by Linda Dunnavant
Most kids find the idea of science thrilling. It conjures up images of potions, explosions, and top-secret laboratories. When I asked my son what kind of birthday party he wanted this year, he eagerly exclaimed, “A science party!” That night, I was taken aback when I Googled science birthday party ideas. Many of the suggestions seemed far too adult-led and complicated—not to mention expensive!
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Elementary level, experiments, Middle School level, uncategorized | Tagged: DIY, Educational Innovations, experiments, fun experiments, halloween fun, hands-on activity, homeschool, parent friendly, science, STEM | 
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
by John Frassinelli
Having first seen a “drinking bird” in elementary school myself, I had never forgotten it. Our teacher, I think, had placed one on the windowsill. We had no air conditioning in those days, and the windows actually opened! Air circulated through the room, and that probably influenced the bird. I think it’s too bad that many classrooms are hermetically sealed these days, but we do what we can.
Recently I decided to introduce my first graders to my old friend, the Drinking Bird. I bought a few birds and fooled around with them, making sure each one would “drink” as it was supposed to. I learned that some birds need a bit of adjustment—their centers of mass might be too high or too low. But this is easily remedied by gently twisting the bird’s body and raising (or lowering) it on its metal clasp.
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
by Nancy Foote
The latest addition to my classroom’s Curiosity Table is a Static Electricity Electroscope. The fact that it looks a bit odd made it even more intriguing to my students. Once they began to play with the electroscope, they couldn’t stop. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
Through the years, we’ve seen teaching trends come and go… but one thing hasn’t changed: students LOVE anything related to balloons and rockets. (So do we.) And when you’re talking about rockets, you’re talking about forces and motion!
Take a look at this free lesson on forces and motion. We’re using balloons as our rocket “engines” to power these simple cars. The activity is basic enough to work with younger students, and can easily be augmented for a more advanced group. This lesson invites all kinds of variations. You might say the sky’s the limit!
Click on the image below for a full-size, full-color PDF of this easy-to-implement forces and motion lesson. Enjoy!
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
Forces and motion are all around us. You might even say they make the world go ’round. In 1687 Isaac Newton attempted to explain the movements of everything in the universe—from a pea rolling on a plate to the position of the planets. It’s staggering to think about how much of our daily life involves some aspect of Newton’s Laws of Motion.
This is one science topic that can be easily approached by using examples from our collective life experiences. Starting a discussion about forces and motion with your students is easy. All you have to do is drop a feather… nudge a toy car forward… pull open a door.
We’ve put together a collection of interesting topics and interactive games that you can use to get a conversation going with your students. Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Leave a Comment » | College level, Elementary level, energy, High School level, Middle School level, Physics | Tagged: Educational Innovations, energy, force, force and motion, homeschool, kinetic energy, newton, Newton's First Law, Newton's Second Law, Newton's Third Law, parent friendly, Physics, science, STEM | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
