KIDS FOR KIDS!

I found a wonderful site: allforkids.TV.com which is kids presented for kids. It features cooking, science experiments and crafts for all ages. CHECK IT OUT for tons of fun!

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER AND EXPERIMENT FOR FUN!

Summer Classes for Kids

This is a re-post from Darlene Beck-Jacobson’s post.

Summer Classes and More
Posted on July 5, 2013 by darlenebeckjacobson
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Micheals Craft Stores are offering the PASSPORT TO IMAGINATION crafts program for kids 5 and up. Children can explore all seven continents and learn about their landmarks. The program runs from June 17 through August 2 and costs $@.00 per session. For details go to: http://www.micheals.com

While summer should be fun-filled and relaxing, some children get bored or lose skills when they are out of school. Others just do better when there is some structure to the day. If you and your family are looking for FREE summer enrichment for kids, check out these websites:

http://www.ixl.com is an interactive math site containing more than 7 million activities and quizzes created by math teachers. There are problems from Pre-K through high school geometry and algebra.

http://www.funbrain.com was created fro children from preschool through grade eight. It offers more than 100 interactive games fro math, reading and literacy. There are also popular books and comics to read on the site, including “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, “Amelia Writes Again” and “Brewster Rocket”.

http://www.openculture.com contains high-quality cultural and educational media from all over the world. Children can find free online classes on topics such as English Literature, biology, math and film.

So while you’re having summer fun, check out some fun-filled learning activities as well.

Bubble Snakes

I got this experiment from Steve Spangler Science–It’s Great!!!

Strong Bubble Ingredients

  • The single most important part is the water. Good quality water that doesn’t contain high levels of iron or minerals is the best. Distilled water is highly recommended.
  • Glycerin gives the bubble extra strength. You can also substitute Karo syrup for glycerin. Note: Perfectly good bubbles can be made without adding glycerin, but adding glycerin keeps the water from evaporating and makes the bubbles much stronger and longer lasting.
  • Dawn® dish soap just seems to work the best for homemade bubble solutions.
  • Let the bubble solution sit open to the air and undisturbed for 24 hours in advance of your bubble party. The bonds in the bubble solution will strengthen.

Make The Snakes

  1. Find a clean, empty plastic bottle. While a 16 or 20 oz bottle will work the best, feel free to try any size bottle you want. Maybe the results will be something crazy!
  2. Using a pair of box-cutters (and adult supervision), carefully cut the bottom off of the plastic bottle.
  3. Cover the freshly-cut hole with a piece of fabric that is similar to a washcloth or cotton sock. Use a rubber band to keep the fabric in place.
  4. Dip the fabric-covered end of the bottle into the bowl of bubble solution.
  5. Blow into the mouth of the plastic bottle and, before you know it, you’ll be creating Bubble Snakes like a pro!
  6. Let’s take it up a notch by adding some color! Find some liquid food coloring in your favorite color(s). Add a few drops of the food coloring to the fabric on the end of your bottle. Get creative!
  7. Dip the fabric in the bubble solution and give the bottle a blow… HOLY MOLY! You’re creating some super colorful Bubble Snakes!

How Does It Work?

Bubbles form because of the surface tension of water. Hydrogen atoms in one water molecule are attracted to oxygen atoms in other water molecules. They like each other so much, they cling together. So why are bubbles round? The physicists will tell you that bubbles enclose the maximum volume of air in the minimum amount of bubble solution, so that’s why they are always round.

When you blow air through your Bubble Snake maker, you are creating hundreds of tiny bubbles. As the air wiggles through the fabric, bubbles are continuously being made. The bubbles attach to each other when they come out of the fabric. It’s all thanks to the same hydrogen bonds that make bubbles possible!

POCKET SOLAR SYSTEM

This week I have attended two NASA seminars. The first day was all about the solar system and the second day was about the engineering it took to get out there!
Today’s post is an easy way to visualize the vast distances between the sun and the planets.

You will need a piece of calculator register tape about as tall as you are. When you hold your arms straight out from your sides, fingertip to fingertip is approximately how tall you are. Write the word Sun on one end of the tape and (forgive my old school term) Pluto on the other end. Now fold the tape in half, make a crease and mark a line on the crease. Write Uranus on that line. Fold the “sun” end down to Uranus, crease and mark the line. Write Saturn on that line. Fold Pluto up to Uranus, crease and mark the line. Write Neptune on that line. Now your tape is marked in quarters. Fold the sun end down to Saturn, crease, mark the line and write Jupiter on the line. Fold the sun end down to Jupiter, crease, mark the line and write Asteroid Belt on the line. Fold the sun end down to the Asteroid Belt line, crease, mark and write Mars on the line. Fold the sun end down to Mars, crease and fold to Mars again. This will give you three creases to mark and write Mercury, Venus and Earth on them.IMG_1670

Microwave puffy paint

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 TODAY’S EXPERIMENT IS ALL ABOUT KITCHEN SCIENCE.  You will need to mix 1 tablespoon of self rising flour, 1 tablespoon of salt and a small amount of water–enough to make it into a paste.  (This is a small single batch–for more just increase the amounts.)  If you use regular flour you must add at least a teaspoon of baking powder.  Add 4 drops of food coloring to each batch for different colors.  Using a thick paper plate or cardboard as your painting surface, make a picture with your mixture.  You can use paint brushes, cotton swabs or your fingers. The thicker the paint, the better it will puff.  Cook the completed picture in the microwave for 10 to 40 seconds.  It will be hot so be careful. A different version of this experiment using thinner paint and piping it onto the canvas is found at Mommy-Labs.com. 

The How and Why of Art

I have always loved the art of creating. But what I try to understand is the “how and why” of it. This is the “Science of Art.”
Today’s experiment starts off as an art project- but helps us see that science is behind everything we make.

Our kindergarteners created the “stain glass” butterflies pictured in this entry, which inspired me to do the same lesson with the 2nd graders using “dinosaurs of the deep” as the theme.

My questions were how did they make their “stained glass” and why did it turn out like it did?

The “How” involves some pre-work on the part of an adult. First cut out the shapes you will use on black construction paper leaving a wide outline. Trim away the inside of the design. (I used an exacto knife.) Glue the outline onto a sheet of wax paper. Turn old crayons into shavings using a sharp knife or pair of scissors to scrape them like a carrot. Divide the shavings by color. Then, let the kids lightly sprinkle the shavings into the open spaces on the back of the wax paper design. (Don’t use too much–a little goes a long way!) Cover the picture with another piece of wax paper. Help them place the prepared picture between a towel or a folded piece of heavy paper.
Have an adult iron over the towel covered wax paper until the crayons melt and seal the design to the second piece of wax paper. Trim the design along its outer edges and hold it up to a window to reveal your “stained glass.” Take another copy of the cutout design and glue to the back to give the picture support and a finished look.

The “Why”—your work of art looks like stain glass is due to the heat and pressure of the iron combined with the translucent qualities of the melted crayons and wax paper. The heat melts the crayons turning a solid into a translucent liquid while the pressure spreads the liquid out. The wax paper is always translucent.
 
Things to discuss with your kids:
Explain to them that while unmelted crayons are solids that you cannot see through, the wax paper and melted crayons become translucent. This means that you can see through them, but not clearly because they diffuse the light that is passing through them. Point out that the glass in the window is an example of something that is transparent- you can see clearly through it.
Ask them why the crayon shavings changed and discuss how heat and pressure from the iron caused the crayon shavings to melt and spread out.
I love experiments like this because they are a perfect example of ways to engage your kids in fun projects that are both educational and entertaining. Science is not boring or hard- it’s all around us. It is something that becomes obvious when we look into the how and why of the things we make and do.
I hope you enjoyed my guest post. If you try this experiment, I’d love for you to leave a comment here or over at sciencefunwithmom.wordpress.com.