ACTIVITY CLASS

 

STUDENTS FOLLOW THEIR TEACHER TO SING 

THE SONG

 IN  SCIENCE ACTIVITY

FUNNY GAME FOR STUDENTS

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/foodchains.html


 TAKE ACTION FOR A GREEN WORLD

Scientists around the globe agree that we all must do our share to take care of our planet. This means making changes to our daily lives to reduce global warming and reducing the use of chemicals that deplete the Earth's protective ozone layer.

Green is a term that many people use to talk about taking care of the planet and not overusing the resources that we all share. If you want to make a difference, the best way to start is to follow these three principles:

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Reduce means to use less of everything: less energy, less paper, less gas, and less water. It means to ride a bike or drive a hybrid car, and to turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth.

Reuse means to find new uses for your old products. Turn a pair of jeans into a cool purse, or use broken flower pots and create mosaic for a table or photo frame. Use newspapers to make papier mache art for a friend.

Recycle means to take your used products like cans, bottles, plastics, and paper and donate them to groups that turn them into new products.



SOUND GREAT: BOTTLE MUSIC

YOU WILL NEED Five identical plastic bottles Water HERE'S HOW Fill five identical plastic bottles with varying amounts of water. Arrange the bottles in order from most to least full. Blow across the top of each bottle and compare the different sounds you make. WHY? Changing the amounts of air and water in the bottles lets you change the pitch—how high or low the sound is. When you blow across the tops of the bottles, you are making the air inside vibrate. In bottles with more air, vibrations are slower, so the pitch is lower.

Eggs-Periments: Bottled Egg

First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs.

YOU WILL NEED One peeled, hard-boiled egg Plastic or glass bottle with an opening slightly smaller than the egg Large bowl of hot water Large bowl of ice water step  1 step 2 step 3 HERE’S HOW Put the bottle in the bowl of hot water for about five minutes. Move the bottle to the bowl of ice water. Wet the egg and place it pointed side down in the bottle opening. As the air inside the bottle cools, the egg will slowly move into the bottle. To remove the egg, hold the bottle upside down so the egg is near the opening. Blow hard into the bottle with your mouth tight against the opening. Point the bottle away from you: The egg flies out! WHY? Hot air expands. Cold air contracts. When the air inside the bottle is heated, the molecules, or tiny air particles, inside the bottle spread out, increasing air pressure. As the air in the bottle cools, the air pressure decreases. The greater outside air pressure pushes the egg into the bottle. Blowing into the bottle raises the air pressure again. The air and the egg rush out of the bottle. Eggs-Periments: Squishy Egg  First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl HERE'S HOW Put a raw egg (in its shell) into a bowl and cover it completely with vinegar. Wait two days, then drain off the vinegar. When you touch the egg, it will feel rubbery. Be careful not to break the membrane, and wash your hands after you touch the egg. (Throw it away after a few days.) WHY? Vinegar, an acid, dissolves the calcium in the eggshell. It's calcium that makes the shell hard. But a thin, flexible membrane just under the shell still holds the egg's shape. Life Cycle of a Plant Learn about the life cycle of a plant by sorting the parts of a flower, discovering what each part does and how in contributes to the life cycle of a living thing. Enjoy the interactive flower dissection activity and find out more about the flower petals, sepals, carpel, nectaries, receptacle and stamens. Experiment with the different parts of a flower, sort them into the correct categories, label them and learn useful information. Did you know that stamens make pollen, the nectar used by bees to make honey is made in the nectaries of a flower and petals are often bright so they attract insects? Funny Game For Life Cycle of a Plant   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/lifecycles.html How Plants Grow Learn about how plants grow by experimenting with this interactive science activity. Using heat & water, see if you can make the plant grow to a healthy size. Too much sun & moisture can have a negative effect on the plant though so be careful when giving it nutrients. Keep the amounts in balance and see how long you can keep the plant growing healthily. Experiment with different conditions, what does closing the blinds and removing the sunlight do? What happens if you forget to water the plant or add too much water? How about if the conditions become too hot or too cold? Can you take care of the plant for 4 weeks? Take up the challenge and give it a try. This fun, educational game is perfect for kids.  Funny Game for a Growing Plant http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/plantsgrow.html  Microorganisms Learn about microorganisms, the study of microbiology and why these tiny creatures are so important to living things with this fun, interactive activity. Microorganisms are important to life on Earth, acting as decomposers in various ecosystems and playing a vital role in the nitrogen cycle. Types of microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, types of algae and plankton. Microorganisms make their home on food, plants, humans and lots of other living things. Look hard and spot places where you think they might be at work. Learn about bacteria that live in decaying leaves, diseases, moldy fruit, yeast in breads, bacteria in yoghurt, salmonella in uncooked food and more. Sort the different types of microorganisms and enjoy this fun science game for kids. Funny Game for Microorganisms http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/microorganisms.html  Plants & Animals Learn about plants & animals as you spot them in an outdoor scene, discover more about where plants and animals live as well as other interesting facts. Different animals tend to live in different habitats that suit their characteristics, this is the same with plants, which thrive in an environment that suits them. See if you can spot living things such as flowers, trees, insects and birds as you complete the fun activities in this cool, interactive science game for kids.  Funny Game for Plants & Animals   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/plantsanimals.html Plant & Animal Differences Learn about the differences between animals & plants by sorting them into different categories. Discover more about mammals, birds, insects & plants with this fun activity for kids. Find out which category living things such as bees, penguins, horses, butterflies, humans, trees and flowers fit into. Work fast as the conveyor belt moves across the screen, quickly put the different plants and animals into the correct boxes. Take up the challenge and enjoy this cool, educational game. Funny Game for Plant & Animal Differences http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/plantanimaldif.html Grow Your Own Bacteria Bacteria are a fascinating type of microorganism that play a large role in our lives whether we like it or not. Try growing your own sample of bacteria while monitoring how it reproduces in a short space of time. Compare your original sample with others and get proof that bacteria truly are everywhere! What you'll need: Petrie dish of agar Cotton buds Some old newspaper (to wrap petrie dish when disposing) Instructions: Prepare your petrie dish of agar. Using your cotton bud, swab a certain area of your house (i.e. collect a sample by rubbing the cotton bud on a surface of your choice). Rub the swab over the agar with a few gentle strokes before putting the lid back on and sealing the petrie dish. Allow the dish to sit in a warm area for 2 or 3 days. Check the growth of the bacteria each day by making an observational drawing and describing the changes. Try repeating the process with a new petrie dish and swab from under your finger nails or between your toes. Dispose of the bacteria by wrapping up the petrie dish in old newspaper and placing in the rubbish (don't open the lid).

What's happening?

The agar plate and warm conditions provide the ideal place for bacteria to grow. The microorganisms on the plate will grow into individual colonies, each a clone of the original. The bacteria you obtained with the cotton bud grows steadily, becoming visible with the naked eye in a relatively short time. Different samples produce different results, what happened when you took a swab sample from your own body?

You will find bacteria throughout the Earth, it grows in soil, radioactive waste, water, on plants and even animals too (humans included). Thankfully for us, our immune system usually does a great job of making bacteria harmless.

Plant Seeds & Watch Them Grow

Learn about seed germination with this fun science experiment for kids. Plant some seeds and follow the growth of the seedlings as they sprout from the soil while making sure to take proper care of them with just the right amount of light, heat and water. Have fun growing plants with this cool science project for children.

What you'll need:

• Fresh seeds of your choice such as pumpkins seeds, sunflower seeds, lima beans or pinto beans.
• Good quality soil (loose, aerated, lots of peat moss), if you don’t have any you can buy some potting soil at your local garden store.
• A container to hold the soil and your seeds.
• Water.
• Light and heat.

Instructions:

1. Fill the container with soil.
2. Plant the seeds inside the soil.
3. Place the container somewhere warm, sunlight is good but try to avoid too much direct sunlight, a window sill is a good spot.
4. Keep the soil moist by watering it everyday (be careful not to use too much water).
5. Record your observations as the seeds germinate and seedlings begin to sprout from the seeds.

What's happening?

Hopefully after a week of looking after them, your seedlings will be on their way. Germination is the process of a plant emerging from a seed and beginning to grow. For seedlings to grow properly from a seed they need the right conditions. Water and oxygen are required for seeds to germinate. Many seeds germinate at a temperature just above normal room temperature but others respond better to warmer temperatures, cooler temperatures or even changes in temperature. While light can be an important trigger for germination, some seeds actually need darkness to germinate, if you buy seeds it should mention the requirements for that specific type of seed in the instructions.

Continue to look after your seedlings and monitor their growth. For further experiments you could compare the growth rates of different types of seeds or the effect of different conditions on their growth.

Energy Transfer through Balls

Energy is constantly changing forms and transferring between objects, try seeing for yourself how this works. Use two balls to transfer kinetic energy from the the big ball to the smaller one and see what happens.

What you'll need:

• A large, heavy ball such as a basketball or soccer ball
• A smaller, light ball such as a tennis ball or inflatable rubber ball

Instructions:

1. Make sure you're outside with plenty of room.
2. Carefully put the tennis ball on top of the basketball, holding one hand under the basketball and the other on top of the tennis ball.
3. Let go of both the balls at exactly the same time and observe what happens.

What's happening?

If you dropped the balls at the same time, the tennis ball should bounce off the basketball and fly high into the air. The two balls hit each other just after they hit the ground, a lot of the kinetic energy in the larger basketball is transferred through to the smaller tennis ball, sending it high into the air.

While you held the balls in the air before dropping them they had another type of energy called 'potential energy', the balls gained this through the effort it took you to lift the balls up, it is interesting to note that energy is never lost, only transferred into other kinds of energy.

Static Electricity Experiment

They say opposites attract and that couldn't be truer with these fun static electricity experiments. Find out about positively and negatively charged particles using a few basic items, can you control if they will be attracted or unattracted to each other?

What you'll need:

• 2 inflated balloons with string attached
• Your hair
• Aluminium can
• Woolen fabric

Instructions:

1. Rub the 2 balloons one by one against the woolen fabric, then try moving the balloons together, do they want to or are they unattracted to each other?
2. Rub 1 of the balloons back and forth on your hair then slowly it pull it away, ask someone nearby what they can see or if there's nobody else around try looking in a mirror.
3. Put the aluminium can on its side on a table, after rubbing the balloon on your hair again hold the balloon close to the can and watch as it rolls towards it, slowly move the balloon away from the can and it will follow.

What's happening?

Rubbing the balloons against the woolen fabric or your hair creates static electricity. This involves negatively charged particles (electrons) jumping to positively charged objects. When you rub the balloons against your hair or the fabric they become negatively charged, they have taken some of the electrons from the hair/fabric and left them positively charged.

They say opposites attract and that is certainly the case in these experiments, your positively charged hair is attracted to the negatively charged balloon and starts to rise up to meet it. This is similar to the aluminium can which is drawn to the negatively charged balloon as the area near it becomes positively charged, once again opposites attract.

In the first experiment both the balloons were negatively charged after rubbing them against the woolen fabric, because of this they were unattracted to each other.

Fossil Cast Project

Find an interesting object and set it in stone, letting its impression live on in the form of a fossil.

Have fun making your own fossil and learning how scientists use them to unlock secrets of the past, including those that provide a remarkable insight into life in the age of dinosaurs.

Make Your Own Fossil

What you'll need:

• Plasticine
• 2 paper cups
• An object that you would like to use as the fossilized impression
• Plaster of paris
• Water

Instructions:

1. Flatten a ball of plasticine until it is about 2 cm thick while making sure the top is smooth.
2. Put the plasticine inside a paper cup with the smooth side facing up. Carefully press the object you want to fossilize into the plasticine until it is partially buried.
3. Carefully remove the object from the plasticine. An impression of the object should be left behind.
4. Pour half a cup of plaster of paris into the other paper cup. Add a quarter cup of water to the plaster and stir until the mixture is smooth. Leave it for around two minutes.
5. When the mixture has thickened pour it on top of the plasticine in the other cup. Leave the mixture until the plaster has dried.
6. When the plaster has fully dried, tear away the sides of the paper cup and take out the plasticine and plaster. Keep it in a warm dry place and enjoy your very own fossil.

What's happening?

Fossils are extremely useful records of the past. In your case you left behind an impression of an object you own but fossils found by scientists around the world can date back to the time of dinosaurs. These fossils allow paleontologists (the name of scientists who study these types of fossils) to study what life might have been like millions of years ago. Fossils such as the one you made can leave delicate patterns and a surprising amount of detail.