Today, we dove down into the smallest bits of Chemistry--atoms and the parts that make up the atoms.
Then, we talked about the parts of an atom: protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and the electrons which orbit the nucleus. Each of the classes did some sort of activity relating to building atoms. The little and middle classes made different models of the atoms, and then we tried to put them in the order they are found on the periodic table, using the number of protons. With the oldest class, we tried something a little different. We played a shortened version of the game Subatomic, learning about the quarks that make protons and neutrons, the atomic structure of a few of the simplest atoms, as they collected cards and built atoms to end the game with the most points. The game was a huge hit and demonstrated how powerful play can be. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
The Atoms Song Short little song about the parts of an atom. Parts of an Atom Another short video, but not a song, that goes over what an atom is and its parts. The History of Atomic Theory This Crash Course video, aimed at the middle schoolers, goes over how we know what we know about atoms and the scientists who made these discoveries. Activities: Create an edible atom! We made atoms from pompoms, but you can make cookie atoms, or pizza atoms, or using any other food you can think of. What's the biggest atom you can make?
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Today, we began the long-awaited Chemistry unit! We are going to have so much fun in the next couple months as we explore what everything around us is made of and how things interact.
Our final lab was to make a substance to put out a fire. We mixed two common household substances--baking soda and vinegar--to create a gas, which was more dense than oxygen, and able to suffocate the candle flame. The wow factor, and relatively safe chemicals, made this a good lab to begin with. Everyone got a chance to try out the magic, and then we had a discussion about the density of carbon dioxide, and how you can detect the presence of a gas, even when it isn't visible. Our youngest mad scientists did a phases of matter sort for their notebooks, learned a song about the states of matter, and acted out how the molecules move in each state. They loved helping to create the fire extinguisher, too! Additional InformationVideos:
Phases of Matter: Bill Nye the Science Guy is back again, this time with a show on matter! Matter Song This one is a little different than the one the youngest class sang today, but similar. Activities: Make Oobleck Is it a solid? Or a liquid? With oobleck, it's hard to know! Read about this non-Newtonian liquid and make your own to play with. It just takes cornstarch and water. Experiment with the affects of temperature and pressure on water. All you need is an empty milk carton and hot and cold water for this demonstration. We began class with a little review of weather and climate. We went over the homework from last week and the kids matched the cloud pictures with their names, and sorted them into the different levels of the atmosphere where they occur. Then, it was time to learn about barometers with a STEM challenge! After watching a short video, the classes split into teams and were given the supplies necessary to make a barometer. They brainstormed ways they could measure the atmospheric pressure, tested out their models, went back to the drawing board. I loved listening to them as they made little discoveries and connections that were leading them in the correct direction! The different classes came to slightly different final products, but all the groups came up with something that could measure a change in air pressure. With the youngest class, we took a slightly different approach. We started with a rain cloud demonstration to begin, creating our own clouds from shaving cream and making food coloring rain. Then, we read a book about weather theories from the past and what we know now. We finished off by making barometers together. Additional InformationVideos:
Weather Instruments An introduction to 6 different instruments used to measure weather. Finding Stuff Out: Weather This one is especially aimed at the elementary age kids--answers different questions about weather. Activities: Build an Anemometer to measure wind speed. This is a simple activity that will let you measure a different aspect of weather. Compare the wind speed from day to day, or morning to evening. Are there patterns? Weather Wiz Kids This website is run by a meteorologist to cover everything to do with weather. Browse the various topics, or try one of the many suggested activities or experiments. |
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May 2020
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