December 4

Santa Ziplines

This lab was all about engineering with a Christmas twist! Second grade engineers learned first hand about the forces of gravity and friction when they constructed ziplines for Santa. Their goal was to send Santa from the second floor to the first safely through the rotunda. We didn’t want him to fall out, turn upside down, or get stuck midway. Although he could have a seatbelt or a chair, he could not be tied to his zipline. Collaborative teams had a choice of four tables filled with possible materials. After constructing the ziplines, we tested them. If there had been additional time, we would have compared design choices, discussed results, improved our designs, and retested them to complete the Engineer Design Process. Our zipline was fishing line, but how might our results have changed if we used a zipline of twine or yarn? Make one at home and send me a photo or video.


Ziplines from Mrs. Harwell’s Class:

December 4

Bubbles Part Two

After reviewing the concepts we learned in our previous bubble lab, Prefirst bubbleologists continued their investigation of bubbles. They were thinking like scientists as they made discoveries! I watched them observe, question, hypothesize, and problem solve. Click here to watch a professional bubbleologist.

We made cube bubbles. (Scroll down to the first grade post for more information.)

Why doesn’t a bubble pop when you are wearing gloves? Click here to learn more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bubble snakes are fun to make! Change a variable by trying other materials (sock, cheesecloth, piece of an old T-shirt) on the end of the water bottle. Click here for further instructions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put clouds in bubbles with a humidifier, and then we held them! It was interesting to watch the clouds pop and see the condensation escape!


Thanks for taking photos Mrs. Daniel!

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