
Science Network
Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Location: RTB office
Time: 6:30 to 8:00
Topic: TBA
Summary of April meeting:
A group of 11 educators came together to share and discuss ideas about activities for Earth Day and ways to continue the focus into the summer. There was an interctive display board on recycling for the children to use. Another person had an idea from the magazine 'The Mailbox' which described planting seeds in clear gelatin in a clear plastic cup. The children would be able to see the roots developing and it can then be tranplanted, after washing off the gelatin. One school-age team talked about the possibility of introducing geocaching with the children. There was also some discussion about an outdoor-based program in the town of Carp near Ottawa.
Summary of meeting on February 22, 2012
After a very long gap between meetings, the science network met again. At the previous meeting, the idea of bringing an experiment to share came up. At this meeting, each person brought an idea of something they had tried or would like to try.
There was some discussion about the way we often tend to think of experiments when thinking of science. We will make sure that we also cover the area of natural science as well as physical science.
Some of the ideas from the evening included:
- "Exploding milk" using milk, food colouring and dish soap (see link below)
- a story about a polar bear using water with food colouring and bleach
- making 'rockets' using film canisters with vinegar and baking soda
- finding out what happens when you put a pine cone in water to soak (see link below)
- making string stick to ice using a bit of salt
- buuilding with icecubes using a bit of salt
Future meetings may focus on one topic so the group can share past ideas with each other and brainstorm for other ways to expand on the topic in programming.
http://for-wild.org/download/ngmj04.html
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/milk-color-explosion
Agenda from last meeting (October)
- Leaf prints in clay
- Discussion Topic: Identifying possible areas of study and reflection for the coming year. Identifying potential guest speakers to support specific areas of reflection.
- Brainstorming: Attracting greater participation at network meetings.
- Review meeting dates for the year, website changes and additions.
Resources and links from past discussions
Bug Sucker:
http://gocb.wordpress.com/2006/07/16/make-a-pooterbug-sucker/
Paper Airplanes:
http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/
http://www.funpaperairplanes.com/
| Sun-Baked
If you stay out in the sun too long, will your skin become sun-baked? Too much sun exposure can be unhealthy. There's an easy way to see the effect of the sun's rays -- without sacrificing your own skin.
Try this experiment, which uses soft leather scraps. Before you begin, take four scraps of leather and staple them to a block of wood. The leather is going to act as your "skin" for this experiment.
What You'll Need:
· Soft leather scraps
· Block of wood
· Stapler
· Sunscreen
· Baby oil
· Water
How to See If Your Skin Would Be Sun-Baked:
Step 1: Rub a thick layer of sunscreen across the top of one strip, rub baby oil over the second strip, and pour water on the third. Leave the fourth one natural.
Step 2: On a hot summer day, take the strips of leather outside and leave them in the sun.
Step 3: On the next hot, sunny day, reapply the sunscreen, baby oil, and water, and repeat the process. Keep doing this every hot, sunny day.
Step 4: At the end of the summer, closely examine how the strips of leather held up. Now imagine that the leather is your own skin.
When the sun's not shining, you can still have fun with an outdoor experiment. Keep reading to learn about a rainy-day activity.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/easy-outdoor-science-experiments-for-kids.htm |
Do you have a resource or link to share? contact Trish to get your information on the website. trishb@raisingthebarptbo.ca
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