From Scientific Mayhem: Playdough
Ingredients
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp water
Mix ingredients. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour. If the dough is dry, add a little more water. The final result should be a kneadable dough that does not stick to hands even without the use of a cooking oil or a dusting of flour on hands.
There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon and 4 tablespoons in a quarter cup. How many teaspoons are in a whole cup?
If you wanted to make a one-third size batch, what would be the measurements in teaspoons?
If you wanted to make a quadruple size batch, what would be the measurements in cups?
From Cool Chemistry: Slime
Ingredients
*Unlike some recipes, this uses boric acid instead of borax.
3 fl oz Elmer’s Washable Clear School Glue (1/3 of a 9 oz bottle)
1 drop of food coloring (optional)
1 pinch extra-fine craft glitter (optional)
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp contact lens cleaner containing boric acid (Note the concentration of boric acid varies by brand.)
Add one ingredient at a time, stirring thoroughly before next. As final ingredient is stirred in, the mixture will begin to thicken. When thicker, switch from stirring to kneading with hands. If too runny after stirring for a couple of minutes, add a tiny bit more baking soda and/or contact lens solution until you are happy with the consistency.
Do you know the differences between boric acid and borax? Where do they come from? How long have people been using them for cleaning?
From Origami Basics: NASA Technology
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Starshade
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/space-origami-make-your-own-starshade/
Have you ever heard of Robert Lang from Dayton, Ohio? Electrical engineer, physicist, NASA scientist, inventor, and origami artist.
From Stop Motion Animation Workshop: YouTube Videos
The YouTube channel of a former Super Saturday student and son of our stop motion animation teacher is @TechnicalAntonym. His autobiographical videos about his childhood may be minutes long but take months to make. Themes include finding humor in awkward moments and appreciation of beautiful moments.
Can you relate to these stories? Can your family members?
Combining lessons from Get Sparked with Art and Natural Born Scientists: Luminaris Gigantica
Supplies
2 AAA batteries
clear tape
copper tape
LED light
plastic Easter egg
googly eyes
pipe cleaners
glue gun or 2-sided adhesive dots
stickers
Lay batteries side by side with poles in opposite directions, and use clear tape to tape stiffly together. Use a small piece of copper tape to connect the positive and negative battery terminals on one end together. Use another small piece to connect one wire of the LED to the positive battery terminal on the other end. Repeat, connecting the second wire of the LED to the negative terminal next to it, being careful not to let this third small piece of copper tape touch the second piece. If done correctly, the LED should light up and stay lit up.
Place the light unit inside the egg and close. Decorate as you like. Form the pipe cleaners into wings and/or legs.
You can use 1 AA battery if you have a larger egg. How would you connect the LED? This project demonstrates circuits. Could you draw with arrows how electricity circles through the light unit? In which two places in the circuit could you connect a second LED for it to light up?