Group Experiment #4

You knew it was coming!  There were two groups that chose vinegar and baking soda to mix together.  This is how the first experiment went:

Materials needed:  

• baking soda and vinegar
• funnel
• test tube
• straw

Procedure:

1. Funnel in the test tube.
2. Vinegar poured in until it fills halfway.
3. Pour baking soda for the other half of the tube.
4. Mix with a straw.

Predictions:  

• The powder will turn blue and into al liquid.  It won't be soft anymore.
• The blue won't be a squid anymore.
• It will turn dough-y.

Taking pictures was hard, so all I have are still shots captured from video.  I am sure you can imagine what it looked like!

"Its making bubbles!"

"Oh... my.... gosh."

"Ahhhhh!"

"It made a doughy thing at the bottom.  So one of my guesses is right!"

Keeping things quiet was going to be hard for this group.  I couldn't imagine how much these scientists wanted to share their findings!

 

It explosion

It acted like a volcano

It exploded

Group Experiment #3

With every group and child I talked to, I got the feeling they wanted a big reaction.  I talked about it a lot with them.  Did they really think I would let something explode?  Would that be safe?  This convinced about half of them, but the rest of the class was holding strong in the hopes of something explosive.

Materials needed:  

• baking soda and corn starch
• funnel
• test tube
• straw

Procedure:

1. Pour the corn starch in a tube.
2. Pour baking soda in the tube.
3. Mix it with a straw.

Predictions:  

• It will explode!  Just kidding.  But maybe...

There aren't any pictures of this experiment, but here is the general consensus of the final results.  No explosion, but still fun to test out our hypotheses.  

Group Experiment #2

This is the story of the second group.

Materials needed:  

• vegetable oil and vinegar (the vinegar is dyed blue)
• funnel
• test tube
• straw

Procedure:

1. Put the funnel in the test tube.
2. Pour blue vinegar halfway.
3. Pour vegetable oil halfway.
4. Mix everything with a straw.

Predictions:  

• It will be a green liquid.
• It will turn orange.

Now keep in mind the vegetable oil is a pale yellow and the vinegar is dyed blue.  I used food coloring in the vinegar to throw the children off, and because I knew someone would choose this combination for their experiment.  It is surprising to see when two liquids don't mix.

The young scientists tried mixing and mixing and mixing, but did not get the result they were expecting.  

"It's not mixing."

"I don't want to do it anymore."

"But this is the problem.  It's all like this."

"I don't know."

"Maybe you mix it." (to the teacher)

So that is what happened.  With teacher help and a lot of shaking, the test tube was mixed as best as it could be.  Once the tube was set back on the table, it started to un-mix!  The liquids get back to their original places with the oil on top and vinegar on bottom.  Small bubbles were seen and they moved slowly to separate.  

The children couldn't explain it, but something abnormal was happening.  These are their findings.    "Oil and vinegar did not mix!"

Group Experiment #1

After identifying and working with the liquids and solids I brought in, we were ready to come up with plans for experiments.  Working in small groups, we first decided which two substances we wanted to mix together.  That was a hard task in itself to agree with others.  When that was established we thought about how we were going to set up our environment, what our procedure was, and what our predictions were.

When each student made their plans, one lucky group got to carry them out first.  Here is their experience:

Materials needed:  

• vegetable oil and corn starch
• funnel
• test tube
• straw

Procedure:

1. Put the funnel in the test tube.
2. Put corn starch into the tube about halfway.
3. Add vegetable oil for the rest of the way.
4. Mix everything with a straw.

Predictions:  

• Everything will turn hard and yellow.
• Corn starch will turn yellow.

And then came the experiment!  Following the procedure made up by the young scientists, they stuck to the plan.  Some pictures were taken, but it was hard to have a free hand!  You will also see the notes taken in their science notebooks detailing observations.  

It looked like ice cream.  It is creamy.

It turned yellow.  Liquid is soft.

This is only one experiment, so get ready for 5 more groups of student work.  Once everyone has finished with their experiments, they will spend time presenting their experiences to the class- and possibly recreating their experiment so everyone can see it firsthand!  

Mystery substances 2

These next two jars were a lot harder to try to figure out.  They looked almost the same, moved almost the same, and felt almost the same.  

Substance 3 was not a liquid like the first two.  It was a white powder.  We called it many things:

• grainy
• white
• powdery
• bumpy
• sugar
• soft
• nothing (sounds like)
• strong (smells like)
• sandy
• grainy

It reminded us of salt, sugar, and sand.  It had a strong smell we just couldn't name.  It was a mystery.  I gave the children a hint saying it was something you could use in recipes and something that is very good at getting stinky smells out of things.  

Did you guess it yet?  It is baking powder!

When I brought out substance 4, the children thought it was the same exact jar with a afferent number on it.  Upon further inspection, it moved differently and looked differently in the jar.  It smelled strange to some children, and some children said it was a different feel.  We used a lot of the same language when describing this powder.

• crumbly
• stinky
• white
• smooth
• yucky
• rubbery
• nothing (sounds like)
• stinky
• sugar
• soft
• powder

Figure it out yet?  This substance is great for making liquids thicker in the kitchen.  People use it a lot of the time for gravy.  It's corn starch!

The Venn Diagram became very useful when comparing these two powders.  There were subtle differences that came out when we sorted our adjectives.

Knowing what the names are and properties of the four substances, we have already started thinking about mixing them.  I will be sitting down with the children and going over their procedures in mixing two of the jars together.  A little bit of  corn starch with a big scoop of vinegar?  One part baking soda with one part vegetable oil?  What materials are needed?  What is your prediction?  We will have to do our best to wait unit after Thanksgiving to follow through with our plans.

And as experienced grown-ups, I am sure you have some knowledge on how these materials might interact with each other, but try your best to keep that wonderful secret with you so the children can learn as scientists.  Thank you!

Mystery substances 1

Two weeks ago I brought in some "mystery" jars with unknown substances inside of them.  I brought out the first jar and discussed ideas on what it could be.  "It's apple juice!"  "It's car oil!"  Before going any further, I encouraged the children to think like scientists.  A scientists doesn't just make guesses.  A scientist uses his/her senses to learn more about the world around them.  

To the child who said it was apple juice, I asked them to smell it.  Did they still think it was apple juice?  I then asked if they wanted to taste it to make sure.  If they were absolutely positive it was apple juice, why not taste it?  If you were wondering, the student declined as did everyone else.  Would a scientist taste or touch something if they thought they knew what it was?  "Ms. Sarah, what if it was poison?  It looks like apple juice and could smell like apple juice, but it could be a dangerous chemical!"  I agree!  I then assured the group that I would never bring in a dangerous chemical. After all, we were to use our senses to describe what we could about what was in the jar.

Off we went.  Taking turns in small groups, we used four out of five senses to come to a better understanding of what was in the jar.  We recorded our observations and came up with a variety of descriptive language:

• yellow
• smooth
• silky
• gross
• clear
• nothing (sounds and smells like)
• eggs
• yummy
• slippery
• doughy
• nothing

Have you figured out what it is yet?  It's vegetable oil!

The mystery substance we used next was obviously different.  It was blue.  Using the same strategies, sea tried to learn more about it.  Here are some of the things we came up with:

• blue
• wet
• yucky
• cold
• no sound
• water
• cleaner
• sour

Do you know what this one is yet?  It's vinegar!  I added blue to make it a little bit tricky.

After discussions on both liquids, we spent time comparing them so we could really notice the differences.  This will come in handy when we come up with ideas for experimentation.  I have a feeling the next two substances will have more in common.  Look forward to that post!

The 5 Senses

In order to become thoughtful scientists, we have to understand how our 5 senses help us.  We took some time to think about each sense and use them during multiple investigations.  Here is some of what we did.


We took eggs filled with various materials and described what we heard.  Loud, soft, crinkly, clangy, booming, splashing, high pitch, and empty were words we used to describe what we heard.  We then matched the eggs with pictures and were surprised at how accurate we were!

Before we analyzed our sense of sight, we started discussing adjectives we could use to describe objects.  We did this with each sense before we investigated.  What does an apple look like?  How about a peacock feather?  A bowl of jello?  We stretched our brains and looked at zoomed in pictures of everyday objects.  Without knowing what the object was we couldn't call it a strawberry, but we could say it is red and looks wet with yellow spots.

It is easiest to think of adjectives for the sense of touch because it is something we are all very familiar with.  Things can be soft, hard, smooth, rough, moist, rigid, jagged, hollow, squishy, fluffy, and gooey.  We can feel things with our hands, but also with our skin on other parts of our body.  Ever felt a cool pillow on your cheek?  Or how about a brush through your hair?  We took familiar (and some unfamiliar) objects and put them in a bag.  Using just our sense of touch we tried our best not to guess what the object was and only describe what we felt.  

Smells are all around us.  When asked to describe the smell of something, we often use the words good or bad.  Trying to use a variety of words is hard and relies a lot on experience.  With help of a thesaurus we came up with more descriptive language.  Putting those words to use was harder when we were "out in the field."  





We then took something we all knew and analyzed it like never before- an apple.  Using all of our five senses, we came up with lists of adjectives.  Apples are round, red, smooth, hard, cool, squishy inside, gooey, sweet, delicious, juicy, fruity, and shiny.

These experiences with our 5 senses will come in handy when we start experimenting soon!

"Magnets... How do they work?" (Science Tools Continued)

After working with eyedroppers, the next science tool on the list was a balance.  We were getting into the good stuff!  We started out our conversation with the idea of a seesaw.  Most of us have had experiences using a seesaw.  To get us thinking about weight and what it means to be balanced I posed the question, "Would you want to ride a seesaw with an elephant?"

"Yeah!"
"Only if there were more animals."
"I could sit on boxes."
"No.  He might squish me."
"He would probably break it."
"No because it wouldn't work."

I then challenged the children to make their own seesaws using materials found in the classroom.  How would we know if it worked?  By using small manipulatives (dominoes in this case) we could see how stable or unstable our seesaws were by how balanced they needed to be.  The seesaws that teetered over really needed to be balanced, and that was the challenge.













These seesaws were pretty stable.  They rarely teetered over and you could stack quite a bit on them.  

These were a lot more unstable and took more time to balance.  This was a true seesaw.  A real seesaw wobbles easily.  These showed when one side weighed more than the other without a problem.

From there we moved on to using a real balance.  It had a lot more bells and whistles than the see saws that we made, but the concept of comparing weight came to us a lot easier this way.  With a balance we were able to use weights and compare on a more precise level to answer questions like, "Which weighs more?" and "How many kangaroos does it weigh?" 

After introducing the balance I brought out magnets.  We all know magnets and use them for many things in the classroom, but now was our chance to look at them like the scientists we are.  I brought out a simple magnet and asked the children to tell me what they knew and what they would like to know.

"Magnets stick to metal."
"Magnets are on our trains."
"They stick to metal things."
"They work like magic."
"I just want to know, like, how they do what they do."

A few terms were needed to explore our tools- magnetic, attract, repel, and magnetic field.  We started out by testing if a material was magnetic or not.  Do you know what we figured out?  Not all metal is magnetic!  This was surprising. The classroom keys and a nickel would not be attracted by the magnet no matter how much we tried.  

The next day we did a few experiments to help understand our vocabulary.  When two magnets come together, sometimes they attract and sometimes they repel.  We had to push so hard to get them to stay together, but as soon as we let go, the magnets almost shot away from each other!  Was this magic?  No!  It is the magnetic field.  It is the invisible force of the magnet.  We could almost measure how big the field was by seeing how close things would get before they would attract or repel.

Here is a drawing of what it looks like when you levitate a magnet trapped to the ground with a string.  It is floating in the air!

Here is a drawing of what it looks like when the paperclip is dangling from a string.  When you inch the magnet closer and closer, the magnetic field is reached and the paperclip glides right over!

Above you will see the experiments we did involving a paperclip, string, and a magnet.  They were very exciting to see because we really got the chance to almost measure where the magnetic field was.  Did you know stronger magnets have an even bigger magnetic field?  

These experiments are something that can be done easily at home.  Take a moment to have your children model what they have learned in the classroom by experimenting together!

Science Tools

In order to become scientists, we need to now how to use tools the right way.  Scientists use tools to help them observe, experiment, and learn about the world around them.  As new scientists, we might not know how to use these tools.  Below is our experience learning about and using our tools.

The first thing we did was discuss the importance of safety.  We went over guidelines and discussed terms of a contract we put in our science notebooks.  This is something we refer back to weekly (or daily if needed!)

Every few days I introduce a science tool.  We discuss what they are made of, what they are used for, what the tools tell us, how we can use them in the classroom, and how the tools can help us become better scientists.  From there we use the tools.  Most of the time it has been something small, like using tweezers to grab the rocks out of the sand box.  By using the tools for a task, we are practicing how to use them correctly.

More recently we used two tools at once to help with our first experiment.  We answered, "how many drops of water can fit on a penny?"  We made predictions based on observations, preformed the experiment, and used a magnifying glass to help us draw our observations.  Many of us wanted to erase our predictions to write down the correct answer.  This gave us a great opportunity to talk about the importance of predictions and that it is okay if they aren't close to the actual answer.

We still have more tools to explore, but I just wanted to keep you updated on the types of things we are doing!

What is a scientist?

This week I introduced personal science notebooks to the children.  It is going to be a place for us to store our observations, experiments, and ideas regarding science topics.  To start this process I asked the question, "What is a scientist?"  

"A scientist makes potions."
"A scientist is a smart person."
"A scientist can make monsters."
"A scientist can learn about things."

We talked briefly about the types of scientists (geologist, zoologist, architect, etc...)  and found out that there were a few scientists in our families!  We chose notebooks and drew what we knew or maybe would like to know about scientists.

doctor

smart person

We went over notebook guidelines that we will refer back to when needed.  Soon we will be discussing tools and sign a safety contract on how to use those tools.  Look forward to that blog post soon.

Welcome!

Welcome new Junior Explorers!  Here you will see a tour of your classroom and how it will look for you the first week of school.  I set it up to how I think you will like it.  Look around and make a plan of what you would like to do your first day of school!

This is the writing area.  Here you have many supplies to draw, create, and write whatever you feel.  This is where we keep the paper, pencils, markers, scissors, and tape.

This is the dramatic play area.  Here you will find the baby dolls, pretend food, dollhouse furniture, and stuffed animals.

This is the block area.  It is also where we have meeting time.  Here you will find blocks, Legos, animals, and K'nex.  We sit together in this space to talk about a lot of things as a whole group.

This is the literacy area.  Here is where you will find books, puzzles, and letters. Right now there is a small collection of books, but soon we will organize them by subject.  I am waiting for you to do this!  This is also where we keep our technology.  Each day you will be able to work on the iPads and computers.

This is the rainbow table.  I usually sit in the middle and have small groups (or large groups!) of children around me.  This is where we can sit and talk about things and focus on what we need to.  

You might notice some shelves look empty and the walls may be bare.  I left these things this way because I want to know what you like to play and learn with.  That way I can bring new materials when I need to.  We will also fill the walls up in no time!  Enjoy the weekend and I will see you soon!