Saturday, August 2, 2008
Sounds Great—Bottled Music
YOU WILL NEED
Five identical plastic bottles
Water
HERE'S HOW
Fill five identical plastic bottles with varying amounts of water. Arrange the bottles in order from most to least full. Blow across the top of each bottle and compare the different sounds you make.
WHY?
Changing the amounts of air and water in the bottles lets you change the pitch—how high or low the sound is. When you blow across the tops of the bottles, you are making the air inside vibrate. In bottles with more air, vibrations are slower, so the pitch is lower.
Five identical plastic bottles
Water
HERE'S HOW
Fill five identical plastic bottles with varying amounts of water. Arrange the bottles in order from most to least full. Blow across the top of each bottle and compare the different sounds you make.
WHY?
Changing the amounts of air and water in the bottles lets you change the pitch—how high or low the sound is. When you blow across the tops of the bottles, you are making the air inside vibrate. In bottles with more air, vibrations are slower, so the pitch is lower.
All Charged Up
YOU WILL NEED
A comb
A water faucet
A comb
A water faucet
HERE’S HOW
Comb your hair on a dry day. Hold the comb near a thin trickle of water from the faucet. The water should bend toward the comb.
WHY?
Running a comb through your hair creates friction that moves electrons from your hair to the comb, charging the comb with static electricity. The comb now has a negative charge. When you move the comb near the water, its negative charge pushes away some of the negative charge in the water, leaving the water with a positive charge. Positive and negative charges attract, so the water bends toward the comb.
Create a Motion Ocean
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Water is denser than oil. Plus, the two liquids never mix. So when the water moves, it pushes the oil around, making shapes like waves.
YOU WILL NEED
Clear jar with lid
Water
Blue food coloring
Glitter
Baby oil
Plastic floating toys
1. Fill the jar halfway with water.
2. Add drops of food coloring until you like the color you see. Shake in a little glitter.
3. Pour in baby oil until the jar is three-quarters full.
4. Place a floating toy on top of the oil, then screw on the lid tightly.
5. Shake the jar gently to set your ocean in motion.
Water is denser than oil. Plus, the two liquids never mix. So when the water moves, it pushes the oil around, making shapes like waves.
YOU WILL NEED
Clear jar with lid
Water
Blue food coloring
Glitter
Baby oil
Plastic floating toys
1. Fill the jar halfway with water.
2. Add drops of food coloring until you like the color you see. Shake in a little glitter.
3. Pour in baby oil until the jar is three-quarters full.
4. Place a floating toy on top of the oil, then screw on the lid tightly.
5. Shake the jar gently to set your ocean in motion.
Reusable Grocery Bag
Decorate a canvas tote for your parents to use at the grocery store in place of plastic bags. Be creative and help the environment.
YOU WILL NEED
Canvas tote bag
Cookie cutters
Pencil
Fabric paint
HERE'S HOW
1. Lay the canvas bag flat.
2. Place a cookie cutter on the fabric and draw around it.
3. Paint the cookie-cutter shapes with fabric paint.
4. Allow paint to dry.
5. Give to mom or dad to use to use at the grocery store in place of plastic. Remember, bag the [plastic] bag!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Beach Bowling
There is more you can do with sand than build castles! Play this awesome beach bowling game with your family, or maybe you can think of another creative way to play in the sand.
YOU WILL NEED
A ball
A bucket or cup
HERE'S HOW
1. Fill the bucket with moist sand, pat it down, and turn it over to make your first bowling pin.
2. Continue to fill the bucket with sand to create a total of ten bowling pins and set them up in a bowling triangle by following step three.
3. To create a bowling triangle, place one pin in first row, two pins in the second row, three in the third row, and four in the last row.
4. Take five or six steps from pins and draw a line in the sand.
5. Stand behind the line and roll the ball toward the pins to knock them over.
6. Each player gets to roll the ball twice, like real bowling.
7. The next player will have to create his or her bowling pins by repeating steps one through three.
8. Each player should keep track of the number of pins knocked down for each turn.
9. At the end of the game, winner gets to kick over remaining sand pins while screaming, “I am the beach bowling master!”
YOU WILL NEED
A ball
A bucket or cup
HERE'S HOW
1. Fill the bucket with moist sand, pat it down, and turn it over to make your first bowling pin.
2. Continue to fill the bucket with sand to create a total of ten bowling pins and set them up in a bowling triangle by following step three.
3. To create a bowling triangle, place one pin in first row, two pins in the second row, three in the third row, and four in the last row.
4. Take five or six steps from pins and draw a line in the sand.
5. Stand behind the line and roll the ball toward the pins to knock them over.
6. Each player gets to roll the ball twice, like real bowling.
7. The next player will have to create his or her bowling pins by repeating steps one through three.
8. Each player should keep track of the number of pins knocked down for each turn.
9. At the end of the game, winner gets to kick over remaining sand pins while screaming, “I am the beach bowling master!”
Summer Fun: Make a List!
The long weeks of summer fun stretch ahead of you. You'll have more time to spend with your friends and family since you won't have to worry about homework.
You probably have some great ideas for what to do to fill up the next few months. Why not make a list with your parents? Fill it with all the cool things you want to be sure to do as a family before the summer ends.
YOU WILL NEED
A large sheet of paper or posterboard
A pen or permanent marker
Gold star stickers (other colors are fine, too!)
Markers (optional)
Other stickers, glitter glue, and other decorative touches (optional)
HERE'S HOW
1. Sit down with your family and talk about the things you might like to do this summer. Create columns of different types of activities (such as things to learn, things to make, places to go, and so on), then fill them in.
2. Decorate your list! Draw pictures of the things you’ll be doing. Let your imagination run wild!
3. Each time you complete an activity on your list, mark it with a gold star. See how many stars you can collect before you go back to school.
You probably have some great ideas for what to do to fill up the next few months. Why not make a list with your parents? Fill it with all the cool things you want to be sure to do as a family before the summer ends.
YOU WILL NEED
A large sheet of paper or posterboard
A pen or permanent marker
Gold star stickers (other colors are fine, too!)
Markers (optional)
Other stickers, glitter glue, and other decorative touches (optional)
HERE'S HOW
1. Sit down with your family and talk about the things you might like to do this summer. Create columns of different types of activities (such as things to learn, things to make, places to go, and so on), then fill them in.
2. Decorate your list! Draw pictures of the things you’ll be doing. Let your imagination run wild!
3. Each time you complete an activity on your list, mark it with a gold star. See how many stars you can collect before you go back to school.
Plant a Garden
You don't need a huge patch of land to grow a garden. A small square of backyard or a flowerpot on a balcony or sunny windowsill will do just fine! With a little bit of care, you and your family can enjoy tomatoes or flowers that you grew together.
YOU WILL NEED
A seedling tomato, herb, or flower (look for these at supermarkets, garden centers, or farmers' markets)
A trowel
A flowerpot, window box, or sunny patch of backyard
Potting soil (if you are using a flowerpot or window box)
A watering can
HERE'S HOW
Fill your flowerpot or window box about three-quarters full with potting soil. If you are planting in your backyard, select a site. Make sure you check with your parents before you start digging!
With your trowel, dig a hole deep and wide enough to hold the roots of your plant. Be sure your flowerpot will provide enough space for the roots to grow. Place the plant in the hole, then fill in the dirt around the roots. Pat the dirt down gently, but don't pack it down too tightly.
Water your plant immediately after planting. A little water is best. If you are using a flowerpot or window box, place your plant in a sunny spot near a window. Water it every few days or if the soil is dry. When your tomatoes or herbs are ready for harvest, choose a recipe to make and share with your family, such as pico de gallo.
YOU WILL NEEDA seedling tomato, herb, or flower (look for these at supermarkets, garden centers, or farmers' markets)
A trowel
A flowerpot, window box, or sunny patch of backyard
Potting soil (if you are using a flowerpot or window box)
A watering can
HERE'S HOW
Fill your flowerpot or window box about three-quarters full with potting soil. If you are planting in your backyard, select a site. Make sure you check with your parents before you start digging!
With your trowel, dig a hole deep and wide enough to hold the roots of your plant. Be sure your flowerpot will provide enough space for the roots to grow. Place the plant in the hole, then fill in the dirt around the roots. Pat the dirt down gently, but don't pack it down too tightly.
Water your plant immediately after planting. A little water is best. If you are using a flowerpot or window box, place your plant in a sunny spot near a window. Water it every few days or if the soil is dry. When your tomatoes or herbs are ready for harvest, choose a recipe to make and share with your family, such as pico de gallo.
Green Invaders
Green invaders are taking over America. Nope, not invaders from space. Plants. You might not think of plants as dangerous, but in this case they are threatening nature's delicate food web.The invaders are plants from other countries brought here to make gardens and yards look pretty. Ever since people started to arrive on America's shores, they've carried along trees, flowers, and vegetables from other places.
Now there are so many of those plants, they are crowding out the native plants that have lived here since before human settlers arrived.
And that's a problem, says Dr. Doug Tallamy. He's an entomologist (an insect expert) at the University of Delaware. He explains that almost all the plant-eating insects in the United States—90% of them—are specialized. That means they eat only certain plants.
Pretty orange and black monarch butterflies, for example, can only dine on one plant: milkweed. If people cut down milkweed and replace it with something else, the butterflies starve, because their bodies cannot accept any other food.
But the trouble doesn't stop there, it goes right across the food web. When insects can't get the right plants to eat and they die off, then the birds don't have enough bugs for their meals. Tallamy points out that almost all migrating birds depend on insects to feed their young.
"We cannot let the plants and animals around us disappear," says Tallamy. "The way to preserve them is to give them food to eat. But when we plant non-native plants, we are clobbering the food web, because then we don't have the insects the birds need to live."
Fewer of the right plants mean fewer bugs, and fewer bugs mean fewer birds. And that's bad for the Earth, because we need a variety of living things to keep the planet healthy and beautiful.
The good news is, gardeners everywhere are working hard to protect native plants and get rid of the invaders. Many local garden centers sell native plants. "Just Google 'native plants' and your location, and you can find out which plants really belong where you live," says Tallamy.
Planting the right things makes a real difference, and fast. He describes planting milkweed in a tiny city courtyard about the size of a living room one spring. By summertime, that milkweed patch had produced 50 new monarch butterflies!
Tallamy encourages kids to go out and plant native plants. "Adopt a bird species in trouble and see if you can't plant some things that will attract the insects they need," he suggests. "It will happen—insects move around a lot, and they will find the plants you put out there for them!"
Earth Day Tip:
Plant a native plant or tree this year!
by Catherine Clarke Fox
Beijing Prepares for the 2008 Olympic Games
This summer, China will host the Beijing Olympics. Thousands of top athletes and millions of fans will pour into Beijing starting in August. To prepare, the city has planned a lot of new buildings, including stadiums, hotels for all the fans, and an entire village within the city where the athletes and coaches will live.
Some of the new buildings are like no others in the world. The National Stadium, for example, is called the “Bird’s Nest". Even though it’s made of steel and concrete, the stadium looks just like a giant nest made of sticks.
At one point, as many as 7,000 workers were building the huge stadium! It has 91,000 seats for fans who want to watch competitions in sports including archery, BMX biking, and wrestling.
The National Aquatics Center is nicknamed the “Water Cube”. The outside of the building looks like a shimmering pile of soap bubbles, with 624 pillow-like sections that fit together to cover it. The special covering helps keep the temperature and humidity inside the structure just right.
Swimmers, divers, and water polo teams will all compete here. And when the summer games are over, the building won’t stand empty. It will be “recycled” into a water park.
The Olympic Village, where more than 15,000 athletes and coaches will live during the games, has a dining hall that can serve 5,000 people. The village also has its own shops, entertainment center, library, and even a fire station.
The Chinese have worked hard to try to make sure the Olympics aren’t bad for the environment. In the Olympic Village, solar panels provide some of the electricity to keep the lights on. Rain will be collected to help provide water for drinking and bathing. Lots of city buses and trains will mean fewer people driving around in cars and taxis that cause pollution.
Unfortunately, China is already one of the most polluted countries in the world. The government has tried to reduce air pollution from cars and factories in Beijing, but many athletes worry that the air is still unhealthy and could make them sick. Some are planning to keep their visits as short as possible.
The Chinese have thought of everything to make their Olympic guests more comfortable—including the weather. They even plan to use special techniques to keep rain clouds from spoiling the Opening Ceremony.
Star Parties: Discovering the Night Sky
More than a hundred adults and kids gather on a cold evening, chattering excitedly as they stand in the dark on a Virginia hillside.
The odd thing is, no one has turned on a flashlight, and no streetlights or house lights wink on around them.
These people have traveled to the countryside more than an hour from Washington, D.C., to get away from the glow of city lights. That’s because they are attending a star party.
Star parties are gatherings where professional and amateur astronomers set up their telescopes and invite people to come learn about the night sky. Getting away from light pollution, or artificial skylight from buildings for example, helps stargazers see objects in the sky much better.
At this star party, Sean O’Brien of the National Air and Space Museum’s Einstein Planetarium starts off by asking the crowd to simply look up and take in all they can see. He points out plenty of things that can be seen with out special equipment. Stars, satellites, and even the Andromeda galaxy can be found if you know where to look.
After O’Brien’s guided tour, several dozen astronomers offer close-up views. Each has focused their telescope on a different part of the sky. As kids take a look, the owner gives a mini-lesson.
O’Brien says you can have your own star party at home and learn a lot just by paying attention to what’s happening up above. “Watch the sky as the seasons pass, and you will see that it changes,” he says.
“Or start with the moon. Lots of people know the full moon and the crescent moon, but don’t know the phases in between. Notice when and where you are seeing it—maybe even in the early morning while you wait for the school bus.”
More Stargazing Tips from Sean O’Brien:
> Winter is a good time for stargazing because the haze caused by summer's humidity in many parts of the country is gone.
> You don't need an expensive telescope, just a star chart. In fact, a telescope can be frustrating if you don't have a basic knowledge of the night sky. Try binoculars first, and use a tripod to hold them up so your arms don't get tired.
> Find a place where you feel safe.
> Look for a spot where lights aren't shining in your eyes, like in the shadow of your house where your neighbor's porch light is blocked.
> Take your time. You will see a lot more after 30 minutes in the dark than you will after just a few minutes because your eyes need time to adjust to the dark.
The odd thing is, no one has turned on a flashlight, and no streetlights or house lights wink on around them.
These people have traveled to the countryside more than an hour from Washington, D.C., to get away from the glow of city lights. That’s because they are attending a star party.
Star parties are gatherings where professional and amateur astronomers set up their telescopes and invite people to come learn about the night sky. Getting away from light pollution, or artificial skylight from buildings for example, helps stargazers see objects in the sky much better.
At this star party, Sean O’Brien of the National Air and Space Museum’s Einstein Planetarium starts off by asking the crowd to simply look up and take in all they can see. He points out plenty of things that can be seen with out special equipment. Stars, satellites, and even the Andromeda galaxy can be found if you know where to look.
After O’Brien’s guided tour, several dozen astronomers offer close-up views. Each has focused their telescope on a different part of the sky. As kids take a look, the owner gives a mini-lesson.
O’Brien says you can have your own star party at home and learn a lot just by paying attention to what’s happening up above. “Watch the sky as the seasons pass, and you will see that it changes,” he says.
“Or start with the moon. Lots of people know the full moon and the crescent moon, but don’t know the phases in between. Notice when and where you are seeing it—maybe even in the early morning while you wait for the school bus.”
More Stargazing Tips from Sean O’Brien:
> Winter is a good time for stargazing because the haze caused by summer's humidity in many parts of the country is gone.
> You don't need an expensive telescope, just a star chart. In fact, a telescope can be frustrating if you don't have a basic knowledge of the night sky. Try binoculars first, and use a tripod to hold them up so your arms don't get tired.
> Find a place where you feel safe.
> Look for a spot where lights aren't shining in your eyes, like in the shadow of your house where your neighbor's porch light is blocked.
> Take your time. You will see a lot more after 30 minutes in the dark than you will after just a few minutes because your eyes need time to adjust to the dark.
Looking for a star party near you? Contact your local planetarium, science museum, or astronomy club.
Green Tips: Save Power
by Emily Busch
It’s easy to protect the planet! These tips help save energy. So get green and give the tips a try. Make sure to ask your parents before trying any of these tips!
Keep those fans buzzing in summer instead of turning on the air conditioner.
>Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent ones. They last up to ten times longer and can use a quarter of the energy.
>Plug electronics into a power strip and flip off the switch when the gadgets aren’t in use. (make sure this won’t mess up clocks and recordings.)
>Switch off the light every time you leave a room.
>Set the thermostat to no lower than 78°F in the summer and no higher than 68°F in the winter.
>Place your desk next to a window and use natural light instead of a lamp.
>Close your curtains to keep out daytime summer heat or keep in nighttime winter warmth.
>Turn off the TV or video game console and play outside.
>Ask Mom or Dad to turn off the car instead of letting it idle while you're waiting.
>Ride a bike or walk instead of using the car.
>Carpool.
Share these green tips with your family and friends!
It’s easy to protect the planet! These tips help save energy. So get green and give the tips a try. Make sure to ask your parents before trying any of these tips!
Keep those fans buzzing in summer instead of turning on the air conditioner.
>Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent ones. They last up to ten times longer and can use a quarter of the energy.
>Plug electronics into a power strip and flip off the switch when the gadgets aren’t in use. (make sure this won’t mess up clocks and recordings.)
>Switch off the light every time you leave a room.
>Set the thermostat to no lower than 78°F in the summer and no higher than 68°F in the winter.
>Place your desk next to a window and use natural light instead of a lamp.
>Close your curtains to keep out daytime summer heat or keep in nighttime winter warmth.
>Turn off the TV or video game console and play outside.
>Ask Mom or Dad to turn off the car instead of letting it idle while you're waiting.
>Ride a bike or walk instead of using the car.
>Carpool.
Share these green tips with your family and friends!
Your Amazing Brain
by Douglas A. Richards
You carry around a three-pound mass of wrinkly material in your head that controls every single thing you will ever do. From enabling you to think, learn, create, and feel emotions to controlling every blink, breath, and heartbeat—this fantastic control center is your brain. It is a structure so amazing that a famous scientist once called it "the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe."
Your brain is faster and more powerful than a supercomputer.
Your kitten is on the kitchen counter. She's about to step onto a hot stove. You have only seconds to act. Accessing the signals coming from your eyes, your brain quickly calculates when, where, and at what speed you will need to dive to intercept her. Then it orders your muscles to do so. Your timing is perfect and she's safe. No computer can come close to your brain's awesome ability to download, process, and react to the flood of information coming from your eyes, ears, and other sensory organs.
Your brain generates enough electricity to power a lightbulb.
Your brain contains about 100 billion microscopic cells called neurons—so many it would take you over 3,000 years to count them all. Whenever you dream, laugh, think, see, or move, it’s because tiny chemical and electrical signals are racing between these neurons along billions of tiny neuron highways. Believe it or not, the activity in your brain never stops. Countless messages zip around inside it every second like a supercharged pinball machine. Your neurons create and send more messages than all the phones in the entire world. And while a single neuron generates only a tiny amount of electricity, all your neurons together can generate enough electricity to power a low-wattage bulb.
Neurons send information to your brain at more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour.
A bee lands on your bare foot. Sensory neurons in your skin relay this information to your spinal cord and brain at a speed of more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour. Your brain then uses motor neurons to transmit the message back through your spinal cord to your foot to shake the bee off quickly. Motor neurons can relay this information at more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) per hour.
When you learn, you change the structure of your brain.
Riding a bike seems impossible at first. But soon you master it. How? As you practice, your brain sends "bike riding" messages along certain pathways of neurons over and over, forming new connections. In fact, the structure of your brain changes every time you learn, as well as whenever you have a new thought or memory.
Exercise helps make you smarter.
It is well known that any exercise that makes your heart beat faster, like running or playing basketball, is great for your body and can even help improve your mood. But scientists have recently learned that for a period of time after you've exercised, your body produces a chemical that makes your brain more receptive to learning. So if you're stuck on a homework problem, go out and play a game of soccer, then try the problem again. You just might discover that you're able to solve it.
You carry around a three-pound mass of wrinkly material in your head that controls every single thing you will ever do. From enabling you to think, learn, create, and feel emotions to controlling every blink, breath, and heartbeat—this fantastic control center is your brain. It is a structure so amazing that a famous scientist once called it "the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe."
Your brain is faster and more powerful than a supercomputer.
Your kitten is on the kitchen counter. She's about to step onto a hot stove. You have only seconds to act. Accessing the signals coming from your eyes, your brain quickly calculates when, where, and at what speed you will need to dive to intercept her. Then it orders your muscles to do so. Your timing is perfect and she's safe. No computer can come close to your brain's awesome ability to download, process, and react to the flood of information coming from your eyes, ears, and other sensory organs.
Your brain generates enough electricity to power a lightbulb.
Your brain contains about 100 billion microscopic cells called neurons—so many it would take you over 3,000 years to count them all. Whenever you dream, laugh, think, see, or move, it’s because tiny chemical and electrical signals are racing between these neurons along billions of tiny neuron highways. Believe it or not, the activity in your brain never stops. Countless messages zip around inside it every second like a supercharged pinball machine. Your neurons create and send more messages than all the phones in the entire world. And while a single neuron generates only a tiny amount of electricity, all your neurons together can generate enough electricity to power a low-wattage bulb.
Neurons send information to your brain at more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour.
A bee lands on your bare foot. Sensory neurons in your skin relay this information to your spinal cord and brain at a speed of more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour. Your brain then uses motor neurons to transmit the message back through your spinal cord to your foot to shake the bee off quickly. Motor neurons can relay this information at more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) per hour.
When you learn, you change the structure of your brain.
Riding a bike seems impossible at first. But soon you master it. How? As you practice, your brain sends "bike riding" messages along certain pathways of neurons over and over, forming new connections. In fact, the structure of your brain changes every time you learn, as well as whenever you have a new thought or memory.
Exercise helps make you smarter.
It is well known that any exercise that makes your heart beat faster, like running or playing basketball, is great for your body and can even help improve your mood. But scientists have recently learned that for a period of time after you've exercised, your body produces a chemical that makes your brain more receptive to learning. So if you're stuck on a homework problem, go out and play a game of soccer, then try the problem again. You just might discover that you're able to solve it.
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