March 27

Air – Part 2

PreK scientists continued their study of air properties. Air takes up space. We can’t see air, but we can feel it. Moving air is called wind. Air can push and pull.

Look what happens when you place a ping pong ball in the flow of air created by a hair dryer! When we placed a paper cylinder above the ball, the ball went flying through. Why? Click here to watch.

As we placed objects with varying weights in this wind tunnel, the objects flew around in a circle. Scientists call this a vortex. We could also control the speed of the airflow.

How can you spin a pinwheel without touching it? We had a pinwheel parade and discovered that the air pushed our pinwheels as we walked. The faster we moved, the faster our pinwheels moved too. Click here to watch the parade.

Then after I blew air into a paper bag and a Ziploc bag, I popped them. Why did they make such a loud noise? How fun it was to hear the popping noises we made when we pushed the bubble wrap which is also a great activity for fine motor development.


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March 25

Clouds

Kindergarten scientists just finished studying clouds, so this lab focused on the water cycle. (It was a pajama dress down day.)

We wrote the first letter of our names on the lab tables? Where did they go?


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which letter painted with water will evaporate faster? Why?

A hygrometer measures humidity- water vapor in the air.

We made clouds with a wizard stick fog generator. Look how we filled a vase with a cloud!


We used a vaporizer to fill a bubble with water vapor, held it, and when it popped, the cloud was released in our hands. Wow!


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March 25

Symmetry

I have two new symmetry centers in the science lab. When your engineers build with blocks at home, ask them to design buildings that are symmetrical, and as you travel around town, look for items that are constructed using symmetry.

March 25

Column Strength

This was one of those investigations that was simple, but impressive! My club girls connected math concepts (geometry and measurement) with science concepts (force and gravity). I posed this question to my mighty girls: “Which solid shape (triangular prism, rectangular prism, or cylinder) is the strongest?”  The columns were made from construction paper and taped together. We discussed the differences in their construction.

Then, we used a kitchen scale to weigh books of various weights. The lightest book was less than a pound and the science encyclopedia weighed 5 pounds. Before we placed the books on top of the shapes, we made our hypotheses and used previous experiences to support them. Which shape do you think will hold the most weight?

The cylinder easily supported over 11 pounds. How is it different than the other two solid shapes? Then I challenged my mighty girls to make cylindrical columns that would support the most weight. Would a shorter cylinder support more weight than a taller one? Would a wider cylinder be stronger than a thinner one?

Why would it be important for an engineer to know which shape supports the most weight? Try this at home!

The girls in the following photos constructed cylindrical columns with two pieces of paper each. They were able to support over 3o pounds! Wow!


March 25

New Plants

I brought a shamrock plant to school to share with my classes. St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock (whose leaves are divided into three leaflets) to teach the Holy Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

I also shared this red onion I discovered growing in my refrigerator!

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March 25

Hawk

This stately hawk makes appearances all around campus. The first photo was captured by Mrs. Baughman near the playground and this bird of prey is enjoying a meal in the next photo taken by Mrs. Daniel.


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