Natural Learning: firing on all cylinders!

Yesterday Spikee spent half an hour quizzing us about fire so today we did an experiment to show him how fire needs oxygen.

We got a 3 litre milk bottle and sawed the bottom off it. Then we stuck an candle into a jar so it wouldn't fall over. We filled the sink with water, put the candle / jar in it and lit the candle. Then we covered it with the bottle and watched as the flame went out. We did it again, and this time, as the flame dimmed we took the lid off the bottle and watched it spring back up again.

(Goofy grin anyone!?)

After that we went for a walk to the park. We did the platypus walk along the river and as we walked out onto the lookout we spotted a platypus! We stood transfixed, watching it dive down and come up somewhere new, for about 10 mins before Spikee announced that he wanted to go to the skate park. 

our pantry science experiments!

We have been doing some simple science experiments lately. We tested alkaline and acids using purple cabbage water, bi-carb soda, and vinegar. It's like litmus paper, but more fun!

How to do it!

Boil some purple cabbage in a saucepan. Strain the water into a clear jar.

Add some bi-carb soda. This is an alkaline - or base, neutral - substance so it causes the purple water to change to pink.

Add some vinegar (make sure the container is over a bowl because the reaction of the bi-carb and vinegar can get exciting) and the water will change to blue! That's because vinegar is an acid!

We also made a compass using basic household equipment!

All you need is a round cork - the sort found in the top of jars, not bottles - a magnet, some sticky tape, and a needle, a bowl large enough to fit the cork in, and water.

What to do .....

Stroke the magnet in one direction down the needle for three to five minutes.

Use a small bit of sticky tape to stick it to the top of the cork.

Place the cork in the bowl of water and watch the needle spin until the end faces due north!

This shows the properties of magnetism and how they interact with the earth. it's pretty amazing if I do say so myself.