Christmas Science Day
Yellow
team
(Jane)
Green
team
(Nat)
Blue team
(Amanda)
Red
team
(Sam)
Introduction in the gym
12:1012:20
12:2012:40
12:401:00
1:00-1:20
1:20-1:40
1:40-2:00
2:00-2:10
Purple
team
(Karine)
Jane
Karine
Nat
Amanda
Sam
Karine
Nat
Amanda
Sam
Jane
Nat
Amanda
Sam
Amanda
Sam
Jane
Sam
Jane
Karine
Jane
Karine
Nat
Wrap up in the gym
Karine
Nat
Amanda
Racing Santa's Sleigh (Forces and Motion)
Materials: (per team)
Sleigh template
Scissors
Balloon
Straw
Clothespin
Materials: (for all)
Balloon pump
Race track (piece of string tied
across the room)
Tape
Teacher Instructions:
1) Split students up into groups of 3. (1 young, 1 medium, 1 older).
2) Show students the model.
3) Read challenge
“Your challenge is to use what you know about forces and motion to help
Santa propel his sleigh forward in a blizzard. You will need to design the set
up of balloons to move your sleigh the farthest on the track.”
4) Students build and then test.
5) Explain why it works (see below).
Student Directions:
1) Cut out the sleigh picture. Decorate.
2) Cut a long slit in the straw (lengthwise).
3) Use the balloon pump to pump up balloons. (MAXIMUM OF 3 per
team). DON’T TIE IT CLOSED. Secure the opening with a
clothespin.
4) Tape your sleigh and balloons to the straw so that the straw can sit on
the long piece of string.
5) Open the slit in the straw onto the string.
6) Remove the clothespins all at once and let your sleigh fly!
7) Measure the distance your sleigh flew. Compare to the other teams.
Science Explained:
The air is trapped inside the balloon when the balloon is tied but then as the
balloon is opened, all of the air inside the balloon wants to get out the
opening at the same time. This creates an equal and opposite reaction as the
air inside the balloon pushes against the air outside the balloon. This propels
the balloon forwards. This demonstrates Newton’s Third law; “For every
action, there is an opposite and equal reaction."
Snow Globes- Water vs. Oil (Density)
Materials: (per team)
Materials: (for all)
1 Jar
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
1 tbsp of baby oil
“Snow”
Decorations
Teacher Instructions:
1) Have students sit at glue gun pods.
2) Show students snow globe. Ask what do you think makes the snow
fall slowly?
3) Explain to students how to build snow globes.
4) Build.
5) Discuss why the snow falls slower in oil than water. (See explanation)
Student Directions:
1) Pick one plastic figurine. Hot glue gun it to the lid of your jar so that it
is inside your jar. Let dry for 2 minutes.
2) Add 1 tbsp of “snow” to your jar.
3) Add some water to your jar (not full)
4) Close jar. Shake.
5) Time the snow falling to the ground.
6) Add 1 tbsp of baby oil.
7) Close jar. Shake.
8) Time the snow falling to the ground.
Science Explained:
The water is all the same density so the snow falls through the water at the
same time. The oil is denser (thicker) than the water and causes the snow to
fall more slowly.
Ivory Soap Experiment (Gas/Charles’ Law)
Materials: (per team)
Bar of ivory soap
Paper towel
Materials: (for all)
Bowl
Microwave
*Classroom with a sink to wash
hands after
Teacher Directions:
1) Pass around bars of ivory soap. What do you see? (Students might
comment on attributes of soap, ex: color, thickness, weight, etc.)
2) Put a bar of ivory soap in the microwave on a paper towel. (Heat on
high for 2 minutes)
3) The soap will melt and puff up.
4) Discuss how the air bubbles inside expand and make the soap expand.
5) Take the soap out, let it cool for approximately 1 minute.
6) Hand out handfuls of soap for students to explore.
7) Explain why it works. (See below).
Student Directions:
Explore the soap. See how it feels, moves, smells, etc.
Science Explained:
Ivory soap is pumped full of air in the design process. You cannot see the air
bubbles but inside there are little bubbles of air. This helps the soap to float
instead of sink in your bathtub. Inside the air bubbles are trapped little bits of
water. When you heat up the soap, the water molecules move quickly away
from each other. The water expands just like when it freezes in the cracks of
the sidewalk. This causes the soap to expand into the big, frothy bubbles you
are playing with.
Charles’ law states that as a gas expands, so does it’s volume.
Melting Race (Heat and Energy)
Materials: (per team)
Ice cube per person
Materials: (for all)
Various materials
Teacher Directions:
1) Give each student an ice cube.
2) Pose to them the challenge
“Use what knowledge you know about heat to melt an ice cube. We will all
start at the same time, and race to melt our ice cube first. You can use any
part of your body but you are not allowed to leave this room.”
3) Race to melt your ice cube fastest.
4) Discuss what strategies you used to melt your ice cube. Explain why
things worked/didn’t work. (See below).
Science Explained:
The heat of your body helped to melt the ice cube. The more concentrated
the heat is, the quicker the ice will melt. For example, if you have only 1
side of the ice cube touching your hand then only 1 side will melt. But if you
surround the ice cube with heat (ex: by putting it in your armpit) then it will
melt much faster as it is melting from all sides.
Density of Snow vs. Water
Materials (per team)
-1 cup
-
Materials (for all)
- Snow
Directions:
1)
Science Explained:
Density measures how tight an object is. Dense objects have less empty space in them.
They have less holes in them.
If you are outside in the snow and you make a snowball that is the size of a soccer ball
then it is somewhat dense but there are little holes inside. If you don’t add more snow but
keep squashing the snow until it is the size of a baseball then it will be more dense. This
is because the same amount of snow takes up less snow. To increase the density, you
decrease the amount of space it takes up but keep everything else the same.
Have you ever had ice water before? If you have, you'll probably remember that the ice
cubes float in water. That's because ice is less dense than water. When you freeze water
to make ice, the water expands and takes up more space. So a piece of ice has more
volume than the same amount of water. Since ice has more volume for the same amount
of stuff it makes sense that it is less dense than water and floats!