Aluminum Foil Boat Challenge

Discipline: Physical Science
Age Range: 5-12
Estimated Time: 10 minutes
What you need: Aluminum foil (sheets should be approximately 10 in x 10 in), weights (can use marbles, pennies, glass gems, rocks, etc.), and a bucket or sink filled with water

Instructions:

1. Use one sheet of aluminum foil to create a boat that can hold as much weight as possible.

2. You may not use anything to build your boat other than your one sheet of aluminum foil.

3. Once your boat is complete, put it in a bucket or sink filled with water and see how much weight it can hold. Continue adding weight until your boat starts to take on water or sink. You can count how weights your boat can hold, or put it on a scale to weigh how it could hold before your boat sank or took on water.

4. Once you test your boat, try to improve it. What worked well the first time? What can you improve? Design another boat and repeat steps 1 through 3.

https://science4superheroes.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/img_2228.jpg

Mealtime Conversation Starters

Discipline: Social Emotional Learning
Age Range: All ages
Endorsed by grandparents
Estimated Time: Duration of meal
What you need: At least one person to talk to (could even be over the phone!)

Instructions: Meal questions are a great way to start a conversation around the table and connect with the people you are eating with. All you have to do is find what day it is on the calendar and read the question that corresponds with it to whoever you are having your meal with. Discuss your answers and have a fun conversation about something you may have never thought about before! You can also follow the link to spin the wheel to choose a random question. Download the calendars from the link below.

Click here to go to a wheel of meal questions for more options.

Hole in One Challenge

Discipline: Engineering
Age Range: 7+
Estimated Time: 5 minutes
What you need: Index cards and scissors

Instructions:

1. Use the scissors to cut an opening in an index large enough to fit your head through.  In order for it be considered right, the cut index card needs to have two closed ends.

2. Once you succeed at the first challenge, the second challenge is to cut an opening large to fit an entire family member from head to toe.

3. Keep in mind there is more than one right answer.

Hint: If this one stumps you, here’s a YouTube video on one way to accomplish this challenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71bzxv0032s

How Are Birds' Feathers Waterproofed?

Discipline: Life Science
Age Range: 5+
Estimated Time: 5-10 minutes
What you need: Bird feathers activity sheet which can be downloaded from the link below (or a piece of paper), a crayon, water

Instructions:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8034/8019846243_ee307523f5_z.jpg

1. Put a droplet of water on the first feather on your Bird Feather Activity Page (or if you don’t have the activity page, draw the outline of a bird feather on a piece of paper and put a droplet of water on your paper). Observe what happens to the water.

2. Color the second feather on your Bird Feather Activity Page with crayon. Make sure to color it in completely. If you don’t have the Bird Feather Activity Page, draw a second bird feather on your piece of paper and color it in with your crayon.

3. Put a droplet of water on your second feather and observe what happens.

4. Did the same thing happen with the water on the two different feathers? What was different? Why do you think that happened?

Have you ever stood outside in the rain wearing a sweatshirt? You may have noticed that your sweatshirt absorbed water and quickly became very wet and heavy! Why don’t ducks get soaked with water when they spend so much time in the water? The reason is that ducks have a special gland at the base of their tail called the uropygial gland. This gland produces oil which the ducks then spread all over their body. Have you ever seen a duck that looks like it is biting at its feathers? That is called preening, and that is how the duck spreads the oil. The oil repels the water and allows ducks to stay dry. In our experiment, the wax represented the oil on the duck feathers. You may have noticed that when you put water on the feather without crayon it was able to absorb into the paper. What happened when you put water on the feather with the crayon? That’s right, the water stayed on top of the feather and did not absorb! Can you think of any other birds that might have a uropygial gland?

CSI: Fingerprint Patterns

Discipline: Anatomy; Forensic Science
Age Range: 5+ (with adult supervision)
Estimated Time: 10-15 minutes
What you need: Paper, pencil, clear tape, magnifying glass (optional)

Instructions: Fingerprints are a great way to tell people apart because everyone’s fingerprints are unique. This means that no two people in the world have the same set of fingerprints! Even though no two people’s fingerprints are exactly alike, there are three main fingerprint patterns. Which type of fingerprint pattern do you have? Follow these steps to find out!

1. Use your pencil to scribble a dark spot on your paper. Keep scribbling until you have a lot of dark pencil markings in one spot.

2. Rub your fingertip over the pencil markings. This will coat your fingerprint in a thin layer of gray material from the pencil.

3. Press a piece of clear tape onto your fingertip. Rub the tape so the print transfers evenly.

4. Remove the tape and stick it onto a blank area of your paper.

5. Look closely at your fingerprint on the tape (using your magnifying glass if you have one). Which pattern does it look most like?

Source: http://handlines.blogspot.com/2005/09/do-you-have-unusual-fingerprints.html

Learn Height and Fathom

Discipline: Mathematics and Measurement; Proportion
Age Range: 5+ (with adult supervision)
Estimated Time: 10 minutes
What you need: Measuring tape, a pencil and paper to write down your findings (If you don’t have one, you can use a string and a ruler or other alternatives described below.)

Instructions: A fathom is a measurement from fingertip to fingertip for a person when standing straight up, with both arms spread out to the side. For many people, their height (from the bottom of the foot to the top of the head) and their fathom are the same! Follow these steps below to see how your height and fathom compare.

1. Take off your shoes and ask a family member or friend to measure your height while standing up straight. If you don’t have someone to help, just lay on the floor with your feet flat against a wall. Mark where the top of your head is with a small object such as a coin or a pencil. Write down your height on a piece of paper.

2. Hold your arms out straight to your sides. Ask a family member or friend to measure your fathom (from the ends of your fingertips on one hand to the other). If you don’t have someone to help, lay down with your arms spread wide, brushing the fingertips on one hand up against the wall. Use a small object to mark the ends of your fingertips (on your hand not touching the wall). Write down your measurement for fathom.

3. Are your height and fathom the same or different? Either result is normal! If they are different, subtract the smaller number from the larger one to find the difference! Write down your answer.

As we grow, our body measurements and ratios change. Adults are more likely to have matching and height and fathom measurements because they are finished growing. Try measuring an adult in your house and see how their results compare to yours!

Why Do Pennies Lose Their Shine?

Discipline: Chemistry
Age Range: 5+ (with adult supervision)
Estimated Time: 10 minutes
What you need: Dull pennies, vinegar, table salt, bowl, spoon, and water

Instructions: Have you ever wondered why pennies lose their shine and start to look dull and dirty? This happens because pennies are made up of copper. When copper touches oxygen, it begins a chemical reaction called oxidation, which makes pennies look dull. There’s another simple chemical reaction that can make dull pennies look shiny and new again! Just follow these steps to try it at home:

1. Ask an adult to help you mix one teaspoon of salt into ¼ cup of vinegar.

2. Place a dull penny in the mixture. Count slowly as you stir the penny around in the vinegar mixture.

3. Watch as the penny becomes shiny right before your eyes! How many seconds did it take for the penny to look shiny and new?

4. Remove the penny from the vinegar mixture and rinse with water.

5. Watch your penny sparkle!

This works because vinegar is an acid, which is a type of liquid that can be used to break down other materials (such as the copper oxide formed on your penny from oxidation). Try using another acid, like lemon juice or hot sauce, and see if it has the same result!

Sources:
https://sciencebob.com/clean-pennies-with-vinegar/
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/436209526438363138

Reflections

Discipline: Physical Science, Light Refraction
Age Range: 5+
Estimated Time: 5-10 minutes
What you need: A mirror and a spoon

Find a mirror in your house. What does your

reflection look like? Draw a picture of your reflection in the box below (or on a piece of paper).

Now, find a spoon. What do you think your reflection will look like when you look into the inside of the spoon? Observe your reflection and draw a picture on a piece of paper).

Flip your spoon around so the curved side is facing outward. What do you think your reflection will look like when you look into the spoon like this? Observe your reflection and draw a picture on a piece of paper.

Reflections can be described as light that doesn’t enter a medium, but are sent back out from the surface of the medium. Here are three basic types of mirrors that create different types of reflections:

Flat or Plane: This type of surface is the same as your mirror. It has a flat surface and causes an image to be flipped from left to right when reflected.

Concave: This type of surface is like the inside of your curved spoon. It has an inward rounded surface and causes an image to flip upside down. It also can cause the image to be magnified.

Convex: This type of surface is like the outside of your curved spoon, It has an outward rounded surface, causes an image to be magnified, and is not flipped.

Wind Cars

Discipline: Engineering, Physical Science
Age Range: 7-12
Estimated Time: 20 minutes
What you need: Notecards or paper, four-to-five straws, four lifesavers, one meter of tape

Note: Supplies can be substituted or exchanged for materials you have at home. For example, notecards can be swapped for cardboard, straws can be swapped for pencils, and lifesavers can be swapped for anything that is round or moves!

Instructions:

1. You will use the materials you have been given (or gathered) to create a car that is powered by the wind (your breath).

2. Your only rule is that your wheels must move!

3. Once your car is complete place it on the floor or on a tabletop, blow a gust of wind, and see how it flies! (Additional tests: see how many breaths it takes to move across the floor, or measure the distance your car traveled in one breath.

4. Once you test your car, try to improve it! What worked well the first time? What can you improve? Design another car and repeat steps 1-3!

Resources: https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_sailcars_activity1                     http://www.lynnmiskell.com/puff-car/

Other design option.

Other design option.

Making Observations, A Sensory Scavenger Hunt

Discipline: Scientific Skill Practice
Age Range: All ages
Estimated Time: 20 minutes
What you need: An area outdoors or indoors students can explore objects around them. Also, download our Sensory Scavenger Hunt Guide at the bottom of this article.

This activity focuses on making observations. Ask: “Do you know what it means to make an observation?”

Making an observation is a way to learn and notice more about the world around us.

Ask: “Can you think of anyone or anything who makes observations?”

That’s right! Scientists, doctors, teachers, detectives, your parents, artists, animals, and even you make observations every day.

You can use all five of your senses to make observations: your sense of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. Today when making observations outside, don’t use your sense of taste.

Now, let’s practice! Go outside (or stay indoors if don’t have access to the outdoors at this time). Find an object in nature that you and your scientist would like to observe.

Take a close look at your object. What do you notice using your sense of sight? Try describing the size, color, shape, etc.

Now, feel your object. What do you feel? Does it feel smooth? Rough? Cold? Bumpy?

Next, give your object a sniff! What does it smell like?

Last, try our sense of hearing. Your object may not make a sound on its own, but can you make any sounds with it? Try tapping it, crumbling it, or scratching it!

 Now that you’ve practiced making some observations, see what else there is to observe around you. You can use the chart on the next page to complete the Sensory Scavenger Hunt with your scientist by finding some more interesting objects in nature!

Helpful Hints: Adults, if you are doing this activity with your child(ren, ask them the questions and have a discussion before moving on to the next item on the student guide.

New words: Observation, making an observation means to learn and notice more about the world around us using our five senses.