Margia Artis (Herzl School)
had us making "Bouncing Buttons." (handout) Using a 1 qt jar,
we added water (2 cups) and vinegar (0.5 cups), and
several colorful plastic buttons, which settled to the
bottom. But then, upon adding baking soda (about 0.5
teaspoon), the mixture began fizzing and sending up
bubbles. Margia asked us to observe, and we saw some of
the buttons rise up to the top, only to drop back down
eventually. Explain! This is what she asks her students to
do, which stimulates them to think and analyze their
observations. Useful over a wide range of academic grade
levels! Thanks, Margia!
Mikail Siddiq (Raymond School)
had us competing, 5 rows of us, each row trying to win a game of Jeopardy!
It was well-organized, with a monitor at each row, and a
score-keeper up front at the board, to keep track of the
total for each row. Mikail would ask a question about
earth science (eg. For $300: Earth's core is mostly a)
nickel-iron, b) silicon-nickel, c) aluminum-nickel, d)
copper-silicon.) The first row to come up with an answer
would get Mikail's attention through their monitor, and
give their answer. If correct, the points would be added
to their score on the board. If wrong, the next row to
volunteer an answer would try. And so it went. We were all
very involved and had an exciting time. Mikail had a great
many excellent questions, and we proved to be a
knowledgeable bunch of students! Many of us wanted to get
a list of Mikail's questions to use with our own students.
Wonderful!
Chandra Price (Burnham School)
(handout) used ideas from "Art from Wood" to excite us. From a collection
of leaves, cat tails, colorful bird feathers and other
woodsy things, Chandra challenged us to create collages on
sheets of cardboard (about 14x16 sq in) which might tell
some sort of story, or form a design or picture. Before
long we had many colorful and beautiful collages which we
wished we had more time to admire. Of course, students
could learn so much be observing the natual ingredients,
identifying them, and learning about their functions.
Inspiring!
Jean Essig (Woods School)
(handout, Merry Math)
gave us each a brown gingerbread man, cut from heavy
paper. With materials (buttons, glue, etc) we decorated
them. Had time allowed, we would have compared the ways in
which they were alike and in which they differed. Aspects
of literature and math and art were all involved in these
activities. Students would cut out and decorate many
gingerbread men, each of which would differ by one
attribute from the one made before it. Learning is fun!
Glenda Ellis (Williams School)
gave each of us a
page listing the names of people and what each did.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/bioindex.html She
challenged us (as she does her students) to debate who did
the most important things and why. Her students would get
more detailed information from any sources they could,
including the web. Neat!
Marie Wong (Warren School)
had all kinds of fruits, vegetables, on the table, and she soon had us cut
them open to learn about the seeds they contained, make
drawings of where they were found, count them, describe
their shapes. We could even graph the results: number of
seeds vs the source (orange, apple, tomato, peach, bell
pepper, etc.) Again, many skills were developed.
Finger-licken good!
Imara Abdullah (Douglas School)
gave each of us 4 pages, the first showing drawings of bats. She got us
involved in a discussion of what they were. She asked us
questions, we came up with answers, more questions
followed, and we learned more about bats than we had
known. Next was an owl, then a chicken and a cow with the
words milk and eggs. More dialogue on each of these, and
we learned more about each. Last page showed -in
pictorial-style drawings - how to go about organizing a
science fair type investigation, starting with the problem
(the question you are asking), and going from there.
Fascinating!
Sophia Watson (Manley HS)
(handout, Coloring and Colorfastness: The Art of Dyeing). To each of two
jars on the table, she added water and a (green) food coloring
dye. Then a teaspoon of vinegar was added to one. Sophia
placed one hard boiled egg in each of the jars. At the end
of one minute, timed by Ken Schug, Sophia removed the eggs
and held them up for us to see. The egg that was dyed in
the jar with the vinegar was a deeper shade of green than
the other! Many related experiments were suggested: Does
the concentration of vinegar matter? Temperature? Time?
Color of the dye? How does one explain results? Good
science!
Shirley Cesair (Henderson School)
made some bubble solution while we watched, using water, Dawn or
Joy, glycerin. Using straws and containers (made from
aluminum foil) or foam cups, we blew into the straws and
made bubbles. Some were single, even one inside another.
Others were large stacks of bubbles, overflowing a cup.
Who can make the biggest bubble? The longest lasting?
(handout). This also lends itself to a variety of
investigations, as well as being fun.
Iona Greenfield (Carnegie School)
showed us Preferences in Drinks: regular Coke vs Diet
Coke. (5 page handout) Placing a can of each in water,
Iona showed us that diet Coke floats, and regular Coke
sinks. Why? Possible explanations were offered, and
reading the ingredients of each from the sides of the cans
helped to provide clues to possible answers. It was also
noted that Diet Coke freezes more easily than regular
Coke. Ahah! Iona's handout was in the form of a lab
experiment in which students make measurements of mass,
volume, density, % sugar for both Cokes, and do the same
with an "unknown" liquid. Many questions at the end, like:
Why was it necessary for the soft drinks to be at room
temperature? Good physics!
Stephanie Ruffin (Metcalf Community Academy)
gave us each a handout on Picture Poetry. For an ecology
unit, different concepts were used together. "Dirty Rice"
looks like dirt and rice, but tastes good. (Recipe
available on request.) Next, list adjectives to describe a
tree (we had about 40) - imagery for a tree. Then
adjectives to describe an old tree (knarled tree with
branches bending down and over). We all drew word pictures
of a tree. The words are drawn in letters which are made
to be in the shape of a tree and its leaves falling down,
and words taking the shape of a pile of leaves. Creative!
Pearline Scott (Franklin Fine Arts Center)
held up a piece of paper from one end and blew across its top
surface, which then moved up. Why? Bernoulli effect -
pressure is lowered at the surface where air is moving.
Pearline gave us detailed plans (handouts) for a Star
Ship, Global Flyer, Classic Glider, and Helicopter.
Thanks, Pearline!
Porter Johnson (IIT)
told us about a Super Duper Full Moon (handout) we should look for on
Dec 22 1999. Don't miss it! From what is described, it should be a
remarkable thing to see!
Janet Sheard (West School, Glencoe)
showed us that a "winding mountain road" is really an inclined
plane, (handout). Janet also showed other simple machines
involving pencils and books to convince ourselves of the
(mechanical) advantage of levers, and how to show inertia
using a clothespin, glass and card (handout). A book,
Physics for Every Kid, by Janice Van Cleave, is a very
useful resource ISBN 0-471-52505-7. Great stuff!
Melinda Ross (Hefferan School)
asked us: Is air matter? "Yes" we replied. Can it take up space? "Yes."
She gave us each a "baggie" and a handout (The Empty
Sack). What about the baggie? We filled our baggie with
air and twisted its open end tightly shut. With the air
inside it became "stiff" - more like a solid object.
Melinda got her students to find their own words to
describe what they observed. And she runs a dialogue with
them about molecules of air and pressure. Simple, but
elegant in its simplicity!
Brian Cagle (Cook School)
gave us Weird Science Part II: