The Adventurers: From Fossils to Dinosaurs (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Science Project “Fossils” : We created fossils using coffee grounds, coffee, flour, and salt (see recipe). We absolutely loved it and did a fantastic job working together.

Ingredients / Materials:

1 cup of used coffee grounds
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
Wax paper
Mixing bowl
Some small objects to make impressions in the dough
Empty plastic glasses
 

  
How to make the fossils:

• Stir together the coffee grounds, cold coffee, flour, and salt until well mixed. If dough is too moist, add flour.
• Knead the dough together and then flatten it out onto the waxed paper. 
• Use the plastic glasses to cut out circles out of the dough or use your hands to make slabs large enough to fit your "fossil" objects.
• Press your objects firmly into the dough. When you take the object out, you have your "fossil".  
• Let the fossils dry overnight. 

Dino Hunt! We looked for dinosaur pieces that were hidden outside. The puzzle pieces had different colored dots on the back so after we had found all the pieces we had to sort them. We then split up into three teams. The goal was to work together and to put the puzzle pieces together to create the dinosaurs.

The Exploreres: From Fossils and Dinosaurs (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Warm-up Game “Dino Hunt": This game is similar to the very popular "Bear Hunt." We listened to the lyrics and music "We are going on a Dino Hunt" by Dennis Westphall and imitate the movements (e.g., swimming through a river, climbing a mountain). 

Science Project “Fossils” :  
We had a blast making the fossils (for a detailed description of the activity see Adventurers on November 10) and could not decide what was more fun making the dough or playing with it.

The Explorers: From Revolving Surfaces and Inclined Planes (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Spin Art Today, we revisited one of our favorite activities "Spin Art." We worked in small groups and experienced colors, patterns and centrifugal forces while using salad spinners: A paper plate was placed into a salad spinner. We added paint (different colors) with a spoon and then took turns spinning the salad spinner to create interesting patterns. 

  We also practiced the following:

• Waiting our turn
• Taking turns
• Requesting, passing and sharing materials
• Helping each other, e.g., holding the salad spinner while our partner was spinning it.

Bowling and the Inclined Plane: We love bowling is but today we did it with a little twist. We placed a ball on an inclined plane and then let the ball roll down to knock over as many bowling pins as possible. We figured out quickly that the steeper the slope is, the faster the ball rolled down. We used self-made bowling pins, i.e., soda or water bottles that were filled with colored water.

Some ideas for interactive strategies while bowling:

• Group cheers for peer.
• Peer gives high fives to team members when roll is completed.
• Peer hands ball to peer to indicate whose turn it is next.
• Two peers work together and put up the bowling pins after they are knocked over.
• One peer keeps score for the group
• Group works cooperatively to reach a certain score.

The Adventurers: From Liquids to Solids: Ice Cream in a Ziploc Bag

Small Group Cooking/Science Project “Ice Cream in a Ziploc Bag": We had a blast making ice cream in Ziploc bags and could observe how a liquid turned into a solid. We also experimented with different flavors. Everyone had a favorite but the chocolate ice cream was especially popular.

 Here is the recipe:

• 1 tablespoon sugar 
• ½ cup milk (any kind: whole, 2%, chocolate milk) or half and half. 
• ¼ teaspoon flavoring (or to taste, if the flavor is pure a couple of drops are enough). Flavor suggestions: vanilla, chocolate, mint. 
• 6 tablespoons rock salt 
• 1 pint-sized Ziploc freezer bag
• 1 gallon-sized Ziploc freezer bag 
• Ice cubes

       

Preparation:

1) Measure ingredients and pour sugar, milk and flavoring in a quart-sized Ziploc bags. IMPORTANT: Seal bag securely.



2) Fill the gallon-sized Ziploc half full with ice and add rock salt.

3) Place the quart-size Ziploc bag into the gallon-sized Ziploc bag and seal the outer bag shut (make sure is sealed well) and shake, turn, toss and mix the bag for at least 5 minutes.

4) Sample the ice cream.

   

Caution: The hands will get cold very quickly. Towels or gloves can be used as a protective layer.

The Explorers: The Magical Liquid Water (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Art Project “Wet on Wet Painting”: Today, we experimented with watercolors. We dipped a sheet of watercolor paper in a tray with water and then let the water drain off the paper. We then painted with watercolors on the wet surface and watched the colors blend and blur. 

We also had a lot of fun with the "Leaking Cup Race" (see also Adventurers on September 29). We partnered up with a friend. A bin with water as well as 2 yogurt cups with a hole were placed at the start line and one bin with a bottle and a funnel at the finish line. We lined up at the start line and filled our leaky cups with water from the bin. We had to run as fast as possible to the finish line to fill the bottle. Then, we ran back to the start line and handed the cup off to the next players. The game continued until the bottle at the finish line was filled with water. We also practiced cheering.

The Adventurers: Sun Prints (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

“Sun Prints”: Today, we created sun prints and experienced through this old photographic process the power of the sun and light. We used the following sun print kit:

Here are the steps we had to follow to make our prints:
1) Select different objects.

2) Take photo paper quickly out of the black bag and arrange the objects on the blue side of the photo paper. 

3) Put plexi on top of arranged objects so they stay in place.  
  
4) Expose to the sun until paper turns almost white. 1-5 minutes depending on sunlight. Do not overexpose. 

5) Rinse paper in water (change water ever so often). Let dry. 

This is a great activity to be done in small teams to promote cooperation, e.g., two students work together and discuss first what objects they want to place on the photo paper and how they want to arrange them. They can also take on different jobs, e.g., one member of the team checks the color of the paper when it is exposing in the sun, the other team member rinses the paper in water.

The Explorers: Bubbles Everywhere! (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Art Project “Bubbles Everywhere”: We all worked together and  painted a big piece of paper with watercolors and used only colors that represented the sky.  After finishing our sky, we used round objects that first were dipped into paint to make bubble imprints on the paper. 

Magic Bubbles: We went outside and created bubbles using different devices such as strawberry baskets, pipe cleaners and gigantic wands. Some of us tried to make huge bubbles, other tried to create many small ones. We used a self-made bubble solution created out of water (2 1/2 quarts), liquid dish detergent (1 cup) and light corn syrup (1/2 cup).






 
We also continued to practice taking over group responsibilities. We have a Clubhouse job chart with assigned jobs, e.g., passing out brushes to our friends during art, handing out juice boxes for snack, setting the table. We especially like being the prize boss: At the end of each Clubhouse session, the prize boss is responsible for handing out the prizes to everyone who has earned the three Clubhouse friendship tokens.

The Adventurers: Magnets (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Small Group Project “Magnet Painting”: We worked in teams and created paintings using magnets, paint and paper: 

1. Place and tape a sheet of plexiglas (approximately 11x14) on two large wooden blocks so that there is enough room under the plexi to move hands. 
2. Tape a piece of paper onto the plexi.
3. Place blobs of paint (different colors work best) on the paper.
4. Place magnet balls (1 for each child) on the plexi.
5. Move another magnet (1 for each child) against the underside of the plexi. 

Magnet painting is not only a fun activity that lets everyone experience magnetism but is also a great project to promote teamwork and cooperative play. Here are some ideas:

• Students follow or chase each other, e.g., one student takes the lead by moving the magnet ball in one direction and the partner tries to follow.
• Students negotiate what patterns they want to create.
• Students let their magnets attract and paint as a team.

What attracts? We were split up into small groups. We experimented with different materials and determined what objects attract to magnets. One of us drew an item out of the bag and first we discussed as a group if we thought the item was magnetic or not. Then, we placed the object into a tray and used a magnet to see if the object stuck to the magnet. We placed the items that were magnetic on a green piece of paper and the non-magnetic on a red paper. Some objects were easy to determine such as items made out of wood, others were more tricky (e.g., a CD or stainless steel spoon).

The Explorers: Hot Lava and Volcanos (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Music Time “Dance on a Volcano” (adapted “Freeze Game”): Volcanos were spread out on the floor and the students danced around the volcanos when the music played. We discussed that lava is very hot and that we can’t step on the volcanos. The kids then “froze” according to the song but needed to pay attention not to step on the volcanos.

Art Project "Lava Collage": We created a lava collage by painting a big piece of paper in the colors of lava/fire. We also added tissue paper in red/orange/yellow and paint. Some of us enjoyed painting with our fingers, others preferred the foam brushes.

Instant Volcanos: We also created our instant volcanos with baking soda, vinegar and Kool-aid (see 7/27/11 for specific instructions). We loved watching the "eruptions." 

The Adventurers: The Magical Liquid Water (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

 “Paper Marbling”: Everyone absolutely loved this project today. Paper marbling is a great activity to learn about colors, patterns the water surface and inks. We worked in small groups and used a Japanese Suminagashi kit (see photo). Here is how it works:

1. Fill a deep tray (bigger than letter size) approximately 2/3 with water.
 
2. Place the "float paper" that comes with the kit onto the water surface and let it soak.

3. Decide what colors you want to use and place a small drop of ink directly onto the "float paper." We took turns and used multiple colors. It is important to be gentle (great learning experience): If the ink bottle is squeezed too hard and too much ink comes out of the bottle, the ink will not stay on the water surface but will just sink to the bottom of the tray.
 
4. To create designs we gently stirred the ink on the surface with a brush. We also tried blowing.

5. Then, we placed a piece of paper onto the water surface. The paper picked up the pattern and voila, we our beautiful paper was created.

Some tips: 

• The water has to be changed once in a while. When the colors start to look pale on the paper, it's time to change the water.
• The inks go a long way and are absolutely non-toxic but don't wash out of clothes easily. 
• If the ink gets on fingers, baby wipes work well to get hands clean again,

 

“Leaking” Relay Race: We were divided into two teams. We placed two bins with water as well as two yogurt cups with a hole at the start line and two bins with a bottle at the finish line. We lined up at the start line. The first player on each team filled the leaky cup with water from the bin. The player then had to run as fast as possible to the finish line to fill the bottle. Then, the player ran back to the start line and handed the cup off to the next player. The game continued until the bottle at the finish line was filled with water. Before we began the race, we brainstormed what we cold do to compensate for the hole in the cup (e.g., run fast). We figured out quickly that it is hard to carry water when there is a hole in the cup.