Bubblemania!

Well, it's time for one of my favorite activities with my preschooler Weird Scientists! I have the kids make their own bubble wands and have them try out different shapes to see if it "changes" the shape of their bubbles. We also do a time test, comparing bubbles from a day-old solution to one we made on site. Did you know that pipe cleaners can make excellent bubble wands? Another favorite is a long piece of PVC pipe with a cord loop attached to the end. One end of the cord loop slides up and down the PVC pipe. After you dip the cord in the bubble solution, pull it out and carefully slide the one end of the cord up the pipe toward your hand. Swing it gently around in a semi-circle around you to make a giant bubble, then gently slide the cord closed again to close the bubble and release it.

Usually I like to make our bubble recipe with home-grown glycerin from my husband's former biodiesel-brewing days. However, this time I'm using another tried and true recipe that makes wonderful bubbles (especially if you make it a day or two before you want to use it):

Ingredients:

6 cups of distilled water

1 cup corn syrup

2 cups Dawn dish soap

To prepare:

Stir together water and corn syrup.

Add the Dawn dish soap and stir very gently, without making bubbles.

Henry's Birthday Brew!

Here are some of the fun experiments we did yesterday, inspired by a young Mr. Henry who turned 8 years old. Happy Birthday Henry! These are all experiments you can do at home, with materials straight out of your kitchen (or bathroom) cupboard.

The Famous Mentos Geyser Experiment

Materials:

• 2-liter of Diet Coke (and other varieties of soda to test out for fun)
• 1 roll of mint-flavored Mentos (allow approximately 1 roll for each 2-liter bottle)
• 1 piece of scrap paper

Method:

• Do this outside!
• Open the 2-liter bottle and place it somewhere where it won't fall over. Also keep it several feet away from any furniture or other materials that you don't want covered in Diet Coke.

• Roll up the piece of paper into the shape of a funnel that will allow the Mentos to drop through it, into the 2-liter bottle.
• Open the Mentos and drop them, all at once, through the funnel into the bottle.
• Stand back!

Home-made Lava Lamp

Materials:

• One empty 2-liter bottle leftover from the Mentos Experiment
• Approximately 10 oz of tap water per 2-liter bottle (less for a smaller bottle; this does not need to be an exact amount. You simply need a layer of water on the bottom of the bottle)
• Enough vegetable oil to fill the remainder of the volume in the 2-liter bottle (or whatever size bottle you are using), after the water is added.
• Food coloring
• Alka Seltzer tablets (at least 2 per 2-liter bottle)
• Funnel

Methods:

• Pour the tap water into the 2-liter bottle using the funnel.
• Tilt the bottle on its side and use a funnel to pour in the vegetable oil, filling it to the top of the bottle (tilting helps prevent too much mixing of the oil and water).
• Add a few drops of food coloring.
• Observe where the food coloring goes when you add it to the bottle. 
• Add 2 tablets of Alka Seltzer to the bottle, and Voila!
• Feel free to add more tablets of Alka Seltzer to keep the action going whenever you want to!

Fabulous Foam

Materials:

• 3/4 cup Hydrogen Peroxide (3% is standard; 6% or greater is available at salon stores and works even better!)
• 2-liter bottle or similar size bottle
• Approximately 1 tbs of yeast
• Approximately 3 tbs of warm water
• Cup for mixing yeast and water
• Squirt of dish soap
• Funnel

Methods:

• It's best to do this in the kitchen sink or outside.
• Use funnel to pour hydrogen peroxide into 2-liter bottle.
• Add a squirt of dish soap to bottle.
• Add a few drops of food coloring.
• In separate cup, mix yeast and warm water until yeast is dissolved or not lumpy.
• Add yeast mixture to 2-liter bottle and watch the reaction!
• Observe the temperature of the bottle as the foam is produced. The yeast is a catalyst and causes the extra oxygen molecule in the hydrogen peroxide to be released as foam (made even more foamy by the dish soap). This is an exothermic reaction (heat is produced); you should feel the heat increase as the reaction occurs!

Frankenstein's Glove

Materials:

• One latex glove
• Approximately 1 cup of vinegar
• A few tablespoons of baking soda (this is an imprecise experiment!)
• One jar or cup wide enough that the glove will fit over the top securely.

Methods:

• Pour the vinegar in the jar or cup.
• Pour the baking soda into the latex glove, filling the fingertips.
• Secure the glove over the top of the cup.
• Lift the fingers of the glove so that the baking soda falls out of the fingers into the jar or cup.
• Watch the glove come alive as carbon dioxide is produced from the reaction between the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and the vinegar (acetic acid).

Coming this week to Catalina Day School: A scientific treasure hunt!

Weird Science flyer for Camden campus

It's the last Weird Science of the year at the Camden campus. So excited for the Mars Rovers they create!

The Final Countdown...

The Sycamore Class has finally finished their science fair project!

We asked the students what they wanted to call their project.
I believe it's aptly named, don't you? 

The school Science Fair will be held on Friday at the River Rd. campus. School judging will take place on Saturday, and then it is on to the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair (SARSEF) to be judged by scientists and engineers throughout the community! This is fantastic exposure for the Sycamore Class students, and it is the 2nd year in a row they've been able to participate. If you have a chance to attend, I highly encourage it so that your student can see their work in a grand space and among the best in the city. SARSEF will be held at the Tucson Convention Center, and the public viewing days are Wednesday, March 13th through Friday, March 15th. For more information on the schedule or other information, please refer to the SARSEF web page.

I can't tell you how proud they are of their own work (and how proud we are of them). Each student contributed significantly to the project and to the poster, and as a group they worked harmoniously like one big, miraculous organism, producing the fruits of their labor for all to see.  Need I say more?

Progress on the Sycamore Class Science Fair Project

Well, we are officially moving on to Phase II of our science fair experiment this week! The kids have been really excited about growing alum crystals, and asking some excellent questions along the way, like:

"Will the crystals disappear again?"

"How can we make them disappear?"

"What will happen if we use food coloring while growing our crystals?"

 To cultivate inquiry in the process, we decided to follow up on some of those questions by having them do some extra experimentation, rather than answer the questions directly. That is, after all, what makes a true scientist! Curiosity is key.

So, this week we will begin Phase II by exploring how, why, or even IF the crystals will grow in a more acidic solution than water (such as vinegar). And of course we'll probably throw in a bit of food coloring to boot!

Meanwhile, here are some photos we captured from Phase I of the experiment. The kids were so proud of their results!

The original alum -- KAl(SO4)-2 * 12H2O 

The original alum looks (and smells) a lot like sugar.

These are the seed crystals that are tied with dental floss
 and hanging from a pencil in the saturated alum solution.

The students were diligent about measuring the pH of their
solution on a daily basis.

An example of the end result-- an alum crystal that is re-
precipitated in the solution (it is actually an aluminum
hydroxide-- AlOH).