Hooked on Science

TAKE A DIVE: I feel very fortunate - we have so many nifty science-y things around the house, it was hard for me to decide which one to try today.

I ended up opting for a 99 cent Value Village score. A couple of weeks ago I found a Cartesian diver kit that had been untouched by its original owner. Their loss, our gain! And don't you just have to love a box that says "BE AMAZING!" on it?

Our first step in today's experiment was taking stock to make sure we had all of the elements - two "pipettes" (a plastic bulb with a plastic tube attached), two wires, two brass hex nuts. Check!
We had to affix the hex nuts to the bottoms of the pipettes, and cut off most of the tubes, which we did with no trouble. Annabelle helped wrap the blue wire around one nut and fashioned a hook shape. CJ helped wrap the red wire around the other hex hut and fashion a loop.

Per directions, we filled a recycled water bottle to the brim (that part was important), and squeezed the pipette with the hook-wired affixed to fill the bulb about half way - to the point where it would bob but not sink. We filled the bulb on the loop-wired pipette a little more, so that it would automatically sink to the bottom of the bottle no matter what. Our bobbing hook and sinking loop pipettes were placed then the bottle and then the fun began.

The kids took turns trying to hook the red loop with the blue wire. First they had to squeeze ... And then, at just the right time, let go!
It took them each a few tries to get the hang of it, but before long they were controlling their diver pretty well.

"What's a 'Cartesian'?" CJ asked at one point. Good question, CJ, glad you asked!

The literature that came with the kit did a nice job of explaining that a Cartesian Diver is an experiment that was first done hundreds of years ago. It's named from Rene Descartes (1596-1650) of France, who was a philosopher, mathematician and scientist. Descartes purportedly made his divers out of glass medicine droppers.

So why do the divers diver? Well, when they were squeezing the bottle, CJ and Annabelle were forcing the trapped air in the pipette to compress into a smaller space, making the diver's weight increase. Conversely, when they let go, the compressed air in the pipette expands, forcing water out of the diver and allowing it to float back to the surface.

The kids have played with the diver on and off all day. We certainly got our 99 cents worth!

SOAKING IN: After he finished math this morning, CJ asked, "Do you remember a song called 'Four Seasons'?"

I asked if he meant the one by Vivaldi, and he said yes. He started singing part of it da-dah da-da-da da da-da! and wanted to know which season it was from. I guessed "Spring," and we hopped to YouTube to confirm it. Bingo!

He and Annabelle then asked if they could listen to all four seasons. You know I said yes. :)

We talked about how Winter might be the best know of Vivaldi's "seasons" and guessed that perhaps because it's the most dramatic. Fall and Spring are both often used on soundtracks and for, commercials, too. After listening to them all, we decided summer is probably the least famous. We wonder if that's because it's the least dramatic (to our ears). But it's not that Summer is uninteresting - especially if you're listening to it while watching sand animation artist Ferenc Cakó at work.

ON POINT: The kids continued to rack up Accelerated Reader points today. They took quizzes on the five books we read yesterday.

Not like I'd want them taking standardized tests everyday, but I do see value in this exercise. First, it demonstrates that they retained and understood what they read, and second, it desensitizes (for lack of a better word) them to standardized tests. There are going to be tests they have to take in the future, and knowing how to take quizzes and tests is an important skill for them to have.

LAST CLASS: Annabelle's last soccer class was this afternoon. She and her one and only classmate got to choose their favorite games from class to play. They had a great time - her friend even running out of his shoes at one point (Annabelle kindly helped him put them back on).

At the end of class they got little certificates of completion. We wish we could sign her up for another session, but they are moving the class to Mondays, right at the same time as her ballet class. As an alternative, we're mulling over signing her up for an indoor soccer session at a local arena. Stay tuned ...