Summer Science Experiments
from Mad Science of Portland and Vancouver

The following are three outdoor activities popular at Mad Science camps, classes and parties – and perfect for families to try at home.

“They all offer great opportunities for  observation, hypothesis, experiment, data collection, and conclusion,” says Sue Theissen, owner Mad Science of Portland and Vancouver.

Backyard Safari
Plant Perspiration
Backyard Bird

Backyard Safari

Materials:
Magnifying class
Clear container
Paper
Pencil 

What to do:
Go on an insect safari in your own backyard. Insects are everywhere, but you only see most of them when you are looking closely. Look down, look up, look all around. When you find one, carefully put it into your container and use your magnifying glass to make as many observations as you can. Did you find it in the ground, on a plant, on a tree, on the sidewalk? What color is it? What shape? Does it have antennae? Wings? A hard or soft body? How long are the legs? What else do you notice about each insect?  

On your paper, draw a picture of each insect and write down where you found it and your observations.  

Use your observations to make hypotheses about the insect: Why do you think it lives where you found it? What do you think it eats? Why is its body hard or soft? Can it fly? Does it live alone or with other insects? Why does it have pinchers?  

When you have made your observations and hypotheses, put the insect back in its habitat where you found it. You can come back later or over several days to try to determine whether or not your hypotheses are correct. You can also go to the library or the search online to find information about the insects you found to see if your hypotheses are correct.  

Extension Activity: Make Your Own Insect
After observing many of the insects in your backyard, make your own insect using materials such as cotton balls, Styrofoam balls, bottle caps, pipe cleaners, modeling clay, buttons, yarn, string, toothpicks, tissue paper, paper and fasteners. Using your imagination, build a bug with the correct number of body parts. Insects have 6 legs and 3 body sections. Some have a pair of wings or a pair of antennae. Some have pinchers or stingers. Write some facts about your bug: Where does it live? What does it eat? What is its favorite food? How does it protect itself? Why does it have long or short legs? Does it fly? What else can you say about your bug? Write a story about your bug – maybe a story about its travels, its family, its insect friends. Let your imagination fly!

Plant Perspiration

As the days get hotter we are constantly trying to find ways to cool off. We can turn on a fan, go for a swim or even have a water fight! These are all great ways to stay cool but our bodies actually have built-in air conditioning – it’s called perspiration. When humans get hot, the skin produces moisture in the form of sweat. As that moisture evaporates, it takes heat away with it! But what if you didn’t have skin like a human? What if you were a plant? This experiment will show you how plants cope with the heat.  

Materials:
Healthy broad leaf with long stem
Food coloring
Wide mouth jar or glass
Piece of cardboard larger than opening of jar/glass
Petroleum jelly
Clear plastic cups (larger than the leaf)
Water
Cotton balls
Small rock
Scissors
Piece of cardboard to cover top of jar  

What to do: 

• Cut the bottom of the stem diagonally with scissors.
• Fill the jar with water; add 10 drops of food coloring.
• Poke a small hole in the middle of the cardboard, just large enough to insert the leaf’s stem.
• Insert the leaf stem through the hole in the cardboard.
• Seal the hole with a small amount of petroleum jelly to prevent the water from evaporating.
• Place the cardboard piece on top of the jar so that the leaf stem is immersed in water.
• Place plastic cup over the leaf. The leaf must be completely contained inside the cup.
• Put a small rock on top of the cup and place the jar on a sunny windowsill.
• Wait one hour, then look inside the plastic cup.

Does the cup contains moisture? Use the cotton balls to wipe the moisture in the cup. What color is the moisture?

What’s Going On? 

You were controlling plant transpiration! Transpiration happens when plants give off water vapor through tiny pores in their leaves, called stomata. This is the plant’s way of sweating! Plants take in water from soil through their roots. The sun’s heat evaporates water from the leaves. As the moisture leaves the plant, it is taking heat with it, therefore cooling the plant. As water evaporates from the leaves more water is pulled from the roots up through the stems and into the leaves again. Try this experiment with different types of leaves to find out which leaves transpire quicker.

 

Backyard Birds

Figuring out what kind of bird you’ve seen is like solving a mystery. You gather clues, and eventually you find the answer. Sometimes you need only one or two clues. Other times you need more. Solving the mystery is a challenge, but it can also be lots of fun, try not to get frustrated. You’ll get better with practice. Be sure to keep your eye on the bird as long as you can. Watch it until you think you can describe it to someone.

Here are some questions you can ask when trying to identify a bird:

• What color is it?
• How big is it?
• Does it have any field marks? (Birds have marks, such as spots or stripes. For example the robin has red feathers on its chest. That is a field mark. Field marks can be found on a bird’s head, wings, body or tail.)
• Where did you see it? (Where a bird lives – its habitat – can tell you something about the bird. Just like in a mystery, it also can eliminate some birds and help you focus on the likely ones.)
• What was it doing? (Birds behave in certain ways. Some of these behaviors are good clues to a bird’s identity.)
• What does it sound like? (Some birds have calls that you can recognize easily. But don’t be fooled – the mocking bird can imitate dozens of birds!)

Go to the library and check out a field guide for birds. A field guide is like and encyclopedia of birds. A good one will have pictures and fun facts that can help you identify the species in your yard.

HAPPY BIRDING!

 

Pick the Food…  Pick the Birds

Each type of seed attracts a different set of birds. Use this list of seeds and the birds that eat them to attract different species to your yard.

 

Millet: House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Purple Finch, House Finch, Redpolls, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Vesper Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow

Oats: White Throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Ruffed Grouse, Quail, Mourning Dove, Chickadees, Yellow-headed  and Red -winged Blackbird, Snow Bunting

Thistle: American Goldfinch, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Purple Finch, Red- & White-winged Crossbill, Dark-eyed Junco, Common & Hoary Redpoll, Pine Siskin, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Buntings

Corn: Blue Jay, Common Grackle, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Flicker, Evening Grosbeak, Ruffed and Sharp-tailed Grouse, Steller’s Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, White-breasted Nuthatch, Gray Partridge, Ring-necked Pheasant, Common & Hoary Redpoll, American Robin, Fox and Savannah Sparrow, Rufous-sided Towhee, Wild Turkey, Ducks, Geese

Wheat: House Finch, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, White-throated Sparrow, Bohemian Waxwing

Canola: House Finch, Cassin’s Finch, Purple Finch, Common & Hoary Redpoll, American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, Song Sparrow

Hemp: Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Purple & House Finch, Redpolls, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Vesper Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned & White-throated Sparrow

Safflower: Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeak, Blue Jay, Ring-necked Pheasant

Peanut Hearts: Common Grackle, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow

Peanuts: Chickadees, Common Grackle, House Finch, Blue Jay, Scrub Jay, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow

Sunflower Seeds: American Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Chickadees, Common Grackle, Evening Grosbeak, House Finch, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Purple Finch, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, White Throated Sparrow, Red Winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, Mountain Chickadee, Boreal Chickadee, Red- & White-winged Crossbill, Cassin’s Finch, Pine Grosbeak, Gray & Steller’s Jay, Magpies, Clark’s Nutcracker, Red-breasted & White breasted Nuthatch, Common & Hoary Redpoll, Pine Siskin, Downy & Hairy Woodpecker, Bobwhite & Gamble’s Quail, Cedar Waxwing

Canary Seed: House Finch, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Purple Finch, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Rosy Finch, Rufous-sided Towhee

Buckwheat: Mourning Dove

 

This information was provided by Mad Science of Portland and Vancouver.

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July 5th, 2010 | Category: Education, Past Articles, Summer, Things To Do With Kids