August 8, 2011
by: Cynthia House
Demonstration Materials:
- 125 ml graduated cylinder or similar item
- ~100 ml of pea gravel or small marbles
- kitchen sponge
- tap water
Experiment Materials:
- preforms and racks (three preforms/student or group)
- fine gravel such as aquarium gravel (~ 30 ml/student or group)
- coarse sand* (~ 30 ml/student or group)
- fine sand* (~ 30 ml/student or group)
- small plastic cups ~ 100 ml capacity
- squares of tulle (“bridal illusion”) and organza, ~ 10 cm x 10 cm
- rubber bands
- electronic balance (capacity at least 100 gm)
- one pound margarine tub or similarly sized plastic cup per balance**
- stopwatch or count-up timer (MyChron Student Timer)
- 125 ml graduated cylinder or similar item
- calculators
- tap water
* Home centers sell sand for sand boxes, landscaping, paving, mortar etc. Beaches are another source, although you may encounter undesirable contamination. Sifting non-homogeneous sand with a fine kitchen strainer may yield two usable grades of sand.
** secondary containment to prevent accidental spillage of water onto the balance
Background Soil Vocabulary:
Porosity is the measure of how much groundwater a soil can hold, permeability is the measure of how quickly water passes through a soil, while retention is the measure of how much water stays behind. Even elementary students can relate these concepts to their everyday lives. They observe that some areas in their yards or school grounds form puddles while others drain quickly after a rainstorm. They may wonder why one neighbor’s garden and yard remains lush and green although a sprinkler is rarely used. Children in communities dependent upon well water can understand the importance of replenishing the water table. In most rural and many suburban areas, homes use septic tanks and drain fields to process household wastewater. The “water cycle” is a topic in elementary science curricula. There are many excellent age-appropriate online sources for information on these topics including the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the GLOBE program. Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | 
Earth Science, Elementary level, experiments, Middle School level | Tagged: average, Educational Innovations, graphing, lab processes, mean, mode, soil permeability, soil porosity, soil retention, statistical analysis | 
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Posted by Tami O'Connor
June 1, 2010
by: Martin Sagendorf
We recognize heat & cold, dry & damp, light & dark, and sound & silence. However… I find it absolutely fascinating to consider that we also live within something that we can’t see, hear, touch, or taste.
We all Know:
Our planet has a giant magnet near its core and that its field extends over the whole of the Earth’s surface. But, do we ever really think about this field that passes through soil, rocks, buildings… and us? Granted, relatively speaking this ‘field’ isn’t particularly strong. In fact, it’s a rather weak field when compared to those of a horseshoe magnet or, particularly, a modern Rare Earth magnet.
A Great Demo to show Earth’s Magnetic Field:
Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Earth Science, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, magnetism, Middle School level, Physics | Tagged: compass, Earth's magnetic field, magnetism, neodymium magnet, simple classroom activity | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
May 14, 2010
by Ted Beyer
Ever since I was a kid, I have been fascinated with space. I would look up at the stars, and I just knew that other people were up there somewhere, looking back at our little point of light, and thinking the same kind of thoughts. On the day I turned seven, Neil and Buzz landed on the moon and I was sure that—somehow—when I grew up, I would get there, too.
Incidentally, that’s me in the red on the right in the picture below. And on the left? Well, that’s Buzz Aldrin!
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5 Comments | astronomy, Earth Science, Elementary level, High School level, life science, Middle School level | Tagged: apollo 11, astronomy, Buzz Aldrin, Campo del Cielo, chondrule, Ghubra meteorite, meteorites, parent friendly, PBL, restoring meteorites, Seymchan Pallasite, space, Tucson Gem and Mineral Show | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
November 12, 2009
by: Sara Brandt
Ammonite was once thought to be the petrified remains of snakes! Modern science, however, tells us that these fascinating fossils are actually the remains of an ancient aquatic mollusk. A mollusk is an invertebrate with a soft, unsegmented body. The soft body of an ammonite was protected by a hard outer shell. The shells of ammonites ranged from an inch to nine feet! Each shell is divided into many different chambers. The walls of each chamber are called septa. The septa were penetrated by the ammonite’s siphuncle, a tube-like structure that allowed the ammonite to control the air pressure inside its shell. Ammonites were aquatic creatures, and being able to control the air pressure inside their shells meant being able to control their buoyancy.
What is the Fibonacci sequence?
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2 Comments | Biology, College level, Earth Science, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level | Tagged: ammonite, Fibonacci, fossils, golden ratio, nature | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
August 24, 2009
by: Tami O’Connor
What is Amber?
Millions of years ago large forests in some parts of the world began to seep globs of sticky, aromatic resin down the sides of the trees. Unlike sap, resin is produced to protect the tree from disease and injury and is extruded through the bark of the tree during rapid periods of growth.
As it continued to ooze, this resin would trap such things as insects, seeds, leaves and other light debris. As geologic time progressed, these forests were buried under sediment and the resin hardened and formed the soft, warm, golden gem we know today as amber. Most of the amber in the world ranges from 30 to 90 million years old and is found in sedimentary clay, shale and sandstones associated with layers of lignite. Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Earth Science, Elementary level, Middle School level | Tagged: amber, Copal, geology, insects in amber, Polish amber | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
