Current MEOWs

This week in science we looked at extreme weather. Here's the convection experiment that I showed the 4th and 5th graders. It's easy to do with red and blue food coloring.

Students were also excited creating tornadoes using a vortex bottle. If you'd like to make your own, you can buy a little bottle connector, or you can make a DIY Vortex bottle out of spare parts.

Thanks to all the Washington students who showed up at my house to have candy launched at them on Halloween! It was great to see the cool costumes and extra fun to launch things. I'm hoping you are doing some launching of your own at home. If you haven't made a catapult yet, it's really fun. Here are the plans for a couple basic popsicle stick catapults for your enjoyment.

In class this week we are back to studying weather. One "cool" thing you can do is make your own thermometer at home. Don't forget to test it in warm water and cold water.

Lastly, if you've been following the MEOW for a while, you know I'm an astro-nut. So if you'd like to take your mind off of our planet for a moment, please watch this amazing video of NASA's Osiris Rex mission as it collects a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft should return to earth in 2023 with a rare glimpse into the early history of our solar system.

This week's Mini Experiment Of the Week has two halloween thematic items.

You know what's spooky? When your eyes play tricks on you. Try this super easy pumpkin optical illusion and see things that aren't there! All you need is a pencil, index cards, tape and markers.

Also, coming up soon, you may need something to do with extra candy! Here's a chance to have your science and eat it, too. This experiment is about chemistry and Your Sense of Taste. Get a friend to feed you some candy (skittles work well) with your eyes closed and/or your nose plugged and then try and determine the flavor of the treat. It's harder than you think.

Speaking of candy, you may have heard that I'll have a candy-pult at my house on Halloween. I live in the San Pablo park neighborhood at the corner of Russell and Stanton. If I'm not out launching candy, feel free to ring the doorbell and step back to the end of the walkway.

This week's Mini Experiment Of the Week is a two part halloween solution!

1) Did you know that tonic water glows under black light? You can use the tonic to make ice cubes, jello, or even glowy adult beverages if that's your thing. Here's why it works and how you can make it *stop* glowing (but why?!)

2) And now, don't go out to the store to get a pricey light bulb. Make your own black light with sharpie markers and your phone!

Thanks to all the Washington families (and friends) who have chipped in to our tree fundraiser. You're awesome! We raised over $700 (wow! 700trees!).

Cool Science Resources from Parents

Andrea (Theo, 5th Grade) suggests the Bay Area Science Festival.

The Bay Area Science Festival is Northern California’s largest education event, bringing together STEM role models, families, youth and adults to experience the wonder of science.

David (Chloe, 5th Grade) suggests Berkeley Lab's Live Science Series

Live shows that explore innovative research and related hobbies at home. Each episode in the series highlights scientists and researchers at Berkeley Lab

As always, please send pics if you try these experiments. If you have a recommended resource, please let me know and I'll try to include it in the next MEOW!

This week we are moving deeper into our unit about weather with a look at the water cycle.

If you'd like to do some water cycling at home, here are three mini experiments that show off our friend, the hydrological cycle, with household materials. If you'd like to go a step further and add plants to the cycle, you can easily look at transpiration, water that leaves exhale, using a nearby plant and a plastic bag. Kids often think that plants are boring because they don't move around, so it's cool to actually see them producing something that was previously invisible.

This week we are starting a new unit about weather. I have been doing a demonstration using milk and water, to show how particles in the atmosphere cause blue light to scatter sideways, leaving orange yellow and red light to pass through. That's why grey smoke can cause a strange yellow-orange sky like the one we saw a few weeks ago, and why sunsets are so vividly red and orange. You can try this easy sunset experiment even if you don't have a big water tank. All you need is a glass, a little milk and a flashlight.

The other experiment that captivated kids was ice spikes you can grow in your freezer. I actually did it with my family and it worked the second time. (The trick is to under-fill your ice cube trays) Here's the video on ice spikes we watched in class that got everyone excited. Please do try this at home.

Last week in science we took a deep dive into the coronavirus science - how we build immunity, how we defeat the virus with soap and water or use hand sanitizer. We all agreed that the virus is no fun. But that doesn't mean we can't have fun learning about the virus.

Here are 2 more virus-related activities that show how the corona virus membrane works.

From the Exploratorium: Cellular Soap Opera

Many kids have seen this before (as we talked about surface tension last year) but it never fails to be exciting: Soap and Pepper

Last week in science we looked at the interconnectedness of the earth and at wacky scientific inventions. In the interest of both wackiness and interconnectedness, here's a fun game called Goldburger To Go, inspired by the works of Rube Goldberg. You need to tinker with a strange contraption and get it to send a hamburger off on a skateboard. It's strangely addictive.

Had enough screen time? Need a project? Tired of me telling you what to do? Try using the Stuff Spinner on the PBS Design Squad site and make a real life contraption with household materials.

In 2nd - 5th grade science we have been doing a little engineering with paper and students have been amazingly creative!

This week's MEOW is a suggestion for using old cardboard creatively. You might even add colors, or (my fave) googly eyes to the Cardboard Construction Sets.

For bonus paper fun, here's a great "magic" trick for kids to step through a piece of paper. I used to do this one when I was a kid - it's super fun.

Perhaps you have seen the news this week about Venus.

We are off to a strong start in Science so far. It's great to see everyone and how much they have grown over the summer! The kids have really leveled up on zoom skills and we are staying curious, having fun.

Back by popular demand for the 2020-2021 school year is the Mini Experiment Of the Week a.k.a. your MEOW. For those of you new to Washington, I started sending out the MEOW because students love science in my class, but the time we have is really limited. These are supposed to be a fun, easy way to do a little extra hands-on science with your kid using (mostly) household materials.

This week's experiment is all about shadows! There are 3 hands-on experiments and one really cool video.

Hope you enjoy. And, as always, please send pics if you feel inspired.