Cardiac Stent Design Challenge

Polymer Challenge

Students learn about polymers and use the scientific method to test variables to make the bounciest Silly Putty Slime.

Engage

Do disappearing water in cup with polymer trick

talk about polymers and how sodium ions in diaper crystals attract water into the polymer

Explore

Make instant snow

1. extract sodium polyacrylate from two diapers
2. put in cup
3. add cup of water
4. stir to make instant snow

Demonstrate making Silly Putty Slime

Glue:BoraxINWater ratio of 1:1

demonstrate liquid properties by allowing to settle into a container

demonstrate solid properties by pulling and breaking slime

Elaborate

Challenge to Make Bouncier Silly Putty Slime (https://www.teachengineering.org/sprinkles/view/cub_creepysillyputty)

Provide

Each group needs:

• 4 plastic spoons
• 1 bottle of saturated Borax® solution
• 1 bottle/tube food coloring (any color)
• 1 bottle of water
• 1 bottle of 2:1 Elmer's® glue/water solution
• 4 plastic cups
• paper towels

For the class to share:

• 1 box of small plastic zipper bags

Procedure

Making Silly Putty - Instructions from https://www.teachengineering.org/sprinkles/view/cub_creepysillyputty

Instructor note: students make small batches of different mixtures to create a variety of putties. Do not hand out supplies until steps 4 and 5, listed below.

1. Show students the four ingredients they will be using for their putty: food coloring, water, Borax solution and glue solution. Tell them they only get one bottle of each ingredient, so they should use it wisely.
2. Tell students that each batch of putty they make should consist of exactly four spoons of liquid, the ingredients of which are distributed any way they choose. For example, they could try one spoon of glue, one spoon of Borax, and two spoons of water. Tell students they should use two drops of food coloring per batch.
3. Tell students that their goal is to make putty that is very elastic, but not super sticky. (Note: to describe "too sticky," tell students their putty should easily peel from the sides of the cup or even their hands. It should have a consistency similar to cookie dough that easily comes off of waxed paper, not peanut butter that must be scraped off.)
4. Pass out paper to each group. Instruct them to draw a line down the center of their papers and label the left side: Trials, and the right side, Results.
5. Inform students that the best way to mix the putty is as follows:

• Decide on a recipe to try consisting of four spoonfuls of available ingredients.
• Write down the recipe (the ingredient and the number of spoonfuls) they will be mixing on a blank piece of paper. Have students call their first recipe Trial 1 (followed by Trial 2, Trial 3, etc.)
• Put the two drops of food coloring and pre-selected amount of glue mixture that they determined they will use for each recipe/test into a plastic cup and mix well.
• Next, add water and mix well.
• Add the Borax mixture and mix until a solid forms.
• Scrape the solid off the spoon and put it back into the cup and mix thoroughly again three times. If liquid remains in the bottom of the cup after three mixes, take out the solid part and have them mix it with their hands until it is no longer wet.

6. Have students describe the silly putty consistency on their papers (under Results). Specifically, report on each batch's texture: too elastic, perfect, too sticky, etc.
7. Repeat steps with a new recipe. Wipe off and reuse the spoons, but get a new cup for each different recipe. They have a maximum of four recipe trials.
8. Have students try several recipes, again trying to create a putty that is elastic but not sticky.
9. Have students show their most elastic putty to the class, and have them describe their recipes.
10. If desired, offer zipper bags to students who wish to save their putty to take home. Remind them to "zip" their bags because the putty dries out quickly.

Evaluate

bounce putties and see which bounces highest.
ask where else polymers could be useful - self-watering plant soil, erosion control

Blood Typing Lab

Use Innovating Science ABO/Rh Blood Typing Kit (available from Amazon.com) or make your own artificial blood as described in http://www.scienceinschool.org/content/investigating-blood-types
 

Chemistry Science Club Ideas

Links to specific resources coming soon...

Scientific Method:

1. Observation
2. Research
3. Hypothesis
4. Experiment
5. Analysis
6. Conclusion
7. Write-up

Importance of Measurement

• Repeat measurements, find average, discuss differences
• metric S.I. units

Chemistry Skills and Concepts:

What is Matter?

• Atom, Molecule, Compound, Mixtures

Phases and Phase Changes.

• Solids, Liquids, Gases 
• Melting, Evaporating, Condensing, Freezing, Sublimating, Deposition (make icecream)
• non-Newtonian liquids

Ions and Salts

• test solutions for salts and identify anions and cations

Acid-base

• aging apples
• baking soda and vinegar
• bath bombs
• Red Cabbage indicator juice
• balloon over bottle with vinegar and baking soda
• penny cleaning
• mentos and diet coke
• egg-dye solutions
• acid rain - https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_earth_lesson5_activity2

Separation

• chromatography (t-shirt/sharpie, coffee filter/marker)
• density column
• based on electric charge (salt and pepper, hydrolysis )

Other

• elephant toothpaste (H2O2 with yeast)
• polymers (make slime, bouncy balls,  )
• kitchen science (make gummies, rock candy, fizzing sherbert, extract iron from cereal)
• buoyancy (predict if x will float)

DNA Extraction

Goals: 

Review what DNA is
Extract DNA from strawberries, bananas, blueberries, cheek cells
Compare DNAs

Background:

Technique: 

Use method described in:  Science Buddies Staff. "Do-It-Yourself DNA" Science Buddies. Science Buddies, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 6 Jan. 2017

Materials and Equipment 

• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Isopropyl rubbing alcohol, 70% (1/2 cup)
• Salt (1/2 tsp.)
• Water
• Dishwashing liquid (1 tbsp.); Liquid detergent you use for hand washing dishes (e.g., Dawn®)
• Glass or small bowl
• Cheesecloth
• Funnel
• Tall drinking glass
• Strawberries (3), bananas, blueberries,...
• Re-sealable plastic sandwich bag
• Test tube or small glass jar, e.g., spice jar or baby food jar
• Bamboo skewer or other thin rod. They are available at grocery stores. Alternatively, you can use a toothpick if your test tube or small glass jar is no taller than a toothpick.
• Lab notebook

Results: 

Compare DNAs in tubes

Use stirrer to put DNAs on labelled microscope slides - observe

Summary:

Review DNA structure, translation to protein, results of DNA comparison

Review technique fails and successes for next time

Hand out DNA extraction method printout

Electricity

Engage

https://www.youtube.com/v/ywHcssUjXD0?start=0&end=100

Lead with video of Bill Nye asking questions about electricity or ask what is electricity

Explore

Provide wires, battery, lamp, switch and challenge students to make the bulb glow

Discuss what worked and what didn't

Explain

Introduce idea of closed circuit, energy source (battery), electrons

Atoms

• basic building blocks of life and matter.
• exist in over a hundred different forms as chemical elements like hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and copper. 
• are tiny - a copper penny (if it actually were made of 100% copper) would have 32,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms of copper inside it.
• are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons with a center and surrounding the nucleus are a group of orbiting electrons.

• electron can escape orbit of the atom and become free. Free electrons allow us to move charge, which is what electricity is all about.
• Elements with very mobile electrons, are called conductors. These are the types of materials we want to use to make wires and other components which aid in electron flow. Metals like copper, silver, and gold are usually our top choices for good conductors.
• Elements with low conductivity are called insulators. Insulators serve a very important purpose: they prevent the flow of electrons. Popular insulators include glass, rubber, plastic, and air.

 https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/what-is-electricity

Model a Circuit

• have students line up in circle - hand each a potato
• label one person a battery, one a light
• ask them to pass the potatos around pretending they are electrons, lighting up the light

Explain that a circuit is a closed, never-ending loop of conductive material. conductive wire? components? NO insulating gaps. Electrons are not generated, just passed around.

Elaborate 

Make a flashlight to take home

http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Popsicle-Flashlight/step4/Add-the-LED-Enjoy/

http://www.energizer.com/science-center/how-to-make-a-flashlight

Need:

• 2 D cell batteries 
• Number 22 insulated copper bell wire 
• Cardboard tube (paper towel) cut to 5.125" in length 
• 3-volt flashlight bulb 
• 2 brass fasteners (brads) 
• Small cardboard piece for holding bulb 
• Paper clip 
• Electrical Tape 
• Bathroom-size paper cup

Demonstration: Make and Compare batteries

Potato Battery http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Potato-Battery vs.
Lemon Battery http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Battery-from-a-Lemon vs.
Range of household batteries

Need:

• batteries AA, AAA, C, D
• potatoes
• lemons
• LED light bulb
• galvanized nails
• pennies
• alligator clips
• voltmeter

Evaluate

Ask what would happen if light-bulb burns out?

Best Science Club Resources

I have been all over the internet looking for great ideas for Science Club topics. My requirements are that I can do experiments with the kids within 60 minutes, that there are several active components, and that we see something unusual: my children seem to have a high "awe" threshold.

These are my go-to websites:

http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/

This PBS Kids website has dozens of activities in topics of Chemistry, Engineering, The Five Senses, Forces, Life Science, Patterns, Sound, Structures, and Water. Activities take from 5 to 30 minutes . There are labelled activities that help the environment

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https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks

"An Exploratorium Snack is a hands-on science activity. Science Snacks are tabletop exhibits or explorations of natural phenomena that teachers or students can make using common, inexpensive, readily available materials.
Science Snacks are divided into easy-to-follow sections that include instructions, advice, and helpful hints. Each one begins with a photo and/or video, a short introduction, and a list of materials. Other sections include assembly instructions, how to use the activity, and explain what’s going on, science-wise. Most Science Snacks can be built by one person; we indicate if a partner or adult help is needed, this is indicated. A section called "Going Further" offers interesting bits of additional scientific and historic information."

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http://www.science-sparks.com/

Very nice website and blog with lots and lots of activities for younger pre-school to lower elementary school children.  More for one-on-one activities, but many can be scaled to small groups.

"Here at Science Sparks we are passionate about making science fun for kids. All our activities are easy to do and use only equipment and materials commonly found around the home. Science for kids doesn’t have to be complicated and boring, it can be great fun for both children and adults.
Science based activities offer endless creative learning opportunities and are a great way to spend time with your children. We’ve had some of our best chats while drawing on filter paper and making patterns in milk.
Science activities can also be fantastic for inspiring reluctant readers or children who like to be very hands on with their learning. Children are naturally curious and science activities are a great way to help them explore the world around them. Learning how to think logically and follow a scientific process has huge benefits to children as they grow up, helping them to plan, communicate, work creatively, solve problems and much more."

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http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/index.html

"Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword. These lesson plans and teaching materials support your STEM curriculum.
NASA Wavelength A digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels – from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs.
NASA Education YouTube Channel"

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https://www.teachengineering.org/

"The TeachEngineering digital library is a collaborative project between faculty, students and teachers associated with five founding partner universities, with National Science Foundation funding. The collection continues to grow and evolve with new additions submitted from more than 50 additional contributor organizations, a cadre of volunteer teacher and engineer reviewers, and feedback from teachers who use the curricula in their classrooms.
TeachEngineering is a searchable, web-based digital library collection populated with standards-based engineering curricula for use by K-12 teachers and engineering faculty to make applied science and math come alive through engineering design in K-12 settings. The TeachEngineering collection provides educators with *free* access to a growing curricular resource of activities, lessons, units and living labs."

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http://www.stemclubs.net/activity-categories/

• One-off activities are completed in one session. They are often highly engaging and can have a real wow factor.

• Short projects are any activity that takes club members two to three sessions to complete. Many of the shorter projects will include demonstrations or experiments that can be used as one-off activities.

• Long projects are activities that take half a term or more to complete and might be considered a long project. Completing a long project can be very rewarding, especially if there is an award or a prize involved.

Each activity is categorized as Science, Technology and Engineering, Maths, or Cross Curricular.