Daily Discovery: Be a Noise Control Engineer – Quiet that Phone!

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Experiments, Physical Science

Post written by Eisen Tamkun, Music Education Lead.

Daily Discovery: Be a Noise Control Engineer – Quiet that Phone!

Pollution. We often hear about the different kinds, from air and water to light pollution. But have you ever heard of sound pollution? Sound pollution can have harmful effects on both our health and the environment. It is the job of Noise Control Engineers to design and test noise insulation technologies and sound-adsorbent materials to help limit the harmful impacts of noise and sound pollution. Try your own hand at being a Noise Control Engineer and quiet that phone!

Supplies:

  • Smart Phone
  • Box or container large enough to hold phone and surrounding
    materials
  • Materials- A variety of should be gathered. Start with clothes, plastic bags, bubble wrap, blankets, rain jackets, and anything else that comes to mind
  • Song to play during testing
  • Pen and paper for recording

Instructions:

  1.  Once you have gathered a variety of materials it is time to begin! Start by picking only one kind of material such as t-shirts.
  2. Begin playing that rocking song you chose.
  3. Next, surround the phone with the t-shirts and place it in your container. Try to have the phone be positioned in the very center of the box with equal amount of t-shirt material on all sides. If the phone is touching one side of the container the whole experiment is off.
  4. Close the lid and listen. Did the music get quieter or not? Go ahead and record with your pen and paper the material you used (t-shirts) and how successful it was in quieting the phone on a scale of 1-10. 10 being you can’t hear the music at all and 1 being no change in sound level.
  5. Chose another material and repeat steps 1-4.
  6. Repeat step 5.
  7.  Repeat step 5 again.
  8. Now instead of using only one kind of material switch it up and try combining the materials together. Perhaps both t-shirts and plastic bags or bubble wrap and rain jackets. The possibilities are endless! Just don’t forget to record your results.
  9. Once you are finished testing each materials and combinations of materials got back and check out your recordings. Which material did the best in canceling out noise? Why do you think that is? What other materials do you think might work better? These are questions Noise Control Engineers ask themselves.

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: Simple Machines – Engineering Challenge!

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Engineering & Math, Experiments

Post written by Hannah Curtis, Education Assistant.

Daily Discovery: Simple Machines – Engineering Challenge!

How can one person easily lift a 500 lbs. piano? We have the how and why behind the simple machines that help you do just that! Think like a mechanical engineer to create a design concept, build and test your own machines, and see what you can lift at home!

Mechanical Engineering and Simple Machines:
Mechanical engineering combines physics, material sciences, and mathematical principles to design, build and maintain machines and tools that help make our world move and improve the conditions the life.

Subdisciplines of mechanical engineering:
1. Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering: These engineers have the important job of understanding, and improving, product quality of complex industrial and infrastructure systems.
2. Mechatronic Engineering: These engineers create robot-type smart machines that can make their own decisions and be conscious of their surroundings.

Mechanical engineers work with highly complex systems and machinery, but can often involve simple machines in what they do. Simple machines have a few working parts that provide a mechanical advantage to make aspects of our lives easier. These include the wheel and axel, levers, pulleys, or an inclined plane.

How do they work?

A lever is a rigid bar resting on a pivot, used to help move a heavy
load with one end when pressure is applied to the other. There are three classes of levers, and we see examples of all in everyday objects!

A pulley is a wheel and axel that guides or changes the direction of a rope, or reduce the force needed to move a load. Engineers can even use multiple pulleys to increase the mechanical advantage! There are three types of pulleys: fixed, moveable and compound. Each wheel rotates appropriately with the rope being pulled to reduce friction and increase mechanical advantage.

Supplies:

  • Cardboard
  • Writing utensils
  • Glue or tape
  • Random objects of varying weights
  • Paper tubes
  • String or yarn
  • Sticks and rocks
  • Wire coat hanger
  • Spools

Instructions:

  1. Find something in your house that you want to use as your load (an object to lift) this could be heavy or light.
  2. Use what you now know about simple machines, and engineer a way to move or lift your object effectively.
  3. Continue your research into other simple machines to assist in your design concept. Will you use pulleys, levers, wheels and axels, wedges, or maybe a combination?

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: Rocket Power – Engineering Challenge

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Engineering & Math, Experiments

Post written by Charlotte Conway, Public Programs Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: Rocket Power – Engineering Challenge

Engineers design rockets that can leave our planet and travel through space! But how do they build spacecraft that can fly there? Through this balloon rocket demonstration, see firsthand how a jet engine works to propel rockets into outer space!

Supplies:

  • Balloon
  • String (fishing string or a fine, smooth string is preferred)
  • Drinking straw
  • 2 supports to tie your string to – Chairs, a railing, and/or door knob work (make sure they are level in height)
  • Tape or glue dots
  • Tape measure or ruler
  • Pencil
  • Paper
  • Colored pencils (optional)
  • Clothespin or binder clip (optional)

Instructions:

  1. To demonstrate how a rocket moves, you are going to make a balloon rocket. The balloon rocket is propelled, or caused to move, by the air rushing out the end. Think of the balloon as your rocket’s engine, or propulsion system, and the air inside as your jet fuel!
  2. Begin with your straw. Straight drinking straws work best the best, but if you have a bendy straw, cut off the part that bends and keep the straightest segment.
  3. Now tie one end of the string to a chair, railing, or doorknob. This is where your balloon rocket will fly to. If you would like to, draw a picture of a planet you would like to visit and tape your drawing to the chair or railing.
  4. Thread the free end of the string through the straw. Tie the other end of the string to the other support (chair, railing, or doorknob).
  5. Blow up the balloon to its maximum capacity, being careful not to pop your balloon! Hold the end closed. Don’t tie your balloon shut. Keep it pinched closed with the help of a friend, or you can use a clothespin or binder clip to keep it closed.
  6. Attach the balloon to the straw using tape or glue dots.
  7. 3…2…1… Blast off! Let go of the balloon’s end and see how far it flies!
  8. Use your tape measure or ruler to measure how far your rocket traveled on the first launch. Print the table below, or draw the table on your own paper to track your results. Write down the distance traveled for each launch, making sure to write down how much ‘fuel’ (air) was inside your balloon and the launch number.
  9. Repeat steps 5-8 to launch your balloon two more times, for a total of three launches.
  10. Repeat steps 5-8, but on step 4, instead of blowing up the balloon to maximum capacity, blow the balloon up to ¾ air capacity and repeat the launch 3 times. Follow the same procedure to launch the balloon with ½ air capacity and again with ¼ air capacity.
  11. Compare the data from your launches. What conclusions can you draw from your data? Is the distance your balloon traveled related to how much air was in your balloon?

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: Engineering Challenge – Civil Engineers

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Engineering & Math, Experiments, Teens

Post written by Heidi Fuhrman, Discovery Camp Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: Engineering Challenge – Civil Engineers

You can live, work, learn, and travel thanks to the solutions of Civil Engineers all around you! Learn about what Civil Engineers do, go on a scavenger hunt to find their work in your own neighborhood or city, and put on your own Jr. Civil Engineering hat to see if your design can stand up to our Civil Engineering challenge!

Supplies:

  • Pencil & Paper
  • Ruler
  • Civil Engineering Scavenger Hunt Page (optional, included)
  • Assortment of noodles, toothpicks, mini-marshmallows, tape, string, sticks, recycled cardboard, index cards, foam, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks—whatever you can find in your house or backyard!
  • Fan (optional)
  • Bucket of water (optional)
  • Pillow or extra cardboard and a few balls (optional)

What is Civil Engineering?

Have you ever driven on a road? Turned on the sink to get water? Traveled across a bridge or through a tunnel? Flushed your toilet? Swum in Horsetooth or another reservoir? Gone in a building? You can do all these things and more thanks to the work of Civil Engineers!

Civil Engineering is one of the many branches of engineering.* Civil Engineers are problem solvers who work specifically with infrastructure. They design roads, buildings, tunnels, bridges, dams, buildings, subways, and more—all the things that help us live, work, and travel! They also help design important systems you may not see, such as how to get water clean and into your house; where dirty water and sewage (the stuff that goes down your toilet!) go; and where to direct stormwater to keep your neighborhood or basement from flooding! Our cities wouldn’t be the same without Civil Engineers!

Your Turn!

Think: What kind of Civil Engineer would you want to be?
What are things you care about or enjoy? Animals, people, airplanes, cars, trains, building structures, traveling, taking care of our planet? Which type of Civil Engineer could work with the things you love? Think about what problems you want to solve? Which Civil Engineer could help you solve them? If you were a Civil Engineer how would you solve them?
Look: Find examples of Civil Engineering in your city or neighborhood. As you drive or walk around keep your eyes open! You can even use the scavenger hunt page included at the end! What do you find? A lot of examples? A few? What did you find that surprised you? Which examples would you like to learn more about?
Try: Do the activity below to become a Jr. Civil Engineer and see if your design can solve some of the problems and pass some of the tests real Civil Engineers have to deal with!

Create The Strongest Bridge:

One of the many things Civil Engineers design are bridges! And guess what? Every type of Civil Engineer you learned about earlier may be involved in bridge design and  construction! (Can you figure out how?)

Your challenge: Using your available materials, design a bridge that can span at least three inches. Your bridge will not only have to cross the divide, but also withstand testing—wind, earthquake, load, and possibly even flood testing—to make sure it is a safe design to be built and used by humans. Follow the steps below to get building!

  1. Engineers use something called the Engineering Design Process to come up with, design, and test possible solutions to problems. We’re going to use that to solve our problem today (see the whole process in the chart on the next page). First, we need to identify the problem or need. What is the problem or need we’re facing in this challenge?
  2. Next, gather your bridge building materials (noodles, toothpicks, mini-marshmallows, tape, string, sticks, recycled cardboard, index cards, foam, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks— whatever you can find in your house or backyard!) Set them in front of you so you know what you’ve got to work with!
  3. The next steps of the Engineering Design Process are to imagine possible solutions and draw a plan. Think about how you might use the materials in front of you to solve the
    identified problem. Remember that your solution will need to withstand testing! It will need to bear weight, stand in the wind, and stand in an earthquake. Once you’ve got an
    idea grab paper and a pencil. Draw your idea and write some steps to your design (you can use the worksheet included at the end if you want!)
  4. Now that you’ve got a plan build your bridge! This is the fourth step of the Engineering Design Process; you’re creating a prototype! Level up: Don’t use tape or glue in your bridge design!

Time To Test:

Once you’ve got your bridge built it’s time to test it! Testing is the fifth step of the Engineering Design Process. It’s ok if you’re nervous to test your design (A NASA Engineer once told me that even they’re nervous to test their designs)! You put a lot of work into it, but testing is the only way we can be sure our designs will work and keep people safe. Even if your design fails you learn important information!

Load

1. The most important job of a bridge is to get people and vehicles from one place to another. But people and vehicles are heavy! A bridge must be able to withstand load (that’s the weight of the bridge itself and the weight of anything it might hold). Choose a heavy object (such as a can or book, you might choose this before construction so you know what your bridge will hold). Place it on your bridge. Can your bridge hold the weight? What about your design do you think helped its ability to hold weight. What hindered it?Did anything break or fall off? If it broke than your bridge isn’t safe enough for the real world yet! Level up: How much weight can your bridge hold?

Wind

1. Weather patterns can also be load on a bridge! Bridges need to be able to withstand a variety of weather conditions…including high wind! Place a fan a few feet from your bridge and turn it on. Can your bridge withstand the wind? Did anything break or fall off? If it broke than your bridge isn’t safe enough for the real world yet!
Level up: What wind speed can your bridge withstand (turn that fan on high!)

Earthquake!

1. Bridges also have to be able to withstand unexpected events such as earthquakes (thank you Earthquake Engineers)! To see if your bridge can withstand an earthquake place it on a moveable surface (such as a pillow or cookie sheet), tape it down, and give that surface a shake! Can your bridge withstand the earthquake? Did anything break or fall off? If it broke than your bridge isn’t safe enough for the real world yet! Level up: Build your very own shake table!

Flood!

1. For a final, fun test see how your bridge holds up in a flood (warning: this one could destroy your bridge)! You’ll want to place your bridge somewhere where a flood won’t cause other damage (such as on a porch or in a bathtub). Tape your bridge down, fill a bucket of water, and dump it downstream of your bridge. Did your bridge withstand the flood? Did anything break or fall off? If it broke than your bridge isn’t safe enough for the real world yet!

How did your bridge(s) hold up? Where did they fail? The final steps in the Engineering Design Process are improve and redesign, and repeat! How could you improve your bridge? If you designed again what would you change? Give your improvements a try! Did your bridge preform better this time?

Share It!
We’d love to see your bridges and any other Jr. Civil Engineering Projects you might try!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: You’re an Engineer!

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Engineering & Math, Experiments, Teens

Post written by Sierra Tamkun, Learning Experiences Manager.

Daily Discovery: You’re an Engineer!

There are lots of different types of engineers, but their skills come from four key areas: chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering.
Chemical engineers use chemistry to solve problems! They help make food, medicine, fuel, and clean water.
Civil engineers keep cities and towns safe for people. They build bridges, buildings, systems that bring clean water to your home, and more!
Electrical engineers make things that use or make electricity. If it lights up or turns on, an electrical engineer made it.
Mechanical engineers build machines. If it moves, a mechanical engineer created it!

Many engineers use skills from more than one area; an aeronautical engineer works on rockets and planes (mechanical), the controls inside (electrical), and sometimes the chemicals used in different reactions (chemical). Explore the different ways chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering can be used, and find out what kind of engineer you are!

Supplies:

  • Paper
  • Colored pencils or markers
  • Engineer worksheet (attached)
  •  You Are an Engineer slides – online here

Instructions:

  1. Print off the attached worksheet, or use it as a guide to draw your own engineering grid!
  2. Follow the link above and look through the different activity slides! Answer the question on the front of each slide, and turn to the next page. You can read more about different types of engineers, what they do, and what questions they need to ask in their work. If needed, ask an adult to help you!
  3. Now that you’re looking through the activity slides, it’s time to fill out your worksheet! If you answer yes to a question on a slide, give yourself a point for each checked engineering box by coloring in a square above the corresponding branch of engineering on your worksheet.
  4. When you’ve read all the slides, count up your points on your worksheet. This tells you what type of engineer you are most like! Are you most like a civil engineer, mechanical engineer, chemical engineer, or electrical engineer?
  5. On the back of your worksheet, use the activity slides for inspiration and draw the type of engineer you are! What tools do you need? Where do you work? What engineering projects are you working on?

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: What’s With Weather? – Forecast It!

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Earth & Space Science, Experiments

Post written by Heidi Fuhrman, Discovery Camp Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: What’s With Weather? – Forecast It!

One minute it’s sunny and the next you can build a snowman! We all experience weather, but what really is weather and how do we predict it? Learn about how meteorologists forecast the weather before building some forecasting tools and setting up a weather station of your own!

Supplies:

For Observation Journal:

  • Paper
  • Crayons/markers

For Barometer

  • Glass jar
  • Balloon or plastic wrap
  • Rubber band
  • Ruler
  • Straw
  • Tape
  • Scissors

For Thermometer:

  • Bottle
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Straw
  • Marker
  • Food coloring
  • Clay or playdoh
  • Pan of hot water, pan of cold water

Instructions:

Make Your Own Weather Journal:

Meteorologists track weather over multiple days to make the best forecasts. Weather data over decades gives us information about a place’s climate. You can track the weather from your home! Use your observation skills and the tools below! Keep your eye out for other Discovery at Home tools you can add to your weather station. Over time you will be able to forecast the weather too!

  1. Gather your supplies! You’ll need paper (or you can print the handy weather report sheets at the end of this pdf! Make sure to print double sided!) and a pencil/marker. If you want to make a book, you’ll need a stapler or hole punch and string too.
  2. Fold your paper and cover paper in half. Place your journal paper inside the cover. You can use plain paper or print off our journal pages. Decorate your cover! Attach the journal pages to the cover using stapler or by punching a hole at top and bottom and tying together with string!
  3. Fill out your observation journal! Try and fill it out at the same time every day to be able to make the most accurate forecasts. After a few days try forecasting the weather. Why did you forecast that? What data did you base your forecast off of?
  4. Try some of the other activities included here!

Make Your Own Barometer:

A barometer measures atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure is the weight of the atmosphere overhead! Meteorologists track atmospheric pressure because a change in atmospheric pressure means a change in weather. Weather is controlled by changes in air pressure—high and low pressure systems (remember these are represented by “H” and “L” on our weather maps!). High pressure causes air to flow down and fan out near the ground, keeping clouds from forming—so nice weather! When air pressure is low, air flows together and then upward where it gathers, rising, cooling, and forming clouds—stormy weather! You can monitor the atmospheric pressure in your town by building your own barometer! TIP: It won’t be exciting at first, but if you watch for several days, you’ll notice the pressure is changing without
you realizing it!

  1. Gather your supplies! You’ll need a glass jar, ruler, straw, balloon or plastic wrap, scissors, tape, and a rubber band.
  2. Cut the long end off the balloon. Cut a small slit in the end of the balloon.
  3. Stretch the balloon so that it fits over the mouth of the jar. Make sure it’s nice and tight and secure with a rubber band. If you don’t have a balloon use plastic wrap. Make sure it’s not loose or saggy…we need our jar to be sealed nice and tight!
  4. Tape the end of the straw onto the middle of your balloon lid. A longer straw will make the barometer more accurate. You can put two straws together by cutting a small slit in the end of a straw, squeezing it to make the end smaller, and slipping it into another straw.
  5. Keep your barometer indoors and in a place where it won’t get bumped. Place a ruler behind your straw to observe it rising and falling.

Observe:

Observe your barometer for several days and record what you see in your weather journal. Be sure to observe at the same time each day. What do you notice? Does the straw point to the same place on the ruler each day? Is it rising and falling? What does that mean? Remember, a straw rising means increasing pressure— sunny and clear—a straw falling means decreasing pressure—cloudy and stormy!

Make Your Own Thermometer:

A thermometer measures temperature—how hot/cold the atmosphere is. Meteorologists report temperature using Celsius or Fahrenheit. In the U.S. we use Fahrenheit, but most other countries use Celsius. Temperature can tell us important things—for example it can’t snow until it’s below freezing (32°F)—but temperature is also relative (compared to something). A 70° day would feel chilly after a week of 90° weather, but hot after a week of 40° weather! Thermometers are some of the oldest tools we use to understand the weather. Try making your own thermometer and see what you observe!

  1. Gather your supplies! You’ll need a clear bottle, water, straw, rubbing alcohol, food coloring, and clay (playdoh works too!)
  2. Start by filling your bottle ¼ of the way with equal parts rubbing alcohol and water. Add a couple drops of food coloring. We’re using red like in a real thermometer. PRO TIP: If you’re not using a clear straw add extra drops. The darker the water, the easier it will be to see it in the straw. Mix in the coloring.
  3. Form a small clay pancake (we’re using playdoh!) and poke a hold through for your straw. Be sure there is no clay inside your straw!
  4. Stick your straw into the bottle. The end should be in the liquid but SHOULDN’T touch the bottom of the bottle.
  5. Secure the straw at the top of the bottle with your clay. Be sure you have a tight seal. Pinch it tight against the straw but don’t crush it. Make sure
    the top of your straw is poking out the top and is open to the air.

Observe:

Note where the water level IN THE STRAW is. Make a mark on the outside of the bottle. You can calibrate your thermometer by noting what the air temperature is (say how warm it is in your home) and noting that next to the mark.

Place your bottle in a pan of hot water. What happens to the water level in the straw? Label the level and temperature. What happens when you take your thermometer out? What happens to the level when you place it in cold water? Label that level and temperature.

Forecast It!

Use your new tools to set up a weather station! Observe the weather over the course of a week or two at the same time every day. What do you notice? What patterns do you see?
After a few days of data can you forecast the next few days of weather? Were you right?

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: What’s With Weather? – Rain

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Earth & Space Science, Experiments, Poudre River Fest Daily Discovery

Post written by Heidi Fuhrman, Discovery Camp Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: What’s With Weather? – Rain

We’ve learned about forecasting weather, but what about one of the components of weather—rain?! Learn about precipitation and create your very own water cycle before building another tool for your weather station! (If you haven’t checked out our “What’s With Weather: Forecast It!” Discovery at Home you might want to start there!)

Supplies:

For Experiment:

  • Ice cubes
  • Pot & Stove top
  • Cookie sheet or pan

OR

  • Glass jar
  • Plate
  • Ice cubes & water

For Rain Gauge:

  • Empty plastic bottle (2 liter soda bottle works best!)
  • Scissors
  • Rocks, gravel, or marbles
  • Ruler
  • Tape & Marker

Instructions:

Experiment: Make It Rain

Precipitation, including rain, is just one important part of the water cycle! The basics of the water cycle are evaporation, condensation, and precipitation but scientists who study our climate also think about how runoff from mountains, groundwater, plant uptake and more effect our water cycle! What can you think about that might effect where water goes and how it gets to the oceans? What might impact how it gets to the skies and back to us? Start by building your own water cycle!

  1. Gather your supplies! You’ll need a pot, stovetop, ice cubes, a cookie sheet or similar pan, and an adult’s help!
  2. Put your cookie sheet into your freezer. You’ll need to let it get cold for a few minutes!
  3. While your cookie sheet freezes, take out a good handful or two of ice cubes and put them in a pan. What do you notice about the ice cube? What do you notice about water in its frozen form?
  4. With an adult’s help, put your pan full of ice cubes on a stove burner and heat them up. What do you hypothesize will happen to the ice? What happened? As the ice warms up, the molecules water can move! It’s now a liquid! What do you notice about water in its liquid form? As the water gets warmer and warmer the water molecules can move faster and faster until they bump each other out of the pan! What you see isn’t smoke but water vapor! What do you notice about water in its gas state? Carefully, with your adult’s permission hold your hand way above the pan and see what happens. Is your hand getting wet?
  5. Take your cookie sheet out of the freezer and hold it a few inches over the pan. You can put some extra ice cubes on top for good measure! What do you hypothesize will happen? What do you notice now? What is happening to the water vapor? Keep holding the cookie sheet there and watch the bottom where the water vapor is hitting. After a few minutes what do you notice? Is the water condensing? As the water vapor hits the cold cookie sheet it cools down and turns back into a liquid, condensing on the bottom of the sheet and falling back to the pot as rain!

You just made a mini-water cycle!

If you can’t use a stovetop, you can do this rain experiment a different way!

  1. Gather your supplies, you’ll need a glass jar, hot water, a ceramic plate, and some ice cubes.
  2. Pour your hot water into a glass jar and place your plate flat on top. What do you notice?
  3. Wait a few minutes and then place some ice cubes on the plate. What is happening on the bottom of the plate?

Make Your Own Rain Gauge:

Meteorologists and other scientists track precipitation to better understand a place’s climate. Knowing how much precipitation has fallen in an area also helps them better predict droughts and floods. This helps farmers and keeps communities safe! NASA helps track precipitation using satellites in space, but meteorologists track it from the ground too! You can track precipitation in your neighborhood by building your own rain gauge to measure how much rain and snow falls in your backyard! Does more or less rain fall then you hypothesized? Add your rain gauge to the weather station you might have built from “What’s With Weather: Forecast It!” You can also track how precipitation your backyard gets in your weather journal you created with that activity or help out real scientists by checking out the citizen science opportunity at the end of this section!

  1. Gather your supplies! You’ll need rocks or gravel, a marker, ruler, scissors, tape, and clear bottle. A 2 liter soda bottle works best, but you can also use a water bottle, juice bottle, or even an empty milk jug!
  2. With an adult’s help, cut the top of the bottle or jug off, about 2-3 inches below the top. If you’re using a jug with a handle, be sure to cut above the handle.
  3. To keep your rain gauge from blowing over or away fill the bottom with some rocks or gravel. Then Flip the top portion of the bottle over and fit inside. It should form a funnel! This will allow your rain gauge to better collect rain as it falls!
  4. Tape the two bottle pieces together. Then, using a ruler, mark the side of your rain gauge! Place your rain gauge outside. You’ll need to pick a good spot! You want somewhere level, open to the sky, and not likely to get too windy. Make sure nothing is hanging over the gauge (like a tree or roof).

Observe:

If it rains or snows within 24 hours, check your gauge and see how high the water is! That’s how much rain has fallen in the last day! In your weather journal make a note of the day and amount of rain. Then go online and find the official rainfall amount…how closely did your amount match? Repeat whenever it rains!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: Photosynthesis Science! / Descubrimiento en casa: ¡La ciencia de la fotosíntesis!

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Descubrimiento en casa, Discovery at Home, Español, Experiments, Life Science

Post written by Hannah Curtis, Education Assistant.

Daily Discovery: Photosynthesis Science!

Arbor Day is a holiday celebrated in the spring, that encourages and inspires people to plant trees in their communities and learn the importance of trees on Earth. Even though we can not gather with others, check out some ways in which you can still participate in this “tree”rific holiday!

Trees provide many services to the environment and to humans. They help save energy for our homes and businesses by providing shade, and contribute to human mental health. They are homes for animals, and many produce fruit to eat. Most importantly, trees help keep our air and water clean, and reduce the effects of climate change by producing oxygen (O2) for humans and animals to breath!

For trees to produce oxygen, they need sunlight, carbon dioxide (CO2), and water (H2O) to complete the process of photosynthesis, when tree leaves use the suns energy to synthesize or alter CO2 and H2O into sugar (glucose) and O2. Trees “breath” out the oxygen from their leaves. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year, about 260 pounds of oxygen! In this experiment, observe different trees and leaves to see photosynthesis in action! Since deciduous trees have yet to produce their new leaves this year, you can do the same experiment using evergreen tree needles.

Supplies:

  • Two jars or clear containers
  • Water
  • Area with lots of sunlight
  • Dark room with no sunlight
  • Leaves (conifer needle sprigs, indoor house plant leaves)

Instructions:

  1. Fill containers full with water.
  2. Place one leaf into each container.
  3. Place one container in a sunny area so that your leaves are fully exposed to the sunlight.
  4. Place the other container into a dark room or is covered with an object so that it does not receive any sunlight.
  5. Check back over the course of the day and notice any air bubbles forming on your leaves.

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

 

Traducido por Károl de Rueda y Laura Vilaret-Tuma.

Descubrimiento en casa: ¡La ciencia de la fotosíntesis!

El Día del Árbol es una fecha festiva que se celebra en muchos lugares del mundo y que inspira a las personas a sembrar árboles en sus comunidades, a la vez que crea conciencia sobre la importancia de su función en nuestro planeta. La fecha de la celebración del Día del Árbol varía de país a país, porque plantar un árbol con éxito depende del clima y de condiciones naturales óptimas. En Colorado, el Día del Árbol se celebra cada tercer viernes de abril, y aunque durante estos días no nos podemos reunir con otras personas, ¡aún hay maneras en que podemos participar en esta celebración!

Los árboles proveen muchos servicios al medio ambiente y a la humanidad. Nos ayudan a ahorrar energía en nuestros hogares al proporcionarnos su sombra, y también contribuyen al bienestar y salud mental de las personas. Son casas de muchos animales, y muchos de ellos producen frutas deliciosas. Pero su contribución más importante es su capacidad de ayudar a que nuestro aire y agua se mantengan limpios. Usando un proceso especial, los árboles producen oxígeno (O2) para que los animales y los humanos respiremos, y a la vez, estos reducen los efectos del cambio climático.

Los árboles necesitan luz solar, dióxido de carbono (CO2), y agua (H2O) para poder producir oxígeno usando un proceso natural que se llama fotosíntesis. La fotosíntesis es un fenómeno científico en el cual se sintetizan o alteran moléculas de CO2 y H2O. Usando estas moléculas alteradas, los árboles y otras plantas convierten la energía del sol en moléculas de glucosa y O2. ¡Los árboles “exhalan” este oxígeno a través de sus hojas! Un árbol adulto y frondoso produce hasta 117 kg (approx. 260 lbs) de oxígeno en cada estación del año, el cual es suficiente para que respiren hasta 10 personas ¡durante un año entero! En este experimento, observa diferentes árboles y hojas para ver cómo se manifiesta la fotosíntesis. Si no encuentras árboles con follaje (nuevas hojas) todavía, no te preocupes. Esta actividad también se puede hacer usando ramitas de pinos.

Artículos necesarios:

  • Dos recipientes transparentes (jarras, vasos o botellas de plástico–lo que tengas disponible en casa)
  • Agua
  • Un área con bastante luz natural
  • Un área con mucha oscuridad y sin luz natural
  • Hojas de un árbol o de una planta. Si no encuentras ninguna, también puedes usar una ramita de pino

Instrucciones:

  1. Llena a los recipientes transparentes con agua.
  2. Pon una hoja o ramita de pino en cada recipiente.
  3. Colocar uno de ellos en un área con suficiente luz natural para que las hojas estén completamente expuestas al sol.
  4. Coloca el otro recipiente en un cuarto oscuro, o simplemente cúbrelo con un paño o tela para que no entre la luz.
  5. Revisa tus recipientes durante el curso del día. ¿Se está formando algún burbujeo sobre las hojas? ¡Estás observando a la fotosíntesis en acción!

¿Te gustaría descargar esta actividad? Haz clic aquí para obtener un archivo PDF.

Para encontrar actividades, ideas y mucho más descubrimiento en casa, ¡síguenos!

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: Asteroid Mining

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Earth & Space Science, Experiments

Post written by Charlotte Conway, Public Programs Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: Asteroid Mining

People have been mining on Earth for thousands of years. Yet someday in the near future, scientists might to go to space to mine in our solar system!

This is a future technology. Scientists and engineers are still just imagining how they will mine asteroids. Children in school today will be the workers who develop these technologies! Now is your chance to get a head start – how would you design a machine that can mine materials on an asteroid?

Supplies:

  • Asteroid drawing sheets (Included in PDF)
  • Markers or colored pencils
  • Challenge cards (Included in PDF)

Instructions:

Your mission: travel to a distant asteroid to mine for minerals and other resources.

  1. Use your imagination to design a mining machine. How does it work? What special instruments or tools does it need? Does your machine need to communicate back to Earth? How would it get power to operate?
  2. Draw a picture of your mining machine on the asteroid drawing worksheet. If you need inspiration for your design, or would like an extra challenge, choose a challenge card. Imagine you are the person on the card. How does this change your thinking about mining asteroids?
  3. Consider the following questions, or if you have a partner or caregiver available, start a discussion using these questions: Why would you mine an asteroid? What does the asteroid look like after mining? How do you think life on Earth would be different after mining?
  4. Great job on your design. You are helping to imagine the humans’ future of working and living in space!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading

Daily Discovery: 3-D Constellation

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Crafts, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Earth & Space Science

Post written by Sierra Tamkun, Learning Experiences Manager.

Daily Discovery: 3-D Constellation

Twinkle twinkle little star… I wonder how far away you are! From Earth, stars in constellations look like they grouped together in the same area of space. In reality, they are at different distances from us, and only look grouped together because of our perspective. Make your own 3-D constellation and see how close (and far away!) the different stars in the constellation Orion are to Earth!

Supplies:

  • Piece of cardboard or cardstock
  • Thin string or thread
  • 8 small beads (pony beads work well!) or buttons
  • Tape
  • Orion constellation images (attached)
  • Needle or pushpin
  • Pen or pencil
  • Ruler

Instructions:

  1. Draw out the constellation Orion on your piece of cardboard, or print the constellation provided and glue it on. Tip: if drawing the constellation, don’t forget to add the names of the stars!
  2. Poke a hole through the cardboard where each star is located.
  3. Cut 8 pieces of string. Each piece should be about 18 inches long.
  4. Tie a bead onto the end of each piece of string. These will be your stars!
  5. Thread the end without a bead through each of the holes on your cardboard.
  6. Using your ruler and the chart below, pull your string through until the bead is the correct distance from the cardboard. This distance will be different for each star. Place a piece of tape over the back of the string to keep it in place at the right length!
  7. Hold your constellation board above your head and allow the beads to hang towards you as you look up. From this perspective, the beads align to form the constellation Orion, just like on Earth!
  8. Now hold the board in front of you, allowing the beads to hang towards the floor. From this different perspective, see how the stars are not on the same plane but all in different locations in 3D space!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Continue Reading