Science Camp 2024: Day Two!

 Day Two of Science Camp picks up from Monday.  My plan includes Cartesian Divers, Tornado Tubes, Stacked Ball Drop, sidewalk chalk play, Pinhole Cameras, CD Spinners, Catapults, Rotocopters, Paper Plate Flyers, Palm Pipes, balancing birds, and Center of Mass.  I pulled a few more science toys—just in case!  I pulled out Frisbees and sidewalk chalk for the kids to use for comparison to their chalk and flyers.  I have one pair of 3-D glasses to use with the sidewalk chalk.  I’ll let you know how things go!

Science Camp 2024: The Joy of Toys!

 This year’s Science Camp is only three days; I had to sandwich Science Camp between VBS and a second, two week Faith Camp for kids behind in their sacraments.  I decide I was only human and cut Camp to three days.  Monday is Day 1.  Here are the five day plans.  I pulled a dozen activities for tomorrow, starting with Edible Chemistry: Soda Pop, When Algy Meets Calcium,  Sherbet, and Red Cabbage Indicator.  The kids need to follow the directions for three or four experiments; afterwards they may make potions.  The sherbet is a topping or can be added to water to make a soft drink.

Next is Slime in all of its forms: Borax Slime, Liquid Starch Slime, Fluffy Slime, Floam, and Fluffy Slime (with hair conditioner).  My plan is to make Sidewalk Chalk, UV Bead bracelets, and Film Canister Rockets.  I have white glue, clear glue, glitter glue available for experimentation.  The kids may add a little liquid starch, cornstarch, styrofoam beads to their slime as they experiment.  I use tempera paint instead of food dyes for slime and chalk—much cheaper!  I think I’m ready for Monday.  I do have Cartesian divers, tornado tubes, and rocket balls ready if the kids run through their experiments quickly.

Let’s Make Chemistry Kits!

I keep a number of kits ready for Chemistry, too.  Let me share a few labs and dedicated kits I use for Chemistry.  Now is the time to look to see what you have on hand and compile a few kits.

1. The Nuts and Bolts lab, Cartesian Diver, and Density Lab are all small kits.  I reuse the Density lab jar of materials for the Specific Heat lab.

2.  The Flame Test Kit is stored in a large box.  I keep a supply of wood coffee stirrers as flame test splints.  We use tea candles, small stoves, and stereo as heat sources to compare flame colors of the same metallic salts.

3.  One more kit is called Measures.  This box has spring scales, measuring tapes, rulers, compasses, and stop watches.  The digital scales are in another, marked box.   I like to keep all the measures in one box for easy access for different labs.

Let’s make more Biology kits!

My basement has shelves filled with boxed materials.  It helps to plan and assemble labs and activities into kits before class begins.  Below are a few more ideas.  Hope these are useful!

1. This Heredity Simulation requires lunch bags and craft sticks.  You may want to try Dragon Genetics while you are making kits for Genetics.  Colorful craft sticks are useful for Dragon Genetics.  Here is the lab.  

2. Osmosis Through a Bag is similar to an Osmosis and Diffusion Lab, requiring dialysis tubing.  Instead, cheap, plastic sandwich bags work as well as pricey dialysis tubing.  My kit includes recycled yogurt containers with lids, plastic baggies, iodine, and cornstarch.  

3. Cell Models can be a kit.  The simplest models are made with clay.  However, you can put together a kit with paper plates and odds and ends, such as kidney beans for mitochondria or clear bags for vacuoles.

4.  Newspaper Camouflage is simple, but requires making paper chads with a hole punch.  Each group needs 300 paper chads from white cardstock, black cardstock, and newspaper.   Butterfly Camouflage uses colorful construction paper and floral paper or cardstock.    BTW, these activities demonstrate adaptations in Ecology.

5. I introduce the idea of scientific inquiry using these Cubes.  I keep assembled cube and instructions in a kit. 

Let’s assemble some Biology kits!

 I do a great deal of hands-on activities in my science classes: labs, simulations, games etc.  Today, I want to share some of the activities.  I put together my own kits.  This will save you some time this Fall.

1. During Ecology, kids learn about predator-prey relationships with The Lynx eats the Hare.  The activity requires a large number of hares, a few Lynx, and masking tape.  I mounted the Lynx onto card stock and keep the paper model in envelopes for each group.

2. Mark and Recapture Beans is another Ecology lab which teach kids one tool, population sampling.  This lab requires a bag of white beans, which kids mark, mix back into the sample and recapture.  The lab has a lot of counting. 

3.  For some Biology classes, I also use Capture-Recapture dinosaurs.  I use a box of dinosaurs and rubber bands.  The kids pull out a handful of dinosaurs, wrap a rubber band around each one’s neck and return all the captured dinos to the box.  Here is a bit about deer tagging.  

4. Cell Membrane Bubble Lab helps kids learn about the properties of cell membranes.  The lab uses either pipe cleaners or straws, string, dish soap, corn syrup, and trays.  We found the straws and flat trays work well.   I usually gather the materials into a bin or box to set aside until the lab.

5. DNA Extraction lab requires a blender, split peas, salt, alcohol, coffee filters, and meat tenderizer.  I keep a box with materials.  Dried peas and salt last forever.  I like to be sure I have coffee filters on hand.  Buy the meat tenderizer fresh; it’s the key to a successful extraction.

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6.  Part of Taxonomy is to learn how to make dichotomous keys, such as this Button Dichotomous Key.  The kits is a bag of different buttons.  I store packs in a bin.

 

7. Another favorite home-made kit is the Biomolecule or Macromolecule Tests lab.  The kit has gelatin, sugar, iodine, Benedict’s reagent, biuret solution, cornstarch, crackers, oats, beans, etc for testing.  Dry food is stored in tight containers.  We’re testing food, not tasting it.  It doesn’t matter if the chips or crackers are stale.  I like to store the goods into a box.  However, I pull out bins for the lab during class.

Improvise a digital thermometer!

One reason I buy used TI 84 graphing calculators is to use them as sensors, especially as digital thermometers.  The TI 84 has a USB connector at the top of the calculator.  EasyTemp connects firstly to the TI 84.  Older sensors can connect to the TI 84 with EasyLink.  TI 84 calculators come preloaded with the  EasyData app.  You plug in the sensor, the app opens, identifies the sensor, and collects data.  Really.  eBay has EasyTemp and EasyLink available. Be sure to unplug the sensor from the calculator when it’s not in use; the app and sensor eat batteries. I’ve bought both types of sensors used for eBay successfully.  The pH sensors and older thermometers work well with the EasyLink.  Not all sensors are compatible.  Happily I use pH and temp probes most often.  Scroll down for screenshots with eBay listings.  My target for an EasyTemp is $10 and $49 for an EasyLink.  Both the TI 84 and the sensors are a splurge.  Since I teach science classes for the Co-op on an on-going basis, the equipment is used frequently.

Code Your Garden

 I just ran across this activity, Code Your Garden, from 4H.  It describes the coding ideas and underlying thinking involved in garden design.  Don’t forget to consider compatible garden plants.  Use this Companion Planting Guide from the Farmer’s Almanac.  Who knew cantaloupe was so friendly?

Science and Math Crafts

 I like to knit.  ( I posted here about a scarf I knitted in binary code.)  Let’s slip in a bit of scientific reasoning or math.  Yes, there is math and science in crafting.  Here is an article, Mathematical Knitting.  Here is the author’s homepage. She has ‘recipes’ with plans for knitting projects.  Below are craft ideas to serve as inspiration.  The kids can get ahead and make their Christmas presents while you sneak in a bit of math.  

1. Dye cotton fabric or yarn.  Natural fibers absorb color better than synthetics.  Tie-Dyeing has basic instructions.  Here is an excellent lesson.  I use Dharma Trading Co (for better dyes and mordants.  Here are basic instructions from Dharma.). Vanderbilt has an excellent lesson about artisanal dyes.  

2.  Mathematical Quilting has two examples.  Making a Star Quilt emphasizes the underlying math in a star quilt, largely in terms of shapes.  Buggy and Buddy Quilt Activity uses construction paper to make quilt patterns with shapes.  Kids can map out their pattern before sewing the fabric.

3. Instructables offers Use Crochet to Teach Maths.  Here is background on the mathematics of crochet.  Here is Crochet Topology. (Topology involves math modeling, which is the extent of my understanding of topology.)  

4. Aside from DNA Models, you can make a folded model., DNA Necklace, or DNA Bracelet.

5. Use beads to make Morse Code Bracelets, Binary Bracelets, or Perler Bead Flasks.  

Chincoteague

 I’m not afraid of mixing a bit of science or history on a family trip.  Chincoteague Island is close to Wallops Flight Facility.  Stop at the Wallops Flight Visitor Center or watch a rocket Launch.  Shipper burg University sponsors the Marine Consortium Program.  Here  is the Bay Field Station, which has loads of programs, including School programs. In addition to the ponies on Chincoteague is the National Wildlife Refuge.  Here is more information about the park.  You can’t go wrong.  Every time I’ve visited, I’ve had a marvelous time.

NASA Centers

When I taught in West Virginia, WVU had a good relationship with the NASA Center, Katherine Johnson IV &V ERC  in Fairmont, WV. I did programming with WVU.  There are Nine NASA Centers, including one at Wallops Island, close to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.  The Fairmont, WV Center did a great deal of outreach with home-school families.  They trained with GLOBE and did Robotics Competitions.  Some NASA centers have bins of equipment to lend along with training.  Both individual families and Co-ops should contact the local NASA center to see what resources they have.

Lab Equipment at Good Will

 Good Will has several excellent lab lots. Don’t forget to check shipping.  Generally, labware makes sense if you teach a Co-op, science class and want to have supplies on hand.  However, some kits are an excellent value for families. There are a few more kits.  Try search terms ‘lab’, ‘science lab’, and ‘science kit’ in the Good Will search bar.  Take a look!

This is a dissection set for Biology.  The tube should contain a thermometer inside.

Glassware is expensive.  N.B. the shipping cost are a bit high.  

This kit is for Biology. This microscope is a pain to use because there is no light source.  

This model is for Physical Science.

This is more of an Ecology kit; the brown sack has soil.  

Here is a lifetime supply of Petri dishes.

Can you buy a graphing calculator for under $30?

Yes, you can buy a TI 84 graphing calculator for less than $30–used!  I use graphing calculators in Chemistry.  Our teens in Co-op use graphing calculators for math.  I have a caddy with used TI 83 and TI 84 calculators.  Some are for class; others I lend for the year.  My target price for a TI 83 calculator is $15 and $25 for a TI 84–total with shipping!  First, only bid on models which have been tested!  Do not bid on models with shadows on the screen; these devices are close to dying.  Always check the shipping before you bid!  I’ve had the best luck buying from Good Will online; however, I’ve bought calculators from eBay and Amazon.  The only used TI 84 I bought from Amazon was a dud. It was gritty from spilt coffee.  It does continue to work, though.  We’ve used the calculators for years.  A few of the older TI 83 devices have broken.  I save covers from broken models as replacements.  Since I didn’t pay more than $15 for a TI 83, I’m not upset when one breaks.  (BTW I lend the TI 83s to take home—not the TI 84s.) i did a bit of research on used models.  I stand by Good Will for reliable calculators.

I just bid and bought two TI 84s fro Good Will.  Yes, I was outbid on other lots.  I’m patient.

Amazon has a listing for a TI 83 at $20 with shipping.

eBay has a listing for 12.99.

I have a rechargeable TI 84, like this one from Amazon.   It’s a pain because it doesn’t hold a charge well.  I think that’s why the used price is so heavily discounted.

This is the older TI 84 model. I try to bid on newer styles because they are likely newer models.  

This is a newer model.