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Pendulum Art

11/7/2014

Pendulums are a great way to teach children about centrifugal force, without getting into the actual science of how it works. Their curiosity will be piqued when they are able to see the path their pendulum takes as it eventually comes to rest. Often times children see that suspended items return to a resting position (as with swings), now we have created a way to illustrate this so that they can understand.

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Rainbow Bubble Snake Wand

9/2/2014

Things will need for this experiment:

Water Bottle/or sports drink or any kind
One Sock
liquid dishwashing soap
Food Coloring (Optional)

What to do:
Step #1: Find a bottle you can put a sock onto securely
Step #2: Once you have finished putting the sock onto the bottle, go find a bowl and put dishwashing liquid into the bowl
Step #3: Add as little water as possible, only to thin out the soap
Step #4: Dip the sock piece into the solution to create bubble glory!

#5: (Optional) You can add food coloring to the sock to create colorful bubbles!

How Does this experiment work:
The sock acts as though it’s a wand, you dip the wand into the soap solution then BAM! You have a long trail of bubble floating everywhere! This project is meant to be outside, this project can stain clothes if your

Lava in a cup

9/2/2014

Things will need for this experiment:

Find a clear glass or cup
Warm Water
Food coloring
Vegetable oil
Measuring cups (3/4 cup and ¼ teaspoon )
Salt (Does not matter on the kind you use)

What to do:
Step #1: Fill the glass with ¾ of water
Step #2: Add five or more drops of food coloring
Step #3: Then slowly pour the Vegetable oil into the glass
Step #4: Once the glass is filled with both the water and vegetable oil begin adding as much salt as needed until you see bubbles.
Step #5: (Optional) Once the affects wear off, you may keep adding salt to keep the affects going

How Does this experiment work:
How the experiment works is basically the combinations of the three main ingredients (water, vegetable oil and Salt) The vegetable oil raises to the top since oil is lighter than water. Once the water and oil separate, begin adding the food coloring which will turn the liquids into the “lava” color. Then we add the salt last since the salt is heavier than oil! Once the salt sinks down into the water, the salt will take a bit of oil down with it, and then return to the surface as bubbles.

Fizz-Inflator

9/2/2014

Things will need for this experiment:

One water bottle
½ cup of vinegar
A (Preferably) small balloon
Baking soda
Funnel or rolled up piece of paper

What to do:

Step #1: Find a water bottle and carefully pour ½ a cup of vinegar into the water bottle.

Step #2: Find a funnel and attach it to the balloon. Once the balloon is attached to the funnel begin pouring baking soda into the funnel to the balloon. Keep pouring until the balloon is half way full.

Step #3: Once the water bottle is filled with some vinegar, and the balloon has some baking soda in it then you attach the balloon to the mouth of the water bottle as tight as possible.

Step #4: Then gently tip the balloons baking soda into the water balloon and watch the science began!

How Does this experiment work:
The experiment works by creating an Acid-based reaction of the two chemicals (the baking soda and vinegar) forming into gas (carbon dioxide) which will inflate the balloon.

Expanding Soap Bars

6/15/2014

Warning This project will make your home/Care Center smell like a bar of soap. Please use common sense when executing this project.

Place a piece of waxed paper in your microwave, then place the bar of soap on top of the parchment. This really doesn't make a mess, so don’t worry. We started out with one minute, which gave us a good result. Had we known better, we would have stopped at one minute, but we decided to spring for two minutes and got burnt soap. As an FYI; Burnt soap makes a lot of soap smelling smoke...

**As a bonus sensory exorcise, we let the children play with their expanded soap n the sink. They really enjoyed feeling the different textures of the soap, and watching it melt away.

Celery Coloring Experiment

4/28/2014

Supplies:

celery
clear cups or jars
water
food coloring
knife

Directions: Fill cups/jars half-full of water. Add 5-8 drops of food coloring to each cup/jar. Cut the bottom of the celery to make each stalk the same height (use the stalks with some leaves on them). Place celery into cup/jars. Observe the changes several times over a 24-48 hour period.

The science: When you water the soil of your plants, how does the water travel from the soil into the plant and out to the leaves? Tiny tubes (xylem) draw the water up from the roots like a straw. It works by a capillary action. The water molecules suck up inside the tiny tubes and move up and out to the leaves as if someone was sucking on the end of the tubes. The suction actually occurs as a result of water in the leaves evaporating very slowly.

Coffee Clay: Fossils

4/28/2014

Supplies:

1 Cup used coffee grounds
1/2 Cup water or leftover coffee
1 Cup flour
1/2 Cup salt

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Knead a few times. Roll out or hand pat clay to desire thickness. Create beautiful keepsake fossils by gently pressing shells, leaves, or plastic animals or dinosaurs into the clay. Remove the item from the clay gently. Use a straw or pencil to create a hole at the top of the clay ornament. Let the clay sit out to dry for 1-3 days. Add a ribbon or string for hanging.

Apple Seed science

4/8/2014

Directions:
Place a few apple seeds onto a paper towel. Fold in half. Wet paper towel just enough to make damp. Place inside sandwich bag and seal shut. Check every few days for changes. Place in a sunny place. Add water if paper towel becomes dry.

Supplies:

Apple seeds
Resealable sandwich bag
Paper towel or napkin
Water

Will my seed sprout?

If your seeds continue to grow plant them in a small cup with soil and water regularly. Transfer to a bigger container as needed.

Kitchen Science Experiments

3/24/2014

Lava Lamp Experiment

Supplies:

clear glass
water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt
food coloring

Directions:
Fill glass 3/4 full with water. Add 3-5 drops of food coloring. Slowly pour in oil and let it rise to the top of the glass. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt on top of oil. Wait and watch for blobs to move up and down in the glass. Add more salt to keep the blobs going.

Tornado in a Glass

Supplies:

clear glass
water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
food coloring
butter knife

Directions:
Fill glass 3/4 of water. Add 3-5 drops of food coloring. Stir. Slowly pour in oil and let it raise to the top of the glass. Use a butter knife to rapidly stir the contents in the glass around in a circular motion. Remove knife and observe the tornado effect.