earth science

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The Beach Is A Cool Science Experiment

cool science experimentsI was sitting on  the beach the other day …watching all the activity going on around, remembering how much fun my kids had and for that matter the beach days I had as a kid when visiting my grandmother in Florida, and it occurred to me what I seeing was fun and  pretty cool science experiments going on everywhere I looked!

The best thing was the kids, and parents, were just having fun, but were using their understanding of science and how a good experiment works, and were not even aware that is what they were doing?

  1. Where you set up and put your stuff totally depends on the tides and understanding how far it came up yesterday, the weather patterns of today.
  2. When you jump waves, or use your boogie board, it is one massive experiment to learn to judge the best time to jump or ride the wave in. As the day goes on, from your “experiment” you get better at it!
  3. Building a sand castle, or a wall, or anything in the sand is a lesson in architecture principles and the art of a good foundation. Nobody tells the kids to shore up the bottom, they figure it out.  Have you ever listened to the chatter amongst kids as they work together on one of those things?  Try this,  lets do that..  such cool science experiments they don’t even know they are doing!
  4. All it takes is one storm to see what erosion can do, the beach near me has dunes half the size of two years ago due to huge storms.  The signs about the importance of beach grass to the dunes is living example of science!
  5. Even without the storm just standing in one place in the water shows you eroision  as your feet sink deeper and the sand move around you.s
  6. We learn about the difference between onshore and ocean breezes and why we prefer the ocean breeze… yes it is cooler, but it also keeps the black biting flies away!
  7. Once July comes the sea nettles show up which is a whole new topic to learn about, but in the meantime you can find all sorts of little creatures and the shells of creatures and gain some more insight.
  8. Hydration becomes the topic of converstaion and you feel your body needing water and how fast it loses it in the heat. I don;t know about you but youy experiment with bringing frozen watr bottle, water coolers filled with ice, should you use sugar drinks or not all become science experiments.
  9. Reflection of light becomes a topic to learn about for a couple of things, that famous sunburn on the back of your legs from the water, how hot the sand gets, wearing light colors and which umbrellas keeps the sun out the best.
  10. Finally, if you are lucky you will get to watch some dolphins swim up and down the shoreline, and that is just plain cool.

 

There are some cool science experiments  that you could use at home this summer just as a fun activity. Science really is going on all around you, and kids really are interested!

Try these demonstration project ideas,

for a quick, summer project that can be done in a day….

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The Coolest of our Cool Science Experiments

All of our science experiments are cool, but you’ll have to agree that A Slice of Ice is the coolest of our cool science experiments. You see, A Slice of Ice is an experiment that finds out if the surface area of ice affects its melting time.

Surface area is what’s on the outside. Image you make two cubes out of playdough – measuring 1 inch on each side. There will be six square inches on the outside of the cubes. Then image you flatten one of the cubes, and make it as thin as possible. Way more than six square inches will be on the outside. There is more surface area in a ‘puddle’ of playdough than in a cube.

Now imagine that the playdough is frozen water – a frozen cube and a frozen puddle. Which do you think will melt faster?

That’s what A Slice of Ice will tell you. See what a cool experiment it is?!

The first thing you’ll have to do is make ice of different shapes, but containing the same amount of water. Our experiment guide tells you an easy (and cheap!) way to get ice containers. Then you have to calculate the surface area. Depending on the type of object you have, there are different formula to calculate surface area. Our science project guide has the formula you need built into a spreadsheet. You just measure and plug in the numbers – and it will be calculated for you!

“We saw how easy it was to go into the little boxes and change the wording to ml instead of ounces.” – Deisy, parent

 

Purchase our package of guides here, and you’ll get step-by-step instructions for this project, a list of online and offline references, and photographs. Plus, you’ll get four more guides to cool science projects.

Parents, this science project can be done for almost no cost, if any at all. Don’t wait! Go to 24 Hour Science Projects today, and get your guide to cool science experiments!

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Science Project Application – Or How to Cool Turkey Broth

It’s always great when you come across a really great science project application. And today, I cooked up a great one. (Pun intended – sorry!)science project application

We had our big Thanksgiving meal over the weekend, and I’m just getting to making broth from that huge turkey carcass. I covered it with water, added a couple of onions and garlic…and simmered away. I needed the broth to be ready quickly, so after it cooled a bit, I got ready to put it into the refrigerator.

So I grabbed a pot. And then saw a second pot. Hmmm. One pot was tall and thin, another was wider at the base. Which one would allow the broth to get cold the fastest?

Then I remembered the science project, A Slice Of Ice, where you experiment to see if ice melts faster at a high surface area or a lower one. I knew that the opposite was true, too, so I looked at the two pots, and realized that the one with the wide base had a greater surface area than the tall and skinny one.

Who says science can’t be applied to everyday life?! I love it.

P.S. So – with my science project application hat on – which one did I choose? Get your copy of A Slice of Ice here – and find out!

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Toilet Paper Science Project

toilet paper science project

With today’s increased awareness of how important it is to take care of the environment, it’s great when kids can do a science experiment with results that could change the way their own family takes care of the earth. Our toilet paper experiment (or – as the supermarket calls it – “bathroom tissue”), does just that! A Straight Flush helps kids find out which toilet tissue is the most biodegradable. The results of the experiment may influence what brand of toilet paper that home purchases.

A Straight Flush compares the weight of tissue samples before and after spending time in our ‘simulated’ toilet. It requires really accurate scales, which can be expensive. We’re cheap at our house, so we opted to use the scales in the post office. (You could also ask to use the scales at a pharmacy or at a grocery store.) We still laugh at the thought of how it looked for us to traipse into the post office with samples of toilet paper.

Whatever it takes for our kids!

 

P.S. Toilet Tissue science projects are just gross enough to be great Middle School Science Projects!

Go here to read more about toilet paper and septic systems.

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Science Projects to do Outdoors

Science projects aren’t usually done outdoors, but if you stop and think, outside is the perfect place to do your next experiment. After all, most of science happens outside – geology, meteorology, botany, ecology, biology, and even chemistry. Outdoor science projects allow you to make a mess, have a larger work area, and observe some natural phenomena.

Exploring Weather – Fill a baking pan with dirt from your backyard. Tilt one end about four inches, and lean on a stack of bricks. Place the bottom end into another baking pan. Wait for rain, and watch how the water erodes the dirt. If you want, fill a second pan with dirt that has grass growing in it, and compare the amount of soil that washes into the ‘catch’ pan.

Messy Volcano Science Project – Form a mud ‘volcano’ around an empty plastic soda bottle. First, add a package of quick acting yeast to the bottle, then add a cup of hydrogen peroxide. Stand back for the eruption.

Sun Bleach – Place several different colors of construction paper in the back window of your car. On each piece of paper, place random solid objects, such as scissors, keys, or small toys. Leave in the car all day, then remove the object. The sun will have faded the part of the paper not covered up.

Night Vision – Go outside at night to a very dark spot. Take a look around, and note what you see. Wait fifteen minutes and watch how much more your eyes can see after they have adjusted to the darkness.

Or think of your own projects. Bubbles, water, plants, rocks, wind…all are great science projects to do outside. For even more ideas, get our free science project guide at https://www.24hourscienceprojects.com. In addition to a FREE science project guide, we’ll show you how to learn a lot and have a lot of FUN with your OUTDOOR science project!

GET STARTED ON 24 HOUR SCIENCE PROJECTS! CLICK HERE!

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Chemical Change Science Projects

Chemical Change Science Chemistry science projects involving a chemical change are often chosen by middle and high school students. Many kids like to do an experiment with a dramatic chemical change. When searching for a project, it can be difficult to find an experiment with chemicals that are easy to find, and easy to work with.

One popular project involving chemicals is an experiment determining which fruit or fruit juice has the most vitamin C. A simple indicator is made with cornstarch and iodine. Students (and parents) enjoy watching the chemical reaction that occurs along with titration, which is a fancy way of saying “putting in drops”. This project can be modified in several different ways, allowing your student’s creativity to shine. We get letters from many students telling us that this easy science project was submitted to the fair, and was chosen as a winner.

Another great science project involving a chemical change is watching what happens as yeast ‘eats’ sugar. In this project, warm water and yeast are placed in a bottle with a bit of sugar. A balloon is placed over the mouth of the bottle. As the yeast consumes the sugar, carbon dioxide is released, causing the balloon to blow up. This project is so much fun to watch that our kids did it over and over until we ran out of yeast.

Both of these projects can be done as demonstrations; they offer dramatic reactions that students will be able to observe immediately. Both science projects can also be experiments. They naturally lend themselves to a question, the formation of an hypothesis, and testing. The results can easily be graphed to form a conclusion.

Get step by step instructions for both of these projects at 24 Hour Science Projects. Along with a FREE Parent’s Guide to Science Fair Projects, we have all sorts of ideas for your scientist, starting at the most elementary, and working up to the more advanced chemical change science projects.