Here is another "magic" science activity. We all know that when you poke a hole in something holding a liquid, that liquid will pour out the hole right? In this activity you'll learn that that is not always true. Here you will poke at least two holes in a plastic bag filled with water and the water won't spill out of the bag. How does that happen? Is it magic? No, it's science!
Bonus Fun - see how many pencils you can poke through your plastic bag!
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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:
And don't forget this great resource: 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.
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!
We all know that we breathe using our lungs. And most of us think we understand the physics of why air leaves our lungs as we exhale - we can feel our rib cage contracting and we know that when you squeeze a balloon or a ball, air will come out if there is a hole. But most of us don't know actually why air goes into our lungs - we just know it does. In this activity you will make a model of your lungs that shows how they work.
This is one of my favorite engineering projects because it can be just for fun or you can learn a lot about the physics of catapults - which makes it a great project for families with kids of multiple ages. I include instructions for two different types of simple catapults. They take about 5 minutes to build and a lot more time trying to hit your target! My challenge to you is to figure out how to control variables to make your catapult as consistent as possible. That means your catapult can hit your target most (80%) of the time. This is not as easy as it sounds. An alternative challenge is to try more than one catapult and determine which one is the most accurate. There are also lots of designs on the web or you can try to build one of your own design.
Years ago my Mom showed me the only "magic" trick she knew. She took a paper straw and jabbed it all the way through a potato. Eight-year old me was amazed. Especially since, when I tried it, I just made a crumpled mess. Today you'll once again use Physics to add to your "magic" repertoire. It you look on the internet, you can find enough of these physics "magic" tricks to have a whole show!
Sometimes the most simple experiments are some of the most fun. I've done this with classes as we explore the science of sound. Most of us know that a harp makes music by vibrating wires. But did you know that it will work with any string that you can make vibrate - it may not sound as beautiful as a harp - but you can still use a little "string theory" to explore how waves generate sound.
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You Can Continue to Earn the Patches over the SUmmer!
welcome!
Every school day I will post a new experiment for you to try at home. Some may be familiar to you - as they are my favorites from class - but most will be experiments I found on the web that have readily available materials. Happy Sciencing! Earn a Patch
Sunol Glen Students - Complete an additional 10 experiments (20 total) from this site and I will send you this patch: Parents - just email me when students have completed a challenge, no proof required. Categories |