Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 4, Water and Weather (1st – 2nd)
I hope that you had a wonderful Thursday because we sure did! It happened! The moment students realize they can think critically and make modifications/changes to improve engineering design made my day! Oh yes, students were in high gear today!
We started by measuring how much water had evaporated from the cups in the classroom we had left for this purpose. Each day, we are measuring in millimeters how much has evaporated since yesterday. Ask them to tell you how much they have lost so far and how much they are losing each day to evaporation! We have also realized that the position of the cups in the window may make a difference! Ask them what they hypothesize about that!
Next, we did our final testing on our filter designs. The most successful ones used sand, rocks, a coffee filter, and cheesecloth after multiple tests. Some felt the cotton balls were really effective, but I am not sure if that is because they absorbed so much or if they actually filtered. Ask your child what they used for theirs!
We learned about buoyancy and how boats displace the amount of water they take up. The challenge for them was to create a boat using only aluminum foil, paper clips, tape, and a rubber band (they didn’t have to use all) after they tested whether they all floated. They then designed, redesigned, tested, and redesigned (you get the picture) until they were able to not only create a boat that floats, but that can also hold coins. Our winner was able to hold 20 quarters in his boat!! The girls and boys that came in top place after that were able to hold at least 10 quarters. They really enjoyed it!
We reviewed the three states of matter for water and started learning about snow, sleet, freezing rain, and how the temperature of water can affect the weather. Tomorrow, we will be learning more about weather, and we will have some more great engineering challenges for them! The next time they go swimming or get on a boat, talk to them about why they are buoyant, and what other things are buoyant, and note the different designs and materials.
Have a great night!
Dr. Mall