Today, we explored magnets--their poles, how strong they are, how they interact with other objects. There were too many fun things to try for this topic, so we had 8 stations with different activities to explore the properties of magnets.
There were other stations where they made a compass out of a sewing needle, levitated a paper clip, tested various materials to see if they interfered with the magnet's strength.
They had a lot of fun performing magnet tricks. The youngest class spent a long time exploring the different magnets I had out, building with the Magformers, testing the strength of the Jishaku magnets, and experimenting with the different centers the other two classes had used. The youngest kids finished up with an activity where they predicted and then tested which items were able to attract the magnet. Then, they made magnetic puppets and a little stage for them to perform on. Additional ActivitiesVideos
Fun With Magnets! SciShow Kids goes over the basics of magnets in this 5 min. video. Bill Nye: Magnetism Another video from our favorite nutty scientist! AMAZING Science Experiments with Magnets This video shows some amazing magnets. Activities Magnet Magic This magic trick is similar to the levitating paper clip we did in class. Paint with Magnets This might be a fun activity, especially with the younger kids. Steve Spangler Science So many fun magnet activities here! Magnetic Slime, Magnetic Money, take the Balancing Hex Nut Challenge--plenty to keep you busy all through the holidays.
0 Comments
Today was all about waves--sound waves, light waves. We learned about how they reflect, refract, travel through conductors, and interfere with one another. We had several different activities the demonstrated some of the characteristics of light or sound waves. Laser Maze is a fun logic game, where you use mirrors to reflect the laser toward a target. The kids had a lot of fun with these light waves. They also heard sound waves conducted along a piece of yarn, broke a pencil using water, and went on a scavenger hunt around the house to learn some of the traits and rules of waves. Then, it was time to build a sound wave. Who knew you could demonstrate a wave with duct tape, skewers, and candy? The final product was so fun! Additional ActivitiesVideos & Podcasts
Waves--Bill Nye This episode is about everything to do with WAVES. World's Largest Horn Mark Rober is back again with another bigger than life experiment. This demonstration shows the speed of sound, which is pretty cool. The Science of Light and Color Have you ever wondered why we see rainbows? This video explains how light travels and why we see colors. Brains On: Forever Echo and Do We All See the Same Colors? These are just a couple of the Brains On podcasts about sound and light. Search their site for more, including the Mystery Sound Extravaganza episodes if you love the challenge of identifying sounds. Also recommended: If you have Netflix, Magic School Bus has episodes about sound, light, and making a rainbow which would all apply. Activities Listen and Learn Explore different animal sounds, vehicles, and more. See if you can guess the mystery sounds. There is also lots of other sound related information on this website. Wave on a String Try out this simulation of a sound wave and manipulate the frequency and amplitude to create different sounds. Why Do Leaves Change Colors? This experiment would be fun for any age, and with all of the colorful leaves around, this is the perfect time of year to see how the colors come out of the leaves. This takes a little while, but most of it is just waiting time. Go out for a walk, collect some leaves, and then make a little magic happen! This week, it was all about potential vs. kinetic energy. We got to see these ideas in action, transfer energy from one object to another, and demonstrate how much energy is lost to friction. We started with some demonstrations of energy being transferred from one object to another. Getting to see the large amount of energy in the basketball transferring to the smaller tennis ball was pretty impressive. Then, we headed in to play with marbles. We experimented with sending different numbers of marbles rolling towards another group of marbles and watched what happened when the kinetic energy was transferred. ![]() We spent some time defining energy and discussing the different types of energy and how they work. We worked through a couple more examples and made connections to other activities we have done in class this year. Energy is at work everywhere, so this is a topic that is easy to see and demonstrate. We don't do a lot of note-taking in class, but most of the kids seemed to like it. It really helps to have a basic foundation before starting the labs and I'm hoping the act of writing things down will help them remember some of the terms and concepts. Also, having a variety of ways that we learn in class makes it easier to reach all the different learning styles. Then, the older two classes moved on to our lab for the day. Using three different types of balls (ping pong, tennis, and bouncy), they measured how high the initial bounce was after dropping the ball from different heights. They used an iPad to film in slow motion so they could more accurately see the measurement. Like true scientists, they did several trials for each ball at each height. I think the favorite part of this activity was the filming--and the slo-mo was definitely useful in getting the readings (even if technology always seems to bring on some distractions, too ;).)
Additional Information:Videos:
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Energy Bill Nye shows us how energy works and how it effects us! He also explains the different kinds of energy and what they do. Kinetic and Potential Energy Song The last class watched this video in class, and thought it was hilarious and needed to be shared with the older kids. The kinetic energy they used while dancing to the song was its own demonstration! Bozeman Science: Potential and Kinetic Energy Explanation of potential vs. kinetic energy. Mythbusters--Massive Newton's Cradle Can a Newton's Cradle be made from wrecking balls? See the energy transfers that occur. Activities: Build a Rube Goldberg machine and identify the energy transfers that occur throughout. See how many types you can include (mechanical, chemical, thermal, radiant, electrical). Magic Rollback Can Using a rubber band, an empty can with a lid, and a weight, make a can that will roll away and then come back to you. You can demonstrate how potential energy is transformed into kinetic, and then back to potential. Create a Hopping Frog See how the potential energy transfers to kinetic when you make the origami frog hop. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2020
Categories |