Can I tell you how surprised I was that one of our Armstrongs had watched the 1985 cult classic with Anthony Michael Hall “Weird Science”? I didn’t even feel like I could show the theme song video made by the band Oingo Boingo. I told this student that it was entirely inappropriate for him to have seen the movie and that he should talk to me about it in 7-10 years. (Maybe that is not my call to make, but I mean, geez!! “Give me the keys, I’ll drive….”) Meanwhile, every time I say the theme of the week, I hear the music in my head.
We have had two days of awesome fun with these experiments! Who doesn’t love cutting up a bar of Ivory soap and putting it in the microwave?!?! It is the strangest feeling stuff ever. All the water dries out of it and that is what makes it expand; the particles just separate and you get this dry, but slick, sort of cotton candy weirdness in your hand.
Raisins dancing in soda, paperclips floating on a piece of paper in water, exhibiting the heaviness of water and the principles(? is this the correct kind of principle? the auto-editor thinks so) of surface tension. Then we got to the milk and cream explosions with Dawn detergent and Ms. Bruder, 2nd grade teacher extraordinaire, came in to put something in the fridge and stayed to see the experiment through to the end. She then came back with her class iPad to take photos when we did it again with different groups. Fats and proteins vary in whole milk, heavy cream and half n half. Way cool.
I heard that the Cousteaus were painting with shaving cream, glue and paint today. I saw the evidence on the cheek of my smiling first grader. And somewhere the Magellans were knee-deep in their own experiments with different slimes, glucks and other sticky substances.
Tomorrow, the Cousteaus are making lava lamps with small bottles of water. and then in the 4:30 hour, we will BE the lava lamps. Oil and water. I want to be oil. The Surgeon General has declared that we all need to embrace the Mediterranean diet and it is heavy in olive oil. Why not start tomorrow?
Pics are already up on our Facebook page, so you can check them out there. If you don’t ‘LIKE’ our page yet, what are you waiting for?! go do it now and get a look at that crazy soap.
Other goings on this week-Friday is a Professional Development Day for teachers. That means BI is open all day, 8:00-5:30.
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