Author: Maddie Van Beek

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Today, we are going to perform some experiments on some Valentine's candy and make a DIY crystal Valentine gift for someone!

History of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day started as a feast to honor Saint Valentinus. Watch the video below for a history of Valentine's Day! ​

Valentine's Day may also be associated with the ancient Roman Festival of Lupercalia, in which young men and women were paired up. Since the 14th century Valentine's Day has evolved to be a holiday that celebrates love. By the 18th century, people started expressing love through small gifts and cards called valentines.  

Candy Hearts Experiment
In this experiment, you will determine whether candy hearts react with baking soda or vinegar. You are looking for a chemical reaction.

A chemical reaction...
* Occurs between two or more atoms or molecules
* Causes bonds between atoms to break
* Forms new bonds
* Creates new molecules


Basically, two substances interact to create a new form or substance.


Read this link for more information on chemical reactions:

Now that you know a little bit about chemical reactions, let’s move on to our experiment!


YOU WILL NEED:
* Candy hearts (Sweethearts brand)
* Vinegar
* Baking soda
* Water
* Two bowls
* Glass
* Measuring cups


Here's what to do!
1. Place a few candy hearts in each bowl.
2. Add 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon baking soda to your glass. Stir until the baking soda dissolves.
3. Pour 1/2 cup vinegar into the first bowl. Observe what happens.
4. Pour 1/2 cup baking soda water into the second bowl. Observe what happens.
5. Which addition caused a chemical reaction, the baking soda water or the vinegar? Why do you think this is? Write down your thoughts.

So, you noticed that your candy hearts react with the baking soda water and not with the vinegar. What does that tell you? What else reacts with baking soda? Think back to other science experiments you may have done in the past. For more info, take a look at this blog we posted back in 2014: http://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/blog/use-vinegar-and-baking-soda-to-blow-up-a-balloon​

Now that you know candy hearts react with baking soda, you are going to figure out WHY they react with baking soda. What ingredient in a candy heart might be causing this reaction? Take a look at the ingredients on the back of your candy hearts package.

Candy hearts contain these ingredients:
* Sugar
* Corn syrup
* Dextrose
* Glycerine
* Artificial and natural flavors
* Gelatin
* Vegetable gums (tragacanth, xanthan, arabic)
* Citric acid
* Artificial colors (red 3, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, blue 1)
​
You are going to test each of these ingredients separately to see which one is causing the chemical reaction.


YOU WILL NEED:
* Muffin tin (or several small bowls)
* Baking soda
* Sugar
* Corn Syrup
* Lemon juice
* Glycerine
* Water
* Food coloring

Here's what to do!
1. Put one teaspoon of sugar in one muffin cup and label it “sugar.” Put one teaspoon of corn syrup in the second muffin cup and label it “corn syrup.” Continue this process with the lemon juice, glycerine, and food coloring.
2. Add 1/4 cup water to each ingredient. In the sixth muffin cup, add 1/4 cup plain water.
3. Stir each ingredient until it dissolves in the water.
4. Now you get to start testing!
5. Add a spoonful of baking soda to each muffin cup. What happens? Which one reacts?


You should have noticed that the muffin cup with the lemon juice produced fizzing bubbles! There’s your chemical reaction! Remember, lemon juice contains citric acid. The citric acid in the candy hearts is what caused them to react with the baking soda water in your first experiment. Baking soda is a base. When acids and bases are mixed together, they react. That reaction produces carbon dioxide gas. You saw that gas in the form of those fizzy bubbles.

Another acid-base reaction that you have probably seen before is between baking soda and vinegar. Mix them together for more fizzy fun!
​
Now that you've performed some experiments, you get to use your crafty skills to make a valentine decoration!


Crystal Heart
You are actually going to create a crystal decorative heart by first boiling borax and then letting it crystallize.

What is borax?

Borax (short for boric acid) is a white mineral that is often used for cleaning. In its natural form, it is actually a crystal. Large borax deposits are found in California and Turkey, but borax is also commonly found in Tibet, Romania, and Bolivia.
​
Borax crystal can be white or clear. 

To learn more about borax, click the link below.

What is crystallization?

We've seen crystallization in action when we created crystal egg geodes or when we made our own rock candy.

You are going to create a borax solution by adding borax to boiling water. When you add borax to water, it will dissolve. If you keep adding borax, eventually there will be a point that no more will dissolve. At this point, your borax solution is saturated. If you keep adding borax, it will just sink to the bottom and the solution becomes supersaturated. This means that the liquid in the solution contains more solute (borax) than it can hold. A supersaturated solution is unstable, so it produces a precipitate. A precipitate is a solid that is produced from a solution. In this case, the precipitate is your borax crystal.


YOU WILL NEED:
* Borax (Find it in the same area as the detergents in your local grocery store)
* Food coloring
* Pipe cleaner
* Water
* Saucepan
* Stove


Here's what to do! 

​1. Boil water in a saucepan on the stove. (Make sure you ask an adult for help)
2. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, create a heart (or whatever shape you want) out of your pipe cleaner. When you’re finished creating your shape, place it in a glass jar.
3. Once the water boils, add borax. Stir until the borax dissolves. Continue adding borax until it will no longer dissolve. You’ll know your solution is supersaturated when the borax just sinks to the bottom. Remove the solution from the stove and add food coloring (optional).
4. Pour the borax solution into the glass jar. Make sure your pipe cleaner shape is completely submerged.
5. Leave the jar undisturbed for 24 hours.
6. Check back the next day. What happened?! Dump the borax solution down the drain and remove your crystal heart.

Image and video credits
Yo Bo, 2013. Animated history of Valentine's Day. Uploaded from YouTube on 2/13/2017. https://youtu.be/sHmVFJ3QlPw

Evan-Amos, 2011. Image uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 2/13/2017. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Necco-Candy-SweetHearts.jpg/1024px-Necco-Candy-SweetHearts.jpg File in the Public Domain. 

Dulyan, A., 2005. Borax crystals. Image uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 2/13/2017. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Borax_crystals.jpg/800px-Borax_crystals.jpg File in the Public Domain. ​
​
References
​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day
​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax
​http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Valentines/
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/valentine-candy-science-candy-heart-reactions/
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/valentine-candy-science-candy-heart-ingredients-experiment/
http://fun-a-day.com/candy-heart-experiments-valentines-day/
http://chemistry.about.com/od/valentinesdaychemistry/a/Borax-Crystal-Heart.htm

Author: Maddie Van Beek

Art and science have some beautiful connections! Today we are going to get messy with several different kinds of watercolor painting!


Watercolor Oil Paintings​

You may already know that oil and water don’t mix. Today we are going to test that out in a fun art project. But first, why don’t these two liquids mix?
​
Check out this interactive link to learn more: 

Test it out! Fill a glass with about an inch of vegetable oil. In another glass, mix water with a few drops of food coloring. Pour the colored water into the glass and observe what happens! You will notice that the colored water sinks to the bottom. Dump the contents back into the other glass. What happens? No matter what, the oil eventually rises to the surface. This is because oil is less dense than water. Because water is more dense, it will always sink below the oil and the two will not mix.


To explore more about liquid density, check out our blog on creating your own rainbow in a jar with layers of liquid! http://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/blog/layers-of-liquid-density-create-a-rainbow-in-a-jar


Let’s get started on our painting!


YOU WILL NEED:
* Dishes, such as shallow bowls
* Liquid watercolors
* Vegetable Oil
* Watercolor paper
* Eye dropper
* Pan or tray


Here’s what to do!
1. Prepare your liquid watercolors in a few different dishes. Use as many colors as you would like.
2. Pour some vegetable oil in another dish.
3. Set your paper in a pan or tray (this gets messy!)
4. Use an eye dropper to drop splashes of watercolor onto your paper.
5. Use another eye dropper to drop vegetable oil onto your painting. Remember, oil and water do not want to mix, so the oil will move aside some of your watercolor and make for an even cooler painting!
6. Let your painting dry completely before moving.


Wax and Watercolors

You may have tried this before, but it’s always a fun way to create more textured paintings! You already know that water doesn’t mix with oil, but what about other materials? A while back, we experimented with different textures to see what materials absorbed watercolors.
Check it out here: http://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/blog/science-and-art-with-absorption


How well do you think water is absorbed into wax? Make a prediction!


YOU WILL NEED:
* Crayons
* Markers
* Paper
* Watercolors
* Paint brushes


Here’s what to do!
1. Draw a picture on your paper with your crayons, but leave some blank paper.
2. Draw a picture with washable markers, and again, make sure to leave some blank space.
3. Use your watercolors to paint over both of your pictures. What do you notice about your art? Is the watercolor absorbed into the paper? Does the watercolor mix with the wax? How about the marker?
4. You probably noticed that watercolor paint and marker blend together, but crayon resists the watercolor! This is because watercolor paint and washable markers are both water-based. The wax in the crayons does not mix with water, so watercolor does not blend with your crayon design. The wax is very similar to oil in that it is hydrophobic, or water fearing. Because wax is hydrophobic, it repels the water and does not absorb it.
5. Continue to create crayon/watercolor art! Have fun!


Creating Texture on Watercolor
Rubbing alcohol can be used as a cleaner or a sterilizer, but did you know that it can be used as a unique technique in painting? When applied to a wet watercolor painting, the alcohol repels the liquid watercolor, creating lighter spots. This can be a fun way to get creative textures! Let’s try it out!


Here’s a video tutorial if you want to see an example. Skip to 3:00 for a quick visual of what you’ll be doing: 

YOU WILL NEED:
* Dish, such as a shallow bowl
* Liquid watercolors
* Paint brushes
* Watercolor paper
* Rubbing alcohol
* Cotton swabs


Here’s what to do!
1. Prepare your watercolors.
2. Pour rubbing alcohol into a dish.
3. Create a watercolor design. Cover most of your paper with watercolor paint. Use as many colors as you would like!
4. Soak a cotton swab in the rubbing alcohol and dab lightly on your painting. You’ll notice that the rubbing alcohol repels the watercolor paint, so you’ll end up with a uniquely textured painting!
5. Use the rubbing alcohol to create more designs in your watercolor painting. Try dabbing, dropping, or spraying rubbing alcohol to see what kinds of affects you can create in your painting.
6. Let dry completely on a flat surface.


Image and video credits:
Laczay, B., 2006. Watercolours. Image uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/29/2017. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Watercolours.jpg/800px-Watercolours.jpg
File used in accordance with the 
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. Image was not changed. 

Barrios, J., 2007. Crayones cera. Image uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/29/2017. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Crayones_cera.jpg/1280px-Crayones_cera.jpg
File in the Public Domain. 

Picanco, A., 2015. Watercolor Alcohol Technique Tutorial. Uploaded from YouTube on 1/29/2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6t4aZpBYuk

Author: Maddie Van Beek

Normally we associate rain with the spring season, but with the recent warm winter temperatures in Fargo, we've had some January rain. No matter the season, the cool thing about rainy days is that they are often accompanied by beautiful rainbows! 

Did you know that rainbows are actually caused by refraction? If you want to learn more, check out our blog! 
​
If you want to learn more about rainbows, click the button below:

Another cool phenomenon that is seen more often in winter is a sun dog! Similar to a rainbow, sun dogs are also caused by refraction. Light is refracted from ice crystals and creates a halo around the sun. The sun dogs appear to the left or right of the sun, although they most often occur in pairs. So while you might not see too many rainbows in the winter, you can always look for sun dogs!

Now that you know more about rainbows, we're going to make our own... IN A JAR!

How will we do that?! Today, you will be experimenting with liquid density. The varying densities of different liquids will allow you to layer them without them mixing, thus, creating a “rainbow in a jar.” 


Before we try this fun experiment, you need to know a little bit about density. 


The density of a given liquid is determined by mass or how closely the molecules in that liquid are packed.


Density does not only exist in liquids, but in all states of matter. The density of a material is its mass per unit volume. What does this mean? 


The density equation shows us that density is mass (weight) divided by volume (the amount of space that a substance occupies):

Basically, this equation tells us that density is the amount of matter in a given space. 

In relation to our project, the density of a liquid is determined by how many molecules of that substance fit into a set volume. 


Think about it. Let’s say you put five gummy bears into a Ziploc bag for your little brother and 20 gummy bears into the same size Ziploc bag for yourself. Whose bag of gummy bears is more dense? 


A liquid with less molecules or smaller molecules is less dense than a liquid that has more molecules or larger molecules.
​

Which figure is more dense? 

If a liquid weighs more than than another liquid with equal volume, the heavier liquid has a higher density. The higher density liquid will sink below lower density liquids. Let’s check out an example that you are probably very familiar with. 


Demonstration: Pour 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup water into a glass. Which liquid sinks to the bottom (aka, which liquid is more dense?)


What does this tell you about these two liquids? 


This leads us into our activity for the day!


So you know that water is more dense than oil. Now, let’s try this out with a bunch of liquids. By using many liquids of varying densities, you can make a liquid rainbow in a jar!




YOU WILL NEED:

• Mason jar
• 1/4 measuring cup
• Food coloring (several different colors)
• Water
• Turkey baster or some form of dropper
• Olive oil
• Honey
• Corn Syrup
• Dish soap
• Rubbing Alcohol

Here’s what to do!

1. The first liquid that you will add to your jar is the honey. Use the 1/4 measuring cup to measure out 1/4 cup of honey, and then pour it into the jar. Make sure you pour it straight into the middle of the jar--be careful not to get it on the sides!
2. Rinse out the measuring cup. You will need to do this after each liquid is added. 
   
3. After the honey settles into an even layer, add the corn syrup (again, make sure to dump it in the middle without hitting the sides!). If you want your rainbow to be more colorful, mix in a few drops of food coloring with the corn syrup before you add it to the jar. 
4. Next, measure and add the dish soap. 
5. After the dish soap settles, measure and add the water. Again, add a few drops of food coloring to the water before adding it to the jar to make your rainbow more colorful! Use a different color than you did for the corn syrup so you can tell the difference. 
6. Next, you will measure and add the the olive oil. 
7. Last, you will measure and add the rubbing alcohol. You can use food coloring to color this liquid, as well! But wait! You will need to use the turkey baster or dropper for this one! Add the liquid in very carefully, so it doesn’t mix with the other layers. 
8. You’re done! You have your very own rainbow in a jar! 

Follow-up Questions: 

• What enabled you to make a liquid rainbow? 
• Explain why these liquids didn’t just mix together. 
• Were you surprised by your results? Why or why not? 
• Draw your liquid rainbow and label each layer to record which liquids are more or less dense. 

Extension: 

Try this out with different liquids! See if you can discover densities of other common liquids in your home.


If you need a visual, check out this video of the experiment you just tried! They use even more liquids than we did, so if you need more ideas, this video is a great resource! 

Image and video credits, in order of appearance

​Rolph, E., 2007. Double-alaskan-rainbow. File uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/22/2017. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Double-alaskan-rainbow.jpg/1280px-Double-alaskan-rainbow.jpg File used in accordance with Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic License. Image was not changed. 

Gopherboy6956, 2009. Fargo Sundogs 2 18 09. File uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/22/2017. ​
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Fargo_Sundogs_2_18_09.jpg/800px-Fargo_Sundogs_2_18_09.jpg Image in the Public Domain. 

Kelvinsong, 2013. Artsy density column. File uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/22/2017. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density#/media/File:Artsy_density_column.png ​File used in accordance with the CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Image was not changed.

​Density example created by Maddie Van Beek.

The Sci-Guys, 2013. The Sci-Guys: Science at Home - SE1 - EP5: 12 Layer Liquid Density Tower. Video uploaded from YouTube on 1/22/2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EMUsPJtCoc&feature=youtu.be

Author: Maddie Van Beek

Today, you are going to learn about supersaturated solutions and crystals! We touched on these concepts last week when we learned how to make Egg Geodes. This time, you will be making your own rock candy! ​

A solution is a group of molecules that are mixed together and evenly distributed (homogenous). This is a little different from a mixture, which is unevenly distributed (heterogenous). 

​
Check out this link to learn more about the difference between solutions and mixtures:

Follow-up questions:

• Where is sugar found?
• What is sugar made of? 
• What kinds of foods do you find sugar in? 

When you dissolve sugar into water, you are creating a solution. Your sugar is the solute, and your water is the solvent. ​

When a solution is supersaturated, it becomes unstable. The prefix “super” means that it contains more solute than the liquid can hold. Thus, a precipitate is created. A precipitate is a solid deposited from a solution. In this case, the precipitate is the sugar crystals. ​

​When you are creating rock candy, the supersaturated solution creates a sugar crystal precipitate. The other process that is going on is evaporation. As the water evaporates, your sugar-water solution becomes more and more saturated with sugar, thus creating sugar precipitate, aka ROCK CANDY!!!

Image and video credits (in order of appearance)
Amos, E., 2012. Rock-candy-sticks. File uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/15/2017. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Rock-Candy-Sticks.jpg/1024px-Rock-Candy-Sticks.jpg File used in accordance with the CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Image was not changed. 

Chris 73, 2012. SaltInWaterSolutionLiquid. File uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/15/2017.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/SaltInWaterSolutionLiquid.jpg/320px-SaltInWaterSolutionLiquid.jpg 
​File used in accordance with the CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Image was not changed. 

Amos, E., 2012. Rock-Candy-Closeup. File uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/15/2017.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Rock-Candy-Closeup.jpg/800px-Rock-Candy-Closeup.jpg ​File used in accordance with the CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Image was not changed. ​

References:
​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersaturation
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/rock-pop.html
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2014-2015/candymaking.html

Author: Maddie Van Beek

Once again, we are going to be using eggs to learn about science! In the past, we’ve used eggs to learn about osmosis and acid-base reactions.

Today, we are focusing on sedimentation and crystallization. After you learn about these concepts, you are going to make egg geodes! 

Geode: A rock containing a cavity lined with crystals or other minerals. 

First of all, sedimentation is...

The process by which particles (solute) suspended in a fluid (solvent) eventually come to rest due to the forces, such as gravity, acting on them. 

Note: The solute and the solvent (the particles and the liquid they are suspended in) come together to form a solution. As you can see below, over time, the particles (green dots) in the fluid settle to the bottom. 

Crystallization is....

The process in which solid crystals precipitate from a solution or melt (Crystallization can also occur when crystals form from a gas, but this is rare. In our activity today, we are focusing on crystals that form from a solution).  

Can you think of a time that you’ve seen crystallization in the real world? I can! Back in November of last year, we did a snow blog (to see it, click here)! Snow flake formation is just one form of crystallization. Another form of crystallization is with natural crystals or gemstones. This takes a LONG TIME. 

Check out this video to see crystallization in action!

Now that you know a little bit about sedimentation and crystallization, try it out for yourself!

You'll be creating your own geodes inside eggshells. They'll turn out looking similar to the geode below, except you get to make them whatever color you want! 

YOU WILL NEED:

• Eggs
• Push pin
• Bowl
• Small scissors
• White glue
• Small paintbrush
• Egg dye or liquid food dye
• Hot water
• Spoon
• Cup or container 
• Drying area (rack, plate, or newspaper would work fine)
• Alum powder (you should be able to find Alum powder at any grocery store)

HERE’S WHAT TO DO!

1. Have you ever blown out eggs before you decorate them for Easter? That’s the first step to making egg geodes! You will need to carefully poke a hole in both the top and the bottom of the egg with the push pin. When you poke the hole, wiggle the pin around a bit to make the hole bigger. This will make it easier to blow the egg out of the shell.


2. Hold the egg over a bowl and blow on the top of the egg. The egg inside the shell should come out the bottom of the egg into the bowl. You can either throw the egg away, or go ahead and make an omelet! I suggest using your resources to have a great breakfast while you create your geodes :] 

3. This part is tricky. Now that you have an empty egg shell, you will need to use a small scissors to break the shell in half the long way. Don’t worry about it being perfect. As long as you have somewhat of a bowl shape, you are good to go. If your eggshell completely shatters, just blow out another egg and try again!


4. Again, you will have to be extremely careful in this step! Use a piece of paper towel to wipe the inside of the egg clean. Next, use the small paintbrush to coat the inside of the shell with white glue. Before the glue dries, sprinkle the Alum powder generously over the glue so that it coats the whole inside of the eggshell. 


5. WAIT!!! Your eggshell has to dry completely before you can move on. Leave it to dry overnight. 


6. Up and at ‘em? Back to the grind! Measure two cups of water and heat it up. You can either heat it to boiling on the stove or put it in a microwave-safe container and heat the water in the microwave.  Two to three minutes on HIGH should do the trick. 


7. CAREFULLY pour the heated water into the cup or container that you plan on using to create your egg geodes. 


8. Use a generous amount of food coloring to dye the water--30-40 drops is sufficient. 


9. Add 3/4 cup of Alum powder to the colored water and stir it with a spoon until the powder is completely dissolved. 


10. Let the Alum solution cool down for approximately 30 minutes. 


11. Once the solution has cooled down, use a spoon to submerge your Alum-coated eggshell. Make sure the open side is facing up, and the eggshell is resting on the bottom of the container. 


12. Now, the waiting game! Leave your eggshell to sit in the solution for 12-15 hours. Make sure you place the container in a safe place where no one will knock it over! 


13. After 12-15 hours, prepare a drying area. Use a drying rack, newspaper, or paper plate. Use a spoon to remove the eggshell from the solution.


14. Check it out! How has your eggshell transformed? Make sure to take pictures and write down your observations!


FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS

1. What happened to your eggshell? Describe the change it went through. 
2. How can you relate your eggshell’s transformation to sedimentation and crystallization? 
3. Try to explain the process your eggshell went through. 
4. When does sedimentation and/or crystallization occur in real life? 

Here’s another fun activity about creating Alum crystals that will teach you a little more about crystallization!

References:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystallization
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedimentation
• http://www.marthastewart.com/343344/crystal-egg-geodes

Image and video credits, in order of appearance:
​
Juppi66, 2009. Ametyst-geode. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/8/2017.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Ametyst-geode.jpg File in the Public Domain. 

Van Beek, 2017. Image created by Maddie Van Beek. 

iseen, 2014. Beautiful chemical reactions - Crystallization. Video uploaded from YouTube on 1/8/2017. https://youtu.be/193qXKFMQR8

Heyde, 2007. Geode inside outside. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/8/2017.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Geode_inside_outside.jpg/800px-Geode_inside_outside.jpg File used in accordance with the CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Image was not changed. 

The Sci Guys, 2013. The Sci Guys: Science at Home: Crystallization of Alum - How to Grow Alum Crystals. Uploaded from YouTube on 1/8/2017. https://youtu.be/ojpCexbhxdU

Author: Maddie Van Beek

Happy New Year! It’s 2017! Today we are going to do some fun activities to celebrate. But first, check out this New Year’s Science Quiz to see what you know! It’s okay if you don’t know all the answers—there are explanations at the end so you can start the year off right by learning something new!

Now that you’ve taken a quick science quiz, it’s time to set some science goals for your year! Have you ever heard of a New Year’s Resolution? Every year, thousands of people around the country make a resolution (goal) to make some sort of positive change in their lives. Most of the time, (88% of the time according to the link below), people fail at keeping their New Year’s resolutions. Why is that?! Too often, people don’t make their goals concrete or reachable, so the resolution quickly seems unattainable. You need to actually train your brain, your prefrontal cortex, specifically, by creating habits in order to achieve your goals. Who knew?!
​
Read the links below to find out why resolutions fail and how to keep yours!

Write your goal down, decorate it, and paste it inside your science notebook as a reminder.

Now that you’ve set a science goal for the year, let’s move on to our New Year’s activities!

Fireworks in a Glass

In this activity, you will use oil and water along with food coloring to create a mixture that looks like fireworks in a glass. The science behind this activity is that oil and water DO NOT MIX. Why don’t they mix? They do not mix because water is polar (it has an uneven distribution of electrons in its molecules) and oil is not (it has a very even distribution of electrons in its molecules). Things that are polar usually don't mix well with things that are not polar, like oil (they are not attracted to each other), while things that are polar--like sugar--usually dissolve well in water (the water molecules are attracted to the sugar molecules). If you need a little more help, check out our earlier blog about solubility:

http://discoveryexpress.weebly.com/blog/what-is-solubility

Watch the video below for a more in-depth explanation of why oil and water don’t mix:

YOU WILL NEED
* Clear glass
* Food coloring
* Vegetable oil
* Water
* Shallow bowl
* Fork

Here’s what to do!
1. Pour a cup of vegetable oil in the shallow bowl.
2. Sprinkle about 12 drops of food coloring in the oil. Use as many different colors as you want! These will be the colors of your “fireworks.”

3. Use a fork to lightly stir the food coloring in with the oil. Don't stir too much! Just break up any big blobs of food coloring. The food coloring is water-based, so it won’t fully mix in with the oil, but it will break up into smaller blobs when you stir. 
4. Fill a glass about ¾ full of warm water.
5. Slowly pour the oil/food coloring mixture into the warm water. What happens?
6. The oil stays on top! Remember, oil and water will not mix. The oil is less dense than water, so it floats on top. The food coloring is water-based, so it’s denser than the oil. Eventually, the food coloring blobs will slowly sink through the layer of oil and reach the water. When this happens, the color expands and looks like little colorful explosions!

Confetti Eruption

In this activity, you will see baking soda and vinegar react, much like when we did exploding glow in the dark art (http://discoveryexpress.weebly.com/blog/exploding-glow-in-the-dark-art).

Baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid) create an acid-base reaction. When this reaction occurs, carbon dioxide gas is released in the form of foamy bubbles. For a full explanation of why these two substances react together, check out this link:

http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=4147

YOU WILL NEED
* Baking soda
* Vinegar
* Plastic party cups (or any glass)
* Confetti or glitter
* Food coloring (optional)
* Bowl
* Turkey baster or eye dropper


Here’s what to do!
1. Fill a small bowl with about two cups of baking soda. The amount doesn’t really matter, but two cups is enough for plenty of foamy fun!
2. Add a few spoonfuls of confetti or glitter to your baking soda.
3. Add a tablespoon of water to your baking soda and mix it in. Continue to do this until you have a dough-like consistency. This more evenly distributes the confetti and makes the mixture easier to scoop into the glasses.
4. Place the party glasses in a baking pan to contain the mess. This will make cleanup easier.
5. Scoop about ¼ cup of the mixture into each party glass.
6. Pour a cup of vinegar into a separate glass and add a few drops of food coloring if you want your eruptions to be colored!
7. Use the turkey baster or eye dropper to suck in the vinegar.
8. Squeeze the vinegar into the party glass. TADA! You should see a colorful, glittery eruption! Repeat as often as you want to create more foamy fun. As the foam fizzles out, just add more baking soda or more vinegar.

Image and Video Credits:
Pollard, J., 2013. "Why don't oil and water mix?" Ted-Ed. Uploaded from YouTube on 1/1/2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5yIJXdItgo

Authors: Maddie Van Beek and Dr. Erin Nyren

​Merry Christmas! This is the last of our holiday science. Use some of the sweets around your house to build gingerbread houses! You can either make your own gingerbread, or you can use graham crackers for your building. Before you start building, let’s learn a little bit about building structures.


What kinds of shapes do you usually see in houses? Think about the buildings you see every day. What shapes does your house have?


You probably can find circles, squares, and triangles in any building you look at. Walk around your neighborhood and record the kinds of shapes that you see!


What’s more sturdy, a square or a triangle? Test it out. Connect three marshmallows with toothpicks to create a triangle. Next, connect three marshmallows with toothpicks to create a square. Squeeze both shapes and try to move them around... which is more sturdy? You probably noticed that the triangle kept its shape better than the square. That should help you as you think about how to build your structure!


There are four things that every building needs to be stable and provide shelter:
1. Foundation: The base of the building.
2. Floor: The part of the building we walk on.
3. Walls: Defines the building, divides the building into rooms, holds up the roof.
4. Roof: The top of the building that provides shelter for the people inside.


Below is an example of a simple house structure. See if you can build one! Try out your own ideas with the shapes you’ve seen around your neighborhood. Be creative!

Now that you’ve practiced your building, let’s make gingerbread houses!


Here’s some examples of houses that we built with graham crackers last week!

YOU WILL NEED:
* Marshmallows
* Toothpicks
* Gingerbread or graham crackers
* Royal icing (recipe below)
* Plastic baggies
* Scissors
* Paper plate or pan
* Assorted candies (licorice, chocolate candies, gum drops, and anything colorful works great!)


To make royal icing:
Using an electric mixer, combine 2 pounds (1 kilogram) of powdered sugar with 4 large pasteurized egg whites. Blend until the mixture is smooth, with no lumps of sugar. It should be stiff and sticky!


Here’s what to do!
1. Draw your building plan on paper first. It always helps to have a plan!
2. Spoon frosting into a baggie and seal it. Cut off just the tip of one corner of the bag. This will be your icing tool.
3. Break up your gingerbread or graham crackers into the shapes you want to use for your house.
4. Use a pan or paper plate for your construction area. Build your structure using your shapes for your structure and frosting for glue! If your building collapses, don’t worry! You can always try again. Sometimes it takes a few tries to find the right building technique, and it does take a while for frosting to solidify.
5. Once you build your structure, use candies to decorate your house. Have fun, and Merry Christmas!


Image and video credits, in order of appearance: 
House diagram created by Dr. Erin Nyren
Photos taken by Maddie Van Beek

Author: Maddie Van Beek 

Who doesn’t love to play with slime?! Two weeks ago, we made Peppermint Oobleck. Today, we are going to use a different type of slime recipe for some gooey Christmas fun! 


What is slime? 
The slime we are going to create today is a substance called a polymer. A polymer is a large molecule formed from lots of smaller molecules. These smaller molecules, called monomers, form a long chain. 


Poly = many
Mono = one
Mer = parts


A polymer has many parts, a monomer has one part. Thus, many monomers form a polymer! 


Let’s back up... what exactly is a polymer, anyway? A polymer is a large molecule, or macromolecule, that consists of many repeated subunits. Polymers are created by linking smaller monomers into a chain. Think of the monomers as beads, and the polymer as a necklace made by stringing the beads together. 


Where do we see polymers in our daily lives? 
Polymers appear in many products that you see all the time, such as plastic or rubber. Another common polymer is the DNA in your body! DNA is a chain present in all the cells of your body, and it’s what makes you uniquely different from everyone else! 


In our slime recipe, one of the main ingredients is glue. Glue is actually a liquid polymer. The molecules of glue are in separate little strands before you add anything to it. Once you add the special ingredient (laundry starch) to the glue, it acts as a binding agent that links all the little strands together to create a more solid polymer, or in other words... SLIME. 


What’s happening when you add liquid starch to glue? Glue is already a polymer, but it isn’t a very strong one. Cross-linking occurs when you add a binding agent to a weak polymer to make it stronger. See the image below. The once weak individual polymer strands are made sturdier because they are cross-linked by the binding agent! ​

You are going to create the same type of slime, but you’ll color half of your slime red and swirl it with the other slime to give it a candy cane look for Christmas! 


YOU WILL NEED:
(You can purchase our basic slime kit at:
http://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/store/p83/SLIME%21__A_polymer_science_kit_for_ages_5_and_up.html)

• Clear liquid school glue
• White liquid school glue
• Liquid laundry starch
• Water
• Red food coloring
• Bowls
• Measuring cups

Here’s what to do! 
1. Measure 1/4 cup of the clear craft glue and dump it into the mixing bowl. 
2. Pour 1/4 cup of water into the mixing bowl and use the spoon to stir the water into the glue until it looks smooth and well-blended. Write down your observations so far. How does adding water to the glue change it? Add about six drops of red food coloring and stir until the color is even. 
3. Add 1/4 cup of liquid starch to the mixing bowl and stir it in. How does the consistency of the glue change once you add the starch? Record your observations. 

4. Once you stir the starch in, pick up your slime and play with it! What does it feel like? Look like? Is this what you expected to happen? 

5. Repeat steps 1-4 with the white craft glue. 

6. Once you’ve created the red slime and the white slime, swirl it together for a candy cane look! Have fun! 



For more slimy fun, check out our blog from last year: http://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/blog/two-times-the-slime-fun-with-polymers

​

Image credits:
Cross-linking image created by Dr. Erin Nyren

Photos taken by Maddie Van Beek. 

Author: Maddie Van Beek

Christmas Yarn Ornaments: How does static electricity work?

Have you ever pulled a sweater over your head only to look in the mirror and find that your hair is sticking straight up?! This is caused by static electricity. Static is more prevalent in the winter time because the air is usually drier than in other seasons. 

​Less humidity = more static. More humidity = less static.

What is static? Static electricity occurs when there is an uneven balance of electric charges on the surface of a material. This uneven balance causes that material to either be attracted to something (if that something has an opposite charge) or repel from something (if that something has the same charge). For example, when you pull that fuzzy sweater over your head, it causes your hair to be negatively charged. Because your hairs are negatively charged, they repel each other--they want to be as far away from each other as possible, so they stick straight up!
​
Check out the link below for an in-depth explanation of what static electricity is. ​

10. Once you’re done covering your balloon, carefully roll it in the glue mixture and then place it on the newspaper to dry.

11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 until you are done creating as many ornaments as you want! Leave them to dry overnight.

​12. In the morning, use a pin to pop the balloons. You are left with a cool homemade yarn ornament! 

Image credits:
All images taken by Maddie Van Beek

In this experiment, you are going to create Christmas shapes out of a baking soda paste. Once the shapes dry, you’ll put them in a pan of vinegar and watch them FIZZ! Why will this happen? Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is an example of a base. Other bases you might see in the real world are often in the form of cleaners, such as bleach or ammonia. Can you think of any others?
Vinegar is an example of an acid. You might already know that many fruits have acid in them. What else is acidic?​

So we know that baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid... why do we see fizz when they meet? When acids and bases are mixed together, a REACTION occurs. That reaction produces carbon dioxide gas. The gas appears in the form of bubbles! Now that you know the science behind the reaction, let’s get started!


YOU WILL NEED:
* Baking Soda
* Christmas Cookie Cutters
* Water
* Vinegar
* Pan
* Bowl


Here’s what to do!
1. Dump 2 cups of baking soda into a bowl.
2. Add water a little bit at a time and stir until you have a thick baking soda paste.
3. If you would like to, add a few drops food coloring and stir into the paste.
4. Set the cookie cutter shapes that you would like to use on a pan.
5. Press the baking soda paste into the cookie cutter shapes.
6. Let dry undisturbed until the paste has hardened (a few hours).
7. Carefully pop your shapes out of the cookie cutters.
8. Fill the pan with vinegar and place your shapes in the pan. Watch the reaction happen! How long do you think it will take your shapes to fully dissolve? Make a prediction!
9. If you add more vinegar, does it help the shapes dissolve faster? Try it out!


Peppermint Oobleck
We’ve made Oobleck or SLIME in the past, but this time we’re going to make it Christmassy! What is Oobleck? When you mix cornflour and water, you get a non-newtonian fluid. A non-newtonian fluid behaves sometimes like a liquid and sometimes like a solid. It will behave like a liquid until you apply sudden pressure or stress, and then it will act like a solid.

For example, you could run across a pool of oobleck, but if you stood still, you would sink!

Watch this video to see non-newtonian fluid in action!