Gravity, motion, speed and distance!

It's funny how sometimes a simple play idea started by the kids can end up in a very cool science investigation.  That's exactly what happened here... while my parents and I were outside enjoying a coffee, the kids amused themselves.  This is where their little thinking minds took them...

It started off with some old pipes my dad had in the backyard.  The kids started randomly playing with them.  Then they found the macadamia nuts that had fallen off the tree and onto the ground.  Put the two together and this is what they found...!

They rolled the macadamia nuts through the pipe slow and fast - testing how hard they needed to roll it so that it didn't get stuck in the middle of the pipe... Look how busy they both are!

Then they leaned the pipes against the garden bed.  They rolled the macadamia nut through the pipe... Then E excitedly exclaimed to N - "Look! I don't have to roll it I can just put it there and it rolls itself!"  They were so excited they stayed on this for a very long time.

They tried to see if the macadamia nut could move magically through a bend. 10 points for persistence! Obviously it didn't work but I love how they are thinking!

And back to a flat pipe - this time it was a game of which macadamia nut rolled the furthest?

And what happens if they put the pipe vertically?

 

And another creative thought - what happens if I blow on the nut, will it make it go faster? LOL LOVE!!!

Who would have thought one little play idea could result in such a cool investigation? So many things were covered - distance, speed, gravity and motion! 

The best bit about this experiment - the language.  When asked what they were doing, N excitedly told us, "First, you need to get the pipe. Then you need to get a nut and roll it through! It's fun, mummy!" Whoa! A recount from a 2 and a half year old - they learn these in Kindergarten!! (So proud! :))

Exploding Lunch Bag

For those of you who know my kids well, they frequently (always) get into the kitchen, take out different equipment or ingredients and ask (demand) if they can make something.  Last week it was a banana and honey smoothie in the blender - end result was this smoothie for 2... or perhaps for 15!

This week it was the bicarb of soda.  They wanted to make a volcano again... You can imagine my delight when - just five minutes before lunch is ready, I'm finishing the cooking and setting the plates - I hear (on repeat) "I want to make a volcano.. I want to make a volcano.. Muuuumm, I want to make a volcano!" Perfect timing, kids! Thanks!

 It's been a while since we've worked with bicarb so I thought why not?

 

All you need for this one is:
One small zip lock bag
Bicarb of soda
Warm water
Vinegar
Measuring cup
Vinegar

You will need to do this outside - it gets a little messy... and if it's not a good day outside then do it in the kitchen sink or the bath!

Pour 1/4 Cup of warm water into a bag.

Add 1/2 a cup of vinegar into the bag.

Lay the tissue out flat.  Put in 3 teaspoons of bicarb of soda into the middle of the tissue.

Wrap the tissue around the bicarb of soda - only do this lightly - it will help buy you time when you combine the bicarb to the water/vinegar mixture.

Now really quickly zip up the bag and watch what happens!  These pictures were taken the first time we tried the experiment - it didn't work as well as we had hoped but it sure was fun!

 

 

The mixture started fizzing up ...

 

 

The bag started expanding...

 

And expanding - until it got really firm to touch...

 

The kids were so excited but really scared so they kept on running away, waiting for it to explode...

 

Then they ran back to it to see if it did explode...

Until finally we realized the bag had popped - just not how we thought it would! A small hole in the bag- created either by a blade of grass or the fact that the bag had expanded so much that it had ripped the bag.

We did try this experiment again - this time I shook the bag quickly after adding the tissue and bicarb  to the water/vinegar mixture and threw it on the ground (not the grass).  It exploded much more quickly and the boys were absolutely going crazy at what happened - they loved it! If I had more camera battery I could have shown you their faces - they loved it!

Nothing like a little Chemistry to please the senses! What happens inside the bag?  The baking soda and the vinegar eventually mix and when they do mix, you create an acid base reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide - the stuff we breathe out). It turns out gasses need a lot of room and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bag, and keeps filling the bag until the bag can no longer hold it any more and, POP!

Thanks, Science Bob for this cool experiment!

Caution: Men At Work!

The thing about kids is you never know what is going to happen until you actually try it. Take this investigation, for example... I thought it could either go really well, and the kids would get really into it, or it could go really bad and they would have no idea and it will all be a waste of time. Sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and give it a go.  In this case - it went both ways... what I wanted them to do was similar to what they did, but their version of it was just as fun!

So my thought process was this. The other week we did the "Build A Bridge" experiment.  It went really well with E, but not so well with N. He was a little young to understand the concept of "Design and Make". That being said, it has renewed his interest in bridges and always talks about them now. So I wanted to do another investigation that involved bridges.

What you need:

• 3 or 4 pieces of Cardboard or thick paper - each one folded a different way.  One was just a flat strip of cardboard. One was a corrugated piece (zigzag).  One was an arch (you can see a better example of the arched bridge we used in  another picture.  The final one was a girder shape (picture of the girder shape is next to this picture).   

 

• 2 cups the same size
• Plastic counters to act as "cars" ... We started off using beads (with flat bottoms), then changed to slices of carrots

First I showed the kids how the two cups were the pylons for the bridge.  I asked them to use the cardboard pieces to build a bridge that holds lots of cars.

Here's how it went...

 

They used each piece of cardboard separately first, then placed the beads on their bridge to see if it would hold.

 

The more beads or carrots their bridge held, the more excited they got. 
However, the more beads their bridge held the more likely they all fell off so we had to change our "cars".  We decided to use chopped up carrot pieces instead!

(I like to think of this as a creative cheat! hahaha)!

The sticky tape came out and pretty soon they were both creating their own bridges using a few of the different examples I had given. They both worked out that the bridge was sturdier if they put on lots of layers of cardboard rather than just one. 

 

By the end of it, the kids had built lots of bridges but then became hungry... and suddenly the carrots disappeared ;)

How is this science? The strength of something isn't just about what it is made up of - the shape is important too.  Folding flimsy card into a beam makes it rigid and strong.

The corrugated bridge is made up of triangle shapes which are the best at holding heavy loads.  A triangle is really strong as it directs weight straight to the ground.

Thank you, Mini Scientist In The Kitchen (Lisa Burke) for this wonderful idea!

Walking Water

This week we kept it simple!

All you need for walking water is:

• 3 Clear cups
• Water
• Food colouring
• Paper towels

Fill TWO of the cups with water.

We added food colouring to both cups.  You can add any colours but the kids wanted to add blue and yellow.

We added paper towels that looped between the cups.  The middle cup (the cup without the water) had both paper towels in there.

.... And then we waited and watched the water climb up the paper towels...

... And into the middle cup...

... And then the magic happened! The colours mixed together in the middle cup

and the water turned green!

 

Very cool :)

 

E even asked me "what would happen if we had blue and purple and red and yellow and brown food colouring and we mixed them all together?" ... Love his thinking mind!

NOTE: This is the second time we had done the experiment - the first time I used quite deep plastic cups and it didn't work as well - it worked a lot quicker with smaller, shallow cups.  If it is not working as quickly as you like you can change cups or try putting the cups with the water at a higher level than the empty cup - gravity will help speed up the process.