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Self-Inflating Balloons
Hang out with Roy and Rachael to make self-inflating balloons. Put on your chemistry hats because this reaction will make excess carbon dioxide that makes it look like you can create your own air by magic!
Materials
1 Pair of Safety Glasses
1 Empty Water Bottle (16.9 FL Oz)
1 Balloon
Food Coloring (optional)
½ Cup Vinegar
½ Tsp Baking Soda
1 Funnel
1 Paper Towel
Engineering Notebook questions
What was produced when we combined vinegar and baking soda to blow up the balloon?
Today we used vinegar and baking soda. Which one is an acid and which one is a base?
Simple Machines
You can find simple machines everywhere you look, but what are they? Vickie and Sarah will show you the 7 simple machines and then help you build your own catapult. Plus, as a bonus, you will get to see a trebuchet in action!
Materials
10 Popsicle sticks
4 Small rubber bands
A plastic spoon
Mini pom poms
A target - optional
Engineering Notebook questions
Can you think of some other uses of a lever besides a catapult or a trebuchet?
What are some other examples of simple machines that you can think of?
DIY Ice Cream
Rachael and Sarah discuss the three states of matter! They combined ingredients to make ice cream, but it was still liquid. By the power of the ice and salt, they were able to make solid ice cream and boy, was it delicious!
Materials
1 Cup milk - dairy or plant-based
0.5 Tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp sugar
Ice
¼ Cup salt (Ice cream salt or rock salt work best, but can also use table salt)
Ziploc bags - 2 sandwich, 1 gallon
Gloves to protect your hands (winter gloves or oven mitts work well)
Notes: This activity’s materials are for one person. Multiply the materials by the number of people who want ice cream. If the ice cream is not solidifying try adding more ice and salt to the outside bag and agitating the bags. It can take up to 20 minutes to solidify the ice cream.
Engineering Notebook question
What were the two states of matter our ice cream went through?
Tinfoil Boats
Hannah and Kait create some awesome boats and learn which one could hold more pennies due to having more surface area and buoyancy. Surface area is the amount of the boat’s surface that touches the water and buoyancy is the force holding the boat above water.
Materials
Tin foil
Scissors
Pennies
Water
A place to float your boat!
Engineering Notebook Questions
Do you think a boat with more surface area or less surface area would hold more pennies?
What do you think would happen if you stack all of the pennies in one pile on your boat?
Coding with Legos
Learn how to code with Legos! Rachael and Miss Southwest, Sierra, shows us how we can write secret messages and create keys using a bunch of different Legos. It is surprising how easily we can code just like computers!
More Full STEAM Ahead content!
Materials
At least 30 varieties of shape/color/size Legos
1 large “background building” piece Lego
1 smaller building panel Lego (usually 3x5 inches)
2-3 sheets of paper
Writing utensils
1 pair of scissors
Notes: You can use any collection of small things, including or not including Legos, that have many identical pieces to recreate this activity.
Engineering Notebook Questions
Would it be hard to translate a secret code without the key?
What does the other secret message from the video say?
Marker Chromatography
Minisa and Shaina use chromatography to deeper look at what colors are combined to create various colored markers. Chromatography is a process that scientists can use to separate a liquid mixture into individual components.
Materials
Coffee filter (or paper towel)
Clear glass
Scissors
Black water-based marker (Crayola washable, RoseArt, Rainbow, or Mr. Sketch work best)
Water
Tape
Other markers (optional)
Engineering Notebook question
What colors do you think a blue marker would separate into?
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