CA-Science5

Candy Houses!

2012-01-26T14:56:00.001-05:00

I decided to sit this one out and let the kids take complete control. While our final "house" did not turn out the way we wanted it to look, they had a fantastic time. No arguing, no bossing around, just everyone pitching in, laughing, smiling, and really enjoying themselves. Our days here can be so fast-paced and hectic, so this was a lot of fun for me to see them do this.

Surface currents

2012-01-23T13:08:00.000-05:00

Last week we worked with surface currents. We placed clay landforms on a plastic plate, added water and cinnamon, and then blew through a straw to see how the currents moved. Below is a brief video showing surface currents, and then pictures afterwards of different sections doing the activity.

MS Open House

2012-01-12T10:30:00.006-05:00

Thank you parents for coming in this past Monday to the MS Open House (and for sending in your pictures)! We started off mapping the Atlantic Ocean floor, but the real fun began when we used Steve Spangler's Windbags to show the Bernoulli Effect (fast moving air is surrounded by an area of low air pressure). Enjoy the pictures!

Oceans

2012-01-04T13:22:00.007-05:00

I thought it might be a good idea to start up the Fifth grade Science blog again, so here goes.

We are currently studying oceans. Here are some pictures from what we have done the last two days.

Aylah and Peter are examining the samples after the water evaporated. Sample A left behind calcium deposits, while Sample B left behind salt crystals.

Sidney and Robby are experimenting with a hydrometer made out of half a pencil and a thumbtack. They were trying to get the hydrometer to have a reading of at least one. To do this, they added salt, to make the water denser, and make (hopefully) the hydrometer float.

Madalynn and Will are plotting coordinates on a graph. Eventually, this will show a profile of the geographic features of the Atlantic Ocean seafloor.