REALLY COOL

SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS
 Laboratory Manual
This manual comes with the following:
1) 28 different experiments for you to conduct (but you can add more!)
2) Laboratory notebook
3) Personal protection equipment (gloves, safety glass, and lab coat)
4) All the supplies you need to conduct each experiment at least twice

For each experiment, you will see the following

1) A Reminder Box telling you all the things you need to do
BEFORE conducting the experiment
2) A learning Goal
3) A Caution Box warning you about potential dangers
4) A list of the Materials you need
5) The Methods you will use
6) Reminders to write Predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
7) Reminders to write your Observations in your Laboratory
Notebook
8) A section explaining the scientific concepts for the experiment
9) A section telling you want kind of scientist uses these kinds of
experiments in real life
10) An example of a real-life scientist who DOES use this science

Let’s do some
science!

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Magnetic Slime 3
Cloud Soap 5
Cloud in a Bottle 7
Imploding Can 9
Bouncy Egg 11
Invisible Ink 13
DIY Hovercraft 15
Crystal Flowers 17
Balloon Races 19
Exploding Bag 21
Balloon Inflator 23
Geode Necklace 25
Glitter Slime 27
Soap Playdoh 29
Crystal Seashells 31
Christmas Circuit 33
Benzoic Acid Snow Globe 35
Elephant Toothpaste 37
Yeast Balloons 39
Homemade Petri Dishes 41
Film Cannister Rockets 43
Magic Rainbow Milk 45
Candy Chromatography 47
Make Sprinkles Dance 49
Crystal Rainbow 51
Tornado in a Jar 53
Leaf Skeleton 55
Bean House 57
A Mostly Complete List of Materials 59
Original Sources of Information 60

2
 Magnetic slime

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
7.

GOAL: Learn about adhesion & Magnetism

Materials
Liquid Starch
Elmer’s Glue
Iron Oxide Powder § Neodymium magnets are extremely
Mixing bowl strong. Slide magnets apart or fingers
Plastic spoon can get pinched.
¼ cup measuring cup § Keep magnets away from cellphones,
Tablespoon
Neodymium – rare Earth magnet computers, and other electronics!

Methods
1. Pour 1/4 cup of white PVA glue into your mixing bowl. You may have to
use the spoon to scrape all the glue out of the measuring cup.
2. Add 2 Tablespoons of iron oxide powder. Stir well. Mixture will look
like Oreo cookie crumbs
3. Pour in 1/8 cup of liquid starch. What do you think will happen when
you mix in the starch? Write your predictions in your laboratory
Notebook.
4. Stir the glue and starch mixture really well to make sure that it’s all
mixed. As soon as you begin to stir, the starch will react with the glue
and the slime will start to form. Write your observations in your
laboratory notebook.
5. Knead the slime with your hands.
6. Wash your hands
7. Play! Place the rare Earth magnet next to slime. What do you think will
happen? Write & draw your observations in your laboratory notebook.

3
What’s happening?
The iron oxide powder in the slime is attracted to the magnet.
Iron is one of three elements that is magnetic at room
temperature. The other two elements that are magnetic at
room temperature are cobalt and nickel. The mixture of school
glue with borax creates the slimy substance that holds the
iron. What prevents the iron filings from flying out of the slime and to the
magnet? The slime is able to hold on to the iron filings by adhesion.
Adhesion is the force that holds molecules of different substances
together. The slime is also bonded together by cohesion, the force that
holds molecules of the same substance together. This combination of
magnetism, adhesion, and cohesion results in the stretchy, moving slime
when a neodymium magnet is held near the mixture.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Physicists study matter and the forces (pushes or pulls) that act on it.
(Matter is what makes up all physical objects). The force of magnets,
called magnetism, is a basic force of nature, like electricity and gravity.
Magnetism works over a distance. This means that a magnet does not have
to be touching an object to pull it.

Esther Conwell was a physicist

and chemist known for her
pioneering semiconductor science.
Her research investigating the
fundamental properties of
semiconductors and conducting
polymers paved the way for
modern computing and silicone
microchips.

Chemical Engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together

with mathematics and economics to produce, transform, and properly use
chemicals, materials, and energy. They also design processes and
equipment for large-scale safe

Joan Berkowitz is a chemist and

environmental consultant. She
uses her command of chemistry
to help solve problems with
pollution and industrial waste.

4
 CLOUD SOAP

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
7.

GOAL: Learn how air responds when heated

Materials
One bar of Ivory soap § Soap will be hot!
§ Double check your microwave to
A shallow dish
A microwave be sure there isn’t extra dried
soap in there
Methods
1. Unwrap one bar of soap and place in a shallow dish in your microwave. What do
you think will happen when you heat up the soap? Write down your predictions in
your Laboratory Notebook.
2. Set the timer for 2.5 minutes and “cook” the soap on high. It will only take a
few seconds before it starts to swell and grow. Write down your observations in
your laboratory notebook.
3. The soap will stop expanding after a couple of minutes. (You can read more
about the science behind this experiment here if you like, and why it’ll only work
with this particular brand of soap.) The resulting fluffy-looking mass will be hot
to the touch and will feel dry and brittle, not soft and poufy as one would
expect.
4. What you can you do with the cloud soap?
a. Take it into the tub with you and scrub-a-dub-dub!
b. Crumble the cloud into a bowl, add some water, press into fun molds to
make your bars of soap.
5
What’s Happening?
When soap is made it is whipped up like frosting. This
whipping traps a lot of air inside of the soap. When air
gets hot it expands – it gets bigger. So, when you put it
in the microwave, the air in the soap heats up, expands,
and makes the whole bar of soap expand.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemical Engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together with
mathematics and economics to produce, transform, and properly use chemicals,
materials, and energy. They also design processes and equipment for large-scale
safe and sustainable manufacturing of chemicals. Food, fuel, paper, plastics, and
chemicals are some of the most common products that chemical engineers design
processes for.

Lisa Perez Jackson is an American chemical

engineer who served as the Administrator of the
United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) from 2009 to 2013. She is the first
African-American to have held that position. She
served as the assistant commissioner for land use
management during 2005. Jackson headed
numerous programs, including land use regulation,
water supply, geological survey, water monitoring
and standards, and watershed management. She
focused on developing a system of incentives for
stimulating what was in her opinion the right
growth in the right places. Under her leadership,
the state Department of Environmental Protection
developed regulatory standards for implementing
the landmark Highlands Water Protection and
Planning Act.

6
 Cloud in a Bottle
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn how clouds form

Materials
2-liter clear plastic bottle
Matches
Matches can burn you! Have
Warm water
an adult help!
Methods
1. Fill the clear plastic 2-liter bottle one-third full of warm water
and place the cap on. As warm water evaporates, it adds water vapor
to the air inside the bottle. This is the first ingredient to make a
cloud.
2. Squeeze and release the bottle and observe what happens. Write down
your observations in your laboratory notebook. You’ll notice that
nothing happens. Why? The squeeze represents the warming that occurs
in the atmosphere. The release represents the cooling that occurs in
the atmosphere. If the inside of the bottle becomes cover with
condensation or water droplets, just shake the bottle to get rid of
them.
3. Take the cap off the bottle. Carefully light a match and hold the
match near the opening of the bottle. What do you think will happen?
Write your predictions down in your laboratory notebook.
4. Then drop the match in the bottle and quickly put on the cap,
trapping the smoke inside. Dust, smoke or other particles in the air
is the second ingredient to make a cloud.
5. Once again, slowly squeeze the bottle hard and release. What
happens? Write down your observations in your laboratory notebook. A
cloud appears when you release and disappears when you squeeze. The
third ingredient in clouds is a drop in air pressure.

7
What’s Happening?

Water vapor, water in its

invisible gaseous state, can
be made to condense into the
form of small cloud
droplets. By adding
particles such as the smoke
enhances the process of
water condensation and by
squeezing the bottle causes
the air pressure to drop.
This creates a cloud!

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Meteorologists are scientists that study the atmosphere to predict and
understand earth's weather. They help us prepare for each day's
temperatures and let us know to expect rain, snow, or sun.

Dr. Kristen Corbosiero studies the

structure and intensity change of
tropical cyclones using both
observational data sets and high-
resolution numerical models.
Specifically, she is interested in
understanding the physical processes
responsible for the formation of
hurricane rainbands and secondary
eyewalls, and how tropical cyclones
respond to, and evolve in, vertical wind
shear. In addition, Dr. Corbosiero is
currently pursuing research aimed at
understanding the role of cloud
microphysical parameterizations on the
track and intensity of simulated
tropical cyclones, the mechanisms of
rapid intensity change in hurricanes,
and the impact of recurving eastern
North Pacific tropical cyclones on the
North American Monsoon System.

8
 Imploding Can
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn pressure acts as a force

Materials
Empty aluminum soft-drink can
2- or 3-liter (2- or 3-quart) saucepan § Do not heat the can over high
Pair of kitchen tongs heat or heat the can when it is
empty. This may cause the ink on
the can to burn or the aluminum
to melt.
§ The can will be hot, you will
need an adult to help you.
Methods
1. Fill the saucepan with cold water.
2. Put 1 tablespoon of water into the empty soft-drink can and place the can on the
stove.
3. Heat the can on the kitchen stove to boil the water.
4. When the water boils, a cloud of condensed vapor will escape from the opening
in the can. Allow the water to boil for about 30 seconds. Write down your
observations in your laboratory notebook.
5. Using the tongs, grasp the can and quickly invert it and dip it into the water in the
pan. What do you think will happen to the can? Write down your predictions in
your laboratory notebook. What did happen to the can? Write down your
observations in your laboratory notebook. Why do you think this happened to the
can?

9
What’s Happening?
§ What caused the can to collapse? A
can is crushed when the pressure
outside is greater than the pressure
inside, and the pressure difference is
greater than the can is able to
withstand. You can crush an open
aluminum can with your hand. When you squeeze on the can, the pressure outside
becomes greater than the pressure inside. If you squeeze hard enough the can
collapses.
§ Usually, air pressure inside an open can is the same as the pressure outside.
However, in this experiment, the air was driven out of the can & replaced by water
vapor. When the water vapor condensed, the pressure inside the can became
much less than the air pressure outside. Then the air outside crushed the can.
§ When you heated the can you caused the water in it to boil. The vapor from the
boiling water pushed air out of the can – remember heat makes air expand…get
bigger. When the can was filled with water vapor, you cooled it suddenly by
inverting it in water. Cooling the can caused the water vapor in the can to
condense (get smaller), creating a partial vacuum. The extremely low pressure of
the partial vacuum inside the can made it possible for the pressure of the air
outside the can to crush it.
§ When the water vapor inside the can condensed, the can was empty. You may
have expected the water in the pan to fill the can through the hole in the can. Some
water from the pan may do this. However, the water cannot flow into the can fast
enough to fill the can before the air outside crushes it.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemical engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together with mathematics and
economics to produce, transform, and properly use chemicals, materials, and energy. They
also design processes and equipment for large-scale safe and sustainable manufacturing of
chemicals. Food, fuel, paper, plastics, and chemicals are some of the most common products
that chemical engineers design processes for.

In 1947, Marie Daly became the first African

American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry.
The majority of her career was spent as a college
professor. In addition to her research, she
developed programs to attract and aid minority
students in medical and graduate school.

10
 Bouncy Egg

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
7.

GOAL: Learn about semipermeability

Materials
Raw Egg
Glass Jar
White Vinegar § Vinegar can be corrosive (cause damage to your
skin and other surfaces). Get help from an adult
when pouring.

Methods
1. Get a raw egg and carefully place it into a glass or jar.
2. Fill the glass with white vinegar until the egg is completely submerged. What
do you think will happen to the egg? Write down your predictions in your
laboratory notebook.
3. Leave the egg in the glass for 1-3 days. Each day, check back on the egg and
write down your observations in your laboratory notebook.
4. After 1-3 days, remove the egg from the glass and rinse it under some tap
water. While rinsing the egg, gently rub the outside of the egg and the white
film will come off leaving you with a translucent egg. Write down your
observations in your laboratory notebook – what does the egg look like?
How does it feel?
5. You can drop the egg from about 1-2 inches from a table. What happens
when you do this? Write down your observations in your laboratory
notebook.
11
What’s Happening
§ The egg becomes bouncy as a result of a
chemical reaction between the eggshell
and the vinegar. The eggshell of a chicken
egg is made of calcium carbonate, and
vinegar is a weak acid. If you’ve ever
mixed baking soda and vinegar together,
you know the violent reaction that results.
The calcium carbonate that makes up the
eggshell will react with the vinegar the
same way baking soda reacts with vinegar
(like volcanos you may have built). You know the vinegar and calcium
carbonate of the eggshell are reacting because of the small bubbles that form
around the egg when it is placed in the vinegar. These small bubbles are
carbon dioxide gas, which are the result of the reaction between calcium
carbonate and vinegar.
§ Once the shell of the egg is gone, all that is left covering the egg is a thin
membrane. The vinegar begins working on the egg’s membrane. The
membrane of a chicken egg is selectively permeable.
§ The vinegar is able to cross the selectively permeable membrane of the egg
through osmosis. The vinegar toughens up the membrane of the egg making
it bouncy!
§ Osmosis is the diffusion of molecules through a selectively permeable
membrane.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Biochemists work to identify the thousands of different chemical compounds and
the processes that occur in living things. They seek to understand the roles these
play in developing and sustaining life.

Mildred Cohn was an American

biochemist who furthered understanding
of biochemical processes through her
study of chemical reactions within
animal cells. She was a pioneer in the use
of nuclear magnetic resonance for
studying enzyme reactions, particularly
in Adenosine triphosphate (this is the
form of energy your body converts food
to and uses to do things).

12
 Invisible Ink

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment
& date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
7.
GOAL: Learn acids and bases interaction

Materials
½ cup water § This can get messy! Have paper
1 Tablespoon baking soda towels on hand. And perform
experiment on a cookie sheet.
Plain white paper
§ Turmeric can stain, so use glass to
Paintbrush to apply invisible ink mix up your solutions.
½ cup rubbing alcohol §
1 tsp turmeric
Paintbrush to apply color-changing solution
2 glass jars or bowls
Cookie sheet

Methods
1. Add 1 Tablespoon of baking soda to 1/2 cup of water.
2. Stir the baking soda into the water to make the “invisible ink”.
3. Use clean paintbrush to draw a picture with the invisible ink on paper.
4. While you are waiting for your paper to dry, mix up your color changing-
solution. Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric to 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol.
5. Stir the turmeric into the rubbing alcohol.
6. After the paper is dry, use a new clean paintbrush to apply the turmeric
solution to the paper. What do you think will happen? Write down your
predictions in your laboratory notebook.
7. What happens to the paper? Write down your observations in your
laboratory notebook.

13
What’s Happening
§ Turmeric is a pH indicator. This means that it will change the color of different substances
when it interacts with them to show us what their pH is.
§ pH tells us the acidity or basicity of items.
§ Basically, substances go through a chemical reaction when they “meet” a pH indicator and
that causes them to change color.
§ When you paint over the baking soda papers with turmeric, we are seeing that deep purple
appear because that is the color that baking soda changes when it interacts with a pH
indicator.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Biochemists work to identify the thousands of different chemical compounds and the processes
that occur in living things. They seek to understand the roles these play in developing and
sustaining life.
Chemical Engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together with mathematics and
economics to produce, transform, and properly use chemicals, materials, and energy. They also
design processes and equipment for large-scale safe and sustainable manufacturing of
chemicals. Food, fuel, paper, plastics, and chemicals are some of the most common products that
chemical engineers design processes for.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn was a biochemist who

studied the telomere, a structure at the end of
chromosomes that protects the chromosome. In
Mary Lyon made lab exercises and 1984, Blackburn co-discovered telomerase, the
experiments an integral part of enzyme that replenishes the telomere, with Carol
undergraduate chemistry education. W. Greider. For this work, she was awarded the
Her method became popular. Most 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine,
modern chemistry classes include a sharing it with Greider and Jack W. Szostak.
lab component.
14
 Build a Hovercraft

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment
& date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about the action-reaction of forces

Materials
Glue gun
Compact disc (CD)
Pop-up top of a water bottle Scissors can be sharp! Get an
Balloons adult to help
Toilet paper roll
Scissors

Methods
1. Glue the pop top over the hole in the center of the CD.
2. Cut a toilet paper roll in half and cut a slit in one side. This will create a
support for the balloon.
3. Close the pop top attached to the CD so that no air can get through it.
4. Blow up a balloon and secure it over the pop top.
5. Place your balloon support (toilet paper roll) on the CD, around the bottom
of the balloon.
6. When you’re ready, pull up the pop top to release air from the balloon. You
may have to re-secure the support. What do you think will happen when
you open the pop top? Write your predictions in your Laboratory
Notebook.
7. Give your hovercraft a push. Write down your observations in your
Laboratory Notebook.
8. Try the experiment again with more or less air in the balloon. What do you
think will happen with less air? What will happen with more air? Which
will work best and why? Write down your predictions in your Laboratory
Notebook.
15
What’s Happening
§ Sir Isaac Newton was a famous and
influential scientist who studied
motion and gravity. One of the
laws he wrote, called Newton’s
Third Law, says that for every
action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction.
§ Lots of forces are at work in this
experiment. When you first open
the pop top on your hovercraft, air
rushes out in a downwards
direction (action) pushing your
balloon up in the opposite
direction (reaction.) The CD is
heavy though, and its weight keeps
the balloon from shooting into the
air.
§ Once the pop top opens, a cushion
of moving air is formed under the
CD. This allows the hovercraft to
stay slightly off the ground and
move around freely, without
rubbing on anything that might
slow it down if you give it a push.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Physicists study matter and the forces (pushes or pulls) that act on it. (Matter
is what makes up all physical objects). Mechanics deals with the effect of forces
on objects and the motions of objects.

Katherine Johnson is an American physicist and

mathematician. She made the calculations of
orbital mechanics that enabled the first and
subsequent manned U.S. spaceflights. Johnson
was employed for 35 years at NASA, where she
calculated the trajectories, launch windows and
emergency return paths for the first American in
space and the first American in orbit. Her
calculations were also used for the Apollo lunar
lander and the beginning of the Space Shuttle
program. A pioneer for women and African-
Americans in STEM, Johnson was awarded with
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

16
 Crystal Flowers

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment
& date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
7.

GOAL: Learn about saturated solutions

Materials
Borax powder
Glass jar
Clean metal spoon
Popsicle sticks Have an adult help you boil and
String and tape pour water
Pipe Cleaners
Paper towels

Methods
1. Make a flower with a stem using pipe cleaners
2. Tie the stem of the flower to the center of a popsicle stick using string and a
piece of tape to secure it
3. Boil 3 cups of water
4. In the glass jar, mix the 3 cups of boiling water with 9 Tablespoons Borax
Powder and stir with metal spoon
5. Place your flower (bloom side in first) into the jar with the water-Borax mixture
using the popsicle stick to hold it in place on the mouth of the jar.
6. What do you think will happen to your pipe cleaner flower? Write your
predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
7. Place the jar in a quiet place – DO NOT DISTURB IT!
8. Check the jar after a couple of hours. Write your observations in your
Laboratory Notebook.
9. Leave the jar overnight, what do your flowers look like the next day? Write
your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.
10. You can take your flower out of the jar and let dry on some paper towels

17
What’s Happening?
§ When you freeze water, they move
closer to one another. Boiling hot
water allows for more borax powder
to dissolve to create the desired
saturated solution.
§ You are making a saturated solution
with more powder than the liquid can
hold. The hotter the liquid, the more
saturated the solution can become.
This is because the molecules in the
water move farther apart allowing
more of the powder to be dissolved. If the water is colder, the molecules in it
will be closer together.
§ Saturated Solution: As the solution cools down there is all of a sudden going
to be more particles in the water as the molecules move back together. Some
of these particles will start to fall out of the suspended state they were once
in, and the particles will start to settle on the pipe cleaners as well as the
container and form crystals. Once a tiny seed crystal is started, more of the
falling material bonds with it to form bigger crystals.
§ Crystals are solid with flat sides and symmetrical shape and will always be that
way (unless impurities get in the way). They are made up of molecules and
have a perfectly arranged and repeating pattern. Some might be bigger or
smaller though.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemical Engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together with
mathematics and economics to produce, transform, and properly use chemicals,
materials, and energy. They also design processes and equipment for large-scale
safe and sustainable manufacturing of chemicals. Food, fuel, paper, plastics, and
chemicals are some of the most common products that chemical engineers
design processes for.
Dr. Rabi Musah's research involves the biological
evaluation and structure elucidation of natural products
from medicinally important plants, and the rational
evaluation of folkloric, ethno-medical, and traditional
medicinal plants. Her areas of interest are: (1) plant
chemical defense mechanisms, particularly those
involving sulfur; (2) plant chemical emissions and their
environmental impacts; (3) the coupling of ambient
ionization mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical
analysis for plant and animal species identification; (4)
applications of ambient ionization mass spectrometry to
forensic entomology; (5) forensic identification of
psychoactive plants and psychoactive synthetics; (6) the
chemical ecology of carrion flowers.

18
 Balloon Races
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
7.
GOAL: Learn pressure acts as a force
Materials
Measuring tape
Balloons
Rubber bands or Twisty Ties
Be sure to tightly secure the straw and
Markers to decorate balloons
string with tape so the balloon follows
Straws
the path you want!
String
Tape

Methods
1. Plan your racecourse! Where do you want your balloon to start the race (race starting
line)? Where is the finish line? Measure the distance with a measuring tape and record
it in your Laboratory Notebook.
2. Blow up the balloon & tie end with a rubber band or twisty tie! Don’t tie the end itself!
3. Decorate the balloon with your markers
4. Cut the straw in half, and then securely tape it to your balloon with at least two pieces
of tape.
5. Now deflate your balloon
6. Cut a piece of string the same length as length of the racecourse you planned in Step #1,
and thread the string through the straw attached to your balloon.
7. Secure the end of the string closest to the end of the balloon (the part with the rubber
band or twisty tie on it) at your race starting line.
8. Secure the other end of the string to your race finish line with lots of tape.
9. Move the balloon to the starting line.
10. Inflate your balloon again and pinch the end with your fingers. What do you think will
happen when you let go? Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
11. When you are ready, let go! What happened? Write your observations in your
Laboratory Notebook.
12. You can do this again but change the length and angle of the string. Write down what
changes you make and your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.

19
What’s Happening?
When you release the balloon, the air
quickly leaving the balloon is a force
that propels the balloon forward
along the path you created. This is
also an example of Newton’s Third
Law, says that for every action, there
is an equal and opposite reaction.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Physicists study matter and the forces (pushes or pulls) that act on it. (Matter is what
makes up all physical objects). Mechanics deals with the effect of forces on objects and the
motions of objects.

Dr. Deanna Gates is a professor of

Kinesiology who uses physics and
the study of forces to help people
who have lost limbs and need to use
prosthetic limbs. She also uses
biomedical engineering.

20
 Exploding Bags
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title
of experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory
Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about acid-base reactions

Materials
Large bowl
Sealable Ziplock Bag The bag will get very puffy!
Baking Soda Have an adult with you to help
White Vinegar safely reduce the pressure by
Measuring cup opening the bag.
1 square of toilet paper

Methods
1. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of baking soda, place in
the center of the square of toilet paper. Fold the
square of toilet paper in half (keeping baking soda
inside), tape it in place, then pull the other edges
up, and tape in place. You are creating a baking soda
pouch.
2. Pour 1/3 cup white vinegar into the bag. Close the
bag up, and open only a small bit – just enough to be
able to push the baking soda pouch in.
3. What do you think will happen when you put the pouch
in the bag? Write your predictions in your Laboratory
Notebook.
4. Put the pouch in the bag and QUICKLY seal it up.
Shake the bag 3 times and then place in the bowl.
What is happening? Write your observations in your
Laboratory Notebook.
5. If the bag looks like it might explode, open it
slightly to release the pressure.
21
What’s Happening?
When the baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid)
mix, it results in a chemical reaction that produces
carbon dioxide (CO2) along with water (H2O) and sodium
acetate. If the bag is properly sealed, the carbon
dioxide is trapped and fills the bag until it cannot
hold any more, at which point it pops!

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Biochemists work to identify the thousands of different
chemical compounds and the processes that occur in
living things. They seek to understand the roles these
play in developing and sustaining life.

Dr. Holly Goodson is a biochemistry who uses lots of

different ways to study cells. She focuses on the
microtubule cytoskeleton – the dynamic network of protein
fibers that pulls the chromosomes (where your DNA is) apart
during mitosis (when 1 cell becomes 2), acts as "railroad
tracks" for intracellular transport, and organizes the
cytoplasm (the jelly like substance in a cell).
22
 Balloon Inflator
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about acid-base reactions

Materials
Small Plastic Bottle
Balloon
Baking Soda
Vinegar The balloon will get very puffy! Have
2 Funnels an adult with you to help safely
reduce the pressure.
Teaspoon
Rubber band

Methods
1. Using a funnel, pour about a third of a cup of vinegar into the bottle.
2. Then insert another funnel into the mouth of the balloon.
3. Place two teaspoons of baking soda into the funnel so it falls into the
balloon. Then remove the balloon from the funnel.
4. Next, secure the mouth of the balloon over the top of the bottle – you may
want to secure it more tightly with a rubber band. But don’t let the baking
soda go in the bottle yet!
5. What do you think will happen when the baking soda falls into the bottle
with the vinegar? Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
6. While holding the bottle, lift the end of the balloon allowing the baking soda
to drop into the bottle.
7. What happens to the balloon? What chemical reaction is causing this to
happen? Write your observations and explanations in your Laboratory
Notebook.

23
What’s Happening?
When the baking soda and vinegar mix, it results in a chemical reaction that
produces carbon dioxide (CO2) along with water (H2O) and sodium acetate. If
the bag is properly sealed, the carbon dioxide is trapped and fills the balloon!

Who uses this in real life?

Biochemists work to identify the thousands of different chemical
compounds and the processes that occur in living things. They seek to
understand the roles these play in developing and sustaining life.

Dr. Ursula Jakob is a professor

of biological chemistry. Her lab
focuses on how bacteria
respond to different stresses
caused by the environment.

24
 Geode Necklace
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about saturated solutions

Materials
Borax powder
Glass jar
Clean metal spoon
Popsicle sticks
String and tape
Pipe Cleaners Have an adult help you boil and pour
Jewelry Eye Pin water
Chain
Gold Paint
Paper towels

Methods
1. Make a bowl shape using pipe cleaners. Meanwhile, boil 3 cups of water
2. Wrap the eye pin around the top of the bowl and leave a loop at the top that the chain can
eventually fit through
3. Tie the bowl shape to the center of a popsicle stick using string and a piece of tape to secure
it. You can also loop the string through the Eye Pin.
4. In the glass jar, mix the 3 cups of boiling water with 9 Tablespoons Borax Powder and stir
with metal spoon
5. Place your bowl shape into the jar with the water-Borax mixture using the popsicle stick to
hold it in place on the mouth of the jar.
6. What do you think will happen to your pipe cleaner “bowl”? Write your
predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
7. Place the jar in a quiet place – DO NOT DISTURB IT!
8. Check the jar after a couple of hours. Write your observations in your Laboratory
Notebook.
9. Leave the jar overnight, what does your bowl shape look like the next day? Write
your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.
10. After about 24 hours you can take your new Geode out of the jar and let dry on some paper
towels
11. Once dry, you can paint the back with gold paint. Once dry you can put it on a chain.

25
What’s Happening?
§ You have already learned about saturated
solutions, so let’s talk about how geodes form!
§ Geodes are created in the hollow areas of soil
such as animal burrows or tree roots. They are
also formed in the bubbles in volcanic rock.
§ Over time, dissolved minerals seep into a
hollow area and harden into an outer shell
creating the geode. The minerals continue to
form on the inside walls of the shell, growing
towards the center.
§ The most common dissolved mineral is
quartz, but amethyst and other minerals are
also found.
§ It can take hundreds of millions of years for
the space inside a geode to be filled, and many
geodes remain partly hollow.
§ Geodes can have many colors depending upon
the type of crystal. Purple is a typical color for
amethyst. Because crystals have flat, clear
surfaces with many facets, they reflect light
and have a beautiful sparkle.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

1. Chemical Engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together with mathematics
and economics to produce, transform, and properly use chemicals, materials, and energy.
They also design processes and equipment for large-scale safe and sustainable manufacturing
of chemicals. Food, fuel, paper, plastics, and chemicals are some of the most common
products that chemical engineers design processes for.
2. Geologists - study the rocks, minerals, fossils, landforms and the layers of the Earth's
surface. Geology is the field of science interested in the earth's physical structure and
substance, its history, and the processes that act on it.
Dr. Rose Cory uses geology and chemistry
in her work. She studies the chemistry of
naturally occurring organic matter in
freshwaters, from soil waters to streams and
lakes. Currently we work on carbon cycling
in arctic, temperate, and tropical soils and
freshwaters, focusing on the role of sunlight,
bacteria and iron in the conversion of
organic matter to carbon dioxide.

26
 Glitter Slime
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about adhesion & cross-linking in non-Newtonian fluids

Materials
2 Bottles of Elmer’s glue (5-6 oz. each) — Clear or Glitter Glue
½ – 1 tsp of Borax
1 cup hot water, ½ cup water
Big, wide bowl
Liquid watercolor § This experiment requires hot
Glitter water, ask an adult for help.
Vinegar § Also, this can get messy!

Methods
1. Mix one cup of hot (but not boiling) water in the bowl with ½ tsp of borax. Dissolve completely. You
will want to hold onto this mixture, even after your slime is made! If you find that your slime is too
stretchy or turns sticky after a few minutes of playing, you’ll be glad you didn’t dump this out!

2. Allow the borax and water to cool as you prep you the next step.

3. Mix one container of Elmer’s glue (5-6 oz) with ½ cup of water. Use a whisk to stir them together.
You want it to be completely mixed, so this may take a few minutes.

4. Add glitter and any liquid watercolor to the water-glue mixture

5. Now it is time to pour your glue mixture into the big bowl with the borax and water mixture. What
do you think will happen? Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.

6. Watch as the mixture comes together. Write your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.

7. Then, start squishing the slime to help it absorb as much of the borax and water mixture as possible.
Feel free to wear gloves. The slime will feel quite sticky or chunky for a minute or two but keep
squishing, kneading, stirring, or mixing. Do this for two to three minutes. Once it isn’t feeling sticky
or chunky, pull it out and knead it some more. What does it feel like? Write your observations in
your Laboratory Notebook.

27
What’s Happening?
1. Slime is a non-Newtonian fluid. A non-Newtonian fluid is neither a liquid nor a solid. It can be picked
up like a solid, but it also will ooze like a liquid. Slime does not have its own shape. You will notice
your slime change its shape to fill whatever container it’s placed in. However, it can also be bounced
like a ball because of its elasticity. Pull the slime slowly and it flows more freely. If you pull it quickly,
the slime will break off more easily because you are breaking apart the chemical bonds.

2. Slime is all about polymers! A polymer is made up of very large chains of molecules. The glue used in
slime is made up of long chains of polyvinyl acetate molecules. These chains slide past one another
fairly easily which keeps the glue flowing.

3. Chemical bonds are formed when you mix the glue and slime activator together. Slime activators
(borax) change the position of the molecules in the glue in a process called cross-linking! A chemical
reaction occurs between the glue and the borate ions, and slime is the new substance formed.

4. Instead of flowing freely as before, the molecules in the slime have become tangled and create what
is slime. Think wet, freshly cooked spaghetti versus leftover cooked spaghetti! Cross-linking changes
the viscosity or flow of the new substance.

The cool thing about non-Newtonian liquids is that they act like BOTH a liquid AND a solid under different
conditions. If you were to slowly press your hand into a container of a non-Newtonian liquid, it would
slowly sink into the material as if it is a thick liquid (like quicksand). However, if you make a fist and
quickly punch the surface of the non-Newtonian substance, it will now act like a solid.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemical Engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together with mathematics and economics
to produce, transform, and properly use chemicals, materials, and energy. They also design processes and
equipment for large-scale safe and sustainable manufacturing of chemicals. Food, fuel, paper, plastics,
and chemicals are some of the most common products that chemical engineers design processes for.

Dr. Patricia Clark is a biochemist. She

studies protein folding. Proteins are
long flexible polymers of amino acids,
yet each must fold into a complex 3D
shape in order to carry out a specific
catalytic, binding, or structural
activity.

28
 Soap Play Dough
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about viscosity & cross-linking

Materials
Cornstarch
Sulfate-free body wash
Liquid Watercolor dye
1/3 cup measure § This can get messy!
Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon

Methods
1. Mix 2/3 cup cornstarch with 1/3 cup body wash. What do you think will happen when you mix
them together? Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.

2. When it gets too firm to mix in the bowl, transfer to a lightly cornstarch-coated surface and
knead until everything is well-combined. The mixture is right when it can hold a print but
isn’t too stiff to make the print in the first place. What does it feel like? Write your
observations in your Laboratory Notebook.

3. Knead in about 4-6 drops of watercolor dye.

4. Once color is even, you can shape the play-dough soap into any shape you like, then you can
take it into the bath and use it to wash yourself!

5. Store in airtight container

29
What’s Happening?
§ Chemical bonds are formed when you mix
the soap and corn starch. The activators
(soap) change the position of the molecules
in the cornstarch in a process called cross-
linking!
§ Instead of flowing freely as before, the
molecules in the slime have become tangled
and create what is slime. Think wet, freshly
cooked spaghetti versus leftover cooked
spaghetti! Cross-linking changes the
viscosity or flow of the new substance

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemical Engineers combine natural sciences and life sciences together with mathematics and
economics to produce, transform, and properly use chemicals, materials, and energy. They also
design processes and equipment for large-scale safe and sustainable manufacturing of chemicals.
Food, fuel, paper, plastics, and chemicals are some of the most common products that chemical
engineers design processes for.

Dr. Alison Narayan is a chemist. Her lab focuses on identifying and

characterizing enzymes from various microorganisms that can catalyze
chemical reactions that are challenging to reproduce synthetically (not in
nature). These biocatalysts can be employed to create various chemicals for
medicines or other purposes.

30
 Crystal Seashells
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about saturated solutions

Materials
Borax powder
Glass jar
Clean metal spoon Have an adult help you boil and pour
Seashells water
Paper towels

Methods
1. Boil 3 cups of water

2. In the glass jar, mix the 3 cups of boiling water with 9 Tablespoons Borax Powder and
stir with metal spoon.

3. Place your seashells into the jar with the water-Borax mixture.

4. What do you think will happen to your seashells? Write your predictions in your
Laboratory Notebook.

5. Place the jar in a quiet place – DO NOT DISTURB IT!

6. Check the jar after a couple of hours. Write your observations in your Laboratory
Notebook.

7. Leave the jar overnight, what do your seashells look like the next day? Write your
observations in your Laboratory Notebook.

8. You can take your seashells out of the jar and let dry on some paper towels. What do
they look like? Write your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.

31
What’s Happening
§ You have already learned about saturated solutions! Let’s learn
about shell growth instead!
§ All those seashells you find on the beach were actually once
home to small, soft-bodied creatures called mollusks. Clams,
pipis, scallops, mussels and oysters are all different types of
mollusks. Though not all mollusks have shells.
§ A few days after baby mollusks come out from tiny eggs, they
start building their shell, layer after layer.
§ They use salt and chemicals from the sea (such as calcium and carbonate). They also
use other ingredients from their own bodies (such as special chemicals called proteins
that help them build the shell).
§ The part of the mollusk’s body that is in charge of building the shell is called the
“mantle”. The mantle builds a kind of frame first, using proteins to make it very strong.
It then fills it in with calcium and carbonate. These are some of the same chemicals
your body uses to make your bones.
§ To make space for their growing body,
mollusks have to gradually enlarge and
extend their shells by adding new layers of
those building blocks – calcium, carbonate
and proteins.
§ The newest part of the sea snail’s shell, for
example, is around the opening where the
animal pokes out.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Marine biology is the study of all living things in saltwater habitats. Marine biologists might
study larger animals like sharks and whales, or smaller organisms like algae and
bacteria. Marine biology also includes the study of interactions between living things and
the marine environment.
Dr. Sylvia Earle is a marine biologist,
oceanographer. and explorer known for her
research on marine algae and her books and
documentaries designed to raise awareness of
the threats that overfishing and pollution pose
to the world’s oceans. She has also been
involved in several major oil spill clean-up
operations. A pioneer in the use of modern
self-contained underwater breathing
apparatus (SCUBA) gear and the development
of deep-sea submersibles, Earle also held the
world record for the deepest untethered dive.

32
 Build a Circuit
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
7. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
GOAL: Learn how electrical circuits work
Materials
Cardboard to use as a platform
Tape
Tin foil Scissors are needed for this
Brass fasteners experiment, get an adult to help
Scissors you
A 9-volt battery
Christmas lights

Methods
1. Cut several tin foil strips about ½-1 inch wide and as long as you like
2. Place your lights on to the cardboard
3. Connect them using your strips of foil, but leave two gaps, one for the switch
using brass fasteners and one for the battery.
4. Stick the foil down with tape, ensuring it touches exposed wires of the lights.
5. Place the 9v battery with the circles down at one of the gaps in the tin foil –
with the two circles of the battery touching the foil.
6. For the other gap, bend the brass fastener to connect the tin foil end of the
second gap. What do you think will happen when the fastener bridges the gap?
Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
7. Bridge the gap with the fastener. What happened? Write your observations in
your Laboratory Notebook.
8. You can change the design of your circuit as much as you want! You can include
more lights or more gaps to be bridged by the brass fastener! Make sure you
document what changes you make in your Laboratory Notebook!

33
What’s Happening?
An electric circuit is an unbroken path along which an electric current exists and/or
is able to flow. A simple electrical circuit consists of a power source, two
conducting wires (one end of each
being attached to each terminal of
the cell), and a small lamp to which
the free ends of the wires leading
from the cell are attached. When the
connections are made properly, the
circuit will “close” and current will
flow through the circuit and light the
lamp.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Electrical engineers are engineers who develop (think and make) different things
that use electricity in a helpful way. They fix or design new and better ways of
using devices that use electricity.

Edith Clarke was the first woman to be

professionally employed as an electrical
engineer in the United States, and the
first female professor of electrical
engineering in the country. She was the
first woman to deliver a paper at the
American Institute of Electrical
Engineers, and the first woman named as
a Fellow of the American Institute of
Electrical Engineers. She specialized in
electrical power system analysis and
wrote Circuit Analysis of A-C Power
Systems.

34
 Benzoic Acid Snow Globe
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn how solutions change form

Materials
Glass jar with lid
1 g benzoic acid
Water
- Pure benzoic acid can be very
Measuring cups/spoons
irritating to skin and mucous
Microwave
membranes. Also, it can be toxic if
Spoon
large quantities are ingested. So...
Hot glue gun/craft glue/tacky glue
wear gloves and eye protection when
Decoration to glue to the bottom of the
preparing your solution.
snow globe, like a small plastic toy
- Ask an adult to help you with the hot
Forceps or tweezers - optional
glue gun
Electrical tape - optional
you
Methods
1. Heat 75 ml (5 tablespoons) of water in a microwave.
2. Dissolve the 1 gram of benzoic acid in the hot water. Allow to cool. What do you think
will happen with this solution? Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
3. Put down a bead of hot glue on the inside of the jar lid (or you can put it on the bottom
of a clean, dry jar if you don't plan to invert the sealed jar).
4. Use tweezers or forceps to position your decoration in the glue.
5. While the glue is cooling, take a look at your benzoic acid solution. What is happening?
Write your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.
6. Pour the room-temperature benzoic acid solution into the glass jar.
7. Fill the jar as full as possible with water. Air pockets will cause the benzoic acid to
form clumps.
8. Put the lid on the jar. If desired, seal the jar with hot glue or electrical tape.
9. Gently shake the jar to see the pretty snow!

35
What’s Happening
Benzoic acid doesn't readily dissolve in room
temperature water, but if you heat the water the
solubility of the molecule is increased. Cooling
the solution causes the benzoic acid to precipitate back
into solid form. Slow cooling of the solution allows the
benzoic acid to form prettier, more snow-like flakes
than if you had simply mixed benzoic acid powder with
water. The cooling rate of water into ice affects
how real snow appears, too.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemists study the substances that make up matter—everything that takes up space in
the universe. They also study the changes that take place when substances are combined.
These changes are called chemical reactions.

Stephanie Louise Kwolek was an American chemist who is known for

inventing Kevlar – used to make bullet proof vests. She discovered
the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and
stiffness. For her discovery, Kwolek was awarded the DuPont
company's Lavoisier Medal for outstanding technical achievement. As
of August 2019, she was the only female employee to have received
that honor.

36
 Elephant Toothpaste
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about exothermic reactions

Materials
A clean 16-oz plastic soda bottle
1/2 cup 20-volume 6% hydrogen peroxide
1 Tablespoon (one packet) of dry yeast
3 Tablespoons of warm water - Hydrogen peroxide can irritate
Liquid dishwashing soap your skin
Watercolor dye - This makes a HUGE mess! Make
Small cup sure you do this on a plastic
A funnel table or a table with a sturdy
cover

Methods
1. Have an adult add ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide to the plastic bottle,
and then add 8 drops of your favorite color of dye into the bottle
as well.

2. Add about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap into the bottle and swish
the bottle around a bit to mix it.

3. In a separate small cup, combine the warm water and the yeast
together and mix for about 30 seconds.

4. What do you think will happen when you combine the soap mixture with
the yeast mixture? Write your predictions in your Laboratory
Notebook.

5. Pour the yeast water mixture into the bottle (a funnel helps here).
What happens? Write your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.

37
What’s Happening?
Foam is awesome! The foam is special
because each tiny foam bubble is
filled with oxygen. The yeast acted
as a catalyst (a helper) to remove
the oxygen from the hydrogen
peroxide. Since it did this very
fast, it created lots and lots of
bubbles. Ask if your kids noticed the
bottle got warm? The experiment
created a reaction called
an exothermic reaction, which means
it not only created foam, it created
heat! The foam produced is just
water, soap, and oxygen, so you can
clean it up with a sponge and pour
any extra liquid left in the bottle
down the drain.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemists study the substances that make up matter—everything that
takes up space in the universe. They also study the changes that take
place when substances are combined. These changes are called chemical
reactions.

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray

crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of
the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA
(ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her
works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, her
contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were
largely recognized posthumously.
38
 Yeast Balloons
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about best environment for microbial growth

Materials
4 zip-lock baggies
4 packs of yeast
Salt
Sugar You will need to warm some water,
Water ask an adult for help
Marker
Teaspoon measure
½ cup measure

Methods
1. Label the 4 zip-lock bags as follows
a. Sugar + warm water
b. Sugar + cold water
c. Sugar + salt + warm water
d. No sugar + warm water
2. Add a package of yeast to each plastic bag.
3. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar to each of the bags that say sugar
4. Add 1 tsp. of salt to the bag that says salt.
5. Carefully add ½ cup warm water to each baggie that say warm water. The warm
water should be warm, but not too hot, or it will kill the yeast.
6. Carefully add ½ cold water (can be room temperature) to the baggie that says cold
water.
7. Seal the bags, squeezing out as much of the extra air as possible and let them sit in
a warm room if possible. The yeast is supposed to activate and grow – but its growth
will be affected by the different things in the bag with it.

CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE

39
8. Make a prediction about what you think will happen in each bag. Write your
predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
9. Watch the bags to see what happens. You will know your yeast cells are growing if
the baggie containing them puffs up. Keep an eye on your experiment. If a bag gets
so puffy that it looks like it might explode, be sure to open it to let the pressure out!
Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
10. Which ingredients help yeast grow best? Did you find an ingredient that kept
them from growing well? Do yeast cells grow better in warm or cold
water? What is making the bags puff up and how does this tell you that the
yeast is growing? Write your results in your Laboratory Notebook.

What’s Happening?

§ Yeast is a type of fungus and is related to mushrooms. If you look at yeast cells
under a microscope, you will see that they are shaped like balloons and
footballs. The single-celled organisms reproduce themselves by making tiny buds
that will become new yeast cells. The kind of yeast used to make bread is
called Saccharomyces cerevisiae (sack-a-roe-MY-seas sair-a-VIS-e-
ey). Saccharomyces means “sugar fungus” and the word cerevisiae comes from the
name of Ceres, who was a goddess of farming in Roman mythology.
§ Growing yeast cells love to eat sugar and starches, like the ones in bread
flour. When they eat these starches, some of the proteins in the flour, called
glutens, swell up. Yeast cells eating starch make a gas called carbon dioxide that
forms lots of tiny bubbles in the bread dough. The tiny bubbles pop during baking
but leave tiny holes
where they
were. You can see
these holes in the
bread you eat. The
yeast you buy at the
store is alive, but it is
dried and can’t grow
until you add water to it.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Microbiologists study microscopic organisms, like bacteria, viruses, and protists. They
study microbes to understand how they grow and reproduce. Some microbes can make
us very sick, but we need others in order to survive.

Dr. Ana Lidia Flores-Mireles studies

urinary tract infections, which are the
most common type of infection in the
United States. She wants to figure out
the ways different factors can
increase someone’s risk of getting this
kind of infection.
40
 Homemade Petri Dishes

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment
& date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about microbial growth & where

microbes are in your home
Materials
1 cup water
1 Tbs. agar-agar
1 beef bouillon cube
2 teaspoon sugar Requires boiling and pouring
Saucepan liquid, ask an adult for help.
Petri Dishes
Marker
Q-Tips
Tape

Methods
1. Create the growth medium (the stuff that bacteria can grow on). Combine the
water, agar-agar, beef bouillon, and sugar in a pot.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove watching carefully until the agar is
dissolved. Remove the boiling liquid from heat and cover. Let cool for about
fifteen minutes.
3. Pour the medium carefully into clean petri dishes, until 1/3 to 1/2 full.
4. Loosely place lids on top and allow dishes to cool completely.
5. When your plates have hardened, store them in a cool place, like a
refrigerator, before using. Plates should be used in 2-3 days.
6. Label your plates with the names of the surfaces you want to test.
7. Rub a clean Q-tip around on the surface you want to test. Then, remove the lid
from the plate and gently rub the Q-tip across the section of the plate labeled
for that surface. If you’re careful, the agar shouldn’t break. If it does, it’s no
big deal. You can even touch your finger to one!

CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE

41
8. When you’re done, set the plates on a flat surface (not in the fridge) with their
lids loosened and taped on (do not invert them).
9. Which surface that you tested will grow the most microorganisms? Write
your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
10. Look at your plates every day. What do you see? Write your observations
in your Laboratory Notebook.
11. After a couple days, which surface had the most microbes? Draw your
results in your Laboratory Notebook.

What’s Happening?
All the surfaces in your house (and on the whole world) are covered in different
kinds of microorganisms like bacteria, molds, and fungi. These microorganisms
like the eat the different ingredients you added to the petri dish. By wiping a
surface of your house with a Q-tip and then touch that same Q-tip to the petri
dish, you are transferring the microorganisms to the petri dish – giving them a
new place to grow.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Microbiologists study microscopic organisms, like bacteria, viruses, and
protists. They study microbes to understand how they grow and reproduce. Some
microbes can make us very sick, but we need others in order to survive.

Dr. Patricia Champion studies the

microbe Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
which causes the disease
Tuberculosis. Dr. Champion’s lab
works to figure out how this bacteria
works so they can find a vaccine to
prevent people from getting it.

42
 Film Cannister Rockets
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment
& date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion

Materials
Water
Film Cannisters
Alka Seltzer Tablets Objects will fly at high speed in
unexpected directions. Wear
goggles and be careful!

Methods
1. Fill your canister about a third full of water. What do you think will
happen when you add the tablet to the water and put the lid on? Write
your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.

2. Drop in one tablet.

3. Place the lid on firmly, and then stand back!

4. Watch what happens. Write your observations in your Laboratory

Notebook.

5. There is likely still more of a tablet left in the cannister once it lands. Add
more water and repeat the experiment.

6. Additional experiments and questions:

a. What happens if you add more or less water?
b. How many launches can you get from one tablet, by adding more
water after each launch?

43
What’s Happening
§ When the alka seltzer or vitamin
tablet reacts with the water it
releases carbon dioxide (a gas).
The carbon dioxide builds up
inside the canister, increasing
the air pressure so much that
when the canister can take no
more it pops off and shoots up
into the air.
§ Film canister rockets are perfect
for demonstrating Newton’s
Laws of Motion. First the rocket
lifts off because it is acted upon
by an external force (Newton’s
First Law caused by the
buildup of gas produced inside
the canister. This causes the lid
to blow off, launching the film
canister into the air.
§ The rocket travels upward with
a force that is equal and
opposite to the downward force
propelling the water, gas and lid
(Newton’s Third Law).
§ The amount of force is directly proportional to the amount of water and gas
released from the canister and how fast it accelerates (Newton’s Second
Law).

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Physicists study matter and the forces (pushes or pulls) that act on it.
(Matter is what makes up all physical objects). Mechanics deals with the effect
of forces on objects and the motions of objects.

Vera Rubin was a physicist and astronomer who

conducted pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates,
providing evidence for the existence of dark matter. By
studying galactic rotation curves, Rubin uncovered a
discrepancy between the predicted and the observed
angular motion of galaxies. This provided convincing
evidence for dark matter ‒ a hypothetical, invisible form
of matter which is central to the current understanding
of cosmology. Rubin became a lifelong advocate for
women in science and was honored with the National
Medal of Science.

44
 Magic Rainbow Milk
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of
experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about hydrophilic & hydrophobic

substances
Materials
Milk (Must be either Whole or 2%)
Food Coloring (more colors the better)
This can be messy, have paper
Dish Soap
towels on hand.
Shallow Dish or Bowl

Methods
1. Pour some milk into a shallow dish or bowl until the milk covers the
bottom.
2. Add some drops of food coloring on the milk. You can use a variety of
colors, just be sure to add 3-4 drops of each color.
3. Add a drop of dish soap into the center of the milk. What do you think
will happen when you add the milk? Write your predictions in your
Laboratory Notebook.
4. Watch what happens. Write your observations in your Laboratory
Notebook.

What’s Happening?
§ The key to the dancing colors in this experiment is soap! Soap molecules
consist of a hydrophilic (“water-loving”) end and a hydrophobic (“water-
fearing”) end. Water molecules are polar molecules that can dissolve
other polar molecules. Fat (and oil) molecules are nonpolar molecules, so
they cannot dissolve in water.
§ Milk is a mixture of water, fat, vitamins and minerals. When soap is
added to the milk, it helps to separate the water and fat in the milk.
When soap is mixed in with the fat and water, the hydrophobic end of the
soap molecule breaks up the nonpolar fat molecules, and the hydrophilic
end of the soap molecule links up with the polar water molecules. Now

45
 that the soap is connecting the fat and water, the nonpolar fat molecules
can be carried by the polar water molecules.
§ As the soap molecules connect to the fat molecules, the molecules of the
food coloring get pushed around everywhere resulting in an explosion of
color! As the majority of soap molecules attach to the fat molecules and
the soap spreads throughout the milk, the color explosion will slow and
eventually stop. Add more soap and see if there are more fat molecules
that haven’t attached to soap – if there are unattached fat molecules still,
the color explosion will begin again.

Hydrophilic head moves toward water, and hydrophobic

tail moves toward oil in both boxes.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemists study the substances that make up matter—everything that takes
up space in the universe. They also study the changes that take place when
substances are combined. These changes are called chemical reactions.

Alice Augusta Ball was a chemist

who developed an injectable oil
which was the most effective
treatment for leprosy until the
1940s. She died before the results
of her work were published.

46
 Candy Chromatography

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about capillary action & pigments

Materials
M&Ms & Skittles ¼ tsp measure
Petri Dish Salt This can get a little messy, you will
Pipet Ruler want to perform this with a cookie
Toothpick pencil sheet or wax paper down to protect
Coffee Filter Tape your work surface.
Water Glass Jar
Cup measure

Methods
1. Prepare a saltwater solution by mixing 1/8 teaspoon of salt into 3 cups of water,
shaking or stirring until completely dissolved. This will be your chromatography solvent.
Pour about 100 ml of salt water into the beaker
2. Get two pieces of chromatography paper or cut out two 4×8 cm rectangles from the
coffee filter. Mark a line in pencil 1 cm from the bottom of each. Use the pencil to
label one for Skittles and one for M&Ms.
3. Sort the candies to find matching colors of both candies.
4. Use pipet to put a single drop of water for each M&M color in the bottom of the petri
dish. (Make sure the drops are evenly spaced.) Place an M&M on each water drop and
set aside. The water will dissolve the candy coloring. Remove candy after 1-2 minutes.
5. Repeat step 3 for the Skittles, this time using the lid of the petri dish.
6. Dab the end of a toothpick in one of the colored water droplets and apply the pigment
to the filter paper. Apply 2-3 coats, letting the spots dry in between. Use a clean
toothpick and repeat for each color.

CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE

47
7. Tape or clip the papers side-by-side (but not touching) to your pencil or ruler. Place the
pencil or ruler over the mouth of the beaker. You want your papers barely touching the
water. The paper will soak up the water and move up the paper. What do you think will
happen when the water reaches the colors? Write your predictions in your Laboratory
Notebook.
8. When the water nears the top, take the papers out, transfer them to a clean, dry, flat
surface, and let them dry.
9. When they are dry, draw what you observe in your Laboratory Notebook.

What’s Happening?
§ Water travels up the paper strip by capillary action
§ Capillary action occurs because water is attracted to
the surface of the paper, and as the first water
molecules stick to the paper, they pull others along
with them. Capillary action is one way water moves up
through the roots of plants.
§ As the candy coating dissolves in the water, it is
pulled up the paper too.
§ With this candy chromatography science experiment,
you probably found that the candy coating is actually
a mixture of several pigments. Certain pigments dissolve in water more easily and are
pulled with the water farther up the paper. Others are more attracted to the paper
and move more slowly. Usually, smaller molecules move farther than larger one.
§ For further study, instead of a candy chromatography science project, experiment
with colored markers, flavored gelatin, powdered drink mix, or food coloring. Try to
predict your results.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Chemists study the substances that make up matter—everything that takes up space in
the universe. They also study the changes that take place when substances are combined.
These changes are called chemical reactions.

Hazel Bishop was a chemist and the inventor of

smear-proof lipstick. In 1971, Hazel Bishop became
the first female member of the Chemists’ Club in New
York. She also worked as an organic chemist for
Standard Oil Development Company designing fuels
for airplanes during World War II. During her time
there she discovered the cause of deposits affecting
superchargers of aircraft engines.

48
 Make Sprinkles Dance
REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO
1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about sound waves

Materials
Cup or bowl
Rubber band that fits around the cup or bowl
Plastic wrap You may want to do this in a cookie
Colored sprinkles tray to keep the sprinkles from
Cookie tray scattering

Methods
1. Stretch a piece of plastic wrap across the top of the bowl.
2. Use a rubber band to hold the plastic wrap in place.
3. Adjust the plastic wrap so it is as tight and as flat as possible with no wrinkles.
4. Put the bowl onto the tray to catch any sprinkles that fall off.
5. Bring your lips very close to the edge of the bowl without touching it. What do you think
will happen when you hum closely to the plastic wrap? Write your predictions in your
Laboratory Notebook.
6. Try humming loudly and watch the plastic wrap closely. What happens? Can you see
anything? Write your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.
7. Add some sprinkles to the top of the plastic wrap. What do you think will happen when
you hum closely to the plastic wrap this time? Write your predictions in your
Laboratory Notebook.
8. Try humming again. Watch the sprinkles closely. What happens? Can you see anything?
Write your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.
9. Try humming louder. What happens? Can you see anything? Write your observations
in your Laboratory Notebook.
10. Try varying the pitch of your humming (higher or lower). What happens? Can you see
anything? Write your observations in your Laboratory Notebook.
11. What happens after you stop humming? Write your observations in your Laboratory
Notebook.
12. Extra: Try the activity with different-size granular materials. For example, what happens
if you use tiny, spherical sprinkles versus bigger oblong ones, or “jimmies”? What about
salt or grains of rice?
CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE
49
13. Extra: Try the activity with different size, shape and material containers. Can you find the
best material or shape that carries sound waves at different pitches?
14. Extra: Try putting the bowl in front of a speaker and playing music. What happens?
15. Extra: Search for a “tone generator” app or Web site on your phone and try playing a
continuous tone near the bowl. Some tones can hurt your ears, so start with the volume
very low.

What’s Happening?
§ Sound waves are created by vibrating objects that bump
into adjacent air molecules. These air molecules bump
into other nearby air molecules and so on, transmitting
the vibration through the air to our ears. Sometimes these
vibrations are easy to see (for example, when you pluck a
rubber band) but most times the vibrations are too small
or too fast for us to see (when you knock on a door it
makes a sound even though you can’t see the door
vibrate). In the case of the falling tree, the tree will still
cause vibrations when it hits the ground—even if there is
no one there to hear it.
§ So, if vibrations cause sounds, can sounds also cause
vibrations? It turns out that it works both ways, and this
is what allows us to hear. Your eardrums are tiny
membranes inside your ears (and maybe an adult told you
not to poke anything tiny or sharp into your ears because
you could damage them). When vibrating air molecules
hit the membrane they cause it to vibrate. These
vibrations are converted into electrical signals that are sent to your brain. In this activity
you made a model of your eardrum and watch how sounds can make it vibrate!

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Acoustical engineers are concerned with the management and application of sound-
producing vibrations in real-world situations. Many acoustical engineers work with
architects to help design buildings in order to control sound diffraction, refraction, absorption
and reverberation.
Susan Rogers is an American
professor, sound engineer and
record producer best known for
being Prince’s staff engineer
during his commercial peak,
including albums like Purple
Rain, Around the World in a Day,
Parade, Sign o' the Times, and
The Black Album."

50
 Crystal Rainbow

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title
of experiment & date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory
Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat
8.

GOAL: Learn about saturated solutions & how

rainbows form
Materials
Borax powder
Glass jar
Clean metal spoon
Popsicle sticks Have an adult help you boil
String and tape and pour water
Pipe Cleaners
Paper towels

Methods
1. Make a rainbow using pipe cleaners – helps to make clouds on
the bottom. Meanwhile boil 3 cups of water
2. Tie the rainbow to the center of a popsicle stick using string
and a piece of tape to secure it.
3. In the glass jar, mix the 3 cups of boiling water with 1.5
Tablespoons Borax Powder and stir with metal spoon
4. Place your rainbow into the jar with the water-Borax mixture
using the popsicle stick to hold it in place on the mouth of
the jar.
5. What do you think will happen to your pipe cleaner rainbow?
Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
6. Place the jar in a quiet place – DO NOT DISTURB IT!
7. Check the jar after a couple of hours. Write your observations
in your Laboratory Notebook.
8. Leave the jar overnight, what do you think your rainbow will
look like the next day? Write your predictions in your
Laboratory Notebook.
9. You can take your rainbow out of the jar and let dry on some
paper towels. How does it look? Write your observations in
your Laboratory Notebook.
51
What’s Happening?
§ You have already learned about saturated solutions from other
experiments, so let’s discuss how rainbows form!
§ Rainbows are spectacular rays of color. Sunlight looks white,
but it's really made up of different colors...red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
§ The sun makes rainbows when white sunlight passes through rain
drops. The raindrops
act like tiny prisms.
They bend the
different colors in
white light, so the
light spreads out into
a band of colors that
can be reflected back
to you as a rainbow.
§ Why can't you ever
find the end of a
rainbow? A rainbow is
an optical illusion,
so you just can't
catch up to it. When
you move, so does it!

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Meteorologists are scientists that study the atmosphere to
predict and understand earth's weather. They help us prepare for
each day's temperatures and let us know to expect rain, snow, or
sun.

Dr. Joyce Penner studies cloud and aerosol

interactions and cloud microphysics, climate
and climate change, global tropospheric
chemistry and budgets, model development and
interpretation. She determines the effects
of pollutants from both biomass burning and
fossil fuel burning on aerosols and clouds.
She works to understand how size
distribution of aerosols in the atmosphere
is altered through processes of nucleation
and condensation. She studies how and
whether changes in precipitation efficiency
of clouds, induced by changes in aerosols,
alter large-scale structure of clouds.
Finally, she works to Improve treatment and
understanding of gas/aerosol interactions in
the atmosphere.

52
 Tornado in a Jar

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment & date
you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn about centripetal force & how tornadoes form

Materials
Glass jar with a lid
Water
Dish Soap
Vinegar Be careful to not get dye on your
Blue Food Dye workspace.

Methods
1. Fill your jar about 3/4 full of water and add in 3-5 drops of blue food dye.
2. Add a teaspoon of dish soap and a teaspoon of vinegar to your blue water.
3. Tighten your lid.
4. Simply hold the jar by the lid and rotate it around in a circle in a smooth. What do you think
will happen? Write your predictions in your Laboratory Notebook.
5. Observe how the liquid moves in the jar. Write your observations in your Laboratory
Notebook.

What’s Happening?
The tornado in your bottle is caused by "centripetal force" – an inward-facing force that pulls
an object or liquid toward the center of its circular path. The twister created in your bottle is
caused by the water in the bottle spinning towards the center of the bottle, or vortex.

53
How Do Tornados Form in Nature?
§ A tornado is a violent rotating
column of air extending from a
thunderstorm to the ground. The
most violent tornadoes are capable
of tremendous destruction with wind
speeds of up to 300 mph. They can
destroy large buildings, uproot trees
and hurl vehicles hundreds of yards.
They can also drive straw into trees.
Damage paths can be in excess of
one mile wide to 50 miles long. In an
average year, 1000 tornadoes are
reported nationwide.
§ Most tornadoes form from
thunderstorms. You need warm,
moist air from the Gulf of Mexico
and cool, dry air from Canada. When these two air masses meet, they create instability in
the atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing
height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air
within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6
miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes
form within this area of strong rotation.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Meteorologists are scientists that study the atmosphere to predict and understand earth's
weather. They help us prepare for each day's temperatures and let us know to expect rain, snow,
or sun.
Joanne Simpson was the first female
meteorologist with a Ph.D. Fascinated by clouds
as a child, she might well have gone into
astrophysics were it not for the intervention of
World War II. As a trainee pilot she had to study
meteorology and after getting her training from
Carl Gustaf Rossby’s new World War II
meteorology program, spent the war years
teaching meteorology to Aviation cadets. Her
PhD work focused on clouds, then regarded as
not a particularly important part of the subject,
but her early research based revealed cloud
patterns from maps drawn from films taken on
tropical flights. Subsequently she went on to
show how tropical “hot tower” clouds actually
drive the tropical circulation, and to propose a
new process by which hurricanes maintain their
“warm core”.

54
 Making Leaf Skeletons

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Examine the internal vessels of leaves

Materials
One leaf
500mL water Bleach and boiling water are VERY
One saucepan dangerous! You will need an adult to
1 tablespoon Baking Soda help you!
1 tablespoon Baking powder
Bleach
Paper towels

Methods
1. Place the water into pot and mix the baking soda & baking powder and bring to a
boil
2. Add your leaf to mix and reduce the heat. Simmer for at least an hour, stirring
occasionally.
3. Remove the leaves and place them into a strong solution of bleach (2 parts bleach to
3 parts water).
4. Leave overnight. What do you think will happen to the leaf? Write your predictions in
your Laboratory Notebook.
5. Dry the leaves on a paper towel. What does the leaf look like? Write your
observations in your Laboratory Notebook.

55
What’s Happening
§ Plants have veins just like
you. And just like you the
materials that make up
those veins are different
than what surrounds then
veins.
§ In plants, veins are
primarily made of lignin, a
carbon-rich molecule that
is dense, strong, and
resistant to most
chemicals. The rest of the
leaf is made of soft-walled, unspecialized cells called parenchyma. As much as one-
fifth of the leaf is composed of chlorophyll-containing chloroplasts, which absorb
sunlight and, in conjunction with certain enzymes, use the sunlight and water to make
hydrogen and oxygen.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Botanists are scientists who study plants, including flowering plants, and plant-like
things such as moss and seaweed. Botany is a scientific study of plants along with their
growth, structure, evolution, and uses.

Agnes Arbor was introduced to the study of plants by her

science teacher. In 1894, when she was just 15 years old,
Arbor published botanical research in her school magazine, a
move that earned her a scholarship. After completing her
degrees, she published several books based on her research
and findings. Among them was “Monocotyledons: A
Morphological Study,” which is considered an important text
in the field. Arbor became the first woman Fellow of the
Royal Society in 1946 and earned a Gold Medal from the
Linnean Society of London two years later.

56
 Bean House

REMEMBER BEFORE YOU START TO

1. Label Laboratory Notebook with the title of experiment &
date you perform it
2. Gather all your materials
3. Read the CAUTIONS
4. Read ALL Methods
5. Write predictions in your Laboratory Notebook
6. Wear your goggles, gloves, and lab coat

GOAL: Learn what plants need to grow

Materials
2 bean seeds
2 Jars You have to be very diligent taking
2 paper towel sheets notes in your notebook for this one!
Water

Methods
1. Swirl a small amount of water around each jar.
2. Lightly dampen your paper towels, fold it, and place one in each jar.
3. Place a bean seed in each jar resting on the paper towel.
4. Place one jar in a sunny location in the house and the other jar in a dark location in the
house. What do you think will happen to each jar? Write your predictions in your
Laboratory Notebook.
5. Spray some water on each bean every few days.
6. Everyday write & draw what you observe in your Laboratory Notebook. Make sure you
include the date with each entry! What differences did you notice between the bean
that was in a sunny location and the bean that was in a dark location?

What’s Happening?
§ The bean is using the water and the sunlight to grow! Sunlight and water are like food to a
plant. So just as you eat lunch, the bean eats the water and sunshine and converts that
energy to grow new parts. When you see something popping out of the seed, that is called
germination. Without sunlight, the bean can’t grow.
§ Photosynthesis is the process in which green plants use sunlight to make their own food.
Photosynthesis is necessary for life on Earth. Without it there would be no green plants,
and without green plants there would be no animals.

57
§ Photosynthesis requires
sunlight, chlorophyll,
water, and carbon
dioxide gas. Chlorophyll is
a substance in all green
plants, especially in the
leaves. Plants take in
water from the soil and
carbon dioxide from the
air.
§ Photosynthesis starts
when chlorophyll absorbs
energy from sunlight.
Green plants use this
light energy to change
water and carbon dioxide
into oxygen and nutrients
called sugars. The plants
use some of the sugars and store the rest. The oxygen is released into the air.
§ Photosynthesis is very important because almost all living things depend on plants for
food. Photosynthesis is also important because of the oxygen it produces. Humans and
other animals need to breathe in oxygen to survive.
§ Some living things other than plants also make their own food through photosynthesis.
They include certain types of bacteria and algae.

Who Uses This in Real Life?

Botanists are scientists who study plants, including flowering plants, and plant-like things such
as moss and seaweed. Botany is a scientific study of plants along with their growth, structure,
evolution, and uses.

Dr. Aimée Classen studies 3 areas: (1)

Understanding & modeling connections among
soil organisms, herbivores, plants and
ecosystem function (2) Understanding how
shifting above- and below-ground biodiversity
and global change alters the composition and
function of ecosystems and (3) Exploring how
scale and location influence ecological
patterns and processes. She uses a
combination of observations, experiments and
models to answer ecological questions.

58
 A Complete List of Materials

Liquid Starch Toilet paper and empty toilet paper roll

Elmer’s Glue Funnels
Iron Oxide Powder Jewelry eye pin and necklace chain -
Mixing bowl optional
Plastic spoon and metal spoon Paint - optional
Measuring cups/spoons Liquid watercolor/food dye
Neodymium – rare Earth magnet Glitter
Ivory soap Cornstarch
Shallow dish/bowls Sulfate-free body wash
Microwave & stove Seashells
Empty aluminum can Cardboard
2-liter clear plastic bottle Tin foil & plastic wrap
Small plastic bottle Brass fasteners
Matches 9-volt battery
Water - cold, hot, boiling Christmas lights
Saucepan Benzoic acid
Kitchen tongs Small plastic toy - optional
Raw Egg Tweezers - optional
White Vinegar Electric tape - optional
Baking soda & baking powder 20-volume 6% hydrogen peroxide
Plain white paper Dry yeast
Paintbrush Liquid dishwashing soap
Rubbing alcohol Ziplock bags
Turmeric Salt
Glass jars/cups Sugar
Glass jars with lids Petri dishes
Cookie sheet - optional Agar-agar
Glue gun/craft glue/tacky glue Beef bouillon cube
Compact disc (CD) Q-tips
Pop-up top of a water bottle Film canister
Balloons Alka seltzer tablets
Scissors Borax powder Milk
Popsicle sticks M&Ms and Skittles
String and tape Pipet
Pipe Cleaners Toothpick
Paper towels Coffee filter
Measuring tape/ruler Colored sprinkles
Rubber bands - large and small Leaf
Markers Bleach
Straws Bean seeds

59
 ATTRIBUTIONS

Spanish translation: Sebastián Murgueitio Ramírez

http://sites.nd.edu/sebastian-murgueitio/

Funding sources:

• University of Notre Dame:

o College of Science
o Center for Social Concerns -- ‘Community Impact Grant’
o John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values
§ Science Policy Initiative at Notre Dame (SPI@ND)
• National Science Policy Network -- ‘D.I.C.E Grant’

Lab manual design and compilation: Dr. Cara Ocobock

(cocobock@nd.edu)

Original sources of information for all of the experiments:

https://frugalfun4boys.com/make-magnetic-slime/

https://canadianfamily.ca/activities/crafts/cool-science-experiment-make-your-own-soap-cloud/

https://www.weatherwizkids.com/experiments-
cloud.htm#:~:text=Fill%20the%20clear%20plastic%202,ingredient%20to%20make%20a%20cloud.
&text=Then%20drop%20the%20match%20in,cap%2C%20trapping%20the%20smoke%20inside.

http://www.scifun.org/HomeExpts/COLLAPSE.html#:~:text=Fill%20the%20saucepan%20with%20cold,t
he%20opening%20in%20the%20can.

https://coolscienceexperimentshq.com/bouncy-egg/

https://www.childrens-museum.org/blog/2020/04/science-magic-invisible-ink

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/learning-toolkit-blog/make-homemade-hovercraft-
your-kids.html

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/crystal-flowers-spring-science-experiment/

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/science/try-this-racing-rocket-balloons/

https://www.sciencefun.org/kidszone/experiments/9727-2/

https://coolscienceexperimentshq.com/balloon-blow-up-science-experiment/

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http://www.raisingdv.com/10-science-activities-for-slumber-parties-or-sleepovers/

https://preschoolinspirations.com/make-gorgeous-glitter-slime/

http://www.mamaplusone.com/diy-play-dough-soap/

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/crystal-flowers-spring-science-experiment/

https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@sweetpea/build-a-circuit-using-christmas-lights

https://www.thoughtco.com/benzoic-acid-snow-globe-605981

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/kids-activities-and-printables/activities-for-kids/math-and-science-
ideas/home-science-experiments-elephants-toothpaste.html

https://kitchenpantryscientist.com/pyramids-pasteur-and-plastic-baggies-what-makes-yeast-grow/

https://kitchenpantryscientist.com/homemade-petri-plates-video/

https://www.science-sparks.com/how-to-make-a-film-canister-rocket/

https://coolscienceexperimentshq.com/magic-milk-science-
experiment/#:~:text=Magic%20Rainbow%20Milk%20Science%20Experiment%20Instructions&text
=Step%201%20%E2%80%93%20Pour%20some%20milk,the%20milk%20covers%20the%20bottom
.&text=Step%203%20%E2%80%93%20Add%20a%20drop,the%20surface%20of%20the%20milk.

https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/candy-chromatography-science-project/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/make-sprinkles-dance/

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/crystal-flowers-spring-science-experiment/

https://homeschoolon.com/how-to-make-a-tornado-in-a-jar/

https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/150-science-experiments/botany-experiments/make-a-leaf-skeleton/

https://www.science-sparks.com/bean-in-a-jar/

http://girlstart.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/19.MagneticSlime1.pdf

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/soap-
souffle/#:~:text=Those%20air%20bubbles%20in%20the,or%20marshmallow)%20contain%20water
%20molecules.&text=The%20expanding%20effect%20is%20caused,to%20soften%20and%20becom
e%20pliable.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-4/Newton-s-Third-Law

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-crystals/

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/rocket/BottleRocket/Shari/propulsion_act.htm

61
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/slime-is-it-a-solid-liquid-or-both/

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/basic-slime-science-homemade-slime-for-kids/

https://www.bulbs.com/learning/circuit.aspx

http://www.planet-science.com/categories/experiments/biology/2012/01/pyramids,-pasteur-and-plastic-
baggies---what-makes-yeast-grow.aspx

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/growing-bacteria/
https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/film-canister-explosions/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/walking-water/

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/?page_id=60

http://www.magickeys.com/books/bitaba/geodes.html

https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-are-some-shells-smooth-and-some-shells-corrugated-77019

https://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-optical-illusions.htm

https://www.britannica.com/science/mesophyll

http://www.mps.k12.al.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_400800/File/Halcyon%20Elementary/Forms/Teacher
%20Forms/5.9_Stemscopedia.pdf

https://nationalmaglab.org/education/magnet-academy/history-of-electricity-magnetism/pioneers/esther-
conwell

https://www.thoughtco.com/famous-women-in-chemistry-609453

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_P._Jackson

https://www.albany.edu/daes/faculty/kristen-l-corbosiero

https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/marie-maynard-daly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildred_Cohn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blackburn

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/marylyon/science

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson

https://rabi-musah.squarespace.com/

https://news.umich.edu/motorized-prosthetics-improves-lives-of-amputees/

62
https://chemistry.nd.edu/people/holly-goodson/

https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/biochem/ursula-jakob-phd

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/rmcory/

https://chemistry.nd.edu/people/patricia-l-clark/

https://www.lsi.umich.edu/science/our-labs/alison-narayan-lab

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/brief/303694/sylvia-earle

https://interestingengineering.com/edith-clarke-the-first-female-electrical-engineer-and-professor-of-
electrical-engineering

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Kwolek

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin

https://biology.nd.edu/people/ana-lidia-flores-mireles/

https://biology.nd.edu/people/patricia-champion/

https://www.space.com/vera-rubin.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/02/alice-ball-leprosy-hansens-disease-hawaii-womens-
history-science/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_Bishop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Rogers

https://clasp.engin.umich.edu/people/joyce-penner/

https://elliehighwood.com/2017/03/08/three-women-meteorologists-for-international-womens-day-2017/

https://www.teleflora.com/blog/meet-3-famous-female-botanists-womens-history-month/

https://lsa.umich.edu/eeb/people/faculty/aclassen.html

63
Laboratory Manual By
Cara Ocobock, PHD
University of Notre Dame

2020