Plan an outreach project!

 Project Based Learning or PBL is really a process.  Let me walk you through an outreach project, Apple-ka-dabra, a kindergarten, outreach program.  At the time, Musselman High School, where I taught, were the Applemen.  Everything was about apples—hence Apple-ka-dabra!  The outreach was a hands-on science program.  High School volunteers picked and prepped hands-on science experiments.  These teens hauled all of the materials to a neighboring school and spent the morning doing hands-on stations with the entire group of kindergarteners, and cleaned up after. We did this outreach for a friend’s private school once, too.  Later, the Co-op teens led an outreach to Head Start kiddos, who met in the Knights of Columbus building.  There are pix from Apple-ka-dabra at bottom.

1. Here is the list of activities, books, and materials we used.  We had a coloring station.  We just copied sciency coloring pages and had a basket of crayons on hand.  We usually had a reading station with sciency books.  

2. Planning involved selecting hands-on activities.  Our list has time-tested hits for kiddos aged 4-6. BTW color-changing nail polish is a huge hit.

3. Once you select your activities, determine how many kiddos will be in the group.  This is essential to budget.  Our groups had between 50-150 kiddos participating.  You need to determine the costs!

4. Prep before the event.  It takes time to prepare all of the solutions, sort, and box materials.  Be sure to filed-test every experiment.  Save loads and loads of bottles for Cartesian divers and Tornado bottles; one or two liter bottles work well.

5. Set up early.  Have plenty of tables to act as stations.  We set up a station outside near a hose for tornado tubes, which inevitably leak.  Save grocery bags for the kiddos to put their goodies they make.  We sought t-shirts from thrift stores and our homes for the kiddos to wear over their clothes and take home.  Have extra baggies available to take home instant snow, magic sand, slime, etc.  Everything goes in the grocery bags.  

6.  Enlist extra help for clean-up.  Plan to mop the floor and wipe down tables and chair.  Someone needs to box all of the materials, too.  

7. Meet with the entire group afterwards to debrief the event.  What could you do differently?  What was a hit or a miss?  Were there any snags which could be avoided?  Be sure to thank everyone!  Outreach projects are enormously rewarding.  The teens learn leadership skills.  You won’t believe how excited the kiddos get after a few hours of fun!  

Friday Fun Day: Go to the Park! Design your own playground!

 The weather’s too nice to stay inside.  Go to a park with a playground!  Here is some playground physics for tykes. This webpage has more about the physics underlying playground equipment.  Here is a Simple Machine Playground Challenge.  This article, Swings and Slides has more about the physics underlying swings and slides.  Go play!  Go home and Design a Playground. Discuss the physics, forces, and simple machines at the playground.  Create a model.  How much would the play equipment cost?  Is it safe?  Is it accessible?  Most of all, is it fun?  Would you like to design the ideal playground for your home or dream bigger?

Decide if you want to make this project a math challenge, a mini-model, playground physics, or a civics proposal.  Your family may have strong ideas about renovating, adding, or creating a new playground.  What are you thinking?  Your home, your neighborhood?  Your town?   You might ask your neighborhood HOA to sponsor a tot lot.  (Ours has a slide, set of two swings, two bouncy toys, and a picnic table.  Our tot lot is fenced—which might make an excellent small project.). 

 Make it a big project for your family.  Use a spreadsheet to compute costs.  Use software below to create scaled graphics.  Create a slide deck with sample images or inspirational photos.  Write your proposal.  First, visit several playgrounds for personal experience and inspiration.  Willowmere Park, Stafford recently renovated their play area.  The cost was nearly $400,000.  The budget included a splash pad.  Dream big!  There is no reason your family can’t submit a proposal to the local council or Board of Supervisors.  Wouldn’t a playground project make an excellent elective?  Think of all the fun doing the research!

Resources:

1. Natural Playground Toolkit and Nature Based Playground Equipment

2. Playground Ideas

3. BYO Recreation

4. Kaboom! DIY Toolkit.

5. Commercial Playground Equipment

Here is an accessible park for inspiration, too! 

Have you seen all of the Road-Side Stands?

 Wow!  There are so many honor bake stands on social media.  It’s inspiring! Read What is an Honor-System Bakery?  Near us are honor flower stands, egg stands, and watermelon.  We’re too urban for farm stands.  What a great summer project for your family! Make it an advanced, home economics project.

Maker Spaces at Home

 Let me be honest; I had never thought about creating a home maker space.  But so many families are home-schooling their kiddos, it certainly makes sense!  STEM Activties from Frugal Fun has pages and pages of ideas for projects.  What do you need to create a home maker space?  Start with this list: recycled containers, bottles, glue gun, craft sticks, rubber-bands, etc.  Shop your house for bins and boxes.  Stations can be based on labeled bins the kiddos pull out to build or create stuff.

1. LEGOs: Start with LEGO Maker.  You’ll need a big box.

2. Create Stations: Printmaking with Cardboard, Creative Art, Textile and Yarn Space, 

3.  Kids’ Workbench: DIY Kids Workbench, DIY Kids Toolbox, and project plans.

4.  MakerSpace at Home Inspiration : Millers, Madison Library, Miss Chu, Lance Makes,  and Colleen Graves.

5. 3D Printer Station: 3D Workspace, Make Haven, and Enclosure and Standing Desk.  While I think 3D printing is like watching paint dry, kiddos are enamored of the idea of printing their own toys for characters.

6.  You also may want to build Robotics kits.  I have tried a bunch.  Before you buy used robotics sets or toys, be sure to check if the programmable apps are still supported.  For example, LEGO plans to discontinue its support for Mindstorms. It no longer supports LEGO Boost, either.

7. Maker Station Ideas has even more ideas.  

Why so many posts lately?

 It feels as though I’ve been more creative lately.  Why?  Tax Season just ended! Yes, we do taxes in addition to teaching for the local Co-op.  Whhhoooooo! My husband, Rob, and I volunteer during tax season; he’s the site coordinator.  I’m a trainer.  Rob teaches tax law during annual training.  We recruit and train for Tax-Aide, beginning in November.  In January we get all the volunteers through the certifications; there are a minimum of three certifications and  two required video units in addition to the classroom training.  The volunteers do as many scenarios (fake tax returns)  as they can stomach.  In mid-late January, we trouble-shoot the wi-fi routers and printers.  We do taxes two days a week from February to mid-April.  This past tax season, we opened a new location.  We spent one day at the new location and a second at the old location.  The new site had all but one new volunteers. The new site also had printer problems.  Aaaaaaarrrrggghhhhh!  We had roughly double the work getting the new site up and running because we set up the old site and trained the volunteers for the new site coordinator.   I feel so much more creative now that I’m not doing taxes in my dreams.  Here’s hoping a little creativity continues.

Science Lab Kits

 Yes, once again I’m treating you to a tour of the type of lab kits I buy and cannibalize: eScience, QSL, MEL, and LabPaq.  My goal is to score a kit for under $25.  Really!

Summer Projects: Build a Bee , Bat, or Pollinator Habitat, House, or Snug!

 Do you have an avid naturalist?  Along with No Mow May, you can build, construct, or assemble any number of habitats.  (Frankly, part of our backyard is just ‘No Mow’.  Period.  It’s hard to mow.)  Below are projects which dovetail well with the ‘no mow’ area in your yard.

1. Bee Hotels: Easy Bee Hotel, or Drill holes in wood or log.  

2. Bat Houses

3.  Bug Snug

4. Pollinator Can

5. Brush Piles or Habitat Piles can encourage your kiddo to collect all the sticks and brush in the yard, too!

6. Butterfly Puddler or Puddling Station

7. Flying Squirrel Nest Box

8. Invite Hummingbirds

9.  Wildlife Structures (Plans) or Nesting Shelf.

10. Pollinator Watering Station.

Serious Solar Cookers

 Skip the S’mores in Pizza Box Solar Ovens or Pringles Solar Oven. They barely melt chocolate. Yes, your kiddos will still want to try!   Instead do a deep dive into Solar cooking—the types designed for developing countries. We’re looking at Solar Cookers.  Solar Cookers, International’s website has more designs with cooking temperature which can be achieved with different types of solar cookers.  Here is a research article about a standard box oven.  Note the test was for 300 g. of rice; cooking time is between 2-2 1/2 hours.  Here is a guide to cook times.  Here is a review of commercial solar ovens and cookers.  Here is a research article explaining why solar cookers didn’t work in a refugee camp in Africa, identifying issues barring women from adopting solar cookers.  It looks as though a solar cooker is a slooow cooker.  Cast iron pots or pans should help hold heat.  You absolutely need a sunny day.  Solar Cooking is one of those projects which captivates kiddos.  Let them start building a solar oven with cardboard boxes and newspaper.

Amusement Park Physics

 It’s been a minute; but I’ve taken groups to King’s Dominion to test Amusement Park Physics.  First, below are resources specifically for amusement parks.  (In another life I taught in private, prep schools.  Parents didn’t flinch at the price of tickets for a day at the park.)  If you go to an amusement park, check to see if the park has educational materials on its website or start with HST’s guide.   Below this information are ways to simulate amusement park science at home.

1.  Kings Dominion has Elementary, Middle School, and High School workbooks.  (They are a weak.). Many amusement parks have Education Days, with discounted tickets.  (Not cheap—but cheaper.).  Call the park and ask about the educator workshops the park offers to teachers before the park opens.  When I taught Physical Science, I took the workshop at Kings Dominion. It was very helpful!   Six Flags, Carowinds, Dorney Park, Busch Gardens, and Hershey Park all have Education Days.  Call the park to see if they have free educator days, too.

2.  Hershey’s Park has a fabulous Physics Worksheet with samples of Horizontal and Vertical Accelerometers.  (Here is the PASCO kit—very pricey, but easy to follow. Try Hershey’s videos.    Look at the Six Flags Teacher’s Manual, too.  

3. Disney Imagination Campus has Science and Technology workshops, including Physics.  Here is the 2026 pricing information.  Wow.

What about ways to simulate amusement park physics at home?

1. NASA’s Amusement Park Physics , while designed for a visit to the park, has ideas to test at home.  Similarly, Going Wild has a few ideas, such as tossing a cup of water or tying a ball with string to your wrist.  

2. Roller Coasters: Build Roller Coasters, Physics Classroom’s Roller Coasters, and  STEM Lesson.

3. Amusement Park Physics Lessons uses PhET Interactives and has loads of links with graphics and simulations.

Plan a summer visit to a science museum!

 There is a huge difference between a science museum and a discovery museum or center.  Growing up, my family went to museums.  My husband, Rob, hadn’t.  His family voted ‘no’ when his dad suggested touring a museum or history museum, monument, and the like. After high school, I spent a year outside Paris; the Louvre used to be free first Sundays.  love any museum!  As a kid, I especially liked science or natural history museums, such as the Franklin Institute; the Institute’s Admission prices for tickets are too costly for many families.  

What are high quality museums?  Naturally, the Smithsonian museums rank high and the museums in Washington D.C. are free.  (Smithsonian Affiliate Museums generally are not free, unless they have a Reciprocal Membership with a Smithsonian Membership (pricey).)  The National Zoo (free) partners with the Conservation Biology Institute, which is in Front Royal, Virginia (tiered prices—all high).  The Institute accepts Volunteers.  (In another life, the director from the Institute (formerly the CRC) had his kids at the school where I taught.  I took part in several, teacher programs.  The tours at the Institute are limited; much of the facility is off-limits.)

While I like just about any museum, I’m not wild about Discovery museums for younger kiddos.  One summer, one day a week, I volunteered as a docent for the local Discovery Museum in Winchester.  The museum did not need a docent.  I either cleaned up messes or monitored kiddos in the ‘take-apart’ lab space.  Since I had made a commitment, I stuck it out all summer.  Before volunteering for the Discover Museum, I had never taken my own kiddos to one.  For me these museums tend to be a ‘free-for-all’, not a science experience.  Instead, I look for science museums, especially those with science experiments or experiences.  Let me share a few great museums.

1. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has the Spark!Lab in the museum’s basement.  Like the Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C., the lab is free.  Are the experiments fabulous?  Nope.  However, they are usually enough fun for younger kiddos, who need a bit of a break. 

2.  Be sure to tour the National Museum of Natural History, next door.  Across the Mall is the National Air and Space Museum; the other Air and Space Museum, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is outside D.C., near Dulles airport.  

3. The National Building Museum, The Arts and Industries Museum, and of course the National Zoo are also in D.C.  We toured the Spy Museum in D.C. once.  Frankly, we found the tickets to be overpriced and the experience underwhelming.  As avid zoo visitors, the National Zoo always feels more like a lecture than a fun experience seeing animals.  However, the Building Museum and Air and Industries Museum (reopening in June) are both winners.

4. Richmond Virginia has a Discovery Museum, Children’s Museum of Richmond and The Science Museum of Virginia.  No, we haven’t tried the Children’s Museum; we love the Science Museum of Virginia.  Below is a screenshot of one day’s schedule.  Please note Rat Basketball.  Absolutely fabulous!  Rob, as a Physics teacher likes the Speed Exhibit.  The Museum often has hands-on workshops for kiddos.  Tickets  aren’t cheap.  Here is a Reddit post about ways to reduce costs.  

5.  Near Quantico is the National Museum of the Marine Corps, a free museum.   Look over the events page.  While the museum is dedicated to the Marines, they do host science events, from time to time, such as the events below.

Chemistry Popcorn Lab: Percent Water by Mass

 The Popcorn lab is another way to teach percent by mass.  There are different versions depending on your popcorn popping method: Videos and Detailed Instructions, Hot Air Popper, Microwave, or Jiffy Pop method below.  

Little Bins has a Popcorn Science Experiment for younger kiddos, too.  Make it another family experiment.