Science Alive!

I love finding great quality activities for our family to do! It's even better when they are free, educational, and fun! Science Alive, at the downtown South Bend St. Joseph County Public Library, definitely fits the bill. We've been several times in the past and still enjoy returning. I was lucky this weekend and was flying solo with just one of my sons on a "date". We used to do this more often and I've missed doing this. And, after the night at an exhibit opening with a 2-year-old the night before, I was happy to have a happy and complacent 8-year-old as my side kick.

For Science Alive, the downtown library is transformed with tables and people to make science come alive. It's a great place to learn about area resources and get a chance to do hands on science! Our first stop was Fernwood Botanical Gardens. We looked at skulls, touched furs, and learned about adaptations. It looks like they have some great summer camps coming up! We've enjoyed visiting there in the past.

Holograms and Lasers at ETHOS Science Center

We love going to the Sneak Peek Science nights at ETHOS Science Center in Elkhart! It is usually the third Thursday of the month in the evening. We arrived right after a bus pulled up and they shared a couple of the passes with us. The cost is a dollar per person. In March the theme was holograms and lasers. Many of the rooms had extra special activities to explore the theme. In addition, all the regular displays are up. While we have been there many times, we still like going back and interacting with the displays. The first room we visited had holograms that we needed to use flashlights to see. Others were displayed on the wall and around the room to see floating images and special tricks.

ETHOS Science Center: The Senses

We checked out the ETHOS Science Center Sneak Peek Science this last week! It was all about THE SENSES! I recently took my son to a Elkhart County Parks program on My Five Senses and often experience nature and life with all our senses. The children were given a brochure with the activities to use as a checklist. The checklist really gave my children purpose in the activities and helped keep their focus on the "special" activities of the night, though there are always the regular exhibits that are enticing.

We started out in the sound room. This involved using a tuning fork and suspending a ping pong ball against the fork after striking it. Playing with the tuning fork was fun in its own right, but "seeing" the sound vibrations through the movement of the ping pong ball was pretty neat! We also experimented with a homemade harp.

 

ETHOS Science Sneak Peek: WATER

Last week, we stopped by the ETHOS Science Center's Sneak Peak Science about Water. It is usually the third Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 and is on a different topic each month. We went to one in April as a preview of the Summer Camps (which look great, by the way! More are starting in August). The Sneak Peek nights cost $1/person, which is VERY reasonable when I think about all the supplies and activities we did. I know how to set up and do these activities with the kids; however, it's nice to show up and it's all planned out for investigations. Also, I would probably spend more money gathering all the supplies to set this up at home. They also do the set up and clean up for us!

We started the evening in the H2O Olympics room. Supplies and directions were set out for 5 different water related activities. The children had record sheets to write down predictions, results, hypotheses, etc. as part of their explorations. They made boats with soap slivers to help "propel" them. They put drops of water on pennies--it's amazing how many will fit! When they finished all five, they received an Olympic medal!

The helpers (volunteers and leadership of the center) knew how to ask great thought provoking questions. The children also floated paperclips on top of water and looked at how water travels in varying paper towels. A few words like adhesion, surface tension, and more were tossed around in the discussions.

In another room, they looked at water displacement, sinking, floating, and more. They made clay boats and filled them with plastic teddy bears as weights. They also recorded what objects sank or floated. 

They made foil boats and used paper clips as weights. They also looked at surface tension again as they put pepper on top of the water (floats) until they put a soapy finger in the water (breaks the surface tension). I've done many of these explorations with science clubs in the past. 

They also had a pool set up in the back with underwater robots to try! The kids enjoyed trying to figure out how to make the robot move the way they wanted it to move. Inside, they liked exploring the typical displays they have out on a regular basis at the Science Center.

In another room, they had a fun video going on about the properties of water, as well as many water exploration bottles. 

The cartesian divers were a hit! They also liked the use of technology with the iPad Mini .

 

They really liked these discovery bottles. We have a few at home, but they don't spend as much dedicated time exploring them. With the directions right there, we could discuss why they worked as they did, related vocabulary, extended ideas, and probe deeper with questioning. We might have to make up a few more!

We also played the water cycle game. I like how they have it set up with beads on a string attached to the card (though the beads stay better on pipe cleaners often). I heard my kids looking at these later in the week asking, "How did you get from glacier to plant?" and tracing their way back through the complexities of the water cycle once again. We've done similar activities recently and they're understanding the varied concepts of where our water originates. 

They also liked the animals. For most children, looking at living things is fascinating! (Okay, adults, too!)

 

Dead animals are fascinating as well! When we got there, the kids found a dead bird out in the rocks--nature study! Of course, we had to look at the beak and feet, the feathers, and more and do a little up close bird study. Are my kids the only ones that do that? At soccer practice this week, they brought me a dead bird (most likely a blue jay fledgeling). I thought only cats and dogs brought back presents like this!

It was a fun evening! We're looking forward to more as the schedule permits! They have a contest right now for pictures from the Sneak Peek events. The winner gets free passes to the Science Spectacular in October! That looks like a great night! Unfortunately, I think my hubby and I already have other plans, but maybe we can get the grandparents to take the kids. You might enjoy it too!

ETHOS: Science Sneak Peek

Tonight we stopped by the ETHOS Science Center for their Sneak Peek Science Night. What a great facility and fun activities! The theme of the night centered on their upcoming Summer Science Camps. They have a variety of themes and age ranges for the camps, such as exploring the great outdoors, C. S. I., LEGO Robotics, Marine Mammals of the Arctic, Nanotechnology, fitness fun, a special Camp Invention, and more. Each of the activities centered on hands-on camp experiences. It sounds like they plan to have similar science nights on the third Thursday evening of most months.

When we entered, we signed up for prizes. We thought it would cost $1/person, but there was a recent donation that covered the costs. Free=Bonus!

The boys enjoyed trying to get their balloon to balance just level to the table. They enjoyed this and came back to it later in the evening to keep trying! When they have a good challenge, they are engrossed and keep working at it! The teacher at this station is from Riverview Elementary School. I was impressed to hear how much he was helping his students apply their learning and make real life connections. I do a happy dance when I hear of this type of teaching! He modeled great questioning skills and helped the boys discover science in action rather than just telling them what was going on.

We then visited a room with a hot air balloon in the making! I've tried one of these with my class when I taught in Japan. Fun!

Then we tried alka seltzer and water rockets. They hit the ceiling! I still was shocked each time I saw even though I knew what was going to happen! This looks like it will be a fun camp! The teacher here had great enthusiasm for what he was doing! It was also good to see the use of safety precautions.

They also designed an arm for the LEGO Robotics to get the ball in the bowl. My son just started the LEGO Robotics club at school, so was interested in this! It took some adjustments to get it right. Brian who is in charge of this has a great story. He had a set of these robotics as a child and then his class started using them. Now he works with them full-time! He helps set up competitions and get the programs going at the school. I met him at another event and was impressed with his story.

They also painted pots and planted sunflower seeds. There are a few nature based camps available this summer.

The C. S. I. camp looks neat. The boys stamped their fingerprint on a balloon and blew it up to magnify the print. Then they could see whether they had a loop, whorl, or arch. There was also a lip print investigation, but my son turned up his nose when he saw the lipstick.

We talked space and made a satellite at this station. This teacher works at Memorial High School. We chatted about the neat activities they had in conjunction with the Science Fair earlier this year at the school. My son was excited to eat his marshmallows!

I've seen neat projects with roller coasters in the past. We even have a pretty cool marble run we put together, but the inexpensive cost and ability to see cause/effect and so many scientific principles really makes this option with pipe insulation a winner. He stayed here for quite some time while he added more to the roller coaster!

What a great night! It was a great alternative to rained out baseball practice and enjoyable on all levels. I look forward to more of these. 

2012--One Little Word: GROW

For the last couple of years, we have chosen a WORD for our "New Year's Resolution" rather than making (and breaking) formal resolutions. This is based on the One Little Word concept by Ali Edwards, a popular memory keeper.

In 2012, our word for the family was GROW. Here is a little of our collected inspiration on Pinterest. This influenced our life in many ways. Looking back we find the following (past tense, though many will continue!):

1. We grew a garden. We made raised beds and followed the square-foot garden method. Need to figure out how to handle squash bugs better!


       

2. We grew our vermicomposting (yes, worms in the kitchen!) operation.

 3. We grew our family, by adding one little boy! Such a cutie!

4. We grew our interest in nature. Carla became an Indiana Master Naturalist.

5. We grew relationships, friendships, connections, and respect for others.

6. We grew a new website, www.insideoutsidemichiana.com.

7. We grew some skills, like making maple syrup, canning, and additional computer skills.

8. We grew science fair champions (literally for one--sprouts!) and beautiful boys.

9. We grew COMMUNITY! Thanks for being a part of it!

Overall, the word has been an opportunity for us to focus in the background of our lives. We put big GREEN letters that say GROW up above the front door. We see these each day that we leave our house. It will continue to remind us of how we grow as a family, as individuals, and as a community as we connect with nature and the world around us.