2019 Lesson Five: Dinosaurs and Fossils

Dinosaurs and Fossils!

 (Paleontology)

We had a lot of fun learning about dinosaurs, fossils, and volcanoes! Did you know there have been 330 species of dinosaurs discovered? Paleontologists are scientists who study fossils and ancient life forms (dinosaurs). A fossil is the remains of a living organism from ancient times. In order for it to be considered a fossil, it must be at least 10,000 years old! WOW!
When the dinosaurs roamed the earth, over 200 million years ago, there was a lot of volcanic activity. We saw pictures of volcanoes and watched videos of them erupting.
Then we created our own tiny volcanoes.

Experiments:
We made vinegar and baking soda volcanoes!

We acted like Paleontologists and tried to get a dinosaur out of the ice!



We pressed objects into playdough to create our own fossils!


We looked at real fossils and read about where they came from.

2019 Lesson Four-Geology

Geology!

We had a blast learning about the three types of rocks: 

Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and Igneous. 

We looked at several rocks of each type. 

We learned that the earth's land is constantly changing. 

Erosion and earthquakes are two reasons the earth's land can change. 

Experiments:

Starburst Rock Cycle:

We used Starburst candies to create the three types of rocks.

Opening Geodes!

We went outside and smashed open geodes with a hammer!

All the students got to take a small piece home. They were beautiful inside!

2019 Lesson Three: Owls!

OWLS!

We had such a great time learning about owls.
Here are some owl facts we learned!
There are over 200 species of owls!
They can live for 20 years.
They have special feathers to help them fly silently and catch their prey.
They swallow their prey whole or in large chunks.
They regurgitate the bones and fur from the rodents they eat as owl pellets.
Scientists dissect and study owl pellets to find out more about an owl's diet. 

Experiment Time!

We dissected owl pellets!
It was amazing to find the bones and match them up on bone chart.
Finding a rodent skull was always exciting!

2019 Lesson Two: Magnets!

Magnets!

We had a fun time learning about magnets. 

We learned about types of magnets, magnetic fields, and where we can find magnets. 

Did you know that magnets are used in computers, stereos, roller coasters, 

electric trains, and even in fans? 

We stuck magnets together to feel the 'pull' of the opposite poles (North  and South) and felt the 'push' or 'repel' of the same poles (North and North). 

We learned that magnets were found in a country called Magnesia. 

The magnetic rock was named Magnetite. 

Finally we did our hands-on experiments with magnets!

1. We played with Magnetic Slime! 

Here is the recipe:

In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup white glue with 1/2 cup water. 

Mix in 1 Tb. of Iron Oxide powder.

In a separate bowl mix 1 cup of water with 1 tsp. Borax. 

Add the water/borax mixture to the glue mixture and knead until all the water is gone. 

The slime will become less sticky as you play with it. 

*Use Neodynium Magnets to play with your slime.

2. We put iron filings (hair) on Wooly Willy!

3. We made Homopolar Motors with magnets, batteries, and copper wire!

Homopolar motors are a simple motor used in fans and windmills.

4. We figured out which items were magnetic and which were not.

5. Finally we used magnets to play!

We used a magnetic spider, played with various shapes of magnets, 

and built 3-d shapes with magnets.

2nd Year-Rules and Safety!

To start off science right for our second year, 

we talked about the importance of science rules and lab safety. 

Here are a few rules we discussed.

We practiced these rules as we did an experiment with invisible ink!

If you want to make invisible ink at home, here are the directions!

Mix 1 T. baking soda 

with 1/2 cup water

Use a q-tip or paint brush  dipped in the liquid to write a secret message. 

Let dry completely.

Then mix 1 tsp. turmeric 

with 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol.

Use a second q-tip or paint brush to brush over the secret message. 

Watch as the letters appear!

SUU Animal Ambassadors!

We ended our first year of the hands-on science lab with a bang! 

We were so lucky so have the SUU Animal Ambassadors come to science in April! They taught us about lots of different animals! We saw and touched snakes, lizards, tortoises, tarantulas, and cockroaches! 

Lesson Fourteen: John Muir and Rachel Carson

 .

John Muir and Rachel Carson

Lesson: John Muir was a naturalist who worked to preserve forests. He helped to establish Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park. He also helped to found the Sierra Club. 

Rachel Carson was a marine biologist who wanted to teach people to preserve our earth. She was also a writer and helped establish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

We discussed ways to help take care of our earth including: turning off lights, saving electricity, driving less and biking more, using less water, and recycling. We watched a short clip from the BP Oil Spill and saw pictures of the Brianhead Forest Fire. We ended with a clip from the Lorax with Dr. Seuss' famous quote,"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not."

     

Experiment: We planted green bean seeds! 

Towards the end of the week our butterflies started to hatch!

Lesson Thirteen: Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin

Lesson: Charles Darwin was a naturalist and biologist best known for his theory of evolution and the process of natural selection. For years he observed different animals in their natural habitat. He thinks that the more adaptable and evolving a species can be, the more they thrive. The species that can't adapt and change, die off. So evolution is any change in the heritable traits within a population across generations. 

Darwin did studies of bird beaks and plumage. He also did a study of earthworms and their effect on their environments. 

Experiments:

Bird Beaks: We tested different tools that represented bird beaks. We used these tools to pick up different kinds of bird food to see what beaks worked best for particular foods.

Caterpillars! We are watching the amazing transformation of caterpillars to Painted Lady Butterflies. They should make their transformation soon!

Bug Collection and balancing butterflies: We looked at a bug collection and learned how to make a
balancing butterfly.

Earthworms!! This had to be one of our best activities yet. We played with, examined, and observed earthworms!