Science Night!

Science Night is tomorrow night!  Come to see student work and participate in lots of science activities. This event is for the entire Abington Friends Community so there will be opportunities to see great Middle and Upper School projects and experiments as well.                 

Oil and Water

In Kindergarten chemistry, we experimented with liquids and mixing.  Do oil and water mix?  That was our first question that we asked.  The students were so surprised when the oil stayed on top of the water no matter how much they tried to mix it!  What came next was even more startling.  Next we added drops of food coloring.  The food coloring did not mix with the oil and in fact, became dozens of tiny, colorful drops suspended in the oil.  When a drop fell through the oil to the water, it definitely mixed with the water!  The students then did beautiful observational drawings of this experiment.

Reactions Experiment!

Today Kindergarten students tried another chemistry experiment: "Reactions and Jumping Raisins".  It was pretty exciting to see what can happen when you combine certain substances like vinegar and baking soda.  The reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (dilute acetic acid) generates carbon dioxide gas which produced the "explosion" that happened in our first experiment.  

Next, we added the raisins.  What would happen? As we observed the raisins, we noticed that they initially sank to the bottom of the glass. Next, they "magically" rose to the top of the beaker, and then sank again.  They were jumping up and down! What was happening?  The raisins sank to the bottom  of the beaker due to their density, but because raisins have a rough, dented surface, they are filled with air pockets. These air pockets attracted the carbon dioxide gas in the liquid, creating the little bubbles on the surface of the raisins.

The carbon dioxide bubbles increased the volume of each raisin. With a greater volume, the raisin displaces more fluid, which then applies more buoyant force, pushing the raisins upwards. At the surface, the carbon dioxide bubbles pop and the raisins’ density changes again. Then they sink back down to the bottom. The whole process is repeated, making it look as though the raisins are dancing or jumping!

Shining Pennies

Here are a few photos from our latest chemistry experiment in Kindergarten.  Is there any way to clean a penny once it gets dull over time?  That's the question that the Kindergarten students set out to answer last week.  We tried four different solutions to see if we could bring a shine back to our pennies.  Three of our solutions didn't work, but it was exciting when our last combination of vinegar, water and salt worked and made our pennies look new again!  Take a look on the experiment page of my blog if you'd like the recipe.  I'll post it there so you can try it at home.

Seed Mosaics

Kindergarten students extended their study of seeds yesterday in science class by making seed mosaics.  The students examined all different kinds of seeds, from wildflower seeds to common beans that you can find at the market.  The students were amazed at the variety of colors and textures and sizes!  They made important connections about seeds that you plant versus seeds that you can eat.  Here are some of their observations: "I have seen this before, I think I like to eat these!" "Are these seeds that you can really cook?" "Why are some seeds round and some seeds flat?" "Some of the seeds are pretty colors and some are really, really tiny."  We're going to extend this lesson based on their questions and have an opportunity to cook and eat some of the seeds next!