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 By Debby Venable
Oklahoma STEM Ambassador
As I was flipping through the television stations looking for something that I have not had to sit through and watch for the last 3 months, being home on “leg recuperation”, something caught my eye when I heard, ”and that is ESPN Science”. What was that? So I decided to pay closer attention to the noise coming out of my television and only friend for these long months. As my attention peaked, I found that the sports that was on the screen right now was the Winter X Games from Aspen, Colorado. The event on at the time I heard the announcer say “science of” was the aerial antics of snowboarding alia Shawn White.
Most students of this generation would recognize the man that soars with a snowboard and his long red hair flying. I have even watched his flying high above crowds in the Olympics and the advertisements that have followed on television since. Got me to thinking, all of the sports in the Winter X Games are all about science, particularly physics. ESPN has actually done a good thing by adding in little side-bar bits of information about the science about all the sports. They talk about torque, lift, gravity, and all the ways that science makes all the tricks and stunts that the athletes do possible. Check out this link :http://espn.go.com/espn/sportscience/index
I am very pleased that the sporting world has finally decided to start educating our students to how the things they see on television from athletes of all sports is made possible with al little thing called science. Do your students realize that science is literally in everything that they do, and in every activity that they experience? Challenge them to come up with something that does not involve science. Bet they can’t… I have challenged my students to stump me and say that something does not have science in or around it. They could not. Letting young people know that the world is a great big science experiment in the making and that they really have science in some of the least suspected places, like the Winter X Games, and many other places that they would not associate with being a living science experiment.
I think that I have become a fan of these crazy sports. They are truly science in motion on the screen for all to see. Kids just need to know why they are able to watch such amazing spins, flips, turns, catching air, and stunts by these athletes. Simple answer….it is all ABOUT THE SCIENCE !!
READY SET LIFTOFF
Ski jumping converts gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy using torque. The objective is to launch a human projectile as far as possible. By manipulating a track, you can discover how changing the launch angle and torque will change the direction and duration of flight.
Materials
• 1 meter (3.3') of Styrofoam pipe insulation, cut lengthwise
• marble or small steel ball
• 8 to 10 thick books or bricks or a chair
• masking tape
• tape measure
• table
• paper and pencil
Directions:
1. Start building your "inrun" by piling several books on a table so that they measure about 30 cm (12") high. Place one end of the pipe insulation right on the edge of the table, and put the other end under one of the books at the top of the stack. Build up several books under the middle of the ramp so that it doesn't sag or bend. Secure the insulation to the table and books with masking tape, making sure you don't tape across the track.
2. Place your marble at the top of the ramp. Without pushing, let it roll. Observe the flight path and the place where it first lands on the floor. Repeat this step four more times so that you can get a consistent reading. Remember to start from the same place each time. Measure and record this distance under the heading "flat track", and draw the shape of the marble's flight path.
3. Remove the books holding the middle of the ramp and adjust it so that it curves down to the table and runs flat along the table for about 20 cm (8") before it reaches the end. Make sure that the end of the ramp still lines up exactly with the edge of the table and once again secure it with masking tape.
4. Using the same marble as before, test the ramp again. Remember to start from the same place. Record the distance under the heading "curved track" and again draw the flight path of the marble.
5. Repeat step 4 but this time add a book to the end of the ramp so that instead of lying flat on the table, the ramp curves down and back up a bit. Record your measurements under the heading "U-shaped/one book" and draw this flight path.
FRISBEE…FLYING WITH TORQUE
The torque of the Frisbee forces air down (action) and the air forces the Frisbee upward (reaction). The air is deflected downward by the Frisbee's tilt, or angle of attack. Spinning the Frisbee when it is thrown, or giving it angular momentum, provides it with stability. Angular momentum is a property of any spinning mass. Throwing a Frisbee without any spin allows it to tumble to the ground. The momentum of the spin also gives it orientational stability, allowing the Frisbee to receive a steady lift from the air as it passes through it. The faster the Frisbee spins, the greater its stability. By graphing the results of various tosses you will be able to calculate the average distance you can make a Frisbee fly and discover the best conditions for distance flying.
Click here to download the activity sheet!
Materials:
• Frisbees of different sizes and thicknesses
• Tape measure
• Paper
• Pencil
Directions
1. Divide your class into equal teams. Take turns throwing the Frisbee.
2. Measure the distance from where you began to toss the Frisbee to where it hits the ground. Record your distances in a log.
3. After everyone has recorded the distances of a few tries, calculate the average distance of your team's throws.
4. Compare your average to the other teams. Record the averages in your log and create a graph to represent your data.
Rubber Band Shoot Out Click here to download the activity sheet!
Who would have thought that a simple rubber band to be a great science experiment and great fun for kids.
Materials
• Rubber bands (variety)
• Ruler (inches and centimeters)
• Yard stick with metric measurement
• Markers
Directions
Decide the location you will shoot your rubber bands from. Mark this location as your starting point. Make a guess how far your rubber band will fly if it is pulled back 6 inches. Place the rubber band over the end of the ruler and pull it back so it stretches to the 6 inch mark.
Hold the ruler so the front just reaches the location you marked as your starting point. Let the rubber band fly. Place a marker on the ground where you rubber band lit when it first touched the ground.
Often rubber bands will bounce along the ground before they come to rest. You want to mark the original spot that the rubber band hit the ground. Now measure the distance your rubber band flew. How close were you to your guess?
Keep notes on this experiment. Next, make a guess how far your rubber band will fly if stretched 10 inches. Give it a try. Were you close with your guess?
Try these other kids science experiments with rubber bands. Use different lengths and thicknesses of rubber bands to see how far the rubber bands will fly. Get a friend to do the experiments and use metric measurements for the distance instead of feet and inches. Does the color of a rubber band affect how far it flies? If a rubber band gets wet will it fly as far as a dry rubber band?
Science behind the experiment The rubber in rubber bands is bound together by thousands of long chains of molecules that are coiled together something like a net. When you pull a rubber band the molecules uncoil and align themselves closer together as they straighten out. When you release the rubber band the molecules that have been straightened recoil back into their original position. The molecules returning to their original position causes the rubber band to fly through the air.
TORQUE...BATTER UP
 When a person bats they’re (usually) seeking to maximize the force of contact between the ball and the bat through efficient use of their body. Since the person is swinging, the action is akin to pulling a lever. That is, something is (approximately) rotating about a point or axis. There are a lot of variables that go into this, but roughly the force of contact is related to a torque. sometimes called moment of force, created by the motion of the arms and bat (as well as a portion of the torso). The strength of this force partly depends on the distance, the contact point is from the axis of rotation.
Try this. Get some soft rag balls, plastic bats, tennis rackets, and plastic golf clubs. We will be testing our torque by hitting the ball and measuring the distance that the ball travels. Cool and fun way to educate our kids about torque. Torque is a combination of force applied at a point with the right angle for maximum distance.
Click here to download the activity sheet! |
By Debby Venable
Oklahoma STEM Ambassador
Needless to say, over the last three months there have been times that I really DID need “to get a grip”. I have never been out of commission for this amount of time in my life. To be cut off from the world with only my “idiot box” to keep me company, has truly tested the limits of my human resolve. Sharing my blog with all you great afterschool providers has not only kept me sane, but it has also invigorated me to write even more curriculum that you can use every day in your programs. I have found tons of materials that I feel like our students need to try in order to embrace STEM and become the next generation of scientists.
I took the rubber band off a cord that was holding my computer cords together the other day, and it got me to thinking. Even the simplest of machines, like a cheap rubber band or the annoying sounds of squeaking of tennis shoes on a floor, can teach students about friction, force, and simple machines.
Part of this activity requires students to slide across the floor with their tennis shoes or socks. I have to tell you, when my husband does this with one of his new pair of tennis shoes, it drives me crazy! Maybe half of it is because he does it on purpose, and the other half is because he has a hearing loss and cannot hear it himself, so he really does not realize he is annoying me… or DOES HE???On to the activity.
Share this activity with your group and know that STEM can be taught with even something as simple as a rubber band, man. Sorry couldn’t resist… Rubber Band Man… get it. Ok, on to the directions and the actual experiment.
GET A GRIP…
 Friction can make it harder to move things and can heat things up and sometimes wear things out but it is also very helpful in many ways. When you wear sneakers to play a game, the rubber soles create friction with the floor or ground when you push off to run. Try these mini activities to see how the grip of friction helps us in many different ways.
Materials:
• Socks
• Sneakers
• Wide rubber band
• Plastic wide mouth jar with lid
Procedures:
1. Take off your shoes so that you have only socks on your feet. Go to an area that has a clean smooth floor with no carpeting
2. Carefully slide around a little on the floor to get a feel for the amount of friction between your socks and the floor.
3. Now put on your sneakers and try to slide around a bit. Is the force of friction greater between your sneaker and the floor or between your sock and the floor? Your sneaker would be pretty easy to slide across the floor if you weren't in it. Does this mean that weight affects the force of friction?
4. Put the lid tightly on a jar. With the jar on a table, hold it securely with one hand and use the other hand to twist off the lid.
5. Close the jar tightly again. Put a rubber band around the lid. Now twist the lid off again. The rubber band seems to give you a better grip? Is this similar to the sneaker and the floor? How does using the rubber band have anything to do with friction?
Think about this …
Many basketballs and footballs made for children have little bumps on the surface. Does this have anything to do with friction? Are these little bumps in any way like the sand on sand paper?
Where's the Chemistry?
Traction and grip depend on friction. The type of material and how it is textured have a lot to do with how much friction will be produced when the surface is rubbed against another. When you grip something, your hand is one surface and what you grip is the other. Not much can be done about the nature and
texture of your skin. But the things you grip like tools or sports equipment can be changed so that the surface will produce more friction when you hold it and use it.
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Do the temperature: It is hot hot hot |
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By Debby Venable
Oklahoma STEM Ambassador
The fluctuation in temperature for this Oklahoma weather really got me to thinking about what our students know and don’t know about even the simplest of tasks, and that is reading a thermometer. With this generation living in the “instant moment” of the digital age, our students do not have the knowledge or skills to do the everyday tasks of even reading a thermometer. Everything is instantaneous on the marquee at the bank to the digital read-out on the phones, so why learn to read something as mundane as a thermometer? Wellllll… I would say, what would happen if the electric is off for several days.
Remember the ice storm and blizzard of 2010? Point well taken, huh? Not to mention that each and every student in Oklahoma has these skills on the core curriculum testing, not to mention graphing. Where or where will that get the skills… in the afterschool programs across the state from amazing STEM facilitators like us. This may seem very simple to most, but a skill that is lacking in most of our students. I have included an activity that I found on www.makinglearningfun.com and “blew it up” to make larger cards for learning temperature by young and older students alike. The cards just need to be copied on cardstock and grab some clothespins at Wal-Mart or Dollar Tree to clip to the right temperature that they read on the thermometer of each card. I laminate mine for durability. I know that you are probable thinking, wow, where do I find those clothespins, since no one hangs clothes on a clothesline anymore, but I did find them at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, as I said before. I am really dating myself when I say, my mom made us hang all our clothes on a clothesline between two catalpa trees in our front yard. We only had a reprieve when it was raining or snow on the ground. No dryers for my bunch, my mom like to “air dry” the clothes. Sorry, having a squirrel moment.
Anyway, this is a simple yet important lesson for all kids to possess and a very easy activity for all to enjoy. Go ahead and get the temperature rising and teach those little darlings all about the old-fashioned thermometer. FIRE UP!
Click here to download temperature cards and chart!
Teach each and every student how to read a thermometer. This activity is easy and a hot game to learn.
Materials:
Thermometer cards (included)
Clothespins
Pencil
Paper
Directions:
Run several copies of the thermometer cards sets, which are included with this lesson, on cardstock and laminate for durability. Have teams of students read each card and put a clothespin by the correct temperature that they read on the thermometer. Record their results. Burn it up with your knowledge!
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Where's my hot chocolate? |
by Debby Venable
Oklahoma STEM Ambassador
WOW! That ole north wind is howling outside my window and the temperature is slowing dropping while I sit snuggly on my couch in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace. Nothing is better than a good cup of hot chocolate topped off with sweet marshmallows. Yum! Some of my best memories involve hot chocolate. I never really thought about how those delicious, gummy puffs of “cloud dust” were made and eventually wound up plopping into my steaming cup of hot chocolate, I just know that they made everything better with their sweet taste.. Who needed whip cream when you had a large puffy rectangle of sugary air. I know that I have eaten a ton of these little puffy little pieces of magic. Got me to thinking about an activity to promote STEM in the afterschool setting. How about mixing up a batch? Marshmallows are so cheap, you might be wondering HOW do you make marshmallows, and WHO would even attempt it? ANSWER: Me!! I think that the whole process is an activity in scientific procedure and STEM. Sooooo … I am naturally very interested in turning everyday ingredients like water, sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, vanilla, and powdered sugar into a lesson in chemistry. Every child, no matter the age, will love this experiment of chemical reactions, changes in states of matter, and the result is a tasty, sweet, treat. It is always nice to be able to “EAT” your science experiment, forget about that dog eating your homework. Once you get your students engrossed in this activity, they will experience how science is EVERYWHERE, even it their mom’s kitchen. We must educate our children that the world around us is full of science just waiting to happen.
The first year that I taught science to a rowdy group of 6th graders that proceeded to call me Ms. V, I knew that my class would not be typical. I would “hook” each of my students on the concept that science is everywhere around us. I knew that I was succeeding when questions about activities that we did during class time spilled over into recess and even before and after school time. I had kids in my class all day long, excited about learning and full of questions. This is why I strive to engage student in the afterschool programs with activities and experiments that will really “hook” each and every student, even if it means making marshmallows!!! Sometimes those baby steps, and educating both our teachers and students about how simple and exciting that science discovery can be, we have created a new generation of STEM learners. Who would have thoughtt that it could even start with a sweet, fluffy, marshmallow? Me….that’s who.
WHERE’S MY HOT CHOCOLATE?
Next time you get set to make hot cocoa on a chilly winter afternoon, consider this: if you make your own marshmallows, you can mix up some very interesting chemistry lessons while you're at it!
Here's the deal: marshmallows depend on gelatin, a common household ingredient. Gelatin is also a great way to demonstrate how molecules can rearrange to change matter from one state to another. What can happen when gelatin meets some sugar, cornstarch, and heat is coming up.
What You Need:
• 2 envelopes of plain, unflavored gelatin
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
What to Do:
1. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and confectioner's sugar. Grease the sides of a 9” square baking pan, and place a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper, cut to size, along the bottom and then grease that, too. Use a bit of the cornstarch mixture to dust the bottom and sides of the greased pan.
2. Now place the contents of the two packets of gelatin into a small saucepan, and mix in the ½ cup of cold water. Let it stand for one minute, and then cook and stir over low heat until the gelatin is fully dissolved. (What's happening? The water has spread out the special protein fibers that make up the gelatin, and the heat has dissolved their original bonds. That's why the gelatin seems to “dissolve” into the water.)
3. Now pull out a mixing bowl, and blend the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla. Add the gelatin mixture, and beat the whole mixture thoroughly—for up to 12-15 minutes—with an electric mixer. Watch the mix become thick and creamy. Pour it into the greased baking pan, and let it stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours. (What happens: the protein bonds will begin to re-form as the gelatin cools…but now it's mixed with other ingredients, so it will hold them together, too, in classic “marshmallow” texture.
4. After four hours, or overnight, place the white sheet on a cutting board which has been sprinkled with the remaining cornstarch-sugar mixture. Cut into cubes with a knife (hint: it's helpful to dip the knife into hot water first, to keep marshmallow goo from sticking!)
5. Roll the cut-up marshmallows in the cornstarch mixture to keep them dry to the touch…and then devour! |
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