It can be
It was wonderful to see Papa John’s at school today supporting our Learning Garden by sponsoring the Pizza Garden section. This part of the garden also includes a banana patch — a small edible garden conveniently located near the cafeteria. Additional vegetables have been growing wonderfully over near the West Wing - peas, tomatoes, cabbages, zucchini (prized for their delicious flowers), okra, cucumber, and salad greens. Come visit our garden - The Learning Garden 2009!
Please go to http://www.nbcgreenerfuturecontest.com/ and vote for the Sci-Tech club’s recycle bin - it is the one with my name that looks like a “inspector” with an Earth head. One vote per email/per day for the week (now through April 20)….so please VOTE OFTEN!!!!
Happy Spring!
The science lab is currently featured on the BECON TV show Broward School Beat broadcast often until mid-April on Channel 19 cable and Channel 63 DirectTV/Dish/U-verse. Several classes were filmed doing experiments and making movies back in December. The schedule is available at becon.tv.
Welcome kindergartners and first graders to Science Lab special!
Kindergartners are exploring the effects of force using marble racetracks and roller coasters. Practice building your roller coaster here: Roller Coaster Design
First graders are investigating sound waves and how they travel through air.
Second graders are the tree detectives - reading a trees history from a “tree cookie” and learning about leaf structure and function (photosynthesis and transpiration). Try out these TREE activities at home: Tree Games
Third graders are continuing their speed investigation using gravity and friction with Hot Wheels raceways and radar detectors.
Fourth graders are wrapping up their sunscreen experiments and bringing home ultraviolet light detecting cards and beads to use in at-home experimentation. Learn how to be a Sunwise Kid!
Next, fourth graders will be modeling seed adaptations and trying to create a seed that can travel by wind. Watch a video about the “Seedy Side of Plants”
or watch The Private Life of Plants here:
Fifth graders did a superb job preparing for their science FCAT and are now studying racetrack physics using wind-up Darda cars, raceways and loops.
There are a plethora of links on the right side of every page. They are sorted by topic, listed alphabetically, and then alphabetical within each category. EXPLORE!
Some specific activities to accompany our laboratory activities:
2nd grade:
3rd grade:
Insulators and Conductors Review
4th grade: Visit the Earth and Space game –>
5th grade: FINISH FCAT Explorer: Go to www.fcatexplorer.com and finish Science Station and be entered to win a great prize!
Happy New Year to all. A brief update on what is going on in Science Lab as we start up again after a very relaxing winter break. I went with my family to eastern North Carolina and we got a chance to learn about flight at the Wright Brothers Memorial.
First of all, we missed an important holiday when we were on break. I hope you all enjoyed and celebrated the Winter Solstice. The amount of daylight will be getting longer now until we get to the Summer Solstice in June. For those of you that read this post and tell me “Happy Winter Solstice” will get bonus “Super Scientist Tickets” for the next raffle (2nd quarter raffle is on January 15th)!
Second graders can look forward to finishing up fingerprinting and microscope skills. We will then get down and dirty and explore soil and seeds using our microscopes. Try a virtual microsope!
Third graders will be finishing up energy transfer and solving the mystery of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They will then explore simple machines for making work easier - something we can all use. Have fun with machines at edheads.com!
Fourth graders will be taking a virtual field trip to the far reaches of the universe as we explore Earth’s place in space! Take a preview of our journey!
Fifth graders have brought home (or will very shortly) copies of their EXCELLENT Academy Award worthy Natural Disaster videos on DVD. I really enjoyed watching all of them and learned something about you and the science behind the disasters. Our next projects will be shorter but just as much fun. We will be transforming energy many ways. Visit FPL to learn about Green Energy solutions for our future!
That’s all for now — Keep Wondering and Exploring…. next post will be about places that are great family science field trips in our local environment — send me suggestions by clicking “comments”.
Second and third graders have used their detective skills to identify a mystery liquid and reveal a secret message using red cabbage. This experiment is available as a virtual activity online at the ZOOM website. To create your own “invisible ink” write with a cotton-swab using a solution of baking soda and water as your ink. Let it dry and rub with a red (purple) cabbage leaf to reveal the secret message!
Second graders are beginning their investigations of Earth’s place in space using the laptop computers. Day and night cycles and moon phases will be investigated. Have a look at online moon phase activities here at Harcourt School and here.
Third graders will be studying energy transfer with computer connected temperature probes to study the Goldilocks Mystery - answering the question of “How can Mama Bear’s porridge be too cold while Baby Bear’s is just right?”. Practice your heat energy vocabulary with a fun game at NASA and at Harcourt School. Refresh your memory on insulators and conductors with this fun game
Fourth graders have finished mineral identification in time for their gem dig - using physical properties as clues to the identity of the mystery minerals. Now they are embarking on a journey through the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades watershed system to investigate the mystery of the swamp. Take a virtual visit by clicking here.
Fifth grade is applying the concepts of physical and chemical changes to processes that shape the Earth. They are investigating how sinkholes form and then will complete video research projects on a series of natural disasters. Check out some informative videos from National Geographic here.
Did you know there are TONS of great science websites you can visit that reinforce what we do in science lab? I’ve listed and sorted them into categories on the right side of the page. If you know of some I missed, please send them to me in a COMMENT (just click on the word COMMENTS) or an email to info@sleuthacademy.org.
Here are some that really go with our lessons:
5th grade: Got mass, volume and density all figured out? Test your knowledge at www.fcatexplorer.com using the Sign-in name and password handed out in lab and go to SCIENCE STATION - ROBOSHOP section.
4th grade: Try out all the mineral activities at Mineralogy for Kids. Try out the games and practice your mineral identification skills.
2nd and 3rd graders: Get a CLUE — find out more about the scientists our tables are named after by looking at all the great CSI sites listed on the right side of the page.
Sleuth Academy will be the laboratory responsible for solving many mysteries as part of our school theme of Creative Student Investigators: Eagle Point Explores or CSI:EPE for short. Our teams this year are named for fantastic forensic scientists. Have a look at the new category of great website links on the right side of the page called CSI. Here you can find out about the scientist your team is named for and solve some online cases. The 6 super-sleuths teams are named for are …
Dr. Henry Lee - The crime-solver of all the big cases around the world!
Sir Francis Galton - The scientist that figured out fingerprints can be used for crime solving.
James Watson and Francis Crick - The team of scientists that discovered the structure of DNA.
Sir Alec Jeffreys - The scientist that figured out that DNA analysis could be used to identify a person and solve a crime.
Dr. Diane France - A true ‘Bone Detective’ or forensic anthropologist. When a potential crime scene involves just a bone or two they call Dr. France and she can piece together the puzzle.
Robert Hooke - One of the inventors of the microscope - helping us see where no eyes could see before!
I am looking forward to a fun-filled exciting year of mystery and crime-solving!
We are finishing up several projects in Science Lab and in order to finish by the last day of school (June 5) please turn in the following as soon as possible:
By May 20 — 2nd - 5th graders please turn in your bird detective checklist (signed/initialed by a parent). Don’t forget to print your first and last name and teacher on the cover. If you lost your checklist and you still want to participate in the Jr. Birder program you can download another copy of the booklet here: Wings over Florida - Jr. Birder Checklist
By May 22 – 3rd graders - please e-mail a photo of you and your cabbage to info@sleuthacademy.org (or bring in a print or disk). Don’t forget to include your first and last name and your teacher name. Look here for example photos.
5th graders have been learning how to use iMovie and video camcorders to create video podcasts. A couple of classes might not finish, but I hope you will continue to use what you learned in middle school and beyond.
Kindergarten and 1st graders are finishing up the year learning how to use some science tools.
All students will be bringing home a copy of Celebrating Chemistry complements of the American Chemical Society. There are great activities in there to do at home this summer. Continue to visit sleuthacademy.org over the summer for updates and sneak peaks for the 2008-09 school year! Have a great summer of exploration!
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