It's been a great but crazy year!  I can not wait to see you again in the fall.  This is my last post.  But fear not!  I've listed some of my favorite sites for finding activities for students.  Remember, science is all around you!

And YES!  I will continue to send the patches to Sunol Glen Students if you keep doing science experiments over the summer.  I will reward you for completing ANY 10 or 20 science experiments, even if you did not find them on my blog.  Just have your parent send me an email letting me know you're done - do not forget to include your address so I can send your patch.  Have a GREAT Summer!

Great Science Websites:

• Exploratorium
• Science Kids
• Science Sparks
• Science Fun For Everyone
• Science Buddies
• Steve Spangler's Science

And don't forget this great resource:

Fossils are a record of a once living thing that is now found in a rock.  Trace fossils are impressions of something that was once alive - like a leaf or footprint.  You can make your own "rocks" at home and put trace fossils of things found in nature (or your hand print) in them using this simple method with stuff you probably already have at home.  Enjoy!

Today's activity is surprisingly fun and super simple!  When I first read about it I did not believe it.  And I was surprised that the cycle of "dancing" keeps happening over and over again.  You'll have to try it to see what I mean.  When you understand the science behind it, things make sense.  Give it a try.

Summer is a great time to experiment out doors.  This is a fun engineering project will allow you to bake using only the sun's energy.  You'll need a sunny day (not necessarily a hot one) and a "subject" (something your baking) to test on.  Do some research on ways to attract and retain the sun's energy and then give this a try.

Sedimentary rocks are one of 3 types of rocks.  It is the type that is made up of tiny pieces of rocks (aka "sediment") that get layered on top of each other over time.  Scientists study these rocks by taking cores which allow them to see the various layers in the rock.  The bottom layer is always the oldest (the first deposited by nature) and the top layer is always the newest (the last deposited) by nature.  This activity models this process. 

Anyone who has been in my class when we do anything with magnets knows how much I love them.  Magnets are a relatively common item that produces a field you can feel but not see - who hasn't tried to push two magnets together only to feel them resist you?  Because of my love for magnets I have stepped a bit outside my usual requirement for only listing activities with stuff you probably have at home - as I expect most folks do not have magnets lying around.  But, you can easily order them on Amazon or find them at hardware stores.  This one is worth the effort.

Today's engineering project does not have a challenge - just instructions on how to build it.  It's a fun way to make a card special as you are thinking of making cards for Teachers, Coaches, and others as the school year comes to a close.  When they open the card a butterfly will come fluttering out adding to your surprise (see a fun video here).  If you want to add a little biology to this project, take a look at actual butterflies and try to make yours resemble one of them.

We all know it is important to stay fit to be healthy.  A big part of what you are doing when you exercise is working your heart - which is a muscle.  In today's activity we will see how your heart rate - the number of heart beats per minute - varies under different conditions.  Make a hypothesis (the fancy scientific word for "guess") about what you think will happen.  Even better, make a guess about why  you think it happens.  Then try it out.

This is one I use in class a lot.  I like this one because ideas start out very different but as students go through the analyze > redesign > re-test phase of engineering (more on that here) they almost all end up with the same design because in this case, physics dictates that there really is one answer.  The challenge?  Use a single 10" x 10 " piece of foil to create a "boat" to hold as many pennies as possible before sinking.  Good luck!

Ever notice how when you go to the mountains for vacation and you open your shampoo bottle - a bit squirts out at you?  Or if you go from the mountains back home, your water bottle might be squished?  That's air pressure in action.  In the examples I gave, the change in air pressure was caused by changing elevation.  In today's activity the change in air pressure will be caused by a change in temperature - so no road trips needed!