Washington-Caldwell Elementary student experiment at science night
Washington-Caldwell students donned lab coats and safety goggles March 7 during experiments at the school’s Science Exploratory Night, one of the many learning activities held during the school’s recent Turn Off the TV Week.
Science teacher Kelly Hanson called the after-school activity a big hit, “with lots of gross and fun, hands-on experiments.”
Some were even edible.
Parent Todd Bluhm showed students how to make DNA out of candy, giving kids the chance at creating the most delectable double helices.
“We also made lava lamps using oil, water and Alka-Seltzer tabs that students really enjoyed, especially when we dimmed the lights and shone a flash light on them,” Hanson said.
Another favorite among the young scientists was making batches of oozing goo.
“A little cornstarch and water go a long way when combined with the imagination,” Hanson said of the ever-popular non-Newtonian concoction.
For anyone who wished to dive into an anatomy lesson, Hanson offered up a human body and brain model for dissection, then threw in a couple of experiments that examined how water works with weight displacement and surface tension.
Others discovered how electrical currents travel, with the simple touch of the plasma ball. A scavenger hunt that used iPads and QR codes (those odd-looking scan codes that all of a sudden are ubiquitous) kept students’ minds going as well.
“A big thank you to the parents and volunteers who helped make Science Exploratory Night such a cool and fun evening. We couldn’t have had so much fun and learning without you,” Hanson said.
A final fun activity challenged students to guess how many molecules were inside a jar. The three students with a guess closest to 3,502 are
Nathan Fischer, Jonathon Forkner and Payton Peterson.
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