Next week is Mad Science Camp! My husband, Rob, and I are ready for Monday—I think. We pulled most of the materials for each day. You need a plan for the week. But in reality, you need to be ready for Monday. Here is the big picture. Below are pix of the basement ready for action! I’ll post pix next week.
Kelsey Reavy posts frequently on social media. Here are 15 No Chemical Chemistry Labs. Many families find Chemistry to be a struggle. I like a combo of activities similar to these, experiments from the textbook, and labsI’ve collected. Heya, I want you to have options.
One of the first labs we do in Biology is teach experimental design with apple mummies. Natron is sodium carbonate. I pull all different salts for this lab: sodium carbonate (washing soda), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium chloride (table salt), and magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts). The class spends time talking about controlled variables: same size and types of paper cups, same amount of salt, same mass of apple, same apple species, and same conditions, such as room temperature and humidity. The kids determine the combinations of the four salts. Here is the blog post with pix from the lab. Hereis a data sheet with all of the combinations from different groups. Here is a sample lab report. The object is to teach kids how to create an experiment and consider how to isolate one variable: the combination of salts which dries out the apple the most. This lab is an investment of time; the teens learned a lot.
During COVID I taught Chemistry remotely for our local home-school Co-op. Not my first choice. I made up Chemistry kits families picked up off my front porch. Here are some of the labs and lab links the kids did at home. Yes, they also did experiments from the Exploring Creation with Chemistry textbook. My approach to teach Chemistry is to start with a lab and use the lab to scaffold instruction. The teens perform over forty labs during class. You should, too! Many of the labs require household chemicals. You can use yogurt cups, coffee filter, craft sticks, etc. instead of expensive lab equipment.
Over the years I have taught Earth Science several times—always reluctantly. My background is in Biology and Chemistry. Too often administrators believe a science teacher can teach anything. The unit in Earth Science I love least is Rocks and Minerals. I can run tests and spout facts; I just don’t have any education in rocks and minerals. What is the solution? A good set of rocks and minerals already identified, with the numbers and answer key readily available. Good Will online has a classic set, The Washington School Rock Collection, up for auction. Rainy Day Mum has ideas and instructions for making your own identification kit.
Update: Squishy Baff looks promising. Here is an experiment from Steve Spangler with sodium polyacrylate, the polymer in Instant Snow. I went through my supplies and have both Magic Sand and Kinetic Sand. (The article in the link explains the difference between Magic Sand and Kinetic Sand.) Here is a Magic Sand lab. Here a lab with Kinetic Sand and a diy recipe to make your own kinetic sand. Here is another, similar lab, featuring Kinetic Sand. I have a box. Evidently, the kids can mold it. Now I need sand to make our own DIY version for camp.
My husband, Rob, and I are drilling down our plans for Mad Science Camp. My emphasis is on Chemistry and his is on Physics. The girls coming to camp are excited by polymers. The boys? Not so much. I’m planning to do a few labs everyone will enjoy before we diverge into two groups. First is Jiggle Gels from ACS. (There is a kit, too.). Try a variety of experiments with polymers. Instant Snow is always a hit. Here, and here are instructions. Sodium polyacrylate is the material in disposable diapers which absorbs urine. Here are instructions. How about water gel crystals? (Home Science Tools sells polyacrylamide crystals, too.). Sometimes, you can find these crystals at plant nurseries. Use these gel crystals to make Ghost Crystals or these fun ideas. We like Gro-beasts, growing spheres, and super slime. Here are home-made Polymer and Slime ideas from HST. The boys are likely to lose interest; we are capping off polymers with Benzoic Acid Blizzard in a Bottle. I can’t wait!
Yes, my teens do summer assignments. My husband posts work for his math classes, too. A few families requested more rigor. We are happy to oblige. Here is the post describing the cards, which are based on this article from the Journal of Chemistry Education. Here is another Periodic Table card game from SMART Space. Here is a blog post From Homeschool Creations about making elements cards. I like the little drawings kids make. It helps them remember the elements—just like homemade note cards. Basically, the kids need to learn around 50-55 of the most common elements. There are 43 elements described here. This is fun!
The home-school science classes use Apologia textbooks. We use the second editions for both Exploring Creation with Biology and Chemistry. The third edition of Chemistry is rife with error—the last thing a homeschool family needs! I have a copy of the third edition of the Biology textbook, which is good. However, we do so much enrichment, I don’t see the need for the added expense. You can buy second edition textbooks for Biology or Chemistry for $10. These editions have all of the content necessary for a complete course in Bio or Chem. Even if you only used the textbook and limited your teen to the experiments in the book, you would have a sound program.
Yes, I’m already planning Chemistry for Fall. Yes, I have been teaching Chem for a lonnnnnggg time. I just want to add some new ideas, like video demos. The social media feed mentioned NileRed, specifically the Iodine Myth. The link is below. I want the kids to do more work outside class. I’m thinking about videos and questions.
Update: Good Will just added an eScience lab kit. Take a look at this listing. The kit is for Biology, has a mortar and pestle, and lots of labware.
Are you planning to teach Chemistry in the Fall? Chemistry equipment can be expensive. I look for Labpaq and eScience kits online, usually through eBay and Goodwill. Colleges assign students these customized kits for online classes. Often the kits aren’t used; they can be a good value. The chemistry kits often have a mini-digital scale, safety classes, a graduated cylinder, test tubes, a paper rack, and disposable pipettes. My target price is $25 including shipping. Below are screenshots of sample Labpaq and eScience kits. Look carefully at the contents before you bid.
Update: This eBay store has good prices on beakers, flasks, and cylinders. I have to remind myself that I don’t need any labware.
What do you need to teach Chemistry? The American Chemical Society publishes these lists for middle school and high school Chemistry. Here is another list from Flinn Scientific. Here is a slideshow with the materials I used to create lab kits for my Co-op during COVID quarantine. I buy wooden coffee stir sticks for flame tests and stirring chemicals at the grocery or buy a box of 1000 from Amazon. We use cupcake papers as weigh paper. These mini digital balances are fine. We use a-tips for cotton swabs and craft sticks, or toothpicks to mix chemicals. Home Science Tools sells metal spatulas, pH paper, reaction plates, (Paint palettes can substitute, too. Check the dollar store.), Glass beakers, filter paper, 50 mL plastic graduated cylinders,, test tube sets, droppers, thermometers, and safety glasses. Even some of the best equipped, high school labs do not have spectrophotometers or emission gas tubes. You can scrounge clear cups, foam coffee cups, corks, funnels, tweezers, rulers, and scissors. We use tea candles, butane lighters, and hot plates as heat sources. Alcohol burners are dangerous. I avoided Bunsen burners even when I had them in a fully equipped lab. I had large classes, sometimes with 40 students. I used single burner hot plates as often as possible for safety issues. Many families cannot afford Chemistry Lab sets. With rising inflation, and soaring gas prices, let’s be frugal about science tools and equipment.
