Instant Physics Lessons: More Toys!

I really can’t tell you how much I love toys!  I see them as an investment for science demos and science camp.  We have a few!  I have rounded up more toys, lessons, and articles to create more instant science lessons.  This time, the emphasis is on classic, physics toys.  Warning!  Some of the articles are weighty.  Have your kiddos make videos explaining how the toy works and the related science as an assessment.  Now you have another excellent addition to your digital portfolio, too!

Slinky: First, Slinky Physics is an article.  Here is a lab lesson with a video, designed for grades 6-8.  Another Slinky classic is mimicking a wave, another good lab lesson.  

Newton’s Cradle is first a lab lesson with a DIY Newton’s Cradle, using a ruler and marbles.  (It’s very detailed.). Here is a DIY Newton’s Cradle. Here is a Physics lessons about Conservation of Energy and momentum with a Newton’s Cradle toy and a very lengthy article.  

Gauss Rifle: Warning, this ten page article, Magnetic Cannon has a great deal of physics.  A magnetic cannon is also a Gauss Rifle.  HST sells a kit.  Looks fun!  I know very little about this toy.  My husband, Rob, loves to include all manner of physics toys in his instruction.

Mirascope: This is an optical illusion toy.  This Mirascope article has loads of physics.  Make an optical illusion toy.  I found a DIY version; I think you would spend too much time looking for identical, concave mirrors.  Buy the toy.  The video explains how the optical illusion works.

Astro Blaster: Here is a series of experiments centered on Conservation of Momentum with balls.  The video has the rocket ball demo—one of the greatest hits at science camp.

Balancing Bird: Make your own balancing bird toy.  This lab lesson also has an explanation about the bird’s center of mass.

Hand-flyer:  Here is an article about the helicopter toy and lift.  Make your own!

DIY Cup Helicopter may achieve lift-off.  Too cute!

Instant Summer Lessons: Health

Summer is the time for electives!  Mainly, I’m thinking about Health curricula.  It’s one of those subjects with implications for the entire family.  Combine a video, article, and activities into one easy lesson.

Visit to the Dentist: Here are six cartoons for kiddos to watch about visiting the dentist—even Curious George!  

Mouth and Teeth (K-2) and Mouth and Teeth (3-5) are mini units.  Basically, these include worksheets and a quiz.

Enamel: Here are facts about tooth enamel.  This experiment uses raw eggs and acidic drinks to mimic their effect on tooth enamel. (America’s Tooth Fairy has more lessons, books, and flossing with Duplos!). Follow-up with PBS Science U How to Test Tooth Decay. 

Toothpaste: Here is an article about choosing a toothpaste.  Make your own toothpaste. Round up the tiny tubes of toothpaste from the dentist and test pH.  Mix a small amount of toothpaste ( pea size) with three teaspoons of water.  Dip in the pH paper and read results  with the key.  Here is a research article; ideally the pH of toothpaste should be between 7-8.5.

What about a general health curriculum?  Look over the 4H for Health Curriculum or Get Fit! That’s it!   Both are good mini curricula rather than a full blown course, such as Apologia’s Health and Nutrition Curriculum, for high school.  Try a brief curriculum to gauge interest.  If your teen is excited by Health and Nutrition, you can always go ahead and order the course.

See a video and find the lab!

 I have a strong aversion to paying for experiments or labs.  Too often these demos and labs are readily available; I just need to track it down.  Have you seen adds recently for 200 Chemistry experiments? 

There is where AI is useful.  I entered a very detailed description to find the lab: Burning Candle, Rising Water or Rising Water Secret.  I had to watch the video repeatedly before I noticed the instructor removed the air with a match. Ahh!  Is it chemistry?  It does relate to air pressure; it’s remotely chemistry—but more general science.

You can do a general search; however, Fizzics Education or Steve Spangler  are good places to start.  Be detailed.  For example, ‘cups, string, index cards, experiment, pull and cups fall into stack’.  Voila!  It’s Inertia Tower (also here.)  I did a similar experiment to hunt down the paper spiral moving under the candle,

Make it a personal challenge to find the experiment.  Yes, it can be a rabbit hole.  (Ask me about Hot Ice.  No, I have never gotten good results trying to make sodium acetate.  Ever.)  I am determined to give the Rising Water experiment a try, though.  Anything different is good.

Instant Science Lessons: Just add water!

 I am all about easy lessons for fall.  Water Experiments for Kids has three experiments to get started.  Start a file marked, Just add water, to put aside for easy, Friday Fun Days!

1. Drops on a Penny has a data sheet and requires a hypothesis (guess) about how many drops a penny can hold.  This version of Drops of Water uses wax paper and color mixing.  This water drop collection includes capillary action, cohesion, and sheen.  

2.  Salt and Ice Painting includes food coloring in the instructions.  Substitute tempera paint; it’s cheaper.  Ice Art has a video  Try Why Salt Melts Ice for another experiment with ice and string.  The underlying, science concept is Freezing Point Depression.  Follow up with Ice, Salt, and Temperature.

3. Floating Water is all about air pressure.

4.  Floating Bowling Ball is one activity I use when we review density in high school level Chemistry.  (The website has the math.). If you want to show kiddos, an eight to twelve pound bowling ball will float.  (The 12-lb ball bobbles.)  Add ice to the bug bucket to get the density of the water as close to 1.0 g/mL as possible.

6.  Do Sink or Float with young kiddos.  Have another scavenger hunt in your house for objects which might sink or float.

7. Make a Water Magnifying Glass is one experiment I haven’t tried before.

Basic Biology Equipment

In light of all the sales, what do you really need for Biology labs?  Before you buy an expensive microscope, see if your library has one you can use. Plan to bring a set of slides and work ant the library.  Ours does!  If not, consider using a digital microscope.  My teens focus the slide, capture a screenshot, and then sketch the image.  Sometimes, they label and save images.  We also use kiddie microscopes.  I have ten.  The resolution is quite good—certainly sufficient for high school Bio.

Buy a set of microscope slides. While I think the Amscope are fine, many families buy the Apologia set.  This page has the description of the 16 slides in the Apologia kit and here is the Amscope contents.  My goal is to have the kiddos learn how to observe and sketch slides.  I bought two larger sets of slides similar to the one below.  Check the set on Amazon; the contents are excellent!  

Test tubes and a rack are nicer than test tubes in a yogurt container.  Buy borosilicate, glass test tubes (Pyrex or Kimax).  Be sure to buy either safety glasses or goggles.  Kiddos are much more likely to keep safety glasses on their faces.

Do you plan to dissect?  If you only do one specimen, make it the frog—unless you fish.  If so, dissect a perch. You can use a paper plate, a sharp knife, and a pair of scissors.  The tray and dissection kit are nice, but not essential.  HST has good dissection manuals, too; however the instruction in the textbook or instructions online here are fine.  It does help to have perch and frog images available.

Most of the labs use simple materials: split peas (DNA Extraction), activity copies (The Lynx eats the Hare), white beans (Mark-Recapture), coffee filters, straws, baggies, cornstarch, etc.  Below are some examples.

I do have molecule sets I find to be extremely useful; however I teach Bio and Chem frequently.  The LabAid kits were investments.  I have both vintage and modern #505 Molecules of Life kits.  The worksheets make the kits worthwhile; the molecules are easy to manipulate and disassemble.  You can build molecules with this POGIL worksheet and any molecular model set.  Molymod a makes great sets.

Basic Chemistry Lab Equipment

 Yes, as a matter of fact, this is one of my favorite topics!  What are key pieces of equipment or apparatus is best for Chemistry labs?  When you browse Chemistry Hardware Kits, you come away thinking you need to spend hundreds of dollars on labs.  For example, I do not own any glass, graduated cylinders. I use polypropylene cylinders and beakers.  One 250 mL borosilicate, beaker is enough for most labs.  

A ring stand, ring, and clamp set is nice to have.

Below are three lab videos with some of the basic equipment I use.  Note the soda can.  I keep a box on hand.  We use both glass and digital thermometers.

Here are photos of the basic equipment we use regularly.  Additionally, we go through a ton of pipettes, craft sticks, and wooden coffee stir sticks.  We mainly use polypropylene beakers—rarely glass.  My teens wear safety glasses, rather than safety goggles; they are much more likely to keep their glasses on.  Don’t spend a fortune on lab equipment.  Save yogurt containers to use instead of beakers.  Do more labs!  Spend less money.

Below are pix with prices.  I can recommend Go! Temp and EasyTemp temperature sensors.  We seldom use glass thermometers.  Most of the time we attach a sensor to TI 84 calculators.  The Go!Temp connects to a laptop—ideally a very, old laptop.  Why use digital temperature probes?  They don’t break.  Typically there are 12-15 teens in the Co-op Chemistry class.  Glass thermometers have the same half-life as the Drinking Bird toy in my classroom.  We use plastic racks for borosilicate (Pyrex or Kimax) test tubes.  They might melt a little.  So what?  Be practical and buy what you need for lab.