The National Science Foundation (NSF)is teaming up with NBC Learn to launch a weekly series of online videos about the science of common objects and the changes they undergo every day and the chemists who study these things.
The videos, called "Chemistry Now" is a series of 32 lessons break down the chemistry behind things like as cheeseburgers, chocolate, plastics and soap-- and that's just for the first series. Also featured on the NSF site this week is a video called 'Chemistry of Ocean Clean-Up,' which comes out on the one year anniversary of BP's capping well that created the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Focused lesson plans for this week are called "Top 10 Big Questions in Chemistry."
This weekly series will build on the 23 original "Chemistry Now" videos that were released during the spring school semester this year. Best of all, it's available at no cost on the NBC Learn and nsf.gov websites and the NSTA blog.
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Science education? The earlier, the better!
Science education is sort of like the weather -- everyone discusses it but nobody seems to know what to do about it. From Ars Technica comes an article that says stressing science education in middle and high school is bad timing. What we really need to do is start educating them in kindergarten.
They're right on the mark when they say that even very young kids "figure out" how the world works -- and they're often wrong about it or confused about how things work. The direct method of teaching (where it's explained what's going on) is the best for the youngest kids when it comes to bringing concepts to them. But without the "magic" of the curiosity-inducing "discovery method" of teaching (where students devise, execute, and interpret their own experiments), some of the fundamentals can be lost.
And here teachers are sitting on the horns of a dilemma. It's pretty easy to outline a "direct" method of teaching (just lecture.) "Socratic methods" where you lead them through it with leading questions usually only work best for Socrates -- the rest of us end up with an audience who asks questions we don't expect. Discovery methods are very good -- but only once you've taught the kids how to do a proper experiment.
The best solution seems to be to combine all three -- give a short lecture, ask leading questions, have them explore.
...of course, this assumes you've got a perfect class and that Rudy and Maxie will NOT decide to throw spitballs in the middle of the lesson just to see if they can annoy each other.
They're right on the mark when they say that even very young kids "figure out" how the world works -- and they're often wrong about it or confused about how things work. The direct method of teaching (where it's explained what's going on) is the best for the youngest kids when it comes to bringing concepts to them. But without the "magic" of the curiosity-inducing "discovery method" of teaching (where students devise, execute, and interpret their own experiments), some of the fundamentals can be lost.
And here teachers are sitting on the horns of a dilemma. It's pretty easy to outline a "direct" method of teaching (just lecture.) "Socratic methods" where you lead them through it with leading questions usually only work best for Socrates -- the rest of us end up with an audience who asks questions we don't expect. Discovery methods are very good -- but only once you've taught the kids how to do a proper experiment.
The best solution seems to be to combine all three -- give a short lecture, ask leading questions, have them explore.
...of course, this assumes you've got a perfect class and that Rudy and Maxie will NOT decide to throw spitballs in the middle of the lesson just to see if they can annoy each other.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Desperately Seeking Science Education
Are in-school "special programs" starting to replace science education in this age of teacher and education cutbacks? A rash of "just in time for schol to start" articles about science education suggests that teachers and schools are turning to special programs to help interest kids in science and teach them some basic concepts. And it's no wonder -- if a recent study in California is any indication, students are getting less than 40 hours of science education for the entire school year!
Quantum Camp (is one of a number of programs designed to supplement this lack by bringing science education by science teachers into the classroom. They bridge the gap between education and entertainment and spark curiosity with interesting experiments and even by incorporating music and storytelling.
But -- as an ex-teacher, I have to ask just how effective this is. While it's better than nothing (20 hours per year), 30 minutes of excitement does not replace five hours of drilling and practice. While kids will become engaged with experiments like mentos and cokes, will they remember and understand the reasons why this process happened -- and will they be able to apply these scientific principles in the future. Can someone educated by science entertainment go beyond the simple and start asking the complex questions and making the sophisticated connections needed for good science research?
Quantum Camp (is one of a number of programs designed to supplement this lack by bringing science education by science teachers into the classroom. They bridge the gap between education and entertainment and spark curiosity with interesting experiments and even by incorporating music and storytelling.
But -- as an ex-teacher, I have to ask just how effective this is. While it's better than nothing (20 hours per year), 30 minutes of excitement does not replace five hours of drilling and practice. While kids will become engaged with experiments like mentos and cokes, will they remember and understand the reasons why this process happened -- and will they be able to apply these scientific principles in the future. Can someone educated by science entertainment go beyond the simple and start asking the complex questions and making the sophisticated connections needed for good science research?
I have already seen how kids use videos on message boards to "make" a point without really understanding the background of the question and the material. It's a troubling idea when you consider the reports that we're falling behind on science education.
Quantum Camp: http://news.yahoo.com/science-education-takes-quantum-leap-silicon-valley-070408132.html
Guerilla Science music and science experience http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-with-moxie/2011/08/10/guerilla-science-blends-music-and-science-at-escape2ny/
Science storytelling http://www.scienceteller.com/
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Direct Instruction -- time to rethink strategies?
I haven't been keeping up with all the latest buzz in the education field since I retired years ago, but I was aware of the trend in the past 20 years of "discovery learning" where kids were encouraged to explore and think on their own. This was something that I didn't have much of an opinion on, but seemed to be highly thought of by people who did a lot of home schooling. So I was surprised to find in a recently promoted National Science Teachers Association digest that kids learn better research skills if they're taught by "direct instruction" rather than "discovery learning."
Instruction versus exploration in science learning
http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/methods/models/direct/
With the ongoing screams about how schools are failing to teach children, some are advocating a return to this kind of instruction. But today's society isn't quite as accepting of this method as it was in the past. The argument is that it's "canned teaching" and it's "not personal" and may not appeal to what the child wants to do.
Now, as someone who grew up under the Really Old School method of teaching, I'll admit I'm rather uncomfortable with some of today's teaching practices. When I was in school (along with the dinosaurs), we didn't work in groups, we had to sit still and keep quiet (and were punished for not being on task) -- and we hated it because it stressed drills and homework, but my generation still ended up being one of the most well educated generations in America (highest number of college graduates, etc.) This is still the method used in totalitarian countries.
Further googling turned up a very interesting op-ed piece on this by Jeff Lindsay, which includes summaries of some of the studies. http://www.jefflindsay.com/EducData.shtml
That's as far as I've gotten into this today and I need to go attend to other things -- but I want to go back into the material and review it and see if things in there can make me a better educator, both when speaking informally to the public as well as when I'm doing lessons for afterschool science.
Instruction versus exploration in science learning
http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/methods/models/direct/
With the ongoing screams about how schools are failing to teach children, some are advocating a return to this kind of instruction. But today's society isn't quite as accepting of this method as it was in the past. The argument is that it's "canned teaching" and it's "not personal" and may not appeal to what the child wants to do.
Now, as someone who grew up under the Really Old School method of teaching, I'll admit I'm rather uncomfortable with some of today's teaching practices. When I was in school (along with the dinosaurs), we didn't work in groups, we had to sit still and keep quiet (and were punished for not being on task) -- and we hated it because it stressed drills and homework, but my generation still ended up being one of the most well educated generations in America (highest number of college graduates, etc.) This is still the method used in totalitarian countries.
Further googling turned up a very interesting op-ed piece on this by Jeff Lindsay, which includes summaries of some of the studies. http://www.jefflindsay.com/EducData.shtml
That's as far as I've gotten into this today and I need to go attend to other things -- but I want to go back into the material and review it and see if things in there can make me a better educator, both when speaking informally to the public as well as when I'm doing lessons for afterschool science.
--- Patricia Griffin
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Pre-publication PDF of book: Framework for K-12 Science Education
A pre-publication copy of the PDF for the book, A Framework for K-12 Science Education:Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas is available for download from the National Academies press.
The authoring organizations stress that science, engineering, and technology can provide answers to meeting many of humanity's great challenges, both present and future. This book is proposing a new approach to science at all grade levels that will capture students’ interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field.
Still, I'm eager to see what they've come up with and how it might be integrated in some of the things that I teach! If you'd like to review it, it is currently available as a PREPRINT at this link (sidebar on left)
The authoring organizations stress that science, engineering, and technology can provide answers to meeting many of humanity's great challenges, both present and future. This book is proposing a new approach to science at all grade levels that will capture students’ interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field.
To quote the press release:
Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the disciplinary core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: cross-cutting concepts that unify the study of science and engineering through their common application across these fields; scientific and engineering practices; and core ideas in four disciplinary areas: physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space sciences, and engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues; be careful consumers of scientific and technological information; and have the skills to enter the careers of their choice.
Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that will inform state-level decisions and provide a research-grounded basis for improving science teaching and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, teacher educators, state and district science administrators, teachers, and educators who work in informal science environments.I find this interesting and exciting and have bookmarked the document to download and read later this week. I'm glad someone is taking this approach but I fear that the statement, "will inform state level decisions" was made by someone who never dealt with Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Education.
Still, I'm eager to see what they've come up with and how it might be integrated in some of the things that I teach! If you'd like to review it, it is currently available as a PREPRINT at this link (sidebar on left)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Heat Wave Science Notes
One of the more entertaining things I do is volunteer at the Trinity River Audubon Center in Dallas. It's a beautiful place -- the more so considering that it's a Brownfield Remediation site (The Environmental Protection Agency defines a Brownfield as “a property on which expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant” -- and as it was the site of an illegal landfill, all of the above applied.) Over the three years that I've been involved, I've seen the landscape change from the fairly raw-looking land (the center had just opened) to an area that looks like a preserved wild area to the untrained eye.
To the trained eye (such as a Texas Master Naturalist like myself) it's obvious that this is reclaimed land. There's a lot of invasive plants, but we're seeing a rebound in native plant species and native wildlife. Then came drought and the heat wave.
I teach environmental science to kids -- talking about adaptations and turtles (an easy species to love), taking them on turtle counting hikes and then talking about bugs (not quite so easy to love) and taking them on bug hikes. One of the strategies to get them less afraid of "bugs" (which includes any creepy crawly thing and not just insects or insects of the order Hemiptera) is to take a hike with them and engage them in a game of "nature bingo."
I try to make the bingo squares something that everyone find easily. On the list that I made this spring, I put a number of butterflies including "yellow butterfly" (the sulfurs, Phoebis sp) and "white butterfly" (Pieris rapae) as well Tiger Swallowtail, Pipevine butterfly, and Monarch. The game was a hit with the kids and things rolled along pretty much as expected until one week they didn't find any butterflies at all.
That was interesting. Then a second group made the same report. And a third. I decided to investigate.
I took a group of kids off to specifically look for butterflies one morning. We walked for about 40 minutes in areas where I knew butterflies were common, but we only found two of them. TRAC has its own butterfly garden with native plants and water to support butterflies. It's a good spot to hang out to take butterfly pictures, so I headed there next. The plants were in bloom, but there weren't any butterflies visiting them, though the bees were enjoying them.
So were they really gone, or were they somewhere else? In spite of the hundred degree heat and drought conditions, I took an afternoon hike of the distant trails at TRAC. During the hour's trek I only saw two sulfur butterflies -- and another butterfly that landed briefly and appeared to be one of the Nymphalinae.
So where are they? When I asked, nobody else had seen butterflies recently -- but they hadn't stopped to wonder if that was peculiar. Someone suggested that it was "too hot for them to fly," so I tested that idea by hiking at 8 am and 8 pm.
There are plenty of nectar sources around. There's water. There's birds, of course, but surely they wouldn't have eaten every single one. There's lots of host plants around, including the Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista cinerea.) These particular butterflies should breed all summer long -- not in a single group and die out.
One thought that has been troubling me about the heat wave and the drought is that it is causing certain plants to die off and animal populations are shifting. What happens when the drought ends?
To the trained eye (such as a Texas Master Naturalist like myself) it's obvious that this is reclaimed land. There's a lot of invasive plants, but we're seeing a rebound in native plant species and native wildlife. Then came drought and the heat wave.
I teach environmental science to kids -- talking about adaptations and turtles (an easy species to love), taking them on turtle counting hikes and then talking about bugs (not quite so easy to love) and taking them on bug hikes. One of the strategies to get them less afraid of "bugs" (which includes any creepy crawly thing and not just insects or insects of the order Hemiptera) is to take a hike with them and engage them in a game of "nature bingo."
I try to make the bingo squares something that everyone find easily. On the list that I made this spring, I put a number of butterflies including "yellow butterfly" (the sulfurs, Phoebis sp) and "white butterfly" (Pieris rapae) as well Tiger Swallowtail, Pipevine butterfly, and Monarch. The game was a hit with the kids and things rolled along pretty much as expected until one week they didn't find any butterflies at all.
That was interesting. Then a second group made the same report. And a third. I decided to investigate.
I took a group of kids off to specifically look for butterflies one morning. We walked for about 40 minutes in areas where I knew butterflies were common, but we only found two of them. TRAC has its own butterfly garden with native plants and water to support butterflies. It's a good spot to hang out to take butterfly pictures, so I headed there next. The plants were in bloom, but there weren't any butterflies visiting them, though the bees were enjoying them.
So were they really gone, or were they somewhere else? In spite of the hundred degree heat and drought conditions, I took an afternoon hike of the distant trails at TRAC. During the hour's trek I only saw two sulfur butterflies -- and another butterfly that landed briefly and appeared to be one of the Nymphalinae.
So where are they? When I asked, nobody else had seen butterflies recently -- but they hadn't stopped to wonder if that was peculiar. Someone suggested that it was "too hot for them to fly," so I tested that idea by hiking at 8 am and 8 pm.
There are plenty of nectar sources around. There's water. There's birds, of course, but surely they wouldn't have eaten every single one. There's lots of host plants around, including the Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista cinerea.) These particular butterflies should breed all summer long -- not in a single group and die out.
One thought that has been troubling me about the heat wave and the drought is that it is causing certain plants to die off and animal populations are shifting. What happens when the drought ends?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Solar System
The teaching theme this week is the solar system. While I'm reasonably good with the mechanics of the system, way back when I learned about it (approximately the Jurassic era), things were quite different. For one thing, Pluto was still a planet. So I'm taking some time in this little blog and organizing notes and comments about the planet and some exercises I can do with the class.
Since I have a fairly difficult class (k-2nd grade... which means some of them can read, only one can tie knots, one has ADHD, all have short attention spans) and a fairly challenging class (interested in science, grades 4-5, most have parents who read or are in the tech field) I'm going to look up science activities and factoids for the classes. Some of the factoids I don't have to memorize, since their take-home is a puzzle cube that can be rotated to form pictures of the planets (along with facts about the planets.) This isn't a problem for the older group, but my younger group won't be able to make the cubes for a variety of reasons and many of them won't be able to read the information.
So what makes a planet? It has to have enough gravity to pull it into a round shape, it has to be orbiting the sun (not another planet) and has to have "cleared its orbital path" of other objects. Everything else is something else.
Take "Plutoids," for instance. We have four: Pluto, Eris (formerly known as "Xena"), Makemake, and Haumea. However, there are other celestial objects which meets almost all those requirements but aren't "Plutoids". These include Quaoar, Sedna, (once hailed as the 10th planet), the "asteroid", Ceres, and a newly discovered body called "Orchis." Large enough that it has a rounded shape, it is now classified as a "dwarf planet."
The others are also classified as "Plutinos", a very new classification of Kuyper Body Objects -- objects that orbit twice for every three orbits of Neptunes. And then there's "Centauroids." But explaining this to a pack of elementary school students is going to be mind numbingly dull and terribly complex, so telling them that these are "in an asteroid belt far away beyond Neptune" is the best solution.
So, a game of "how far away is everything" is in order.
Millions of Miles from the Sun:
30.........................Mercury
60.........................Venus
90.........................Earth
140.......................Mars
480......................Jupiter
880......................Saturn
1780....................Uranus
2790....................Neptune
3660....................Pluto
Sedna is three times further away than Pluto!
Since I have a fairly difficult class (k-2nd grade... which means some of them can read, only one can tie knots, one has ADHD, all have short attention spans) and a fairly challenging class (interested in science, grades 4-5, most have parents who read or are in the tech field) I'm going to look up science activities and factoids for the classes. Some of the factoids I don't have to memorize, since their take-home is a puzzle cube that can be rotated to form pictures of the planets (along with facts about the planets.) This isn't a problem for the older group, but my younger group won't be able to make the cubes for a variety of reasons and many of them won't be able to read the information.
So what makes a planet? It has to have enough gravity to pull it into a round shape, it has to be orbiting the sun (not another planet) and has to have "cleared its orbital path" of other objects. Everything else is something else.
Take "Plutoids," for instance. We have four: Pluto, Eris (formerly known as "Xena"), Makemake, and Haumea. However, there are other celestial objects which meets almost all those requirements but aren't "Plutoids". These include Quaoar, Sedna, (once hailed as the 10th planet), the "asteroid", Ceres, and a newly discovered body called "Orchis." Large enough that it has a rounded shape, it is now classified as a "dwarf planet."
The others are also classified as "Plutinos", a very new classification of Kuyper Body Objects -- objects that orbit twice for every three orbits of Neptunes. And then there's "Centauroids." But explaining this to a pack of elementary school students is going to be mind numbingly dull and terribly complex, so telling them that these are "in an asteroid belt far away beyond Neptune" is the best solution.
So, a game of "how far away is everything" is in order.
Millions of Miles from the Sun:
30.........................Mercury
60.........................Venus
90.........................Earth
140.......................Mars
480......................Jupiter
880......................Saturn
1780....................Uranus
2790....................Neptune
3660....................Pluto
Sedna is three times further away than Pluto!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Citizen Science -- The Moon Zoo
Citizens, scientists want YOU!
Yes, that's right -- one of the most valuable tools for any scientist is the help of informed and interested people; people who can be places where the scientist isn't and who can provide extra eyes and hands to help with research. Now a newly-launched sister site of Galaxy Zoo is looking for people who are interested in helping scientists search the surface of the Moon.
The Moon Zoo website takes advantage of lessons learned from the very successful Galaxy Zoo website. Researchers placed millions of high resolution images from the NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on the website. After going through a series of pages explaining how to classify objects, Moon Zoo asks volunteers to classify and measure different kinds of features found on the moon's surface. Things that they are particularly interested in is the number and size of craters in each area, locating lava channels, crater chains, volcanoes, lava floods from meteor impacts, and boulders found at the edge of impact craters. Moon Zoo volunteers also help identify recent changes on the moon by comparing photos from the Apollo missions and from the LRO cameras. They also hope to locate space mission hardware -- not only the famous Apollo landing modules and Lunar rovers, but European lunar probe mission hardware and probes sent to the moon by the Chinese. To date, over a million images have been processed by volunteers -- less than 6 months' worth of photographs.
For the curious novice, the site has many pages to delight you with fascinating information -- from a page about the Moon's atmosphere (yes, it does have one but it's almost nonexistent: http://www.moonzoo.org/Lunar_Atmosphere) to the Planetary Science page (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/moonpage.html), there's something for everyone here on this site.
And then there are the photos -- confirmed landing sites (http://forum.moonzoo.org/index.php?topic=174.0 -- the hardware is very small, and you have to look closely to really observe one), crater chains (http://forum.moonzoo.org/index.php?topic=107.0) , and more.
The one downside to me is that the Moon is monochromatic for the most part, and I miss some of the beautiful colors of the galaxies in Galaxy Zoo. But there's plenty of interesting photos on both sites and a real need for interested people to learn to classify objects. All in all, it's a great evening hobby for an armchair scientist!
Yes, that's right -- one of the most valuable tools for any scientist is the help of informed and interested people; people who can be places where the scientist isn't and who can provide extra eyes and hands to help with research. Now a newly-launched sister site of Galaxy Zoo is looking for people who are interested in helping scientists search the surface of the Moon.
The Moon Zoo website takes advantage of lessons learned from the very successful Galaxy Zoo website. Researchers placed millions of high resolution images from the NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on the website. After going through a series of pages explaining how to classify objects, Moon Zoo asks volunteers to classify and measure different kinds of features found on the moon's surface. Things that they are particularly interested in is the number and size of craters in each area, locating lava channels, crater chains, volcanoes, lava floods from meteor impacts, and boulders found at the edge of impact craters. Moon Zoo volunteers also help identify recent changes on the moon by comparing photos from the Apollo missions and from the LRO cameras. They also hope to locate space mission hardware -- not only the famous Apollo landing modules and Lunar rovers, but European lunar probe mission hardware and probes sent to the moon by the Chinese. To date, over a million images have been processed by volunteers -- less than 6 months' worth of photographs.
For the curious novice, the site has many pages to delight you with fascinating information -- from a page about the Moon's atmosphere (yes, it does have one but it's almost nonexistent: http://www.moonzoo.org/Lunar_Atmosphere) to the Planetary Science page (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/moonpage.html), there's something for everyone here on this site.
And then there are the photos -- confirmed landing sites (http://forum.moonzoo.org/index.php?topic=174.0 -- the hardware is very small, and you have to look closely to really observe one), crater chains (http://forum.moonzoo.org/index.php?topic=107.0) , and more.
The one downside to me is that the Moon is monochromatic for the most part, and I miss some of the beautiful colors of the galaxies in Galaxy Zoo. But there's plenty of interesting photos on both sites and a real need for interested people to learn to classify objects. All in all, it's a great evening hobby for an armchair scientist!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Nuts and bolts relay race
Before class, get a set of MATCHING nuts and bolts of 3-4 different sizes.
Disassemble them.
Put 20 nuts and bolts in a bowl for each team and set out a paper plate next to the bowl. Each team member has to put together one nut and one bolt and then run back and tag the next person. First team to empty their bowl wins.
Reggie Robot variant:
Blindfold kid, have the "controller" have them pick one object out of 4 or 5 on the table.
Fender's Parts
Uh-oh Fender has lost his parts!
Rodney can repair him, but all of the parts must be found.
He needs sensors, motors, motherboard, arms, legs, bolts, nuts, screws.
Print up a label with each of the needed parts.
Put "robot parts" on a table, with only the back side of the paper showing.
Divide the class up.
Team members run up and grab a part (no turning them over) then run back to see what they have.
Disassemble them.
Put 20 nuts and bolts in a bowl for each team and set out a paper plate next to the bowl. Each team member has to put together one nut and one bolt and then run back and tag the next person. First team to empty their bowl wins.
Reggie Robot variant:
Blindfold kid, have the "controller" have them pick one object out of 4 or 5 on the table.
Fender's Parts
Uh-oh Fender has lost his parts!
Rodney can repair him, but all of the parts must be found.
He needs sensors, motors, motherboard, arms, legs, bolts, nuts, screws.
Print up a label with each of the needed parts.
Put "robot parts" on a table, with only the back side of the paper showing.
Divide the class up.
Team members run up and grab a part (no turning them over) then run back to see what they have.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Static electricity
Some activities to add to the "electricity module", taken from here:
http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/staticintro.html
Best Balloon Friends Forever
Materials:
A balloon rubbed with a wool cloth becomes negatively charged. When a charged balloon is held close to certain items, the items become positively charged by induction and cling to the balloon. After several minutes, some of the electrons may drain off the balloon onto the items and they'll drop off the balloon and back to the table. They may then transfer their excess electrons to the table after a few minutes and once again leap toward the balloon.
Things it works with: bits of paper, styrofoam bits, loose tea, pepper. Use paper or styrofoam because few are allergic to this.
Styrofoam peas or mylar bits tubes (possible take-home)
http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/staticintro.html
Best Balloon Friends Forever
Materials:
- Balloons
- String
- Felt-tip markers (permanent)
- Adhesive tape
- Wool cloth
Blow up a balloon, draw a face on it, hang it on something high. Rub a piece of wool cloth on the face side of the balloon. Walk toward the balloon. It should face you. Tell them that balloons like mad scientists!
Explain about static electricity. Ask them how we would figure out:
- How far away you can get.
- Does a piece of paper interfere with it?
- Can you make the balloon follow you round and round in a circle?
- How will it react to a second balloon.
A balloon rubbed with a wool cloth becomes negatively charged. When a charged balloon is held close to certain items, the items become positively charged by induction and cling to the balloon. After several minutes, some of the electrons may drain off the balloon onto the items and they'll drop off the balloon and back to the table. They may then transfer their excess electrons to the table after a few minutes and once again leap toward the balloon.
Things it works with: bits of paper, styrofoam bits, loose tea, pepper. Use paper or styrofoam because few are allergic to this.
Styrofoam peas or mylar bits tubes (possible take-home)
- Set up one corner of the room in which students will come to make their static tubes in small groups.
- Give each student a clear plastic tube and end cap.
- Place all of the Styrofoam peas (better than mylar, but mylar's easy to get) inside a large container such as a bowl, shoe box, or can. Challenge the students to get about two capfulls inside their static tubes through the end that they have left uncapped. This is not always easy, because the plastic tubes take on a charge with minimal handling and will attract and repel the Styrofoam peas.
- When the students have placed their peas inside the tube, have them insert the other end cap, and remove any Styrofoam clinging to the exterior of the tube with a cupped hand. Rub the exterior of each tube with the wool cloth.
- Let the students experiment with their closed static tubes. Can they pour all of the peas from one end to the other? How can they move any peas along that seem to be stuck? Using terms they have learned through other activities, such as attract, repel, static charge, and induction, can they describe what happens when they bring a finger close to the outside of the tube?
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Freeze Dance game
A new one for me, but it can be used in situations where you need a change in activity. You need a radio (suggestion was to tune to Radio Disney) or an MP3 player (more control) and speakers. Start the music and have them do different kinds of dances (dance like a chicken, dance like a robot, dance like a bear, dance like a cat, dance like a moose, dance like a worm (etc))... and they freeze when you pause the music.
If they need to work off energy, tell them "fastdance in one spot!" and let them wear themselves out.
A note on music: Use music without any words. Disco music works well, as does anything peppy.
If they need to work off energy, tell them "fastdance in one spot!" and let them wear themselves out.
A note on music: Use music without any words. Disco music works well, as does anything peppy.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
'quick notes: classroom games for Science Teachers
Two quick classroom games -- one for the younger set, one for the older set
Simon Says variant -- use commands relating to robots or any other science activity:
Space:
* "walk on the moon"
* "fly a spaceship"
* "float in the space lab"
Robots:
* "crank up your robot"
* "open robot claw"
* "robot spin"
* "robot wave arms"
Squiggle balls can provide interesting lessons in graphing and physics and randomness, particularly when talking about "Random Walks". Case in point -- set off a squiggle ball for each group and have them record its position at regular intervals (10 seconds... longer times for younger students). Compare plots.
Simon Says variant -- use commands relating to robots or any other science activity:
Space:
* "walk on the moon"
* "fly a spaceship"
* "float in the space lab"
Robots:
* "crank up your robot"
* "open robot claw"
* "robot spin"
* "robot wave arms"
Squiggle balls can provide interesting lessons in graphing and physics and randomness, particularly when talking about "Random Walks". Case in point -- set off a squiggle ball for each group and have them record its position at regular intervals (10 seconds... longer times for younger students). Compare plots.
Monday, October 26, 2009
magic and science
magic
magic - trick with water and ice. How did I do that?
Trick with predicting a card. How did I do that?
Magic and science.
disappearing rabbit trick. Make something a kid has disappear. have them bark like a dog. Clap.
How does this work?
The trick thumb. Make a piece of paper vanish. Make a handkerchief appear.
kid lie on floor, hold arms over head, explain sensation. slowly lower kid's arms... tell me to stop when you think it will touch the floor.
Magic floating arm.
hydrophobic sand (can do with matches)... you can use baby powder to do this at hime.
3 cup monte with hydrophilic gel. Dissect a diaper.
Ninja popsicle sticks
====
Pick a number, any two digit number will do.
Add the two digits together and then subtract the total from the original number.
The result will always be a multiple of nine, so adding the digits of your answer will always result in the number nine.
38=11=27/3(first number)=9
96=15=81/8=9
This trick begins with a stacked deck! Separate the Aces and Kings from an ordinary poker deck. Place the 4 Aces on top of the other cards. Place the Kings on top of the Aces. Kings are now uppermost in the deck.
Find a volunteer and say something like: "You look like you can deal out a mean hand of cards! Please take this pack and deal out two piles, alternating cards."
Let them deal about half of the deck and then say: "You may stop anytime you wish". Take the undealt deck of cards and place them aside.
Say to your volunteer: "Now, please pick up one of those two piles and deal it into two smaller piles. Do the same with the other pile so that we will end up with 4 piles of cards."
At this point there will be a king on the top of every deck.
"Turn up the top of any pile. Oh....that's a king. Turn over another - another king! Coincidence. Yet another and another."
Once the volunteer has turned up all 4 kings discard them.
"Anyone here a poker player? What beats four kings? Why.....four ACES, right"
Make some magical passes of your hand over the four piles. Turn up the top card of each pile to reveal ACES
magic - trick with water and ice. How did I do that?
Trick with predicting a card. How did I do that?
Magic and science.
disappearing rabbit trick. Make something a kid has disappear. have them bark like a dog. Clap.
How does this work?
The trick thumb. Make a piece of paper vanish. Make a handkerchief appear.
kid lie on floor, hold arms over head, explain sensation. slowly lower kid's arms... tell me to stop when you think it will touch the floor.
Magic floating arm.
hydrophobic sand (can do with matches)... you can use baby powder to do this at hime.
3 cup monte with hydrophilic gel. Dissect a diaper.
Ninja popsicle sticks
====
Pick a number, any two digit number will do.
Add the two digits together and then subtract the total from the original number.
The result will always be a multiple of nine, so adding the digits of your answer will always result in the number nine.
38=11=27/3(first number)=9
96=15=81/8=9
This trick begins with a stacked deck! Separate the Aces and Kings from an ordinary poker deck. Place the 4 Aces on top of the other cards. Place the Kings on top of the Aces. Kings are now uppermost in the deck.
Find a volunteer and say something like: "You look like you can deal out a mean hand of cards! Please take this pack and deal out two piles, alternating cards."
Let them deal about half of the deck and then say: "You may stop anytime you wish". Take the undealt deck of cards and place them aside.
Say to your volunteer: "Now, please pick up one of those two piles and deal it into two smaller piles. Do the same with the other pile so that we will end up with 4 piles of cards."
At this point there will be a king on the top of every deck.
"Turn up the top of any pile. Oh....that's a king. Turn over another - another king! Coincidence. Yet another and another."
Once the volunteer has turned up all 4 kings discard them.
"Anyone here a poker player? What beats four kings? Why.....four ACES, right"
Make some magical passes of your hand over the four piles. Turn up the top card of each pile to reveal ACES
Static Electricity experiments
------------------ static electricity
* A balloon
* A clean head of hair
* Some tiny bits of torn up newspaper
* A sheet of aluminum foil about 1 foot long
* A wool sweater or sock
* A sheet of wax paper about 1 foot long
* A sheet of cellophane wrap about 1 foot long
Begin by blowing up the balloon and rubbing it on your head. What happens to your hair? Now lay the bits of paper out on a table in front of you. Bring the balloon near, but don't actually touch the paper. What happens?
Straw Exercise
Carefully tear one end of the paper and slide about one inch of the straw out of the paper. Rub the straw in and out of the paper for 5-10 seconds. Remove the paper and lay it on the table while hoding one end of the straw with your fingertips. Like a wand, lower the straw and hold it next to the paper, then raise the straw. What does the paper do?
* A balloon
* A clean head of hair
* Some tiny bits of torn up newspaper
* A sheet of aluminum foil about 1 foot long
* A wool sweater or sock
* A sheet of wax paper about 1 foot long
* A sheet of cellophane wrap about 1 foot long
Begin by blowing up the balloon and rubbing it on your head. What happens to your hair? Now lay the bits of paper out on a table in front of you. Bring the balloon near, but don't actually touch the paper. What happens?
Straw Exercise
Carefully tear one end of the paper and slide about one inch of the straw out of the paper. Rub the straw in and out of the paper for 5-10 seconds. Remove the paper and lay it on the table while hoding one end of the straw with your fingertips. Like a wand, lower the straw and hold it next to the paper, then raise the straw. What does the paper do?
Monday, September 28, 2009
taste
What's your favorite food?
* sweet
* sour
* salty
* bitter
Have counter count how many people like each.
Have counter count qualities.
Going to be looking at taste. Will be using flavors on a cotton swab... don't mix and don't share.
Have four students demo how the taste test is done and how it's mapped. These become helpers at stations.
Can you taste the same thing in all areas of the tongue? Sweet, salty, sour, bitter. Bumps on tongue are taste buds and some get replaced every 24 hours! It was once thought that you could taste things only in one area. Is this true?
bitter medicine -- people spit it out. If you put sugar in, is the bitter still there? Why would they tell us to put aspirin on the front of the tongue before swallowing it?
food coloring... paint your tongue front with blue food coloring. Place wax paper on tip of tongue. Count the number of unstained circles. the more of those you have the more fungiform tastebuds you have. This is why some people can't eat certain foods. Changes as you get older.
Perfumes (which is which?) artificial flavor.
Smell-a-drink (coke and pepsi and diet coke) Which is which?
making gum drops?
Nose pinch and blindfolded smell of coke and pepsi and diet coke.
* sweet
* sour
* salty
* bitter
Have counter count how many people like each.
- What are the four familiar tastes?
- What part of the body do we use to taste?
- Fifth flavor, "Umami." Cheese is an example of Umami.
- other things about food -- spicy, temperature, color, smell
Have counter count qualities.
Going to be looking at taste. Will be using flavors on a cotton swab... don't mix and don't share.
Have four students demo how the taste test is done and how it's mapped. These become helpers at stations.
Can you taste the same thing in all areas of the tongue? Sweet, salty, sour, bitter. Bumps on tongue are taste buds and some get replaced every 24 hours! It was once thought that you could taste things only in one area. Is this true?
- Using your map, point to the places on your tongue where you would most likely taste a candy bar, potato chips, lemon juice, and a grapefruit peel.
bitter medicine -- people spit it out. If you put sugar in, is the bitter still there? Why would they tell us to put aspirin on the front of the tongue before swallowing it?
- What does the sense of taste teach you about the world we live in?
- How does taste help us select and enjoy food?
- What would happen to you without the sense of taste?
food coloring... paint your tongue front with blue food coloring. Place wax paper on tip of tongue. Count the number of unstained circles. the more of those you have the more fungiform tastebuds you have. This is why some people can't eat certain foods. Changes as you get older.
- Describe how the sense of taste and the sense of smell are related.
- What are some things that should not be tasted
Perfumes (which is which?) artificial flavor.
Smell-a-drink (coke and pepsi and diet coke) Which is which?
making gum drops?
Nose pinch and blindfolded smell of coke and pepsi and diet coke.
Forces
note: if class is small, divide into stations. For largest class, demonstrations. Bring tops.
Forces make stopped objects move and moving objects stop.
Have two volunteers jump. What made them come down? What made them go up (prompt for muscles)? Drop pencil. What made it fall?
Catapult... what made ball fly?
bouncing ball... what happens when it bounces? bounce clay. Now what do you think happens? Push in ball -- what happens to surface? Push in clay? How does ball act like muscles?
"Center of gravity"... what does that sound like? Place where things balance.
Put hat and string on someone's head. have them stand with legs apart. Where is center of gravity? Now stand on one leg. Where is it?
partner control -- have two kids. Ones sits on chair other puts thumb against first one's forehead. try to stand up. What happened with center of gravity?
have child prove they can bend to pick up pencil. Now, stand with toes to wall. Take 3 toe-heel steps back. pick up a pencil (they can't). What happened with center of gravity when you stick your hips way out?
Balance an improbable object with pencils (ball of clay on fork) How did that change center of gravity?
gyroscopes and tops -- precession causes motion in a circle. What makes a good top? How could I turn clay into top?
Gyroscope and bike wheel
coke bottle demo
Hot wheels roller coaster (but only use kids who have earned tokens)
Penny inside a balloon -- spinning things change their behavior. Throw balloon with spinning penny. What happened?
Forces make stopped objects move and moving objects stop.
Have two volunteers jump. What made them come down? What made them go up (prompt for muscles)? Drop pencil. What made it fall?
Catapult... what made ball fly?
bouncing ball... what happens when it bounces? bounce clay. Now what do you think happens? Push in ball -- what happens to surface? Push in clay? How does ball act like muscles?
"Center of gravity"... what does that sound like? Place where things balance.
Put hat and string on someone's head. have them stand with legs apart. Where is center of gravity? Now stand on one leg. Where is it?
partner control -- have two kids. Ones sits on chair other puts thumb against first one's forehead. try to stand up. What happened with center of gravity?
have child prove they can bend to pick up pencil. Now, stand with toes to wall. Take 3 toe-heel steps back. pick up a pencil (they can't). What happened with center of gravity when you stick your hips way out?
Balance an improbable object with pencils (ball of clay on fork) How did that change center of gravity?
gyroscopes and tops -- precession causes motion in a circle. What makes a good top? How could I turn clay into top?
Gyroscope and bike wheel
coke bottle demo
Hot wheels roller coaster (but only use kids who have earned tokens)
Penny inside a balloon -- spinning things change their behavior. Throw balloon with spinning penny. What happened?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Dry Ice
Set up:
Make sure there's some space between kids, have them work in pairs.
Make sure there's warm water around (pitcher of water)
If you have a chance, put a spoon in the warm water while you take roll, etc.
Get attention of kids, give them rules, introduce yourself.
explain that we are going to play with something that most kids never get to touch. Drop dry ice (use spoon) in a glass of water, and sip it as it foams. Tell them that at the end they will get to try the same kind of drink for themselves. Pour some of the fog on a kid's head.
Mention that dry ice "sublimes" (turns into gas, not liquid) as it melts. Tell them you can demonstrate it (put warm spoon on a large chunk of dry ice. Press firmly. Let them hear it "sing."
Show how cold it is by putting water in teaspoon and count seconds until it freezes.
Give them water with a little bit of soap in it, let them play with the bubbles.
Make "fizzy drink"
Put the last of the dry ice in warm water, let them sit around fog, try to corral it. Talk about Halloween special effects.
Give teams a cup (or container) for water and straw
Make sure there's some space between kids, have them work in pairs.
Make sure there's warm water around (pitcher of water)
If you have a chance, put a spoon in the warm water while you take roll, etc.
Get attention of kids, give them rules, introduce yourself.
explain that we are going to play with something that most kids never get to touch. Drop dry ice (use spoon) in a glass of water, and sip it as it foams. Tell them that at the end they will get to try the same kind of drink for themselves. Pour some of the fog on a kid's head.
Mention that dry ice "sublimes" (turns into gas, not liquid) as it melts. Tell them you can demonstrate it (put warm spoon on a large chunk of dry ice. Press firmly. Let them hear it "sing."
Show how cold it is by putting water in teaspoon and count seconds until it freezes.
Give them water with a little bit of soap in it, let them play with the bubbles.
Make "fizzy drink"
Put the last of the dry ice in warm water, let them sit around fog, try to corral it. Talk about Halloween special effects.
Give teams a cup (or container) for water and straw
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Classic slime
What you need:
pour the glue into the jar. Add 1/2 cup of water (if you're feeling lazy, just empty the glue bottle and then fill it with water and mix in there. Add coloring.
Mix 1 tsp of borax into 1 cup of water. Slowly stir the glue-water into the borax-water mix (note... this makes a LOT of slime. You can make small amounts of it at a time, however)
For kids, pour it into a ziplock bag and have them knead the bag until the slime forms. The more that it's worked, the firmer it becomes. Store the slime in this bag in the refrigerator to prevent mold.
Slime Fun:
Do a "slime drop." (does it fall all at once or stretch? Whose falls slowest?)
What happens if you pull it apart really fast?
What happens when you pull it apart slowly?
Do "whose slime stretches farthest" race and "who has chunkiest slime".
Have them name their slime.
- borax powder (20 Mule Team borax is what I use)
- water
- 4 ounces glue (that's 1/2 cup. Use Elmer's white glue or the blue school glue White makes opaque slime)
- teaspoon
- bowl
- jar or measuring cup
- food coloring (optional)
- measuring cup
pour the glue into the jar. Add 1/2 cup of water (if you're feeling lazy, just empty the glue bottle and then fill it with water and mix in there. Add coloring.
Mix 1 tsp of borax into 1 cup of water. Slowly stir the glue-water into the borax-water mix (note... this makes a LOT of slime. You can make small amounts of it at a time, however)
For kids, pour it into a ziplock bag and have them knead the bag until the slime forms. The more that it's worked, the firmer it becomes. Store the slime in this bag in the refrigerator to prevent mold.
Slime Fun:
Do a "slime drop." (does it fall all at once or stretch? Whose falls slowest?)
What happens if you pull it apart really fast?
What happens when you pull it apart slowly?
Do "whose slime stretches farthest" race and "who has chunkiest slime".
Have them name their slime.
Growing cyrstal gardens
A fun project to do in class over the period of a week or so is grow crystals. Here's one of the "classic" recipes:
Crystals will begin to grow in four hours and can continue growing for up to three days, depending on other conditions. Add more solution to keep them growing for a bit longer.
- substrate.
- 4 tbsp. bluing (found in grocery stores)
- 4 tbsp. salt (any kind)
- 1 tbsp. ammonia
- 4 tbsp. water
- food coloring
- plastic bowl or plate
Crystals will begin to grow in four hours and can continue growing for up to three days, depending on other conditions. Add more solution to keep them growing for a bit longer.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Detective Scavenger Hunt
Only do this in an area where you can have good control over the kids (noise and damage -- and make sure they can't injure themselves. Warn them away from or block off areas where things could be damaged.)
If you don't have time to make up a scavenger hunt list before the kids show up, hide a few things around the room and divide the group into teams. Have each team make a list of things for the other teams to find. Pull all of them out of the room and give each team (or person, if the group is small enough) an additional item to hide. Add that to the list.
Swap lists.
Turn them loose.
This can also be done to good effect with outdoor activities (make a rubbing of a leaf shaped like an arrowhead, find a bird, find an oak tree, etc)
If you don't have time to make up a scavenger hunt list before the kids show up, hide a few things around the room and divide the group into teams. Have each team make a list of things for the other teams to find. Pull all of them out of the room and give each team (or person, if the group is small enough) an additional item to hide. Add that to the list.
Swap lists.
Turn them loose.
This can also be done to good effect with outdoor activities (make a rubbing of a leaf shaped like an arrowhead, find a bird, find an oak tree, etc)
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