It has been an incredibly busy few weeks in the Learning Hub, so busy in fact that I have not had a spare moment to complete a blog post showcasing what we have been up to - sorry about that! I hope that this bumper post makes up for not being in touch lately. So, without further a do, here is what we got up to!
Liquefaction
We did another round of re-creating liquefaction in the fish tank. It is always loads of fun building the sandy base, adding water & building our city. We give our city a good shake and the children get to see the damage that an earthquake (& aftershocks) can generate. I just love the collective "WOW - A-Ha" moments accompanied with much excitement & noise : )
Exploding Volcanoes
This experiment was SO much fun! We filled our small volcano mould with baking soda, dish washing detergent & food colouring. Then we added vinegar & witnessed our volcanoes exploding! It was a great opportunity to offer the children a hands on experience showcasing how a volcano actually erupts. We talked about lava chambers, lava, magma, craters, ash clouds & how volcanoes release carbon dioxide gases.
Salt Dough Volcanoes
I love it when parents come into the Learning Hub to work with me & help out! The lovely Rachel came in & helped me make salt dough ball for 25 children & throughout the morning the children came into the Learning Hub to create their own volcanoes using a "pinch-pot" technique. I was thrilled to see so much detail on their volcanoes which showing me that they had taken a lot of information on board! I then slow baked the volcanoes & the children painted + decorated them the next day - they look AMAZING!
Lava Lamps
The children LOVED this activity, especially when we added the vinegar as the last ingredient & the lava lamp turned on an impressive show for us. We discovered the Malt vinegar provides a much faster reaction than white vinegar. I'm so glad that we experimented with two different vinegar's, we made a discovery! We made lava lamps to demonstrate how lava behaves inside a volcano - fascinating : )
Floating / Sinking Rocks
Penny brought in a bucket of different rocks & worksheets for me to test with the children. We looked at 4 different rocks and made predictions as to whether they would sink or float. We discovered that pumice (a very light and porous volcanic rock formed when a gas-rich froth of glassy lava solidifies rapidly) was the only rock that floated! Finn - 7 y/o (& one of my volcano subject matter experts) told me that pumice is in fact the only rock in the world that can float on water!
Passion Project - Science Experiments
As a part of the Passion Project program in Bridget's syndicate (Victory Park) Titimaea and Max chose a series of Science experiments to do with me in the Learning Hub. Here is what we got up to;
Lemon fruit battery - Science
Batteries are comprised of two different metals suspended in an acidic solution. With the Fruit-Power Battery, the two metals are zinc and copper. The zinc is in the galvanization of the nail, and the penny is actually copper-plated zinc. The acid comes from the citric acid inside the lemon. The two metal components are electrodes, the parts of a battery where electrical current enters and leaves the battery. With a zinc and copper set-up, the current will flow out of the penny and into the nail. The electricity also passes through the acidic solution inside the lemon. Once the Fruit-Power Battery is connected to the LED, you create a complete circuit. As the electrical current passes through the LED, it lights the LED, and passes back through all of the lemons.
Egg In A Bottle (Passion Project - Science)
Titmaea & Max loved this experiment! They managed to push a boiled egg through the mouth of a small cream bottle - hands free! Here is the science behind the experiment - As the flame burns inside the bottle the air inside heats up, it moves faster (pressure increases) and takes up more space. Some of the air escapes from the bottle before the egg is placed on top. When the egg goes on, it starves the fire of oxygen and the flame will go out. When the flame goes out the air inside the bottle starts to cool down. The air particles move less (pressure reduced) and take up less space. The air pressure inside the bottle is now much less than the air pressure outside the bottle. The greater air pressure outside the bottle pushes the egg into the bottle where the air pressure is much less.
Separating Colour Pigments With Chalk (Passion Project - Science)
We decided to try out a basic form of Chromatography which is a technique used to separate components of a mixture. There are many different types of Chromatography. While some forms of Chromatography require expensive lab equipment, others can be performed using common household materials. We demonstrated this technique using chalk & vivid markers. We drew a ring of colour around each piece of chalk (about a quarter of the way up - from the bottom of the chalk stick) and we then placed the chalk (standing up) in a thin layer of pure alcohol. Within half an hour the chalk absorbed the alcohol & separated the colours from the vivid markers. Cool huh!
Rock Candy - Growing Crystals (Passion Project)
Rock candy is created through processes called crystallization and supersaturation. There is an excess amount of sugar in the sugar vs. water ratio, thus crystals form as the water gradually evaporates (turns from a liquid to a gas). The cool thing about rock candy is that the shape of the candy is actually the shape of the tiny individual sugar crystals magnified and is basically just many tiny sugar crystals grown together. Titmaea & Max's crystal are growing well & they are documenting progress. I'll keep you posted!
Natural Food Dyes (Passion Projects)
Ellie & Lulu wanted to test natural food dyes on fabric (cotton) to test which food would provide the strongest colour. We juiced beetroot, carrots, blueberries, lemons and red cabbage. We also decided to see if there was a difference between soaking fabric in pure juice vs applying heat (we heated the juice & cooked our fabric in it for 5 minutes). We discovered that beetroot & red cabbage were the clear winners, and we also discovered that applying heat gave us deeper colours. Ellie & Lulu are going to research the science behind their discoveries. Be sure to keep an eye on their blog for more detail!
Island Bay School Rubbish Audit
The Te whanau o nga Mahuri syndicate have been taking a close look at Land Changes this term, and as a part of this inquiry they took a really interesting trip to the Happy Valley Landfill to see how our waste is managed & treated. They came back with some fascinating facts & figures! Following on from that trip we decided to take a look at how Island Bay School manages waste & I asked Avie (our amazing caretaker) to collect playground rubbish over 3 days so we could take a look. The children came down to the hall and I placed our 3 days of rubbish on a large tarpaulin & then set about sorting it into piles. We discovered that plastic is by far the biggest contributor to our waste problem & the children suggested that we implement a recycling program - great idea! The children are now designing child friendly recycling stations & I can't wait to see what they come up with : )
Sedimentary Layers
As a part of their Land Changes inquiry we did an experiment involving gravel, fine sand, course sand & soil. We placed layers of each ingredient into large jars, we added water & shook it all up. It turned into a big muddy mess - but what we discovered later that afternoon was amazing! All of our earth ingredients had settled into sedimentary layers, which we could directly compare to what we see on planet earth! All of the children's jars are sitting in R8, do pop in & have a look & ask the children about them : )
We Built A Worm Farm!
This was a lot of fun! Alyson very kindly brought us a container of worms in moist soil & then we set about reading the instructions and building our worm farm. We placed layers of soil, sand, oatmeal & cut up banana peel in our box & then laid our worms on top. It now resides in R8 with Alyson, Thena & the children & we are having a lot of fun keeping an eye on them & we are tracking progress!
Live Examination - 2nd Colossal Squid @ Te Papa
Shanon's class & some of Jacqui's class joined me in the Learning Hub yesterday morning to witness the live examination of TePapa's second Colossal Squid & it was incredible! We learnt that the Colossal Squid is approximately between 400-500kg's in weight, it found close to Scott Base in Antartica, and that there are approximately 90 species of Squid in this area alone. We got a close up look at the Squids tentitcals and noticed hook & teeth within each of the suckers - fascinating! If you are interested, you can see a replay of the event here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yz_57uadUQ&t=6m57s
So all in all it has been a very busy time in The Learning Hub learning about Science in an interactive, inquisitive & fun way. There is a lot of really exciting passion project planning going on which I am really excited about. Currently we have Alex Hills (Parent @ IBS) coming in to talk to a group of children about Architecture, we have some subject matter experts in War History, Film & Photography lined up & I'm particularly excited about exploring Marine Biology with Bede. Keep an eye on this BLOG, I'll be sharing what we get up to!
Karin
Learning Hub Coordinator
Liquefaction
We did another round of re-creating liquefaction in the fish tank. It is always loads of fun building the sandy base, adding water & building our city. We give our city a good shake and the children get to see the damage that an earthquake (& aftershocks) can generate. I just love the collective "WOW - A-Ha" moments accompanied with much excitement & noise : )
Exploding Volcanoes
This experiment was SO much fun! We filled our small volcano mould with baking soda, dish washing detergent & food colouring. Then we added vinegar & witnessed our volcanoes exploding! It was a great opportunity to offer the children a hands on experience showcasing how a volcano actually erupts. We talked about lava chambers, lava, magma, craters, ash clouds & how volcanoes release carbon dioxide gases.
Salt Dough Volcanoes
I love it when parents come into the Learning Hub to work with me & help out! The lovely Rachel came in & helped me make salt dough ball for 25 children & throughout the morning the children came into the Learning Hub to create their own volcanoes using a "pinch-pot" technique. I was thrilled to see so much detail on their volcanoes which showing me that they had taken a lot of information on board! I then slow baked the volcanoes & the children painted + decorated them the next day - they look AMAZING!
Lava Lamps
The children LOVED this activity, especially when we added the vinegar as the last ingredient & the lava lamp turned on an impressive show for us. We discovered the Malt vinegar provides a much faster reaction than white vinegar. I'm so glad that we experimented with two different vinegar's, we made a discovery! We made lava lamps to demonstrate how lava behaves inside a volcano - fascinating : )
Floating / Sinking Rocks
Penny brought in a bucket of different rocks & worksheets for me to test with the children. We looked at 4 different rocks and made predictions as to whether they would sink or float. We discovered that pumice (a very light and porous volcanic rock formed when a gas-rich froth of glassy lava solidifies rapidly) was the only rock that floated! Finn - 7 y/o (& one of my volcano subject matter experts) told me that pumice is in fact the only rock in the world that can float on water!
Passion Project - Science Experiments
As a part of the Passion Project program in Bridget's syndicate (Victory Park) Titimaea and Max chose a series of Science experiments to do with me in the Learning Hub. Here is what we got up to;
Lemon fruit battery - Science
Batteries are comprised of two different metals suspended in an acidic solution. With the Fruit-Power Battery, the two metals are zinc and copper. The zinc is in the galvanization of the nail, and the penny is actually copper-plated zinc. The acid comes from the citric acid inside the lemon. The two metal components are electrodes, the parts of a battery where electrical current enters and leaves the battery. With a zinc and copper set-up, the current will flow out of the penny and into the nail. The electricity also passes through the acidic solution inside the lemon. Once the Fruit-Power Battery is connected to the LED, you create a complete circuit. As the electrical current passes through the LED, it lights the LED, and passes back through all of the lemons.
Egg In A Bottle (Passion Project - Science)
Titmaea & Max loved this experiment! They managed to push a boiled egg through the mouth of a small cream bottle - hands free! Here is the science behind the experiment - As the flame burns inside the bottle the air inside heats up, it moves faster (pressure increases) and takes up more space. Some of the air escapes from the bottle before the egg is placed on top. When the egg goes on, it starves the fire of oxygen and the flame will go out. When the flame goes out the air inside the bottle starts to cool down. The air particles move less (pressure reduced) and take up less space. The air pressure inside the bottle is now much less than the air pressure outside the bottle. The greater air pressure outside the bottle pushes the egg into the bottle where the air pressure is much less.
Separating Colour Pigments With Chalk (Passion Project - Science)
We decided to try out a basic form of Chromatography which is a technique used to separate components of a mixture. There are many different types of Chromatography. While some forms of Chromatography require expensive lab equipment, others can be performed using common household materials. We demonstrated this technique using chalk & vivid markers. We drew a ring of colour around each piece of chalk (about a quarter of the way up - from the bottom of the chalk stick) and we then placed the chalk (standing up) in a thin layer of pure alcohol. Within half an hour the chalk absorbed the alcohol & separated the colours from the vivid markers. Cool huh!
Rock Candy - Growing Crystals (Passion Project)
Rock candy is created through processes called crystallization and supersaturation. There is an excess amount of sugar in the sugar vs. water ratio, thus crystals form as the water gradually evaporates (turns from a liquid to a gas). The cool thing about rock candy is that the shape of the candy is actually the shape of the tiny individual sugar crystals magnified and is basically just many tiny sugar crystals grown together. Titmaea & Max's crystal are growing well & they are documenting progress. I'll keep you posted!
Natural Food Dyes (Passion Projects)
Ellie & Lulu wanted to test natural food dyes on fabric (cotton) to test which food would provide the strongest colour. We juiced beetroot, carrots, blueberries, lemons and red cabbage. We also decided to see if there was a difference between soaking fabric in pure juice vs applying heat (we heated the juice & cooked our fabric in it for 5 minutes). We discovered that beetroot & red cabbage were the clear winners, and we also discovered that applying heat gave us deeper colours. Ellie & Lulu are going to research the science behind their discoveries. Be sure to keep an eye on their blog for more detail!
Island Bay School Rubbish Audit
The Te whanau o nga Mahuri syndicate have been taking a close look at Land Changes this term, and as a part of this inquiry they took a really interesting trip to the Happy Valley Landfill to see how our waste is managed & treated. They came back with some fascinating facts & figures! Following on from that trip we decided to take a look at how Island Bay School manages waste & I asked Avie (our amazing caretaker) to collect playground rubbish over 3 days so we could take a look. The children came down to the hall and I placed our 3 days of rubbish on a large tarpaulin & then set about sorting it into piles. We discovered that plastic is by far the biggest contributor to our waste problem & the children suggested that we implement a recycling program - great idea! The children are now designing child friendly recycling stations & I can't wait to see what they come up with : )
Sedimentary Layers
As a part of their Land Changes inquiry we did an experiment involving gravel, fine sand, course sand & soil. We placed layers of each ingredient into large jars, we added water & shook it all up. It turned into a big muddy mess - but what we discovered later that afternoon was amazing! All of our earth ingredients had settled into sedimentary layers, which we could directly compare to what we see on planet earth! All of the children's jars are sitting in R8, do pop in & have a look & ask the children about them : )
We Built A Worm Farm!
This was a lot of fun! Alyson very kindly brought us a container of worms in moist soil & then we set about reading the instructions and building our worm farm. We placed layers of soil, sand, oatmeal & cut up banana peel in our box & then laid our worms on top. It now resides in R8 with Alyson, Thena & the children & we are having a lot of fun keeping an eye on them & we are tracking progress!
Live Examination - 2nd Colossal Squid @ Te Papa
Shanon's class & some of Jacqui's class joined me in the Learning Hub yesterday morning to witness the live examination of TePapa's second Colossal Squid & it was incredible! We learnt that the Colossal Squid is approximately between 400-500kg's in weight, it found close to Scott Base in Antartica, and that there are approximately 90 species of Squid in this area alone. We got a close up look at the Squids tentitcals and noticed hook & teeth within each of the suckers - fascinating! If you are interested, you can see a replay of the event here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yz_57uadUQ&t=6m57s
So all in all it has been a very busy time in The Learning Hub learning about Science in an interactive, inquisitive & fun way. There is a lot of really exciting passion project planning going on which I am really excited about. Currently we have Alex Hills (Parent @ IBS) coming in to talk to a group of children about Architecture, we have some subject matter experts in War History, Film & Photography lined up & I'm particularly excited about exploring Marine Biology with Bede. Keep an eye on this BLOG, I'll be sharing what we get up to!
Karin
Learning Hub Coordinator