Observing NaCl

Today we looked at our salt crystals we created through evaporation. We created slides to look at small crystals under the microscope. 

Dry Ice Lab

We combined the NV Day/Halloween Party with science. After reading about what root beer is and where it comes from, we used a recipe and made a giant batch of root beer for our party. Using math, students converted the 4 gallons of water we needed to how many cups since we didn't have a gallon jug to measure out the water. We also converted ounces to tablespoons to help measure the vanilla accurately. Being health conscious, we reduced the 5 pounds of sugar down to "only" 4. Finally, we added the sassafras flavoring and the 10 pounds of dry ice. As it "brewed" in the classroom over the next hour and a half we investigated the properties of dry ice, coming to an understanding of so many more principles then just learning why it carbonates the soda.

Crazy Hair and S.T.E.M.

This week's highlights were engineering students who came in and taught about different shapes in engineering, and how the triangle is the strongest shape when it comes to engineering support. Students used this information to build a structure that could hold the most weight, using toothpicks and gum drops, or straws and gum drops. Many of the structures held A LOT of weight!

Friday was also "crazy hair day", where students could really get creative with their hairstyles in an effort to help raise money for the sixth graders' end of year party.

S.T.E.M. Bridge Building

We invited in the College of Engineering from UNR on Thursday to do a Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering lesson. They began with a short lesson on UNR and the types of engineers in the world. Next, students became engineers and built suspension bridges. We will have two more lessons before Winter Break from the same group, each time focusing on a different type of engineering process.

Printmaking

In art this week we learned the art of printmaking. Students traced a leaf onto foam so that it was indented. Then they applied ink to create a "stamp". This was used to print the image onto paper.

Making our Scarecrow

With the theme of this year's class scarecrows being "a book", our class decided to make a scarecrow from The Sign of the Beaver, the novel we read first quarter. The class decided which scene to create and then came up with 6 different groups of things to make: Attean, Matt, background, sign, large bear, and bear cub. Students choose what group each wanted to be in and then two afternoons were spent creating our masterpiece. This 100% student led, student built scarecrow turned out great!

Food Chains

In combining informational text with science this week, we have read about food chains and used food chain cards to come up with a variety of different food chains. Later on, we will create an original food chain and label all the levels (producers, 1st level consumer, 2nd level consumer, etc.).

Day Three at JOS

Although the weather forecasters didn't predict the best weather for us at camp, we didn't let it get us down. In fact, only some short rain showers and a little snow flurry occurred during a short part of the day. Highlights include: forest ecology hike for some groups to Quartz Pile, seeing around 80 sandhill cranes fly over, watching five bucks walk outside the window as we ate lunch, catching frogs at the pond, and of course the good food. Our school also had only 1.3 pounds if Ort left after dinner...a huge improvement over the 9+pounds the other day. The day finished with astronomy. Hard to believe it is almost over. 

End of Day Two

The second day up here in the trees was wonderful. Nice weather, but a bit breezy. However, all FULL of learning and fun. Some groups did their archery lessons, others went on the forest ecology hike, which included a venture to a quartz outcrop. One group at pond ecology saw a water snake as they were testing dissolved oxygen and pH. For those groups that did the challenge course, the Alpine Tower was the hit. Although if you ask most, the meals rank among their top activities!  During community time before dinner over half the campers rush to the Ga-Ga pit to play the game if "Ga-Ga". Hard to explain, but imagine dodgeball mixed with four square in a Gladiator pit. Three bucks continue to be seen around campus throughout the day, leading to great photo opportunities. So many "firsts" have occurred up here for many students, which is wonderful to see. The night concluded with a science lab on animal adaptations. 

Day Two- Up and Ready for Breakfast

Day one was great. After dinner the first day all groups went on their night adventure, hiking into the forests without flashlights to learn about night adaptations. The stars were amazing. Many satellites and even a "shooting star" was seen by some students. This morning, kids are up and ready for another day of adventure and learning.  Smiles on all faces. 

Archery at JOS

In archery this afternoon students learned about forces. Focusing on Newton's 3rd Law, students experimented with a Newton's Cradle and then applied the physics to archery. By testing different draw weights (10 and 15 pounds), students easily saw how input and output differ with different draw weights. 

Arriving to Journeys Outdoor School

We made it!  After a short bus ride, and seeing antelope along the way, we arrived and quickly unloaded the bus. The fun has now begun!  

Pirate Science

Arrrrr! In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19th), our class focused on pirates this week. We read informational text on the subject and worked on outlining, we incorporated math and science by learning about density, buoyancy, and displacement, and we even dressed and talked liked pirates on Friday.

Tie Dye

Tie dye was a success! First, students learned about the chemistry of it. They learned how soda ash helps to raise the pH of the cotton shirt (which is cellulose and already slightly negatively charged) to a very negatively charged item. The dye is special, as it is positively charged. After applying the dye, the shirt had to sit in a warm place to allow the covalent bonding to occur. Finally, they learned how the special detergent releases any extra molecules of dye that isn't bonded, creating a shirt that won't bleed or run in the washing machine. After learning the content, student tie dyed their own shirt to apply the science content. We will all wear our shirts at Journeys Outdoor School on our last day, Friday.

Native American Dances

After learning about how one tribe of Native Americans honored the rabbit through a Rabbit Dance, students formed groups and selected an animal that lives in our state to create a dance that would represent and honor it. Students performed these dances to Native American music and then explained what their movements represented.

Does Air Have Weight?

This week we investigated the idea of air having weight. It was connected to General Sherman, the tallest living thing (a tree in California). The lab was set up so that young scientists inquired about what leads to a plant's weight (millions of pounds in the case of the giant redwood). Where did this weight come from? After learning the history of past scientists doing experiments dealing with soil and concluding their weight didn't have much to do with that, we turned to air. Since leaves have tiny holes on the bottom, and take in and out air from these, could air have anything to do with it? Through making a balloon balance scale, we let the air out balloons on one side to conclude air does in fact weight something. This was connected back to plants' weight is due to air (3/4 of total weight) and water (about 1/4 of weight). So, if your child tries to serve you an empty plate with a glass of water on it, they are probably joking that they are serving you vegetables!