Kindergarten Explores Paper!

Kindergarten has finished exploring the properties of wood and has begun to learn about paper!  We all think it's funny that paper actually comes from wood, so we haven't really finished investigating wood yet!

We are looking at 8 different types of paper: wax paper, paper towel, tagboard, chipboard, newsprint, craft paper, cardboard and corrugated cardboard.

First we are exploring what it's like to draw on the different papers with a pencil, crayon and marker.  We wondered if all papers were good to write or draw on.

The corrugated cardboard is so hard to write on!  I can't make
a circle on it!

Two piles of papers.  One pile has paper that is easy to write on,
the other pile has papers that is hard to write on.

We discovered that it was easier to draw and write on the tagboard, craft paper and newsprint.  It was harder to write on the wax paper, corrugated cardboard and paper towel. 

The pencil on the wax paper leaves marks.

Next we folded the papers.  We started with the craft paper. It was pretty easy to fold it in half....5 times!  Then we tried to fold the cardboard in half.  That was really hard!  We could only fold it one or two times.  We noticed that thick papers were hard to fold and thin papers were easy.

The corrugated cardboard was easier to fold than the cardboard.
It was not as thick.

Pre-K Explores Ways to Balance!

We found out we are excellent balancers!  We can balance our bodies, use a scientific tool called the balance scale and balance blocks!  It may look easy, but at times it can be tricky!

Which side is heavier?

Careful!

Some good balancing!

That is too heavy.

Look how tall my tower is and it's balanced!

We can balance on one foot!

Ahhhhhh!

A Visit From a Biomaterials Organic Chemist!

Gangadhar Jogikalmath, Mira's dad (2-227) and an organic, polymer chemist, came to talk with the class last week!  He has materials start up company in Boston that makes high performance fabrics.

Gangadahar started talking about all the different materials we come across in our lives....

Gangadahar uses polymers when making his fabrics.  The fabrics can repel water or are fire retardant.  We talked about why someone would want a fabric that doesn't get wet (swimsuit, raincoat, a t-shirt) or won't catch on fire (a fireman's clothes, our clothes, a blanket).

The bottom right picture stumped many of us..they
are silkworm cocoons!

Man made polymers come from...

Polymers are derived from oil and fibers are made from them!  We were excited to see that sand, silt and rock were part of the process!  We just finished that unit!  We got to touch nylon pellets and feel a reel of very thin fiber thread!

We had so many questions! Gangadhar talked about DNA.  That was fascinating! The class wanted to know how many DNA strands were in so many things!   

I was curious about when he knew he wanted to become a scientist.  Gangadhar said he hadn't really thought about it, but remembered when "when I was in high school, I found a stack of old Scientific American magazines that intrigued me to no end.  The stories of scientists and their inventions were fascinating." That was the earliest memory of when he wanted to become a scientist.  

Thank you so much for coming to our science class Gangdhar!

2nd Graders Make Mobiles!

Before moving onto motion, 2nd graders are using all their knowledge about balance, balancing points and counterweights to create a mobile that balances!

Rubber bands, paperclips, straws and paper!

It can be hard to get the rubber band in
the paperclip.

The mobile moves so we draw on both sides of the paper.

In order for the mobile to be stable, the straw needs to
go through the small side of the paperclip. 

Once the mobile is constructed, you have to
move the paper clips around to balance it!

I went to the Guggenheim Museum last weekend and saw quite a few mobiles by Alexander Calder.  If you find yourself on the upper east side, I highly recommend you stop by and marvel!

Red Lily Pads

Arc of Petals

Untitled, pedestal-based mobile

A Visit From a Marine Biologist!

Christine O'Connell, Ella Jenson's (1-233) aunt and a marine biologist, came to talk with the class last week.  She asked us why science is important ("It helps you learn things nobody knows.", "You can discover a new Earth." and "You can make potions and help people.")? And what type of scientists did we know?  The class was so excited to have a "real" scientist in our classroom!  They had so many questions for Christine! 

What questions do you wonder about?

Christine said that asking questions is very important! Scientists ask questions and then look for the answer to their question.   Scientist also need evidence to back up their findings.  One boy declared that that is the scientific method!

Christine had a challenge for us....ask her questions to discover how she broke her arm!  That was tricky!  But we finally found out (by asking me as a secondary source!) that she broke her arm while snowboarding!

Lastly, Christine told us about her research trip to Cat Island, Bahamas in 2015 where she was tagging whitetip sharks.  The sharks are tagged so scientists can track where the sharks go throughout the year, where they have their babies and to help keep them safe.

Taking a blood sample to look at the shark's DNA.

You can read more about Christine's shark research at https://sharkchronicles.wordpress.com/.  All shark research photos were taken by Andy Mann.

In addition to Christine's research, she teaches college classes in science communication, oceans and environment.  She is also an assistant professor in journalism and marine science. 

Thank you so much Christine for coming to our science classroom and sharing your experiences!