COLD

The cold snap that hit most of the US was miserable.  We stayed home for a week, curled up in blankets with hot tea and hot chocolate.  But to have a little science fun, we took one of the coldest days and sprinkled some boiling water on it.  It was 12* with the wind chill putting us in the negatives.

When you toss the water into the air, it creates a larger surface area, turning the water into small droplets.  If it's cold enough, the droplets freeze, turning them into a cloud of crystals before hitting the ground.  Pretty cool, huh?

One way to blow up a balloon...

Cody and I were looking through one of our science books, and decided to do one of the experiments. It's a super easy one but it gave us an opportunity to discuss chemical reactions and...ya know...anything that's fizzy is fun! :)

What you need:
baking soda
balloon
funnel
vinegar
bottle

Pour vinegar in the bottle, about half an inch deep.

Using the funnel, put two teaspoons of baking soda into the balloon.
Or use a piece of paper rolled up if your funnel happens to be in your son's moon sand in his closet.

Stretch the balloon over the neck of the bottle

and quickly tip the balloon so that all of the baking soda falls into the bottle at once.
You might want to hold the balloon in place, although ours seemed to hang on pretty well.

The baking soda reacts with the vinegar to create carbon dioxide.
The gas spreads out to fill the space so the balloon inflates.


Your balloon may look like this...

or like the crystal skull from the newest Indiana Jones movie.

Then make faces and give your brother's balloon rabbit ears.

Miss Mo Mo and Cody the Zombie

Magic Ooze

Put 2 Tbsp water to a bowl. Add food coloring if you'd like. Add 5 Tbsp cornstarch to the bowl and mix with your fingers until smooth.

Magic ooze is a non-Newtonian fluid. This means that the more pressure you put on it, the thicker it becomes. Scientists aren't sure why non-Newtonian fluids do what they do.

WARNING: Dispose of this stuff in the garbage. Do NOT put it down the sink. It will clog the drain.