Ecosystem in a Bottle

pill bug photo: teacher.vbsd / fish photo: toledonative365

Create a 1 to 3 tier ecosystem using soda bottles!

Featured above:
3 bottle construction - Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska. Also check out Cranberry Corner.
Visit Annenberg Learner for activities to go along with your eco-column!

2 bottle construction - Legacy Owensboro

1 bottle - The Geo Exchange

Visit Bottle Biology for more ideas!
Check out NFBWA to see how to make a compost column!

FIZZ bombs

Explore the three states of matter by creating fizz bombs! Fizz bombs (aka bath bombs) are solid. You drop them in a bowl of water (liquid) and produce a bubbly, fizzing reaction (gas)! I, personally, wouldn't take a bath with one, but it makes a fantastic science experiment. The recipe comes from the Fitness Guru (click here for more detailed instructions).

materials:
1 cup citric acid
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup light canola oil
1/2 cup cornstarch
food coloring (optional)

1. mix dry ingredients
2. mix oil and food coloring in separate container
3. add wet to dry ingredients
4. find a mold to shape them (the fitness guru suggests plastic eggs)

Once dry, drop them in water - solid, liquid, gas!

Egg DROP!

Humpty Dumpty Project: Can you keep an egg from cracking? Kids use any materials they want to protect their egg from a giant free fall! They drop their protected eggs from a super high spot. Then, they examine their egg and see if it's still intact!

Featured above:
straws with paper propellers - Sun Pack
coffee filter, paper bowl, pie pan parachute - News Miner
balloon parachute - Virginia Tech Outreach Program
tp tubes/ bubble wrap and balloon exterior - My Science 8 

Design a Rock

This experiment is from National Geographic Kids' book Jump Into Science: Rocks and Minerals by Steve Tomecek! Kids create their very own sedimentary rock!

materials:
plastic cup (book says 7oz)
glue
1/2 cup sand
1/2 cup small pebbles

1. cover bottom of cup with sand
2. pour glue on top (so all sand is covered)
3. drop pebbles in a layer on top of glue
4. add glue (cover pebbles)
5. pour second layer of sand
6. another layer of glue
("cup should be half full")
7. let dry for a week or until glue is hard
8. peel cup away (cut with scissors)
("if some glue is still wet, wipe with damp paper towel")

Keep It Cool!

This experiment comes from Zoom! Kids are divided up into groups. Each group gets two ice cubes and two paper or plastic bowls to hold the cubes. They create a cube container for one of their ice cubes. The other cube will be exposed to the sunlight with no protection.

Cube Container: Kids use their creativity and construct some type of container that will keep their ice cube from melting in the hot sun. Who's cube will last the longest?! Compare the ice cubes that had no protection to the cubes that were placed in cube containers. Is there a difference?

materials:

2 bowls (for each cube to sit in)

1 shoebox

wax paper

foil

newspaper

masking tape

rubberbands

free choice - kids come up with a material they think will work!

Also, check out Popsicle Preservation!

Which Evaporates Faster?

3 containers:

A. soil with grass, weeds, or plants (fill with water to top of soil - don't drown plants)

B. soil - same amount of water as A

C. water

Weigh your containers. Then, place your containers in a sunny spot. Weigh each container once a day and examine any changes. Use a ruler and measure the water line along the side of each container. Use tape or a marker to show where the water line is and to compare day to day changes. Watch for at least one week. Visit Teach Engineering more details!

mini Pulley

materials:

empty thread spool

string

2 cups

pencil

tape

Kids construct a miniature pulley and discover how wheels can help reduce friction! Students keep one cup on the ground and have the other cup suspended in the air (both attached to the pulley). They place 20 pennies in the cup on the ground. Then, they place a few pennies at a time into the other cup. How many pennies are needed to raise the cup off the ground?

Then, they remove the thread spool. They place the string connecting the cups over the pencil. They do the same experiment above (20 pennies to one cup and add a few at a time to the other). How many pennies are needed to lift the cup off the ground?

 Kids "compare the number of pennies needed to raise the cup with and without the rotating spool." Visit Education.com for more details (experiment called SHOWTIME from Janice VanCleave's book Machines for kids)!

Construction:

tape two 6 inch pieces of string to a table

insert a pencil into an empty thread spool

attach the pencil to the hanging string

cut a long piece of string (depends on height of table) and attach to both cups

Kid Lever

Construct a lever that can be used as a balancing scale or a catapult!

materials:
4 plastic cups
ruler
straw
sturdy stick (could use a chopstick)
tape

1. Insert stick inside of straw
2. Tape straw to center of the ruler (back)
3. Tape ends of stick to bottom of 2 of your cups
4. (for balancing scale): tape the bottom of the other 2 cups to the the top of the ruler
PLAY!

You can compare objects' weight or catapult something! Check the experiment out over at Jameson's Lab!

Ramps, Angles, and Measuring

Integrate math and science by constructing ramps! Kids use blocks (or other materials on hand) to construct their ramps. Make sure all ramps are made with the same materials for accurate results. You will need to secure your ramps with duct tape.

Kids investigate how different angles can affect speed and distance of a ball!

Before you test out your ramps, have kids make a prediction. Which ramp do they think will make the ball go the farthest and the fastest? If you're working with older kids have them measure the angle of each of their ramps. Younger kids can compare their ramps by the number of blocks holding it up (example above: 5 blocks vs. 3). 

Have kids measure the distance produced by each ramp (standard or nonstandard - depending on age group). Which ramp helped the ball travel the farthest distance? Time the ball going down each ramp. Which ramp made the ball go the fastest? 

Swingers

Explore forces and motion by creating a simple machine to demonstrate energy transfer! This experiment comes from the Young Engineers' Club. Kids create two pendulums using string, modeling clay, and two chairs. Once they set up their pendulums, they experiment with energy transfer. One child holds one of the clay pendulums still, while another releases the other pendulum. When one pendulum is in swinging motion, the child releases the one next to it. What happens?! - kids will see that the pendulums will start swinging together! Energy from the first pendulum is transferred to the second one (through the string)! Visit the Young Engineers' Club for this experiment and more simple machine activities!

For another experiment that demonstrates energy transfer, check out BOUNCE!

Find Your Family

Place Value
Numerals - Pass out numbers and have kids find their family! (example above: members have 5 tens) Once they have all of their members, they line themselves up in order. Then, the whole class problem solves and works together to create one long line of numbers in the correct order. (You could also write numbers in expanded form.)

Word Families - example: all the -ops are members of a family (bop, cop, hop, mop, pop)

Fossil Sandwich

Investigate how fossils are formed by creating a fossil sandwich. Kids use bread to represent layers of sedimentary rock. They use books and their strength to represent heat and pressure! Then, they become mini archaeologists and extract their objects and examine the imprint left behind!

Visit Copetoons for Swedish Fish Fossil Instructions (above). This experiment demonstrates how rock keeps the shape of an animal if it hardens before the animal decomposes.

Check out Ice Age Life for creating a fossil sandwich using a variety of objects. This activity shows kids that some objects create a better print than others, just like real fossils!

Rocket Pinwheel

Explore Newton's Third Law of Motion by constructing a rocket pinwheel! Checkout this video from Monkey See Monkey Do here for complete instructions and the explanation behind this experiment!

materials: balloon, pencil, bendy straw, tape, and needle

Wind Powered Balloon Squid

Explore the power of air and wind energy by constructing a balloon squid to play with in the pool! Estimate the distance you think your squid can swim. Then, measure the actual distance he travelled. Build more than one and have a balloon squid race! Click here for how to instructions from Monkey See Monkey Do!

materials: balloon, snap top from water bottle, ribbon, sharpie

Click here to learn how to make an air powered balloon boat!

Lego MMMR

Hand each student a baggie of various Legos and explore mean, median, mode, and range!

Array Studs

1. Have kids classify bricks by number of studs.

2. Then, have them figure out the total number of studs for each group (ex:).

3. Once they have their numbers, they figure out the m,m,m,r.

Number of Bricks with Same Number of Studs

1. Kids classify bricks by number of studs.

2. Then, they count how many they have in each group (ex:).

3. Then, they figure out the m,m,m,r.

Lego Colors

You could also build Lego Towers and classify bricks by color. Then, have kids figure out the mean, median, mode, and range. Set a timer and have kids build the tallest tower they can before the time runs out! They take their tower apart and classify their bricks by color. Using their data (ex: 19 red,  10 blue, etc.), they figure out the m,m,m,r for their Lego colors.

World's Largest Lego Tower - photo via Read N Rock

Lego Stud Structure

You could also have students build towers with various studded Legos. The only rule is their structure must balance on its own. Students try to use as many bricks as possible! When the time is up, they take it apart and classify their bricks by the number of studs. Then, they figure out the m,m,m,r.

Grid Maths

Grid Maths is a great web 2.0 tool for kids to explore arrays, distributive property, fractions, least common multiple, area and perimeter, or simple counting online! Visit Quantblog (scroll down) and see all the different ways that your students can use this tool.

Initial Transformation

Explore different geometric transformations with kids' first initial. They decorate a square background and transform the first letter of their name (reflection, translation, or rotation)!

Fruit Roll Up Area/Perimeter

Have kids work in teams. Each group will need 1 box of fruit roll ups (10 snacks). Kids measure and figure out the area and perimeter of one fruit roll up. Then, they scoot a second one next to their first and find the area and perimeter of two snacks. They keep adding additional snacks, creating a large shape (finding the area and perimeter each time).

Magic 34

Amaze your friends with the Magic 34 trick! All you need is a grid with numbers 1 through 16. 

First, gather an audience and choose a volunteer. Next, say that you are a math mind reader and you can predict the sum of the four numbers they choose. Pretend to think, then, write the number down and put it in your pocket.

Directions:
1. Have them choose a number on the grid and circle it (any number).
2. Then, they cross off the numbers in the same row and column as the number they circled.
3. They keep choosing a number and crossing off the numbers in the same row and column, until they get 4 numbers.
5. They add their 4 numbers and you pull out the number (you wrote down) from your pocket. Is it 34?! 

Visit Learn With Math Games for the explanation behind this trick and for more math mind reading tricks!

Mother's Day Questionnaire

Kids answer questions about their mom and draw a "photo" of her in the frame. 

Cloud Pets

A cloud in your pocket from the Girl Scouts - SWAPS! Kids create their very own cotton ball cloud pet. Then, they race them!

The Mega Penny Project

The Mega Penny Project: explore value, weight, area, and the size of a stacked pile of lots of pennies!
Link for image above: one hundred million

So that's how you say...

I discovered this awesome tool from Love 2 Learn 2 Day! Kids will have a blast with the Big Number word calculator on Math Cats! They type in a super long number. Then, they learn how to say it! 

Mustache Ruler

Mustache Ruler (10 inches)
Measure objects with a giant mustache!

Spiral Triangles

Geometric Art: Create a spiral design using equilateral triangles! To create the design, start out with a large triangle. Then, cut out a triangle thats side is the same length of the large triangle's height. Paste the side of the triangle along the the center of the larger triangle, so it covers half of the large triangle. Keep on creating smaller triangles with sides that match the previous triangle's height to create a spiral!

Line Drawing: Polygon Investigator

Integrate math and art by creating a line drawing. Kids use a ruler and draw random lines on paper. Then, they become polygon investigators! They examine their artwork and color in polygons that have the same number of sides.

Lego Stud Die

Use with Lego Geometry (area / perimeter) and Lego Groups of (multiplication) at a math station! 

Kids take turns rolling the die

Lego Geometry: The child with the largest area wins!

Lego Groups of: The child with the largest product wins!

Save die to desktop and print

Magic Grow Capsule: Math / Science

Check out Flap Jack Educational Resources for a magical area activity with grow capsules! Kids find the area of their animal sponge. Then, they construct a habitat for it!

Also, check out Science Matters for how you can use grow capsules to explore the scientific method (water temperature and various liquids).

Then, visit Fall into First to see how they used magic grow capsules to inspire them to write an animal report!

Marshmallow Kebab Math

Fraction Kebab: Create a marshmallow kebab of fractions! Grab a bag of mini colored marshmallows and have kids stab them onto a wooden skewer. Then, they figure out the fraction for each color. Afterwards, make a graph to represent which color was the most popular.

Place Value Kebab: Don't tell your students what each marshmallow color is worth. Have them choose their marshmallow colors and stab them on their skewer. Then, write the value for each color on the board and have them figure out their number. Is their number even or odd? Who had the largest number? Whose number was the smallest? Did anyone have the same number?

For more marshmallow learning games, check out Marshmallows 101!

Note: You could substitute fruit for marshmallows for a healthier kebab

Map the Solar System

Cosmic Neighborhood (above) - Construct a scale model of the distances in the solar system with toilet paper: Astro Society / check out the site (here) for more playful lessons! They even have decoding an alien message!!!

If Earth Was The Size Of A Cherry Tomato - The Solar System with food or candy!

Hungry Caterpillar Food Rope

Print and cut out caterpillar life cycle and food shapes, punch holes in them (leaf and food), and have kids create a hungry caterpillar food rope! What did the hungry caterpillar eat first? Kids use clothespins (or simply lace), putting the food in order on a piece of yarn. 

Ten Frame Train

Explore ten frames and place value by creating a paper ten frame train. Kids construct a train out of construction paper. Then, they glue ten frames on the box cars, except for the caboose. They add "passengers" to each frame (sponge paint). Then, they figure out the number of passengers and write it on the caboose.

Dice Roll Division

This fun division game comes from Learn-With-Math-Games! Kids get 20-50 counters (or other manipulative: dried beans, cheerios, etc.). They roll (1 or 2) dice and divide the number of counters they have by the number the dice lands on. For example, there are 20 counters and the child rolls a 3, he creates three groups using his 20 counters. Whatever is leftover is the remainder. The child keeps what is leftover (2 counters). On a sheet of paper, he writes down the answer: 6 with a remainder of 2 (6 r 2). He has 18 counters left to play with. Then, the next person goes. If a player rolls a numeral that is bigger than the number of tokens left to divide, he loses his turn (ex: player has 4 tokens left and rolls a 6). The player can't create 6 groups using 4 tokens. 

Visit Learn-With-Math-Games for full instructions and division printables!