Making a Model Solar System!

I love teaching science!  I am fortunate that my kids love science too.  In our home school co-op, we spent several weeks learning about the solar system.  I wanted the kids to have a hands-on project to take home with them.  So here it is!

You will notice that we didn't use the same size balls I suggested.  Simply a cost thing...

Material List:
1 36" dowel rod
1 used up CD disc that you don't want anymore
Paint-- red, orange, blue, white, brown, black, green,
10 paper clips
yarn or string
9 styrofoam balls of varying sizes:
         Mercury--1"
         Venus---1"
          Earth----1"
         Mars----1"
         Jupiter----3"
         Saturn----3"
         Neptune---2"
         Uranus----2"
         Pluto----optional---we used a ping-pong ball!

Newspaper
1 balloon
glue and water
metallic gold or silver glitter
2 thumb tacks

You can skip the paper mache sun if you want to spend the extra money to buy a very large styrofoam ball for the sun.  I did this project with 7 kids, and it was way too cost-prohibited, as one large ball costs $5!  So we started by making a large sun out of paper mache.  Blow the balloon up.  Tear strips of newspaper  and dip in a mixture of 50% water and 50% Elmer's Glue.  Wrap the balloon with the paper strip, smooth down, and allow to dry.

Next, talk about each planet as you paint.

Mercury is rocky and fairly barren.  It's appearance is much like the color of our moon.  Mix some black and white paint to make gray, and paint Mercury gray.

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system.  It has an atmosphere of swirling clouds heated by the sun.  It appears very bright in the night sky.  Paint Venus Orange/gold/brown swirled.

Earth is a beautiful green and blue.  You know what to do!

Mars appears red because of the rusty colored rock found there.  Paint Mars red.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.  It has a large red spot that is a hurricane-like storm that has been swirling for at least 300 years!  Jupiter has lots of swirled colors.  Paint it gold/brown/reddish pink--and don't forget the great red spot.

Saturn is known for it's beautiful rings.  Cut one of the 3" balls in half, making sure the surface where you cut is as smooth as possible.  Paint Saturn similar to Jupiter in color.  Paint the CD a brown or orange color.  Allow to dry.  When it is dry, spray with spray adhesive (or you could use Elmer's glue and smear it)  and sprinkle with gold or silver metallic glitter.  When it is dry, spray glue (or use a stronger glue) onto the flat sides of the ball.  Place the bottom of Saturn face-up, stick a tooth-pick into the center, place the CD over the center, and press the top on, holding the planet together firmly until the glue is somewhat set. 

Uranus appears to be a light blue.  Mix some blue paint with white to make a lighter blue and paint Uranus blue.

Neptune is a brilliant blue.  This is thought to be partly because of the methane in the atmosphere, but Uranus has close to the same amount of methane as Neptune but isn't as deep a blue.  Scientist are not really sure why.  Maybe another element or compound exists here that we don't know about?  Neptune is the stormiest planet in the solar system.  It has a large storm similar to Jupiter's that appears as a white swirl instead of red.

Pluto is optional.  I still love Pluto even though it has been de-classified as an actual planet.  We used a ping-pong ball (because it is cheaper!)

Now come back to your sun and paint it yellow and orange.  You might want to add some dark sun-spots for good measure! 

When your planets are dry, take paper clips and twist them in half.  Push the "U" that you now have down into the styrofoam, tie string to it, then push it in as far as it will go.  For the ping-pong ball, poke a hole with the end of a full un-broken paper clip.  Stick the tip down into the ball, then wrap the paper clip around the ball and push it into the ball until you only have a "u" left.  tie a string to the "U" and then twist it like a twist-tie so that the string won't slip off.

For the sun, You might be tempted to tie the string to the end of the balloon sticking out----don't do it!  I made that mistake...the balloon popped and shrank, and the sun slipped off and cracked.  Instead, poke 2 holes into the sun a couple of inches apart and thread a long piece of string through it, and tie it in a knot.

When you are finished, tie all of the planets on the dowel rod in order, starting with the sun.  When you have finished, tie yarn to either end of the rod.  Tie a knot in the top of the string and push a thumbtack through the knot and into the ceiling.  Repeat with the other side.

Star Wars Science for Kids: Learning About Friction

Have you ever wondered about all of the power that tiny little Yoda has?  Yes, yes....I know....small but mighty and all that... David and Goliath..and so on.  But really, could it all just be smoke in mirrors?  Could it be that he is really just a scientific genius?  Lifting ships out of swamps, pulling beams off of walls.  All of that could really be accomplished with a few well-place pulleys and some forethought.

Crazy?

Yes I am.  So today Yoda is teaching my kids the principle of reducing friction.  He looks so smug......

Well, you would be too if you knew what he knew.  Anyway, some of Yoda's friends decided to have some fun.   They challenged the poor little guy to try to use his body weight to pull them all in a box.  Probably a stupid party trick or something....

So how in the world can one tiny little Muppet move this big ole box of metal and plastic?  Hmmm, how unfortunate he is...most unfortunate.  (little Yoda laugh here)

Yoda pulls and pulls on the box...but, oh it must weigh a ton!  He COULD use to force, if in fact the force was real.  Or he could use science.

Yoda sizes the situation up like a small green MacGuyver.  Too much friction there is...hmmm  (little laugh again)  Must find way to reduce friction between friends and ground.....

Fortunately, there are some trees nearby.  And since light sabers ARE real, he pulls his out and makes short work of them into logs.....

 Seriously now.  Use your imagination!!!!

So He loads the "logs" up and rolls the ole box on top:

AND ZOOM!

Off they go!  Next lesson, however will be on gravity......

Poor little guys.  It seems that maybe a good science lesson for them prior to their party trick would have been gravity.  It pays to pay attention in science class!

It has been theorized that this could have been the method the Egyptians used to move bricks that weighed over a ton up ramps and onto the pyramids.  Simple machines make life....well...simpler.

History Meets Science: Making a Chicken Mummy

Two of my favorite subjects are history and science.  Needless to say, when I acquired the activity guide to our history curriculum and found a project called:  Make a Chicken Mummy---I was intrigued!  For the adventurous lot of you out there, I am including detailed instructions on how to make your own chicken mummy.  We named ours "Cluck-O-Patra."

I used to think that it took hundreds or thousands of years to make a mummy.  When I would look at the dehydrated remains of bodies, I naturally thought that it was just time that had dried them to a crispy crunch.  As it turns out, there was much more to it.  For older children, here is where the biology part comes in.  You know how people associate salt with water retention?  Well, it is a fact that water follows salt.  So, if there is a lot of sodium, there will surely be a lot of retained water.  If you put a human cell into a dish of salt water, the salt will pull all of the water out of the cell and the cell crenates, or shrinks.  Water will follow the salt in order to balance out the concentrations both inside and outside the cell.    This is one of the reasons why you can't just preserve a drop of blood on a microscope slide in a drop of water.  Pure water is hypotonic, meaning that the concentration is less than that of the blood cell, therefore, water is pulled into the cell and it ruptures.  But with the higher concentration of sodium and other particles outside the cell, water is pulled from the cell and it shrinks.  This principle was used in preservation of mummies.

Here is what you will need for your experiment:


Several boxes of cheap baking soda
Several cans of baking powder
One small whole fryer
Large freezer bags
Plastic gloves
Rubbing alcohol
Several boxes of salt---I found that canning salt was the cheapest.
Spices

You may want to finish off your mummy and keep it for a while.  If so you will need:

Various spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg..)
Scented oil (recipe follows)
White glue and water
White linen strips (or any other fabric you have on hand)

1.  WEAR GLOVES!
2.  Remove the neck and packet with the liver, heart, gizzard, etc...  You can mummify these, but they smell!
3.  Wash your chicken in hot water.  Dry with paper towels.  Make sure you wash the inside of the bird too.  Wash the entire bird with rubbing alcohol, including the inside.  This will decrease the amount of bacteria on the bird .  Dry as much as possible with paper towels before continuing.

4.  Mix 1/2 box of baking soda with 1/2 can of baking powder and 2 boxes of salt.  The baking soda and powder increase the acidity of the mix and decrease the amount of bacterial growth.  Next I recommend that you add a teaspoon of a good-smelling spice, like cinnamon.  It helps combat the smell.   The mixture is very close to the Egyptian natron that was used in large tubs to preserve bodies.

Hannah smelling the cinnamon scented natron.

5.  Pour some of the mix into the cavity of the chicken until it is full.  Then pour some into a large freezer bag.  Put the chicken in the bag and add the rest of the mixture.  If the chicken isn't completely covered add more salt until it is.  Seal the bag.  Place into another freezer bag and seal that one too.

Ready for her journey into the afterlife

6.  Week 1:  Check the chicken every day.  If the salt is wet, PUT SOME GLOVES ON and remove chicken from the bag.  Dust off the bird and repeat step 4.  You will probably have to do this after day 1, 3, 5, so on.
7.  After week one :  Check the chicken once per week.  If the salt is wet repeat step four.
8.  At the end of week 6, PUT ON YOUR GLOVES,  remove the chicken from the bag dust off salt as completely as you can.  Wet a paper towel and wipe the remaining salt off of the bird.  Dry immediately and thoroughly with paper towels.

After one week, Cluck-O-Patra is pretty dehydrated.

At this point, you can see the major difference in your chicken.  The tissues will be dehydrated and the bird will be much lighter than when you started.  We actually saw dramatic differences in the first week.  The bird goes from that mushy feeling to a hard feeling quickly.  We stopped here and threw the bird away, but if you want to go that extra mile, you can continue to rub and wrap your bird as follows:

SCENTED OIL
A jar with a lid
oil (cooking oil is cheapest)
Spices-any combination of 3-4 good smelling spices

You might want to hit the dollar racks for your spices.  Fill the jar to the top with the spice mixture, then pour oil over the top.  Set in a sunny location for a week, shaking the jar 2-3 time per day.  Drain the oil.

Rub the fragrance all over the chicken, inside and out.  Stuff the inside of the bird with fabric or sawdust.  Cut your fabric into 1- inch strips.  Mix glue and water 1-2 parts water to 1 part glue.  Dip your strips into the glue and begin wrapping.  Wrap wings and legs separately.  The body should be wrapped in 2-3 layers.  Let dry completely. 

Mummies were not always made with the same technique.  It varied according to the time period.  Here is a good link that provides a short read of the differences:

http://www.mummytombs.com/egypt/methods.htm

separate canopic jars and keep them with your chicken. 

 I have a feeling that this is one of those experiments my kids will not soon forget!  :)

Making Mosaics

We are continuing our study of ancient Rome this week with the life of Julius Caesar.  While mosaics were unearthed much farther back then Roman times, the Romans loved mosaic art.  My kids really loved thinking up a picture and finding kitchen ingredients to make their ideas come alive.

Emma's page used lentils, spaghetti, red kidney beans, and bay leaves.  I think that is a macaroni sun and a blue bead moon!

Hannah's sun used red kidney beans, macaroni, and spaghetti.

I am so excited!  We are only 8 lessons away from being done with The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times.  I have learned so much right along side of my kids this year.  I can't wait to start Volume 2!

Looking for Living Water

Today we studies the writing of Ancient China.  My kids were able to practice Chinese calligraphy!  They did a great job.  :)  One thing that struck me was that the first emperor Shi Huangdi was looking for a living water that was reported to bring eternal life.  This was 200 years before Jesus was born.  When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He asked her for a drink.  She asked Him why He would ask a Samaritan for such a thing and He answered her:

"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink' you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water."

Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Oh that forever dirty face!!!

I am forever thankful for the gift of eternal life Jesus has given me!!

A Visit with Indiana's Top Executive

I count myself blessed to be part of a home school co-op.  We have been part of one for a year now, and we are moving quickly into a new year with new topics, and new learning adventures!

Last year, Emma was part of a United Stated Geography class.  The class had completed a quilt of the 50 states.  We were not sure what to do with the quilt when we were done.  We decided to try to give it to someone in government where it can be displayed.  We contacted the office of Mitch Daniels office and were contacted right away about the opportunity to present the quilt to the Governor of Indiana.  Below are some pictures of our memorable day!

Governor Daniels spent about 20-30 minutes talking with the kids about their quilt squares and asking questions about what they learned.

The table in this pic was made by inmates at the correctional center in Westville, IN.  It was an incredible work of art!

The kids helped the Governor carry the quilt over to his couch where he said he would store and display it. 

Opening the "gift"

We had a wonderful day.   A BIG BIG thanks to Renee for coming up with the idea of making a quilt AND doing all of the quilting.  It looked great.

A Fun Start to a New Year of Learning Together at Home

Hannah decided that she also wanted to make some cuniform tablets out of the extra clay.  Okay, so they are just lines.  It still feels like an ancient language because I have no idea what it's supposed to say!

Week 2. The bag that was once filled to capacity with chicken seemed to have shrunk today. When I took cluck out of the bag and dusted off the natren, I immediately noticed how much smaller she was. She has lost a lot of liquid.




Our mummy has 4 more weeks to go. She already feels hard and dry. Still no bad odors!! I am still adding spices to the natren every time I change the bag...I'm not taking any chances!!