7/6/18- Summer STEM Experiment: Pool Noodle Math Game

How to make summer swimming a learning task, you ask? One where your math happy kid will grin and your language happy kid will groan?  Create a math game using a foam pool noodle of course!

YOU WILL NEED:

A Foam Pool Noddle
Scissors or Exacto Knife
Permanent Marker (my fav is Sharpie)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Cut the pool noodle into 10 pieces (even is good, but it's fine if you don't-- I have no perfectionist requirement on cutting the noodle into even pieces).  This step should probably be done by an adult since scissors or an Exacto knife are involved.

2) Using the permanent marker, write one number, 1-10, on each pool noodle piece (also make a 7 ate 9 joke as you number).

3) Throw the numbered pool noodle pieces into a pool (this pool should be a pool you have permission to use).

4) Have the child(ren) retrieve the numbers you call out: "3! 10! 5!" etc.


Variations on the pool noodle math swimming games:

• If you have an older child, tell them to retrieve 10-7; 36/6; 4+5; etc. 

• If you have a child under 2, you can put shapes on pool noodle pieces and create your own shape game.

• If you have a language lover, you can cut the pool noodle into 26 pieces and put one letter of the alphabet on each and create your own language game. 

Have fun swimming this summer, and always remember pool safety with your kids!

4/25/18- Science Experiment: Edible Starburst Slime

With Arizona teachers walking out tomorrow, which I totally support!, you might find your kid at home and looking for something to do.  Or maybe you're in a state where there is no walk out, but you'll need something to do this weekend.  Enter Edible Starburst Slime-- the science experiment is sure to give your kids a sugar high and then a sugar crash, so let's call it a win? 

YOU'LL NEED:

Starbursts

Powdered Sugar

Double Boiler Pot
Non-Stick Cooking Mat if you have one
Parental Supervisor for stove usage

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Boil a pot of water and place a glass bowl over the pot (hence a double boiler) to melt the Starbursts. I actually have a fancy double boiler pot from Sur Le Table, so that's what you see in my pictures, but a glass bowl works great too. 

2) Constantly stir the Starburst so that they don't burn.  Once melted, remove from heat (place on pot holder or a burner that's turned off).

3) Spread powdered sugar onto the non-stick cooking mat.  If you have those fancy silicon cooking/baking gloves, you can go ahead and grab your melted Starbursts. If not, then wait until you can touch it without burning yourself, but it's still melty (yep, that's a made up adjective).

4) Knead the Starburst into the powdered sugar until it's stretchy and mildly sticky... like slime. Actually, it will be more like play dough. So, we got cookie cutters out and cut shapes out of our edible Starburst slime.  

Note, it will eventually go back to a harden Starburst state; it won't be slime forever, but you can always heat it back up to make it sticky again.

Of course, on the favorite parts for us was eating this slime!  Happy science experimenting! 

3/15/18- Spring Science Experiment: Dissolving Peeps

Okay, I'd admit this science experiment is a little sadistic--it's dissolving Peeps! 😲  What did those poor, cute Peeps ever do to me? Besides be a delicious Easter binge, followed by lots of teeth brushing?  I mean, at least I'm not encouraging you and your children to blow the Peeps up in the microwave.  And truth be told, whether dissolving Peeps or exploding them, it is mad fun science!  Cue mad scientist laugh: baw ha, ha, ha!

Alright, now that that is out of my system, let's dissolve some Peeps!  This experiment is a modified version of ye ol' baking soda and vinegar reaction.

YOU WILL NEED:

A jar
A pan to sit the jar on and another plate to pour baking soda onto
A microwave safe cup/mug that has a handle, preferably a Pyrex measuring cup
A spoon
1/2 cup of baking soda
1 cup of vinegar
1 cup of water
And most important, Peeps

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Set Up: place a jar inside a pan (the pan will catch overflow liquids) and pour some baking soda onto the plate.  Keep the rest of the baking soda handy.

Set Up

2) On the plate, coat the Peep in baking soda. The natural sweet stickiness of a Peep allows for the baking soda to adhere to it.

 Coating the Peep in Baking Soda

3) In the Pyrex measuring cup, pour 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water.  Microwave this mixture until it starts to boil (about 1.5 minutes in the microwave).

4) Carefully, carefully remove (a hot pad to grab the cup's handle might be a good idea) the HOT vinegar/water mixture from the microwave and slowly and carefully pour about half of it into the jar. *Adults, you may want to be in charge of this step since the mixture is HOT.*

5) Drop your baking soda coated peep into the jar.

 Dear Peep, Science Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

6) The classic baking soda and vinegar reaction is taking place.  This reaction will need to be sustained for about 3-4 minutes.  So when the bubbles start to fade, with a spoon, scope some new baking soda into the jar. Then pour a little more HOT vinegar/water mixture (again, *Adults you may want to be in charge of the pouring of HOT liquids*).  Keep alternating between scoping baking soda and pouring vinegar/water until the Peep is dissolved.

Keep Up the Bubbles (Reaction) for 3-4 Minutes

Eeek! Those Are the Peeps Eyes Floating On Top!

What Remains 

(After 2 Minutes of Reaction)

Jack's favorite part of this whole mad experiment-- eating the Peeps!  Happy spring time and happy science experimenting!

What You Should Do with Peeps

Bonus Fun: Why Not Throw a Peep into the Microwave and See What Happens?
1) Put the Peep on a plate.
2) Set the microwave to 15 seconds.
3) Watch it expand.

Kaboom! Explosion!  Baw, ha, ha, ha! 

Warning: Peeps were harmed in the making of this science experiment.  All safety lays with the user(s) of the experiment/science experimenter(s). 

12/18/17- Holiday Science Experiment: Make Your Own Snow

When you live in a warm weather place like Phoenix, you rarely receive snowfall (it has happened though). So if you don't get snow, then why not make some?  That's exactly what Jack, Bobby, our friend Colton, and some neighborhood kids did this weekend. It will make for a fun winter break and holiday science experiment.  And it's super easy to do!

YOU WILL NEED:

3 cups of baking soda
1/2 cup of hair conditioner (suggest white in color so that it looks like snow)
glitter (optional)
large plastic container or large pan
"snow" tools: beads, toothpicks, cookie cutters or Play-Doh tools, ribbon and googling eyes for snow people


INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour baking soda into container.
2. Pour conditioner into container.
3. Stir together with a spoon (or your hands).  Snow should be like sand.
4. Let the play begin!

I will give you a word of caution: your child(ren) may want to make snowballs and then throw said snowball at you.  The good news is that this snow cleans up easily.  So I suggest wearing play clothes (or if you live in Phoenix, bathing suites to hose down the "snow" covered kids, haha) and doing the snow outside (just like real snow, haha).

Jack, Colton, and the neighborhood kids enjoyed the snow-- long after we ran out of baking soda and conditioner, they kept asking for more snowballs.  It makes me so happy when Jack and friends enjoy one of my science experiments. Parenting, and engineering, win! 😀

And for those who have children older than 3, you can explain how mixing the baking soda and conditioner together creates an exothermic reaction, which is the same type of reaction in the formation of real snow (exothermic is a chemical reaction that releases energy in the form of heat or light). And if you want an endothermic reaction, like the reaction that melting snow is, then pour some vinegar on top of your fake snow.  Below is a video to help your children learn more about exothermic and endothermic reactions.  Happy Snow-lidays! ⛄

11/16/17- Thanksgiving Science Experiment: Hopping Corn

YOU WILL NEED:

a clear glass container
popping corn
water
baking soda
white vinegar
food coloring (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fill your glass container with water and add a couple drops of food coloring.
2. Add your baking soda and stir well until it is all dissolved.
3. Add a small handful of popping corn kernels.
4. Add the vinegar and watch the corn start to hop up and down!

This corn will hop up and down repeatedly in your container for over an hour.  It’s so much fun to watch (mesmerizing would be the best word to describe it). The experiment creates a great opportunity to talk about gases, liquids, and solids with your child.

Basically, the science behind the activity is that when the baking soda and vinegar combine, they react to form carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.  The gas forms bubbles in the water, which enclose the corn kernels.  The bubbles lift the kernels up to the surface, and when the kernels get to the surface, the bubbles pop, and the kernels sink again.

10/13/17- Halloween Science Activity: Dancing Ghosts

I like Halloween and I like science, so I thought how do I combine the 2 to have some scienc-ween fun with Jack?  Luckily Pinterest exist, and I found various Halloween Science activities.  Most were vinegar and baking soda reaction experiments, which with black dye or something can make for some scary fun Halloween experiments.  Kind of mad scientists.

However, Jack and I have done the vinegar and baking soda reaction experiment multiple times, and while he does enjoy the experiment, I wanted to introduce a new science concept to him.  So I chose one that involves static electricity: Dancing Ghosts.

For Dancing Ghosts, you'll need tissue paper, at least one balloon (inflated), and scissors.  Marker optional (for drawing a face on your ghost).

Cut a ghost out of the tissue paper.  Then rub the balloon back and forth on your carpet or hair, creating the static electricity (as I'm sure you know), and then hold the balloon over the tissue paper ghost.  The ghost should move.  While the balloon still has a static charge move it back and forth, and the ghost should move back and forth too.  Here's my video of making the tissue paper ghost dancing:

Jack liked this science activity because he got to cut his own ghost.  He really likes cutting paper right now (they're teaching him in preschool how to cut straight lines and such), and he also likes ghosts, saying "oooooo" every time he sees one.  He also had his own balloon and got his ghost to dance once, but after that he just taped his ghost to the balloon and had the ghost ride around on the balloon.  Haha!  It was a fun and simple Halloween meets science activity.  Hope everyone has a Happy Hall-oooo-ween!

If your child is a little older and interested in what static electricity is, then consider watching this video while doing the activity.  It provides a great explanation to kids on static electricity.
How Static Electricity Works

6/19/17- STEM Activity: Marshmallow Catapult

Happy Summer!  Have fun building this Marshmallow Catapult and googling tension, torsion, and gravity, which are the forces involved when catapulting an object.

Supplies:
7 Wooden Skewers
1 Rubber Band
1 Plastic Spoon
Masking Tape
4 Large Marshmallows, plus marshmallows for shooting

1) Use 3 marshmallows and 3 skewers and form a triangle for the base.
2) Use 3 more skewers and 1 more marshmallow and form a pyramid.
3) Tape the plastic spoon to the end of the remaining skewer.
4) Loop the rubber band around the topmost marshmallow.
5) Insert the spoon and skewer combo through the rubber band.
6) Connect the skewer and spoon combo to one of the base marshmallows.
7) Put a marshmallow into the spoon and shoot.
8) Try shooting the marshmallow again, but this time pull the spoon further back.  Did the marshmallow go further? Did the marshmallow go higher?
9) Try other adjustments to the catapult. How far can you get the marshmallow to go?  How high can you get the marshmallow to go?

3/2/17- Spring Break STEM Activity

Spring break is right around the corner for many kids!  Not Jack, as he is in daycare/preschool (which doesn't close for spring break), and he basically just took a week off for a cold. So to preschool for him, and to work for Bobby and me. We'll take him on vacation in late summer/early fall, so don't feel too bad that he doesn't get spring break.

Since spring break is right around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to share another STEM activity.  The activity won't entertain your kids for a whole week (or maybe it could if they end up really liking it), but it is pretty fun.  The professional engineering society that I belong to did the activity at Chase Field's STEM Night, and then we recently did it at E-Day at the AZ Science Center. Not sure if the engineers or kids had more fun.

Without further ado, Galaxy Slime! The slime is so popular right now, check out the MSN video "Slime Fad is Back." I like to think our engineering society started the trend, but most likely we did not.

Supplies Needed:
Bowl
Spoon
1 cup Elmer's Glue (white or clear work)
1 cup Liquid Starch (we used the Walmart brand, Stay-Flo)
Food Coloring (optional)
Glitter (optional)
Plastic Bag (optional)

Instructions:
1) Put the glue into the bowl first.
2) Stir in food coloring and glitter, if desired.
3) Slowly stir in the liquid starch in increments.  You probably won't use the full cup of liquid starch.
4) Stir until you don't see the "white" liquid starch.  Then switch to kneading the slime with your hands, checking how stretchy the slime is.  If you want it stretchy vs.gak, again you probably won't use the full cup of liquid starch.
5) After your child is done playing with their slime, they can save it in a plastic bag (or Tupperware).

Jack's galaxy slime has lasted for a week after he made it at E-Day.  He liked mixing the colors and glitter in the glue, but he lost interest in the final product.  I do think this activity is fun to do with toddlers (who are past the put everything in their mouth stage), just remember toddlers are going to need more help with the food coloring than a 10 year old is (Jack squeezed like 100 drops in because I thought he could do it himself, haha).

It is great for ages 2-99. Thought I'd take the Lego approach there; after 99, you just won't find this activity or Legos fun. Oh, and it's called Galaxy Slime, because if you add color and glitter, it looks like a Galaxy!  Also, the glue and starch combine to make a polymer! Happy (STEM) Spring Break!

8/31/16- Lip Balm

I was at a pool party this weekend, and a fellow engineer was excited to talk STEM activities with me.  Every February, our engineering org goes to the AZ Science Center and performs a STEM experiment/activity with the kids and adults in honor of Engineers Week.  My fellow engineer was talking about ideas for a new activity, mostly centered around rockets (because rockets are cool).

But that made me realize it's time to post another STEM activity here on my blog.  School has started again, so what better time to get your STEM on than with the start of a new school year?  Below is how to make your own lip balm.

You may ask, what's lip balm got to do with science, but the answer is straightforward: make up companies hire scientists, engineers, and doctors. STEM professionals are needed for creating the make up formulas, adding/manufacturing the chemicals (or natural elements) in the make up, and testing the products.

Just look at the ingredients of any make up product, and you'll see compounds, minerals, and chemicals, the basis of chemistry right there on the label. Read on to learn more and to have fun creating your own lip balm!

Title: Make Your Own Lip Balm in 5 Steps

Author: Suzie Olsen at momeesuzee@gmail.com

Materials Needed:

• Pot
• Pyrex measuring cup
• Measuring Spoons
• Whisk
• Water (for pot)
• Chapstick/ Lip Balm Containers (To-Go Condiment Containers work too)
• Pot holder/hot pad

Ingredients:

• 3 tsp of Bees Wax
• 4 tsp of Cocoa Butter                                     
• 5 tsp of Sweet Almond Oil
• 2 tsp  Shea Butter
• 1/2 tsp honey
• Optional natural fragrance oil and food coloring

Instructions:

1.  Use a stove and the pot to boil some water.  As a safety precaution, check with your parents or guardians first before using the stove top to boil the water.

2. Add the Bees Wax, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, and Sweet Almond Oil in Pyrex cup. Put the Pyrex cup into the boiling water; this technique is called a “double broiler.”

3. Mix the ingredients in the Pyrex cup with a whisk until completely melted.  When completely melted, add the honey.

4. Use the pot holder and take the Pyrex cup out of the pot. Pour the melted ingredients, which will be a liquid, into lip balm containers.

5. Wait fifteen minutes for lip balm to harden and cool.

Optional experiment: 

Add natural fragrance oil of your liking between steps 4 and 5 to flavor the lip balm.  Extracts used for baking, like vanilla and peppermint, can be used to flavor the lip balm as well. To color the lip balm, add a few drops of food coloring; gel food coloring will have a stronger color, while liquid food coloring will be more pastel.  Play mix and match with flavors and colors.

Fun facts relating to lip balm:

Chemical engineers can become cosmetic chemists using the knowledge of chemistry and the methods of engineering to extract, create and design new compounds and make-up. Engineers are problem solvers and can be given the task to find better anti-wrinkle cream or a more glossy lip balm.

Women in Ancient Egypt used crushed insects and toxic seaweed paste to redden their lips, whilst the Mesopotamians used the dust of semi-precious jewels and fish scales to add color and luster.¹

The primary ingredients found in lipstick are wax, oil, alcohol, and pigment. The wax used usually involves some combination of three types—beeswax [just like we used], candelilla wax, or the more expensive camauba. Wax enables the mixture to be formed into the easily recognized shape of the cosmetic.²

Some lipsticks also intentionally contain skin irritants such as capsaicin, the molecule responsible for the heat in chili peppers, to cause temporary swelling of the lips and give a ‘lip-plumping’ effect. ¹

^{1 http://www.beautybythegeeks.com/luscious-lippy-the-cosmetic-chemistry-behind-lipstick/}

^{2 http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Lipstick.html}

6/15/16- Non-Newtonian Fluid

So, I had been "shopping" around an article about how to do a Non-Newtonian Fluid experiment to different kid lit magazines.  Unfortunately, I had no bites.  I believe so much in the value of STEM outreach and doing STEM experiments/activities with students, that I've decided to go ahead and share the article here on my blog.  It's also a good activity for a hot summer day, so I hope you enjoy it at home!

Water is a liquid.  Corn starch is a solid.  What happens when you mix the two?  You get a mixture that is between a solid and liquid. It becomes a Non-Newtonian Fluid.   Let’s get ready for a fun, messy experiment!

Supplies you will need:

1. Box of Corn Starch
2. Water
3. Measuring cups
4. A container to mix in—we used a disposable pie tin, but a mixing bowl, measuring cup, or cake pan work too
5. Spoon
6. Food coloring (optional)
7. Paper towels, paper ads, paper table cloth, or newspaper to cover your working surface to make clean up easier!

Okay, here you go!  First place the mixing container on your work surface or countertop.  Then pour a ¼ cup of corn starch into the container.  Next prepare a ¼ cup of water.  You’re going to slowly add the water to the corn starch in mixing container, alternating between adding the water and stirring the mixture in the mixing container with a spoon.  You’re trying to find a mixture that is similar to honey or syrup as we stir.

The ideal mixture will be liquid when you’re stirring it, and then feel hard when you give it a quick tap with the spoon or your finger.  Go ahead, give it a quick tap!  Is it hard?  If not, then add a little pinch of corn starch. 

You’ve got the right feel?  Great!  Now pick some of it up and roll it around in your hands as if forming a ball.  Does it harden into a ball or fall apart? What happens when you put the ball back into the mixing container and stir?  Does it go back to a liquid?

A Non-Newtonian Fluid is a liquid as pressure is applied to it. But apply a different pressure, and it may become solid.  Which one is it? Solid or liquid? It can be treated as both a liquid and a solid!  The reason is because of Non-Newtonian Fluid’s changing behavior under stress (or pressure).  Other examples of Non-Newtonian Fluids are ketchup, Silly Putty, and quicksand.

Having fun with Non-Newtonian Fluid!

Here are some other ideas to try:

1. Dragging the spoon through it—solid or liquid feeling?
2. Get a straw and blow on top of it—what do you observe?
3. Try breaking it up in the container with the spoon—are you able to?
4.  Push your whole hand into the mixture (within the container) and then remove your hand from the mixture—did your hand stick or easily come out?
5. Add food coloring—do you what colors to add together to make green? Purple? Orange? Brown?
6. With permission from your parents or guardians, look up videos online of “Non-Newtonian Fluid dancing.”
7. Come up with your own ideas to test.  Playing around and getting messy with the Non-Newtonian Fluid is part of the fun!

When done experimenting, don’t forget to clean up!  Hope you enjoyed not quite a liquid, but not quite a solid, Non-Newtonian Fluid!