a sticky mess)).<br />
<br />
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Safety Note: The Borax and the finished snowflake should come nowhere near the mouth. <br />
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<br />
<b>Activity #4 - Learn About the Coldest Places on Earth!</b><br />
<br />
Check out the<a href="http://nsidc.org/"> National Snow & Ice Data Center</a>, where you can learn more about some of the coldest places on Earth! There are lots of neat pictures in the photo galleriesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-49389547689896503402013-12-23T00:01:00.000-08:002013-12-23T00:01:00.108-08:00Hot Chocolate ScienceHere are some seasonal science ideas - perfect for a long, cold vacation day with your own kids, or when your school kids need something fun to break up the sometimes-long stretch that is January and February.<br />
<br />
<b>Activity #1 - Hot Chocolate Solubility</b><br />
You'll need at least two different varieties of hot chocolate mix and one mug for each variety.<br />
<b> </b><br />
Place an equal amount of mix in each<b></b> mug. Add the same amount of water to each mug (it would be good if you could have one person add it to each mug, so it all gets added at the same time). Stir the contents of the mugs (at as close to the same rate as possible), and observe.<br />
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Does one variety dissolve better (faster) than the others? Hypothesize what makes the difference.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Activity #2 - Hot Chocolate Taste Test</b><br />
Since you acquired a few different varieties of hot chocolate for activity #1, you might as well put them to additional use....<br />
<b> </b><br />
Before you prepare the hot chocolate, create a list of properties you find desirable in hot chocolate, as well as those less-desirable. Possibilities include: sweetness, chocolatey-ness, creaminess, bitterness.<br />
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Prepare each variety of hot chocolate according to its directions.<br />
<br />
Sample one variety at a time and evaluate it on the properties you listed, giving it a score for each property.<br />
<br />
Once you've sampled and evaluated each variety, analyze the results to see which properties your favorite hot chocolates have in common.<br />
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<br />
<b>Activity #3 - Are Marshmallows Good Insulators?</b><br />
Prepare two identical cups of hot chocolate (same variety of hot chocolate, same amount of power, same amount and temperature of water) in identical mugs.<br />
<b> </b><br />
Float enough marshmallows on the top of one of mugs to completely cover the surface.<br />
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Place a thermometer in each mug.<br />
<br />
Observe and record the temperature of each mug every few minutes.<br />
<br />
Do you notice any difference between the two mugs? What do you think accounts for that difference?<br />
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<br />
<b>If you're looking for some additional activities.... </b><br />
the <a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/rate-of-solution-sugar-cubes.html">Sugar Cube Rate of Solution</a> activity and the<b> </b><a href="http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/goldilocks-three-bears.html">Goldilocks & the Three Bears Heat Transfer</a> activity could both be adapted for use with hot chocolate. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057167929671624137.post-83002966093220828462013-12-17T00:01:00.000-08:002013-12-17T00:01:00.261-08:00Nursery Rhyme Science: Humpty Dumpty<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Humpty Dumpty<br />
Sat on a wall.<br />
Humpty Dumpty<br />
Had a great fall.</i>
<i><br />
All the King's horses<br />
And all the King's men<br />
Couldn't put Humpty<br />
Together again.</i></div>
<br />
<b>Activity 1: Safe From Any Height</b><br />
Host a mini-egg drop contest to see what could be done to protect Humpty Dumpty. <br />
<b> </b><br />
Before students get to work, demonstrate what happened to Humpty Dumpty in the rhyme. Push a raw egg off a desk (onto a drop cloth or something else that will make clean-up easier) and observe. <br />
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Put students into small groups to work and challenge them to build a contraption to protect Humpty Dumpty from any subsequent falls. With preschool or kindergarten students, I would provide each group with a cup or other container as a starting point for their construction. I wouldn't give anything to older students - let them come up with the ideas on their own. <br />
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Provide an assortment of additional materials for students to work with:<br />
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<ul>
<li>yarn</li>
<li>fabric</li>
<li>packing peanuts</li>
<li>sponges</li>
<li>cotton balls</li>
<li>newspaper</li>
<li>balloons</li>
<li>straws</li>
<li>popsicle sticks</li>
<li>cotton batting</li>
<li>anything else you can think of</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
After students have completed their contraptions and placed an egg inside, push each one off the same desk and see if Humpty Dumpty fares any better. <br />
<br />
It's possible that some eggs may still break, which is the perfect time to ask the students how they would change their contraption design to make it even better. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2