Science Experiments with Tursh!
Tursh and Jackie do science at camp. Did their boat work?!
Hometown Stomping Ground has continued to add some excitement and a whole lot of joy to my days after having lost count of how many weeks I’ve been stuck at home. I have gotten to spend countless hours on zoom with campers laughing, writing, talking, playing, and just being together. While home, I have spent a lot of time exploring hobbies I’ve always been interested in, trying to teach myself new skills, and making a lot of weird things so there was no better weeklong option for me than DIY Science Experiments.
Don’t get me wrong, I certainly only know your average gal’s amount of science and was nervous about how a zoom science experiment could work. I couldn’t have been more excited to try. Science is so cool- it’s building and mixing and making all kinds of projects then seeing what happens. These are all the things that I don’t usually make time for in daily life but, with more time at home, what a chance to make some messes or build some machines?!?!
Science can be so intimidating but the chance to learn and create together is where the magic happens. The beauty of science is that no matter what happens, seemingly a success or a failure, it is something to learn from! Maybe an experiment doesn’t work and that’s okay, change something and try again. Maybe you don’t have all the materials listed, substitute things you have and see what happens. Try everything, try anything! There’s always fun to be had and something to learn.
Zachy on the news watching an experiment led by Tursh and Alice
Getting to learn some science and have lots of laughs with the young Hometown Stomping Ground scientists for a week was truly a gift. I was blown away by the campers’ knowledge, understanding, and excitement as we worked through the scientific questions posed by our experiments. The internet is FILLED with ideas and projects you can do at home but here is a quick snapshot of some of the science we explored in our week together.
Egg drop materials - an egg (a real egg, plastic egg, anything small), any materials you have at home!
So fun, so easy. The challenge- build some kind of container that you can put an egg in that will protect it when you drop it from your desired height. Some materials that we used included a lot of recyclables, bubble wrap, tissue paper, plastic cups, string, and old t shirts. Once ready, drop your egg and see how it survives. Drop your egg from different heights or add or take away parts of your creation, the possibilities are endless! I will confess that my egg shot right out of my creation and hit the sidewalk hard. Thankfully, with the coaching of my fellow scientists, I created a solution to protect all future eggs I will drop.
https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/egg-drop-activity-stem-challenge-young-kids/
A Salt Water Evaporation Activity materials- water, salt, some kind of clay (playdoh, putty, etc.) toothpicks or popsicle sticks, a bowl
An experiment to set up and watch what happens throughout the week! Mix the hot water in a cup adding salt until it is supersaturated, meaning that no more salt will dissolve if you add any. Using your clay make balls that you can stick your toothpicks in and stand them up in whatever bowl or container you are using. Pour the water into the container so that it is deeper than the clay and touching the bottom of the toothpicks. Set it in a warm place and watch what happens over the next few days while the water evaporates!
https://www.kids-earth-science.com/water-cycle-experiment.html
Volcanos materials - 3-4 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 cup of vinegar, a vase or bottle
Some of our Hometown campers were on the news performing this experiment!
A fan-favorite. The premise is simple, add your baking soda into the container of your choice and set it in a pan or somewhere easy to clean in case of a mess. Pour in the vinegar and watch the chemical reaction. Get creative and build a volcano of clay around your bottle or add food coloring and glitter into your vinegar. Try the experiment again, this time adding different materials like dish soap or salt and see what happens!
https://preschoolinspirations.com/easy-baking-soda-and-vinegar-volcano-eruption-for-kids/
Oobleck materials - about 2 cups of cornstarch and 1 cup of water, optional food coloring added to the water
Start with your cornstarch in a cup and then slowly mix in water until you get a thicker consistency. Oobleck looks and feels like a liquid until pressure is applied and then it hardens like a solid. Try picking it up and dropping it onto a counter or pressing your fingers into it quickly! Set small objects on top to see if they sink or stay on top of your oobleck.
https://www.onecrazymom.com/how-to-make-oobleck/
Water Xylophone materials - about six or so cups that are ideally the same size and shape, some water, a xylophone mallet (or a pencil, a metal straw, anything on hand)
Fill the first cup with a small amount of water and then increase the amount of water in each subsequent cup. The water should increase with each cup, causing a different sound when struck on the side lightly. Make the cups different colors with food coloring and try to play a song on your water xylophone! Consider why more water makes a certain sound and much less water in the cup makes a different sound!
https://sugarspiceandglitter.com/kids-kitchen-water-xlyophone-science-experiment/
