Science

Sun Prints

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:10:58 EST

Here's a fun way to experiment with a little art while discovering the power of the sun's rays. Just get a piece of colored construction paper, find a spot that will get several hours of sun, and then arrange pennies onto the page in any pattern you like. Leave in the sun for several hours (the longer the better). As you remove the pennies, you'll see that the paper underneath stayed dark because the pennies blocked the paper-fading UV rays of the sun.

(Taken from: creativefamilyfun.net)

Switcheroo Zoo

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 19:06:42 EST

Switcheroozoo.com is a fun website that helps kids watch, listen, and learn all about amazing animals. You can also have fun by creating your own animals and other fun activities like creating online habitats. Give it a try!

Mini Greenhouse

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:45:41 EST

You know those rotisserie chicken containers from Costco and other grocery stores? They can be reused to make an excellent mini greenhouse to start some seeds growing. To start, simply fill the container with seed starting mix, add water, poke several holes in the soil, push the seeds in the holes, and then cover it up. Place your mini greenhouse somewhere where it will get plenty of light and watch the seeds sprout.

(Taken from: readbetweenthelimes.blogspot.com)

Oreo Plate Boundary Simulation

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:44:52 EST

Here's a great post from redcrosspdx.blogspot.com that simulates plate boundaries with Oreo cookies.

The upper cookie is the lithosphere, the creamy filling the asthenosphere, and the lower cookie the lower mantle. Carefully remove the upper cookie with a "twisting" motion. Slide the upper cookie over the creamy filling to simulate motion of a rigid lithospheric plate over the softer asthenosphere. Next, break the upper cookie in half. As you do so, listen to the sound it makes. What does that sound represent? An earthquake. It takes cold, brittle lithosphere to make earthquakes – earthquakes do not occur in the soft, flowing asthenosphere.

a) Divergent plate boundary, push down on the two broken cookie halves and slide them apart. Notice that the creamy filling between the two broken "plates" may tend to flow upward, similar to the rising, decompression, and partial melting of hot asthenosphere at mid-ocean ridges and continental rift zones. (Ex: Iceland)

b) Convergent plate boundary, push one cookie piece beneath the other. This is the only situation where the cold, brittle lithosphere extends to great depths, and hence the only place where deep earthquakes occur. The very largest earthquakes are at subduction zones where two plates get stuck together for centuries, then suddenly let go. (Ex: Western Oregon)

c) Transform plate boundary, slide the two cookie pieces laterally past one another, over the creamy filling. You can feel and hear that the "plates" do not slide smoothly past one another, but rather stick then let go, stick then let go. (Ex: San Andreas Fault in California)

Additionally, a Hotspot can be simulated with the demonstration in the upper left photo. Imagine if a piece of hot, glowing coal were embedded in the creamy filling – a chain of "volcanoes" would be burned into the overriding cookie. (Ex: The Hawaiian Islands, Yellowstone)

Chocolate Eruptions

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:11:08 EST

If you love to experiment with baking soda and vinegar, here's a new twist. What you'll need is:

~ Baking soda

~ Vinegar

~ Cocoa powder

~ Chocolate extract (you can purchase imitation chocolate extract from Walmart for just over $2)

~ Dish soap (optional)

Start by mixing the baking soda with a few tablespoons of cocoa powder in a container. Add a few squirts of dish soap for extra BIG and foamy eruptions, if you'd like. Make chocolate vinegar by mixing a few drops of chocolate extract into a container of vinegar. Add the mixture to the baking soda/ cocoa mixture and let the fun begin! For the full tutorial, visit: growingajeweledrose.com

Ivory Soap Trick

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:24:57 EST

(Taken from: chemistry.about.com)

If you unwrap a bar of Ivory™ soap and microwave it, the soap will expand into a foam that is more than six times the size of the original bar. It's a fun trick that won't hurt either your microwave or the soap. The soap trick can be used to demonstrate closed-cell foam formation, physical change, and Charles' Law.

Soap Trick Materials

bar of Ivory™ soap
paper towel or microwave-safe dish
microwave oven
other brands of soap for comparison (optional)

Perform the Soap Trick

Unwrap a bar of Ivory™ soap.
Place the bar of soap on a paper towel or microwave-safe dish.
Nuke your soap. Watch the soap closely to see what happens.
Depending on microwave power, your soap will reach its maximum volume within 90 second to 2 minutes. If you microwave the soap longer (I went up to 6 minutes) nothing bad will happen, but the soap won't continue to grow.
Allow the soap to cool for a minute or two before touching it.
The soap will feel brittle and flaky, but it's still soap, with the same cleaning power as before. Go ahead and get it wet and you'll see it lathers the same as ever.

About Foams

A foam is any material that traps a gas inside a cell-like structure. Examples of foams include shaving cream, whipped cream, Styrofoam™, and even bone. Foams can be fluid or solid, squishy or rigid. Many foams are polymers, but the type of molecule isn't what defines whether or not something is a foam.

How the Soap Trick Works

Two processes occur when you microwave the soap. First, you are heating the soap, which softens it. Second, you are heating the air and water trapped inside the soap, causing the water to vaporize and the air to expand. The expanding gases push on the softened soap, causing it to expand and become a foam. Popping popcorn works in much the same way. When you microwave Ivory™, the appearance of the soap is changed, but no chemical reaction occurs. This is an example of a physical change. It also demonstrates Charles' Law, which states the volume of a gas increases with its temperature. The microwaves impart energy into the soap, water, and air molecules, causing them to move faster and further away from each other. The result is that the soap puffs up. Other brands of soap don't contain as much whipped air and simply melt in the microwave.

Paper Airplanes

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:50:56 EST

Explore the principles of aerodynamics with a myriad of different paper airplanes. Try them out!

(Find the original link here.)

Valentine's Science

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:45:26 EST

Since Valentine's Day is symbolized by hearts, you can demonstrate to students how the heart rate can increase when they exercise. Each student will need a stopwatch and a paper towel tube to use when they listen to each other's heart rates.

Listen through the paper towel tube against a partner's chest for 10 seconds, counting the number of heartbeats you hear. Multiply that number by six to get the number of beats for one minute. Next, have your partner do jumping jacks for 30 seconds. Then, listen through the tube again for 10 seconds, counting the number of heartbeats. Multiply that number by six, then compare the two numbers. You will be able to see that exercise increases how quickly the heart pumps blood through the body.

On Valentine's Day, you can demonstrate how blood pumps through the body by creating a heart water bottle. Fill a squeezable water bottle with water, then add about 20 drops of red food coloring. Insert a straw halfway into the water bottle opening, and use duct tape to seal the straw to the bottle. When you squeeze the water bottle, red water will come up through the straw, demonstrating how the heart pumps blood through arteries in the body.

On Valentine's Day, students can turn any color flower into a red Valentine's Day flower. This activity works best with light-colored flowers like white or yellow. Cut off the bottom of the flower's stem. Fill a tall glass with water and add 20 drops of red food coloring. Insert the flower into the red water and leave it there for three days. The red food coloring will flow up through the stem and into the petals of the flower, changing its color to red.

Borax snowflakes

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:57:43 EST

Here's a fun craft that doubles as a science experiment.

To make these cool snowflakes, you'll need pipe cleaners, glass jars, Borax, water, and a pot for boiling.

Depending on how many snowflakes you want to make, you can figure out how much water to use by putting the water in your jars first and then into a measuring cup and into a big pot for boiling.

The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons Borax to one cup of water.

If you used 12 cups of water, you would need 2 cups and 4 Tablespoons of Borax (16 Tablespoons = 1 cup).

Boil the water on the stove, and pour your Borax in.

Make your shapes out of the pipe cleaners, keeping in mind that they need to fit into the jar and have a little room for the crystals to grow. Put them into the jars wrapped onto a pencil going across the top of the jar.

Pour your solution into your jar and then put it somewhere out of the way, but where you can observe it. After about 24 hours, the snowflakes will be done.

For more detailed directions, pictures and an explanation of the science of it all, visit: ordinarylifemagic.com.

Growing Pumpkins inside a pumpkin

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:43:37 EST

Here's a fun one to try. Open up a pumpkin, add a little soil and water, and over time- watch the seeds which are already inside the pumpkin grow.

For more details, visit: growinginprek.com

Science Videos

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:59:12 EST

More educational games & videos on Marine Animals at NeoK12.com

The Science of Music

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:51:29 EST

Secondstorywindow.net gives us a fun way to use science in conjunction with a little music by making our own version of an Irish Harp.

Here's what you need:

box, pan, or bin without a lid
three or more rubber bands of different thicknesses

Stretch the rubber bands across the open shoe box or pan. Space them so they aren't touching.

Now strum or pluck the bands. Compare pitches of different rubber bands. Try pushing your finger on the end of a band to stretch it tighter. Then pluck the rubber band with your other hand. Listen for how the sound changes.

Ask questions about the sound that is produced from the fat rubber bands and the thin ones. How does the sound change when you increase the tension? Can you arrange the rubber bands so you can play a tune?

What is happening:

Tight rubber bands produce higher pitches.

Thin rubber bands produce higher pitches.

The longer and looser the rubber band, the lower the pitch.

Musical instruments, such as a harp, make sounds when the strings vibrate the air. Sound waves travel through the air like ripples across a pond. High sounds make waves that are close together. Low sounds make waves that are further apart.

Things that are tighter, shorter, thinner, and less dense make shorter sound waves (higher sounds). Things that are looser, longer, thicker, and denser make longer sound waves (lower sounds).

Interactive Periodic Table

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:29:49 EST

Here's a way to make the periodic table more exciting. Visit: www.ptable.com and scroll over each element for an interactive science experience.

Plate Movements

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:23:43 EST

Here's a fun way to teach about earth science from thehomeschoolden.blogspot.com. Using a tray with a thin layer of chilled jello, graham crackers for the earth's crustal plates, and colored icing for the continents and oceans, you can teach about plate movements, earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain-making. Visit their site for a detailed explanation.

Walking Water

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:40:56 EST

Here's a fun experiment called "Walking Water". All you need is a strip of paper towels, a couple of glasses and some colored water .

Just fill one of the glasses with the colored water and raise it up higher than the other glass. Place a strip of paper towel from the top glass, making sure it touches the bottom, down to the lower glass. You'll see the paper towel absorb and syphon the water through the paper into the lower glass.For more details on this experiment, visit: www.playbasedlearning.com.

The Science of a Good Sandcastle

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:06:29 EST

With summer fast approaching, summer fun is right around the corner. Nothing screams summer like making a good sandcastle at the park or beach. Have you ever thought about the science behind making a sandcastle? Science-sparks.com gives a good, simple explanation about what makes a good one.

When attempting to make a sandcastle, "it often takes several attempts to get the right combination of sand and water to make them stick.

You'll notice that wet sand is much stickier than dry sand. This is because the water forms tiny bridges between the grains of sand which holds them together. This is due to the surface tension of the water.

If too much water is added, water fills the space between the grains of sand and the bridges break down".

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:13:42 EST

Color Changing Milk

(Taken from: www.stevespanglerscience.com)

It's an explosion of color! Some very unusual things happen when you mix a little milk, food coloring, and a drop of liquid soap. Use this experiment to amaze your friends and uncover the scientific secrets of soap.

Materials

Milk (whole or 2%)
Dinner plate
Food coloring (red, yellow, green, blue)
Dish-washing soap (Dawn brand works well)
Cotton swabs

Pour enough milk in the dinner plate to completely cover the bottom to the depth of about 1/4 inch. Allow the milk to settle.
Add one drop of each of the four colors of food coloring - red, yellow, blue, and green - to the milk. Keep the drops close together in the center of the plate of milk.
Find a clean cotton swab for the next part of the experiment. Predict what will happen when you touch the tip of the cotton swab to the center of the milk. It's important not to stir the mix. Just touch it with the tip of the cotton swab. Go ahead and try it. Did anything happen?
Now place a drop of liquid dish soap on the other end of the cotton swab. Place the soapy end of the cotton swab back in the middle of the milk and hold it there for 10 to 15 seconds. Look at that burst of color! It's like the 4th of July in a bowl of milk!
Add another drop of soap to the tip of the cotton swab and try it again. Experiment with placing the cotton swab at different places in the milk. Notice that the colors in the milk continue to move even when the cotton swab is removed. What makes the food coloring in the milk move?

How does it work?

Milk is mostly water but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution (the milk).

The secret of the bursting colors is the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Dish soap, because of its bipolar characteristics (nonpolar on one end and polar on the other), weakens the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats in solution. The soap's polar, or hydrophilic (water-loving), end dissolves in water, and its hydrophobic (water-fearing) end attaches to a fat globule in the milk. This is when the fun begins.

The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. During all of this fat molecule gymnastics, the food coloring molecules are bumped and shoved everywhere, providing an easy way to observe all the invisible activity. As the soap becomes evenly mixed with the milk, the action slows down and eventually stops.

Try adding another drop of soap to see if there's any more movement. If so, you discovered there are still more fat molecules that haven't found a partner at the big color dance. Add another drop of soap to start the process again.

Rubber Egg Science

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:12:41 EST

Here's a fun, easy experiment that is perfect for this time of year. All you need is a glass cup or jar, white vinegar, and an egg.

You place the raw egg into the glass and then pour enough vinegar in to cover the egg. After 24 hours, drain the vinegar and then pour more vinegar in to cover the egg again. Here is where the hard part comes in- you have to wait 7 days without touching the egg. Observe what's happening as the week goes on. After the week is over, rinse the egg and hold it carefully. You'll be amazed to see that the shell is no longer there!

(Idea taken from: www.sunscholars.blogspot.com)

Do It Yourself Lava Lamp

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:44:19 EST

Need some fun activities to do for the upcoming spring break? How about making your own "lava lamps"? All you need is an empty water bottle, food coloring, vegetable oil, and alka seltzer. For complete instructions, visit: www.slsmithphotography.typepad.com.

Worm Hotel

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:43:37 EST

Here's a fun way to observe worms as they create paths through your homemade worm hotel. All you need is a 2-liter soda bottle, a water bottle, soil, sand, leaf compost, black construction paper, white/ light colored crayons, and dry baby cereal or breadcrumbs. For full details, visit: eisforexplore.blogspot.com.

Dancing Oobleck

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:25:54 EST

You may have made oobleck before- the incredibly fun mix of cornstarch and water, but www.housingaforest.com has taken oobleck to the next level. In addition to the cornstarch and water, you'll need a subwoofer, a thin metal cookie sheet, an MP3 of an audio test tone and food coloring. From experimenting with sound, your kids will be delighted when they see the oobleck dance. For more detailed directions and an instructional video, visit the website mentioned above.

Science of Motion

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:56:31 EST

Here's a great little spinning experiment that helps demonstrate Newton's third law of motion, which is: "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

All you need is some tape, a balloon, a straw, a pencil, and a pin.

Find the details at: www.ordinarylifemagic.com.

Elephant Toothpaste

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:17:05 EST

Here's a fun one! The experiment is fun enough on its own, but with a name like "elephant toothpaste", your kids will be really intrigued!

You'll need: one small water or soda bottle, one funnel, hydrogen peroxide,
liquid dish soap, food coloring, and one packet of yeast.

Combine yeast and about 3/4 cup warm water. Set aside for five or more minutes. Add about 1/2 cup peroxide, 1/4 cup dish soap, and food coloring to the bottle. Swish around. Finally, add yeast mixture and quickly remove funnel. Watch the toothpaste ooze!

Yummy Gummy Bears Diffusion Lab

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:26:25 EST

What kid doesn't love gummy bears? Here's a way to put them to good use and learn something! To hypothesize and investigate what happens to gummy bears in plain water and in salt water, visit www.asurvivalguidetomiddleschool.blogspot.com for the instructions and printouts for a Yummy Gummy Bears Diffusion Lab.

Mentos and Diet Coke experiment

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:20:06 EST

Have you ever seen this incredible experiment? The combination of Mentos and diet soda can create a 20+ foot geyser that is sure to please a crowd. For full instructions and explanation of why the reaction occurs, visit: www.stevespanglerscience.com.

Magnetic Silly Putty

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:26:10 EST

Every child loves silly putty. Now imagine the possibilities by making it magnetic!! With some thinking putty (silly putty), ferric iron oxide powder (found at artist's supply stores) and a neodymium magnet, you can do it yourself! For more information, click here.

Cloud Dough

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:42:38 EST

Need something to do on those cloudy/ rainy days? Make cloud dough!

8 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Baby Oil

Mix with your hands until it has the texture of cornmeal.

As soon as you touch it, you'll know why they call it "cloud dough".

Build a Fizz-inflator

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:54:16 EST

www.sciencebob.com is a great science website filled with all kinds of experiments, science fair ideas, videos and more. You'll find this experiment there and more!

One small empty plastic soda or water bottle
1/2 cup of vinegar
Small balloon
Baking soda
Funnel or piece of paper

1. Carefully pour the vinegar into the bottle.

2. This is the tricky part: Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times and then use the funnel to fill it a bit more than half way with baking soda. If you don't have a funnel you can make one using the paper and some tape.

3. Now carefully put the neck of the balloon all the way over the neck of the bottle without letting any baking soda into the bottle.

4. Ready? Lift the balloon up so that the baking soda falls from the balloon into the bottle and mixes with the vinegar. Watch the fizz-inflator at work!

The baking soda and the vinegar create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide) Gasses need a lot of room to spread out and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bottle, and then moves into the balloon to inflate it.

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Does water temperature affect how fast the balloon fills up?
2. Does the size of the bottle affect how much the balloon fills?
3. Can the amount the balloon fills-up be controlled by the amount of vinegar or baking soda?

Graham Cracker Periodic Table

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:48:11 EST

Here's a fun way to introduce the periodic table- make it out of graham crackers and frosting. To check out more about this fun idea, click here.

Mini Volcanoes

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:49:16 EST

Here's a fun idea for an easy mini experiment. On a tray, place piles of baking soda. In separate cups, put a few drops of food coloring in vinegar. Take an eye dropper and drop the colored vinegar onto the baking soda. Watch as little "volcanoes" erupt.

(Taken from: www.preschoolplaybook.com)

Candy Experiments

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:07:54 EST

Looking for something to do with all of that excess Halloween candy the day after Halloween? Check out www.candyexperiments.com.

Drop a Warhead in baking soda water, and bubbles erupt. Leave a Skittle in water, and the S floats to the surface. Melt a Starburst, and shiny oil spots form. All this and more. Check it out!

Magnetism

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:14:16 EST

Explore the nature of magnetism with these fun ideas. Empty out a 2 Liter bottle. Take some wire clipper and cut pipe cleaners into little pieces. Use a strong magnet to pick them up from the outside of the bottle.

On a similar note, empty another plastic bottle, fill it with paper clips and water and see how magnetism works in water.

Density experiment

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:41:41 EST

Here's a fun experiment exploring density that involves stacking honey, karo syrup, dish soap, water, vegetable oil, rubbing alcohol, and lamp oil. For the complete instructions and explanation, visit www.stevespanglerscience.com.

Solar Smores

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:41:32 EST

Taken from Family Fun Magazine

Here's a fun way to enjoy the smores experience outside while learning about the power of the sun.

Materials

Large pizza box
Pencil and ruler
Craft knife
Aluminum foil
Scissors
Glue stick

Black construction paper
Clear packing tape
Clear plastic (we used 2 sheet protectors, available at office supply stores)
Graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows
Stick or dowel

Instructions

On the top of the pizza box, draw a square that is an inch smaller than the lid all the way around. Use the craft knife (adults only) to cut through the cardboard along three sides, as shown, and then fold the cardboard up along the uncut line to form a flap.
Glue aluminum foil, shiny side out, to the bottom of the flap, keeping it as wrinkle-free as you can.
Glue another piece of foil to the inside bottom of the box, then tape black construction paper on top of the foil.
Tape clear plastic to the underside of the lid to seal the opening created by the flap. For the best results, the seal should be as airtight as possible.
Place your oven outdoors in direct sunlight with the flap opened toward the sun. For each s'more, center two graham crackers on the construction paper. Top one with chocolate and the other with a marshmallow. Close the box and then use a stick or dowel to prop the flap open at the angle that reflects the most sunlight into the box (check it periodically to adjust the angle).
Within an hour (or sooner if it's a really hot day), the chocolate squares and marshmallows should melt enough to assemble into s'mores.

What's Happening: If you've learned about the greenhouse effect, you may have already guessed how the oven works. The foil flap gathers sunlight and reflects it through the plastic and into the oven, doubling the amount of incoming light. The black paper absorbs the light and converts it to heat, and the clear plastic allows the sun to shine in while keeping all that heat from escaping. (In the greenhouse effect, atmospheric gases allow sunlight to pass through to the earth's surface but keep the heat it generates from escaping back into space.) As more light hits the black paper, more heat is created and trapped. After an hour or so on a sunny day, the oven can be as hot as 275 degrees -- hot enough to melt chocolate and marshmallows.

Playdough Planet Earth

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:30:02 EST

Here's a hands-on, visual way to teach kids about the Earth and its layers.

What you'll need:

play doh - blue, green, black, yellow, orange, red

What the earth layers are:

RED - inner core
ORANGE - outer core
YELLOW - mantle
BLACK - crust
BLUE AND GREEN - land and water

Form the Earth from the Play Dough and then cut it open to see a replica of what the layers look like. Taken from: http://meetthedubiens.blogspot.com.

Cloud in a jar

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:44:24 EST

Cloud in a Jar with Calvin

Supplies:

Glass jar with lid (or use a small bowl/plate to act as a lid)
Hot water
Ice
Dark colored paper
Aerosol (i.e. hairspray or air refreshener) or Matches
Flashlight (optional)

Directions

This activity requires adult supervision due to the use of hot water, glass, and the aerosol or matches.

First, make sure the glass jar is clean. Fill the bottom of the glass jar with hot water (approx. 1" deep). You may want to swirl the hot water on the sides of the jar to warm up the glass, otherwise, condensation will immediately occur. Take the lid of the glass jar and turn it upside down so that it acts as a small bowl. Put ice in the lid and place the lid on top of the jar. Notice that while you may have some condensation on the glass, there is no cloud floating inside the jar. Next, take a can of air refreshener or hair spray, lift the lid of ice, spritz a small amount of aerosol into the jar and quickly place the lid of ice on top of the jar. (Instead of an aerosol, an adult can light a match, blow it out, then throw the smoking match inside the jar and replace the lid of ice.) Now hold up the dark colored paper to the glass and look for wisps of cloud to start swirling inside. You may also want to shine a flashlight inside the jar to see the cloud better. Lift the lid and let the cloud out so that you can touch it.

Taken from: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/kids/activities.php, Follow the link for more of a discussion on how this relates to weather.

DNA Candy

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:48:51 EST

Bring science to life with this edible DNA replica your kids will love! Just grab some licorice, mini marshmallows and toothpicks and start creating. They'll be begging for more!

Plant Pals

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:09:24 EST

Family Fun magazine never disappoints with great ways to make learning fun for kids. Here's an idea to make plant pals that your kids will love.

Materials

One 9- or 12-ounce plastic cup
1 to 1 1/4 cups of potting soil

1 tablespoon of grass seeds (we bought rye grass at a garden center)
Decorations, such as office dot stickers, markers, and ribbon (for safety, it should measure less than 6 inches long)

Instructions

Fill the cup halfway with soil. Divide the remaining soil in two, then have your child measure the seeds and stir them into one of these halves. Tip:To speed germination, you can first soak the seeds in water overnight.
Spoon the seed-filled soil into the cup, then top it with the remaining soil (this final layer should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep). Water the soil well.
Let your child decorate the cup with stickers and markers. Finally, leave the plant in a warm, sunny spot to sprout. Water as necessary to keep the soil about as wet as a damp sponge.

Fireworks in a jar

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:49:53 EST

Here's a fun experiment that takes very little preparation:

Fill a clear jar with water. In a separate cup, combine 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and a few drops each of red, blue, and yellow liquid food coloring. Mix them together with a fork. Pour the colored oil into the jar of water, and watch the color stream.

Why It Works

The food coloring is water-soluble: It can't dissolve in oil, only in water. When you first pour the mixture into the jar, the food coloring is trapped in the oil; eventually it sinks, makes contact with the water, and dissolves.

National Zoo Webcams

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:09:00 EST

Want to see animals LIVE in their zoo habitats?

The National zoo has severeal live webcams set up that you can watch in realtime- pandas, tigers, cheetahs, ferrets, flamingos, gorillas, and more. Follow this link to their website.

Goop

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:31:28 EST

In the mood for a little mess that will keep your kids happy for hours???

Goop recipe:

Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup of water. Stir until the borax is dissolved.
In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup (4 oz) white glue with 1/2 cup water. Add food coloring, if desired.

Oreo Cookie Moon Phases

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:40:10 EST

Grab some Oreos, a popsicle stick (to do the scraping) and teach your kids

about the phases of the moon! Label them and then quiz them afterward.

Science

Sun Prints

Switcheroo Zoo

Switcheroozoo.com is a fun website that helps kids watch, listen, and learn all about amazing animals. You can also have fun by creating your own animals and other fun activities like creating online habitats. Give it a try!

Mini Greenhouse

(Taken from: readbetweenthelimes.blogspot.com)

Oreo Plate Boundary Simulation

Here's a great post from redcrosspdx.blogspot.com that simulates plate boundaries with Oreo cookies.

Chocolate Eruptions

If you love to experiment with baking soda and vinegar, here's a new twist. What you'll need is:

~ Baking soda

~ Vinegar

~ Cocoa powder

~ Chocolate extract (you can purchase imitation chocolate extract from Walmart for just over $2)

~ Dish soap (optional)

Ivory Soap Trick

(Taken from: chemistry.about.com)

Soap Trick Materials

bar of Ivory™ soap

paper towel or microwave-safe dish

microwave oven

other brands of soap for comparison (optional)

Perform the Soap Trick

Unwrap a bar of Ivory™ soap.

Place the bar of soap on a paper towel or microwave-safe dish.

Nuke your soap. Watch the soap closely to see what happens.

Depending on microwave power, your soap will reach its maximum volume within 90 second to 2 minutes. If you microwave the soap longer (I went up to 6 minutes) nothing bad will happen, but the soap won't continue to grow.

Allow the soap to cool for a minute or two before touching it.

The soap will feel brittle and flaky, but it's still soap, with the same cleaning power as before. Go ahead and get it wet and you'll see it lathers the same as ever.

About Foams

How the Soap Trick Works

Paper Airplanes

Valentine's Science

Here are some ideas from ehow.com for incorporating Valentine's Day into some science fun.

Increasing Heartrate

Heart Water Bottle

Valentine's Flowers

Borax snowflakes

Here's a fun craft that doubles as a science experiment.

To make these cool snowflakes, you'll need pipe cleaners, glass jars, Borax, water, and a pot for boiling.

Depending on how many snowflakes you want to make, you can figure out how much water to use by putting the water in your jars first and then into a measuring cup and into a big pot for boiling.

The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons Borax to one cup of water. If you used 12 cups of water, you would need 2 cups and 4 Tablespoons of Borax (16 Tablespoons = 1 cup).

For more detailed directions, pictures and an explanation of the science of it all, visit: ordinarylifemagic.com.

Growing Pumpkins inside a pumpkin

Here's a fun one to try. Open up a pumpkin, add a little soil and water, and over time- watch the seeds which are already inside the pumpkin grow.

For more details, visit: growinginprek.com

Science Videos

The Science of Music

Secondstorywindow.net gives us a fun way to use science in conjunction with a little music by making our own version of an Irish Harp.

Here's what you need:

box, pan, or bin without a lid

three or more rubber bands of different thicknesses

Stretch the rubber bands across the open shoe box or pan. Space them so they aren't touching.

Now strum or pluck the bands. Compare pitches of different rubber bands. Try pushing your finger on the end of a band to stretch it tighter. Then pluck the rubber band with your other hand. Listen for how the sound changes.

Ask questions about the sound that is produced from the fat rubber bands and the thin ones. How does the sound change when you increase the tension? Can you arrange the rubber bands so you can play a tune?

What is happening:

Tight rubber bands produce higher pitches.

Thin rubber bands produce higher pitches.

The longer and looser the rubber band, the lower the pitch.

Musical instruments, such as a harp, make sounds when the strings vibrate the air. Sound waves travel through the air like ripples across a pond. High sounds make waves that are close together. Low sounds make waves that are further apart.

Things that are tighter, shorter, thinner, and less dense make shorter sound waves (higher sounds). Things that are looser, longer, thicker, and denser make longer sound waves (lower sounds).

Interactive Periodic Table

Here's a way to make the periodic table more exciting. Visit: www.ptable.com and scroll over each element for an interactive science experience.

Plate Movements

Walking Water

Here's a fun experiment called "Walking Water". All you need is a strip of paper towels, a couple of glasses and some colored water .

The Science of a Good Sandcastle

Color Changing Milk

Materials

How does it work?

Rubber Egg Science

Here's a fun, easy experiment that is perfect for this time of year. All you need is a glass cup or jar, white vinegar, and an egg.

(Idea taken from: www.sunscholars.blogspot.com)

Do It Yourself Lava Lamp

Need some fun activities to do for the upcoming spring break? How about making your own "lava lamps"? All you need is an empty water bottle, food coloring, vegetable oil, and alka seltzer. For complete instructions, visit: www.slsmithphotography.typepad.com.

Worm Hotel

Dancing Oobleck

Science of Motion

Here's a great little spinning experiment that helps demonstrate Newton's third law of motion, which is: "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

All you need is some tape, a balloon, a straw, a pencil, and a pin.

The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons Borax to one cup of water.

If you used 12 cups of water, you would need 2 cups and 4 Tablespoons of Borax (16 Tablespoons = 1 cup).

You'll need: one small water or soda bottle, one funnel, hydrogen peroxide,
liquid dish soap, food coloring, and one packet of yeast.

8 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Baby Oil

Mix with your hands until it has the texture of cornmeal.