Science Camp: Day Three

Remember when you do experiments, they won’t always go to plan, take as long as desired, or be as fun as you thought.  Tasty snacks are an important element at my Science Camps.  They blunt less successful experiments.

We started by testing three devices from The Library of Things: radon, thermo tester, and the Kill A Watt electricity usage monitor.  The radon monitor need to run for 24 hours.  We set it up in the basement.  The thermo tester was too boring.  (The girls pretended to be cats and chased around with the IR thermometer I have.). The Kill A Watt electricity monitor was a hit.  We hypothesized (guessed) which appliance drew the most energy: vacuum, toaster, waffle maker, blender, crock pot, and mixer.  We cheered the toaster for winning!  Most of the kids guessed correctly that the toaster would draw the most electricity.  

The girls made kaleidoscopes.  This was a personal request.  They work!   Making successful kaleidoscopes at Science Camp has been on my bucket list for years.  

The boys did the Cyanotype and the Tin experiments.  (Two of the boys had missed the tin lab we did on Monday.

The girls experimented with magnet doughnuts and made the magnets float.  We all tried Glow Germs..  I put a little powder on the table and demonstrate how it glows with the UV or black light flashlight.  (Here are different training materials available.). The kids rub some Glow lotion on to their hands, wash their hands well, and recheck the results with the UV flashlight.  (Check the wrist area and nailbeds.). When their parents ask what we did, the kids will say they washed their hands at Camp.

While the girls did Detecting the Force of Magnetism,  the boys built an electromagnet and telegraph.  What we learned is that the boys loathed the FOSS kit.  We learned that my husband, Rob, liked the kit and plans to use it with Physics. His Physics class had been unsuccessful with several electricity labs.  Despite being elementary, the kit works.