MEOW 2018-19

One thing I know is true as a parent: popsicles are delicious. As a teacher, I also know that popsicle sticks are the foundation of a lot of great science. Put it all together to make tasty summer treats, and an opportunity to engineer!

In order to try out these cool experiments you'll only need popsicle sticks. Lots. Get busy eating popsicles, please.

The beginner option is to make exploding throwing stars

If your'e feeling like some inspiration, do a quick youtube search for "popsicle stick chain reactions" or "stick bomb" to see the work of some people who have lots of free time.

Sadly, due to end of year hijinks, and because I'm moving classrooms and am swamped, this is the final MEOW of the 2018-19 school year.

With afternoons getting warmer and possibly a summer beach trip sometime in the future, this Mini Experiment of the Week is best tried outdoors.

Spin the bucket overhead and keep the water in! How slow do you dare to spin it?

This site tells you more about how to set it up yourself and what's going on. Hint: that water, like Yoda, is using the force!

Please send students to come and get a few silk worms for the summer. Make sure you have a reliable source of mulberry leaves for feeding these hungry guys. There are lots of public mulberry trees around. Let me know if you'd like some help finding them

Interested in an easy pet to take home for the summer?

I have many silk worms (not actually worms, they are caterpillars!) who are looking for a good home. They make wonderful, low-care pets and open up lovely opportunities to engage with science over the summer. Watching them make their cocoons is mesmerizing. This site has good information.

Learn more about silk worms and their life cycle here.

Science Super Fans!

Amaze and astound your friends with your new super power of... wait for it... BENDING WATER!

This video has a few ways to bend water.

You can also use the faucet with a low trickle and a comb like this website suggests.

TADAH!

Please your your new found super powers for good, not evil.

If I write "BORAX" do you think "SLIME"? The slime craze of recent years had popularized sodium tetraborate. Many slime makers already have this product in their cabinet. If you don't have any, it's found in the laundry detergent area of your local grocery store.

But there are other uses for this interesting chemical - one of my favorite uses is making crystals. There are lots of ways of making crystals but Borax consistently produces impressive, lovely, regularly shaped ones without too much work.

Here's one way to make Borax crystals.

Want to know more about how crystals form?

Or maybe you just want to know more about Borax? Try this site.

Have an excellent week!

Hello, Science Super Fans!

This week's MEOW is a shout out to all you super science fans who showed up strong for Carnival STEAM Saturday!

It takes a village to put it together.

• Many thanks to the PTA for providing food.
• Appreciation to all the volunteers who stepped up to help – you are super!
• Huge props to Maddie and Scientific Adventures for their expertise.
• High five to Albert who is ridiculously helpful.
• Shout out to Ms. Hazen for helping to organize and making the stuffy catapult a thing.
• Congratulations to all the students who showed work in the film festival.
• Muchas gracias to Ms. Syer for her mathematical mindset and enthusiasm.
• Pat yourself on the back – thank you for coming. It wouldn’t be a party without you!

Also please congratulate Lincoln (grade 3) and Riddhiman (grade 2) who were our big winners in the jellybean estimation jar.

MEOW #22 is an easy paper plate rollercoaster. There are lots of ways to make marble rollercoasters at home. Here's a simple one that works well if you have too much tape and want to get rid of it quickly.

If you're looking for a printable, these are the science teacher gold standard, but they cost money and you have to have heavy weight paper and a printer.

Hello Science Fans!

In some of the 5th grade classes we have been investigating concentration and its relationship to density. Students made a very simple density column but were excited to find out more complicated ones. It's not entirely household materials, but I promised I'd send out the link.

And, by now all of my classes have seen the mystery density bottle and most are totally hooked! I also promise to send out instructions on how to make them!

Hello Science Super Fans!

The Mini Experiment Of the Week is all about launching straw rockets. I know... Single use plastics are bad for the earth and we should avoid them. But if you happen to have an extra straw or two lying around, or you find one in your pocket and would like to give it a new life, please do try this experiment. Or use a paper straw instead! I prefer the bendy kind which allows you to vary the launch angle like this.

This week's MEOW is an open ended engineering challenge. You'll have hours of sweet, STEAM enjoyment as you build structures with toothpicks and jellybeans. Find the activity here. Can your structure support a favorite stuffy? Can your structure support a good book? Can you make it taller than a chair?

In preparation for spring time and all the festivities, MEOW #18 is all about our favorite little bundle of fat and protein: The EGG!

This is the classic egg in a bottle demo which has been the bread and butter of many a science teacher over the years. In this version you use a small water balloon. This video has a real egg. And this one has an upside down twist (with a little guy who is a dead ringer for Evan Barfield. Right?) The egg is not too happy at the end - be sure to put a little vegetable oil on the lip of the bottle when you try it.

Can't get enough egg science? This link has way too much good stuff!

Hello Science Fans,

MEOW #17 is very colorful!

It's the time of year that we get sun, and rain and amazing rainbows. So here's a little rainbowy-sciencey-crafty project for you. Clear nail polish, a bowl of water and dark paper are all you'll need.

Here's a page explaining how to make thin film rainbows.

Here's a video pf the process.

Here is an adult-level explanation of why you see the rainbows. It's the same reason you see rainbows in oily puddles on a wet day!

Until Next Week!

Hello Science Super Fans!

MEOW #15 is coming out a day early.

This experiment is really just about observing.

Add food coloring to different temperatures of water and watch what happens. Predict what will happen when food coloring is added to ice-water!

As always, if you try this experiment send along a picture!

This MEOW couldn't get any simpler. It's done with a piece of paper and a glass (or bottle) of water.

In this magic trick (experiment) you make an arrow change direction, simply by pouring a glass of water. Intrigued? Try it for yourself today and amaze friends and neighbors with your science skills.

This site has a pretty good explanation of what's going on.

MEOW #14 is all about heat rising and cool sinking. Save 4 similarly sized glass bottles and try this Inverted Bottles experiment. It's sure to provide that Aha! moment that makes science teaching super rewarding.

Here's a chance to really take a bite out of science. This week's MEOW tells us that the Nose Knows. All you need is a partner, a candy, and a couple of minutes.

Check out the tasty MEOW over here.

Hello, Science Fans!

It's Valentine's day, so picture a bunch of adorable cupids with bows and arrows and teeny harps. And then erase that image.

This Mini Experiment Of the Week is a *head* harp. All you need is a piece of string. Just a piece of string!! It's also an excellent fashion statement for any occasion.

So what are you waiting for? Go off and MEOW.

Check out the experiment here and get started with your head harp. Look lower on the page to find out how it works. Try some different kinds of string. What works best?

If you are disappointed and want to learn more about real harps, here's a video about that, too!

This week's MEOW is more of an engineering challenge. Use household materials to make your own pinwheel and then take it for a spin.

The file is attached or you can download it here.

This is a set of more step by step instructions.

If you're into wind turbines (I'm a big fan!) here's a kids page all about them.

MEOW #10 is all about Dancing Raisins. No- not this kind. Our raisins dance in a cup of fizzy drink and are much less creepy. So... crank up the party music and get to it!

Try the experiment and see how it works here.

Watch the video here.

I used to do this experiment with Mountain Dew and tell my high school students it was radioactive waste. Then, before letting them go to their next class, I'd drink it. This resulted in an excellent discussion about observation and inference. Also, I don't drink Mountain Dew any more.

Ever wonder what it means the package says your cereal has been fortified with iron? This week's MEOW has you looking for iron in your cereal.

Go ahead and follow the instructions in this video.

Watch this video to see why iron is so important in your diet.

Does it work with different types of cereal? Try it and find out!

It's MEOW time. This Mini Experiment Of the Week involves FIRE, so it's extra fun and may need some more parental supervision. Use baking soda and vinegar to generate carbon dioxide. Then pour the carbon dioxide on top of a flame to extinguish it.

Try the experiment HERE.

Read about the explanation HERE.

Begging your forgiveness! I thought no one was interested in the MEOW, but I was wrong. So... back by popular demand in 2019 is the Mini Experiment Of the Week.

As always, if you try the experiment, share a pic on livingtree (or email it to me and I'll post it for you) and spread science JOY!

This week's experiment is good, clean, fun. It's one of my all time faves, and it's actually worth a trip to the store to acquire the supplies. We're going to put a whole bar of ivory soap into the microwave!

Want to know how it works? An explanation is here.

I'm going to get a couple of extra bars and keep them in my science room if anyone isn't able to get their own right now. It work for keeping kids clean, too, I hear.

This week's Mini Experiment Of the Week (MEOW) is about getting ice to stick to a string. Weird, because ice is slippery, right? It takes ice, water, salt and a string. Simple!

Read about it here.

Or watch a video

The MEOW will be taking a break next week, but will resume after our vacation. Happy Thanksgiving in advance.

Check out this video to find out how to make a floating and sinking ketchup packet. It's the perfect addition to any family gathering.

If you're wondering how it works, here's the explanation.

In other Science Fun, please check out the MARS landing coming up on November 26.

Hello and welcome to this week's MEOW!

Like Slime?

Got Milk?

This video shows you how to turn milk into a type of moldable plastic.

This week's MEOW (Mini Experiment Of the Week) includes two at-home experiments to float paper clips

As always, if you try this experiment let me know!

FLOAT A PAPER CLIP ON WATER:

This paper clip floating video has great clothes, too

This website has a different way to make it float!

In Science class we recently had a Notice and Wonder Picture where the scientist had an eye flipped upside down as he looked through a lens. Students were intrigued.

Check out this video about spoons and then try some spoons of your own. Does the curviness of the spoon make a difference?

Introducing the MEOW or Mini Experiment of the Week.

Many of my students are really excited. They want more science, more hands on, more activities. This makes he happy for the world - we need more curious and thoughtful people! Sadly, my time in class is limited.

Perhaps you have a science fanatic at home?

Please take a little time to try our MEOW.

Each Thursday, I will post a video with a Mini Experiment that you can try at home. These will involve simple, household materials (nothing fancy). This week we are focusing on Balance!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgW9a4n9SD0