Here are a few great resources for students during Science Fair Project time.

1. The first is one put out by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control
2. Second, the resource I have been using in my classroom. I have used it in both 4th and 6th grade but it is easily adaptable to other grades!
   The workbook is broken up into parts. This makes the daunting task of turning in a giant Science Fair Project a lot more manageable.
   

In the end, the kids create amazing reports. This is definitely Common Core ready and aligned! It requires kids to read and comprehend non-fiction texts, form and write  opinions, use multiple sources to write a report and of course, revise and edit well structured reports with introductions and conclusions!

This activity is definitely an "adult supervision only" activity. It involves the use of a hot stove and handling hot liquid.

• A wooden skewer or thick string (you can also use a clean wooden chopstick)
• A clothespin(for the skewer) or pencil (for the string)
  
• 1 cup of water
• 2-3 cups of sugar
• A tall narrow glass or jar(a mason jar is perfect for this!)

To start set up the following:

1. Clip the wooden skewer into the clothespin so that it hangs inside the glass about 1 inch  from the bottom. If you are using the string and the pencil, tie the string to the pencil and place it over the glass. The string should hang inside of the glass, also about an inch from the bottom.
   
2. Remove the skewer and clothespin and put them aside for now. You will need this later!

After set up:

1. Pour 1 cup of water into a pan and bring it to boil.
2. Pour about 1/4 cup of sugar into the boiling water, stirring until it dissolves.
3. Begin to slowly add more sugar. Pour a little at a time and stir it dissolves. Keep adding sugar slowly until no more will disolve. (This is when the solution is fully saturated) This  will take time. Each time you add more sugar it will take longer for the sugar to dissolve each time. Have patience! Be sure you don't give up too soon.
   
4. Once no more sugar will dissolve, remove it from heat and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes.
5. While it is cooling dip half of the skewer in the sugar solution and then roll it in some sugar to help jump start the crystal growth. Be sure to let the skewer cool completely so that sugar crystals do not fall off when you place it back in the glass.
6. Carefully pour the sugar solution into the jar almost to the top. Then submerge the skewer back into the glass making sure that it is hanging straight down the middle without touching the sides.
7. Allow the jar to fully cool and put it someplace where it will not be disturbed.
8. Now just wait. The sugar crystals will grow over the next 3-7 days.

When you mixed the hot water and sugar you made a saturated solution.  A solution is saturated when the liquid holds as much of the compound dissolved in it as possible. In this type of solution, the molecules are constantly bumping into each other. As they do this, they sometimes stick to each other. In a saturated solution, the molecules bump into one another frequently because there are so many of them. This begins a crystallization process and is called nucleation. Once several molecules are already stuck together, they attract other molecules to join them. This is a very slow process that makes crystals grow.

As the water cools the sugar is forced out of the water solution. The skewer (and sometines the glass itself) gives the sugar something to grow on. With some luck and a whole lot of patience you will have a tasty scientific treat! Enjoy!

I am on an earth science kick these days. The summer has given me less time than expected to keep up with this blog, but I have been able to sift through some of my fun Earth Science resources! Here is one of my favorites- a hands on model of fault motion. I originally got the idea from a CalTech student who brought in a gigantic model showing fault motion. I adapted it for student use. Its great fun! Hope you enjoy!

You will need a fault line template for this. It is a trapezoidal prism- each side matches up at a slant to demonstrate plate movement. a trapezoidal prism is pretty crucial to this activity. A simple cube doesn't give as good of a visual.

The top of the box is decorated by students to show the earth's surface. Below the surface are three different layers of the crust. This bit is crucial to show what happens when plate move and how geologists are able to study plate movement based on how the layers are mismatched on each side of the fault. You can take this activity pretty far! Have students show strike slip and dip slip motion with their models. Have them observe and take notes as the go along. I love this activity!

Materials:

• A packet of yeast (available in the grocery store)
• A small, clean, clear, plastic soda bottle (16 oz. or smaller)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• Some warm water
• A small balloon

Instructions:

1. Fill the bottle up with about one inch of warm water.
( When yeast is cold or dry the micro organisms are resting.)

2. Add all of the yeast packet and gently swirl the bottle a few seconds.
(As the yeast dissolves, it becomes active - it comes to life! Don't bother looking for movement, yeast is a microscopic fungus organism. We will observe the yeast under the microscopes later.)

3. Add the sugar and swirl it around some more.
Like people, yeast needs energy (food) to be active, so we will give it sugar. Now the yeast is "eating!"

4. Blow up the balloon a few times to stretch it out then place the neck of the balloon over the neck of the bottle.

5. Let the bottle sit in a warm place for about 20 minutes
If all goes well the balloon will begin to inflate!

As the yeast eats the sugar, it releases a gas called carbon dioxide. The gas fills the bottle and then blows up the balloon as more gas is created. The more the yeast eats, the more gas it creates and the bigger the balloon gets!

Believe it or not, yeast is actually living microorganisms! When bread is made, the yeast becomes spread out in flour. Each bit of yeast makes tiny gas bubbles and that puts millions of bubbles (holes) in our bread before it gets baked. So essential, the bubbles in your bread are waste from microscopic organisms called yeast! Yum?

Questions to investigate:

1. Does  temperature affect how much gas is created by the yeast?
2. What "yeast food" helps the yeast create the most gas? (try sugar, syrup, honey, etc.)

Alright, the day I was assigned a 6th grade Earth Science teaching position was admittedly not my favorite day. I LOVE science, but as a kid earth science bored me to tears. Three years later, I have to say it is my favorite thing to teach (and study!)



Making earth science fun for kids isn't hard. Here is one of my favorite lessons, a Transform Boundary in action using Legos and Play-Doh - what kid wouldn't love this?!



Here is what you will need:

1. A Legos Building Plate
2. Long bricks (1x_) any length will do. Mix and match is part of the joy of building with Legos!
3. Flat tiles (1x_)
4. Flat Plates- These should be long and wide. The wil be the base of each side of the plate boundary.
5. Play-doh

Below are some examples of what I used. Please note: I dumped out an old box of old Legos and played a fun game of mix and match. I am sure you could do this by carefully purchasing pieces but, what's the fun in that? :)

Step 1: Building the Plates
Next up, build each side of the earth's crust on either side of the plate boundary. It is best to have two layers of the flat plate Lego pieces for this. You will want a sturdy base. You will also need your 1x_ bricks to act as a track for the sliding plate.

Step 2: Build Your Track
Next, you need to put a track on the building plate. Use the Plates built in the step above to measure where the tracks need to be placed. For the tracks you will need 1x_ bricks and flat tiles. The flat tiles are needed to make the track slide smoothly. You can do this with out them if absolutely needed but the track will get stuck. Make the track slightly longer than your Plates

All done! Push different colors of Play Dough on top of the Plates and watch the movement!

This is a classic fun experiment- watch your plants grow! Using a plastic bag, you can watch a plant grow, allowing for close examination of the root system!

Materials

• three seeds -- corn, bean and radish 
  
• Piece of cardstock or light cardboard
• ziploc bag
  
• paper towel
• tape
• water
• 2 to 4 weeks of experiment time

Directions

1. Fold the paper towel in half and crease.  Unfold.  Poke three very small holes, equally spaced, along the fold of the paper towel Place the seeds over top of the holes (one over each hole).
2. Fold the paper towel back up and staple up the side (to make a pouch).
3. Label the top of the paper towel (bean, corn and radish)
4. Carefully place the paper towel (fold side down, so the seeds don't fall out) into the ziploc bag.
5. Tape the ziploc bag onto the piece of card stock, leaving the top open.  Tape as firmly as possible.
6. Pour a small amount of water into the bag (the paper towel should end up damp)  Do not close the bag  
7. Hang your experiment on the wall in a bright location

Directions - Maintenance:

• Each morning, check the experiment.  Pour more water in to keep the paper towel moist.
• Peek inside the ziploc bag/paper towel to see what the seed is doing
• The seed should break open.  The roots should grow down through the small hole you poked in the paper towel.