Spooky Science
Zombie Hands
Theme: Chemical Reactions
Objective
Parent will display video (below) about chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. Parent will showcase the experiment with a simple bottle, baking soda, balloon and vinegar.
Then, each student will then assemble their "graveyard" by putting holes in cup, sprinkle a pre-measured amount of baking soda, place glove over cup with a rubber band, place into pot and bury cup and gloves with dirt. Pour in pre-measured vinegar and watch for reaction: Glove rising through dirt.
Materials
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Vinegar, baking soda
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Balloon
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plastic gloves in different colors (ensure there are no allergies)
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paper cups
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rubber bands
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soil
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measuring cups
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syringes
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4" plastic pots
Engineering Marvels
Shake Lab: Earthquake Challenge
Theme: Structural Engineering
READ FIRST: Structure of Class
Prep @ 1:30: set up. - Air out marshmallows, first. - Place trays on each table group along with materials listed. - Students should have a limit of supplies per table. They cannot ask for more and must work with what they have. - Have one set up for you (instructor) to guide the class step-by-step. Project @ 2pm-2:50pm - 4-minute video showcasing Structural Engg. - Followed by a demonstration of a sample structure, discuss elements of stability and balance during "earthquake." See video: https://youtu.be/csMLUz-c4wo?si=zHZ93gve4e6Atp4D - Introduce project instructions. Clean up @ 2:50-3pm Please keep some time reserved for clean up and place unused items in bin and throw out marshmallows.
1) Structural Engineering 101
Parent will display video on architecture and how houses/buildings are built to withstand hurricanes and tornadoes. Talk about earthquakes and how the balance is maintained in the building. Parent will then demostrate an example and ask each table to come up with ways to stabilize their building using their tools. Students will have 15min to blueprint and then start building. Parent will come to each table and conduct a shake test. Students will have to approach the solution iteratively.
2) Shake Lab Challenge
Materials
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2 pencils/tray
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20 marbles/tray
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painters tape
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50 toothpicks/tray
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50 marshmallows/tray
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1 tray/group
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1 cardboard/group sized to fit tray: 9x7
Shake Table Setup
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Each table group should have 1 tray, with 2 pencils taped down like photo below.
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Spread marbles.
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Place cardboard (trimmed to shape of tray) over pencils and marbles to create a shake table.
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On the side there should be their set of toothpicks and marshmallows.
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Students should build on table before testing it on tray.
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Open bag of marshmallows at the beginning of the set up to make sure they are hard and not gooey.
Objective
Parent presents a problem and showcases two buckets with some personal items that fell down a "drain." Students have 15 min to design their solution, take measurements and then use another 15 min to gather materials & create clasp to pick up 1 or 2 items within 30 secs. They will keep making adjustments to their design as they test each time. You can have them watch the video below to go over the steps of engineering a solution.
Materials
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Various Art supplies
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hangers
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paper towel tubes
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magnets
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2 painter buckets
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cardboard boxes
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electric tape
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tape measurer
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personal items or props to place into bucket
Coding & Robotics
Battlebots!
Theme: Technology
Read First: Class Structure
@ STEM Lab 12:30-2:30pm 12:30-1:00: Prep/Set Up - Request keys from Mr. Fahy via text. - Locate bin of materials. - Set up & Test screen with video. - Ensure iPads and Robots are charged. Should start charging day before. - Each volunteer will man a station with an ipad. One will double up as timekeeper. - Set up enough room for 3 stations that accomodates 7-8 kids. 1:00-2:30 - Start with video and tutorial. - Count off children 1-3 and break into groups. - Rotate every 20 minutes. 2:30: Clean up: - Return materials to bins. - Charge bots and leave them there. I can check on them at the end of the school day. - Return keys to Mr. Fahy before you leave.
Required In-Person Training
Due to the nature of this very hands-on (but very fun!) lesson, Jen will be reaching out to schedule an in-person training session with the parent-volunteers to go over programming and testing project instructions.
You will showcase a video as a quick introduction to coding & robotics.
1) Introduction to Robotics
2) BaTTLE BOT!
Robot Rescue (+Block Coding) (30 Minutes)
Intro: Set up teams of 5 and on a grid place obstacles the kids need to avoid and a figure in a tight spot for the kids to get to.
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Challenge: Children need to carefully navigate around a land mine to get to the person in the middle using block coding on iPad. As a small group, they should work together on this.​
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​Design your Battlebot (25 Minutes)
Break kids into groups of 2 and start constructing and designing their robot skin per the video above. They should each come up with a robot name, first to help design a theme.​
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​Battle (20 Minutes)
Set up pool noodle ring to keep robots away from spectators.
There will be 4 robots at a time battling and so 4 teams at a time.
Each group will go 1 round out of 4 rounds. The final round will include the final 4 winners to battle it out for Championship win.​​​​​
3) Materials
- 5 iPads with Sphero Edu App installed.
- 4 Sphero Mini Balls
- 4 Floor Grids
- Landmine Cutouts
- Dolls or figurines
- Pool Noodles
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Clothing pins
- Bamboo Sticks
- Tape
- Markers
Physics Playground
STEAM Boat Racing
Theme: Potential/kinetic energy, gravity, friction, and weight distribution
Objective
Experiment with speed, design and physics. The core idea involves storing energy (potential) and then releasing it (kinetic) to create motion. Students will engineer torsion powered boats to race head to head against their classmates.​
Materials
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Plastic To-Go Containers Plastic Bottles
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Styrofoam
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Blocks
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Pencils
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Craft
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Sticks
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Rubber
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Bands
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Spoons
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Milk Cartons
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(2) 5 in x 10 ft Vinyl K-Style Gutters
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(2) 5 in. Vinyl K-Style End Cap Set
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Hose with Water Access
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Sharpie
Objective
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Students will need to build a robot hand. Then students will use the remaining materials for the robot arm.
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Build a Robot Hand: Have students follow instructions in video on how to build the robotic hand.
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Cut out an outline of your hand using the cardstock or cardboard.
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Cut each straw into 3 pieces and tape along fingers. They will first cut the straw in half. Then take one of the halves and cut it in half again, giving them 3 pieces.
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Thread string through the straws to move fingers.
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Robot Arm: After building their robot hand, design a robot arm that can pick up a ping pong ball.
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5 Movable fingers
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Robot arm must extend at least 6 inches or 15 cm beyond the length of your own hand
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Picks up a ping pong ball
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Test: Students will test the device by trying to pick a ping pong ball using only their robot arm. If they succeed, encourage them to pick up other heavier objects to see if their robot arm is strong enough.
Materials
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Scissors, Tape
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Pencil or Marker
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7 Straws
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5, 12 inch (30.48 cm) pieces of string
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3 Sheets of cardstock (for robot hand)
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Ping pong ball or similar object
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5 Sheets of construction paper
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Recycled materials, such as
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cardboard
Objective
After brief video introduction, design and build a shock-absorbing landing craft that will protect two “astronauts” when they land.
Materials
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Scissors
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1 piece of stiff paper or cardboard, approximately 4 x 5 in (10 x 13 cm)
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1 8 oz - 12 oz paper or plastic cup
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3 index cards - 3 x 5 in (8 x 13 cm)
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2 regular marshmallows (representing two astronauts)
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10 miniature marshmallows
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3 rubber bands
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8 plastic straws
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Tape, 1 meter