Late last month I hosted a summer science day. A group of mostly homeschooled kids attended. They took part in three science experiments.
The first experiment was making a baking soda volcano. Amber and I constructed the volcano in advance and then we did the experiment all together. The result of mixing baking soda and vinegar is a bubbly, oozing eruption. Kids of all ages dig this! The teacher in me couldn't just do the fun part I had to make a poster chart with words like reaction and carbonic acid and arrows,because all chemical reactions involve arrows. See the kids' faces? Don't they look excited while I'm pointing to the chart.
The first experiment was making a baking soda volcano. Amber and I constructed the volcano in advance and then we did the experiment all together. The result of mixing baking soda and vinegar is a bubbly, oozing eruption. Kids of all ages dig this! The teacher in me couldn't just do the fun part I had to make a poster chart with words like reaction and carbonic acid and arrows,because all chemical reactions involve arrows. See the kids' faces? Don't they look excited while I'm pointing to the chart.
They look much more interested here.
Up next was the Chemistry of Blood. This was fun and something I had never done before. First we discussed the different blood types and defined the words antigen and antibody. Then we conducted the experiment. I had mixed "blood" samples ahead of time and then had kids volunteer to combine different "blood" types and discuss the outcome. They caught on quick to the idea of certain blood types being compatible and others not. We then discussed universal donor and universal receiver and using the blood type stickers I put on their hands they figured out who they could donate blood to and who they could receive blood from. This worked well and got them moving around a bit.
The last experiment of the day before we indulged in a pile of yummy snacks was "Just For the Sport of It", an experiment in physics. This experiment held the kid's interest, but the results for us were sketchy. The predictions were consistent with the "right" answer, but our results didn't prove our predictions to be correct. I pointed out that many factors are involved in getting the most accurate results. Precision is important in science and maybe we conducted our experiment a bit sloppy.
Disclaimer: Dow Chemical provided me with compensation for supplies. All opinions and comments are completely mine.
looks like a fun day. I envy that you have a house full xo
ReplyDeletefabulous experiment :) i love the first picture - we all look so bored! hahaha
ReplyDelete- missshesaid.blogspot.com <3