Posts

Fireworks and Crackers

Image
 We had our last week class after Diwali break, so kids were all in excitement to share how they celebrated their Diwali. Some had gone out of town whereas others spent valuable family time celebrating together bursting crackers . So, my question to them were 1. What crackers did you burst? 2. What is different about sparklers to crackers ? 3. Which ones produce colors & which ones make noise? 4. Why do certain crackers make louder noises than others? 5. What do the crackers have in them to produce colorful fireworks? 6. What are the colors  they have seen in the fireworks? Kids had a fair idea and were able to answer some of the questions.  To start off , we did the following activity to understand how sound vibrates in a cup and produces louder noise compared to the string alone. Then they could relate to why they hear loud noise when certain crackers burst.   Sound amplification  Materials 1. Paper cup -1. 2. string - 1  3. paper clip -1 Procedure 1. Tie one end of the  string t
Post a Comment
Read more

Microbes

Image
 It was good to meet kids after a 10 days break.  We greeted each other and discussed the experiments that we had done before. Kids recollected that we had made crystal hangings , candy crystals and snacks for Christmas celebration.  The students shared that they were learning about plant reproduction in school. Since, we had done activities around how flower's help in reproduction in some plants, root  vegetables, how they reproduce, we focused on how microbes reproduce.  What are microbes? Microbes are microscopic organisms that are too small to be seen through naked eye. There are various forms of microbes with different characteristics , different life forms. Familiar ones are 1. bacteria - example E.coli, lactobacillus  2. Viruses  - cold, flu virus 3.Fungi - Mushroom, yeast  4. Protists - amoeba We talked about  1. How bread is made?.  2. What is the main ingredient for making bread?.  Kids  replied that  it was yeast and how it helps to raise the dough and which makes it eas
Post a Comment
Read more

Volcano and Elephant toothpaste

Image
 With Children's day celebration in mind we had planned to do activities kids had been intending to try for a while. Yes, it was a Volcano model and  making elephant toothpaste . They were looking forward to the explosions that take place in these activities.  Before starting the experiment we discussed the chemical reaction that takes place in it, the role of each ingredient in it.   Materials 1.All purpose flour or Maida - 2 cups 2. water-1cup 3. small bottle - empty 4.food color- red 5.dish washing detergent - 6-8 drops 6. Bowl -1 7. vinegar - 1/2 cup 8. baking soda - 2 Tb spoon 9. Big tray -1 Procedure 1. Mix the flour and water in the bowl and make a stiff dough using 1/2 cup of water. 2. Keep the small bottle in the middle of the tray and using the dough make a cone like structure around the bottle.  3. Pour 1 /4 cup of water in a cup and mix the red food coloring in it.  4. Mix the dishwashing detergent  and baking soda in it. Detergent is added  to trap the bubbles produced
Post a Comment
Read more

Sprinklers and Fountains

Image
JJ Harrison via Wikimedia Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ For the last two weeks we have focused in understanding concepts such as "Why and how things work?". To kindle the curiosity of kids we started by sharing questions that they wonder about in the world of science. These were the following questions that some of them have 1. What happens if a star crashes on the Sun?. 2. What is inside a black hole?. 3.Do aliens exist?. 4. What causes lightning to happen?. 5. Why do we laugh when we get tickled?. After our discussion about the answers to the above questions we moved on to focusing on our activity that was planned for the day. Since it is summer we thought about sprinklers being on everywhere near the gardens. 1.So, how does the sprinkler work?. What is the principle?. 2. Can we make our own sprinklers using basic things around?.  Most garden sprinklers work with the centrifuge sprinkler system. In this the cent
Post a Comment
Read more

Why cut apples turn brown in color?

Image
I was cutting the apples into pieces when kids entered the science class. Noticing that, they all assumed I was going to give it to them to eat :-) which I didn't. So, one of them asked me " Aunty, you had left the cut apple pieces out. Will they not turn brown in color?". I was glad that they had initiated the discussion for the day. Further, I asked them to think about things that turn brown when left outside. That triggered them to wonder 1. Why cut apple pieces  turn brown in colour? 2. Why copper vessels change color from pink to brown when kept out? 3. Why does Iron rust when exposed to moisture? Let us first check out why do cut apples turn brown in colour? Have you ever bitten into an apple, left it for sometime to find that it had turned brown in colour. When apple is cut or bruised, oxygen is introduced into the cells which then reacts with the enzyme (polyphenol oxidase) in the chloroplast to turn into brown colour. The fru
Post a Comment
Read more

Osmosis in potato

Image
After checking out my plants in the balcony, the young girl in my class had a curious question "Aunty, how do the roots know when to absorb water?".  "You mean, how does water get into roots ..right?" asked my daughter walking towards the girl.  "Yes, thats what I don't understand " replied the girl. Listening to their conversation I said "water enters the root hair cells by 'osmosis' and we will do an experiment to understand osmosis today".  And that's how we decided to do an experiment on osmosis.   What is Osmosis? Plants absorb water from the soil by 'osmosis'. Osmosis is the movement of water through a semi permeable membrane. Water moves into plant cells through osmosis by making them turgid or stiff to hold the plants upright. Osmosis is passive transport, meaning it does not require energy to be applied.   We also discussed about how osmosis is helpful for photosynthesis as well. Otherwise the plan
Post a Comment
Read more

Microscope

Image
  Last week our class started with discussion about what make up our bodies, plants and all living beings. Kids knew the answer as cells. So, the question was  1. Can we see  these cells with naked eyes?. 2. So, if we have some illness , how does a doctor understand what kind of treatment to be done?. 3.  If the doctor advises for blood test, what do the labs do with the blood sample?. Depending on the type of the blood test, to see these cells,  bacteria etc we need special instrument called ' microscope'.  Microscope Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using special instrument called 'Microscope'.   The three main different types of microscope are dissection, compound and electron microscope. By using microscopes scientists were able to discover the existence of microorganisms, study the structure of cells, and see the smallest parts of plants, animals, and fungi.
Post a Comment
Read more