Saturday, June 20, 2009

Center of the Earth Experiment


The center of the earth kind of has bubbly things. On MythBusters they tested can a whirlpool suck you down, and they proved you can. It's sort of like that, but instead of staying there and dying the oil gets pulled back to the surface.

(mom's version below)

We filled a glass jar 3/4 full of water, then added about 2" of oil. Then we poured in salt, one tablespoon at a time. The salt pulled some of the oil down with it, but as soon as the salt dissolved the oil floated back up. It reminded me of the lava lamp my grandmother had when I was a child.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Vibrating Experiment


Sound can make things move.

We put plastic wrap tight on a bowl, then put some rice on top. I banged a spoon on a cookie sheet next to it and it made the rice move. It only worked if the plastic wrap was really tight.

Then I tried some uncooked rice. Yum.

Making a bridge


Today we learned how to make a bridge, like the one Mike Rowe cleaned on Dirty Jobs. That's my second favorite show after MythBusters.

First we put a piece of heavy paper across some boxes of food. We put a toy bobcat on and it fell down.

Then mom folded a piece of heavy paper like a fan (lengthwise), put it across the boxes and put a second piece of heavy paper on top. This held the heavier backhoe that my dad got me. Mom said the triangles supported the weight, I think it was just made gooder.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Mixing Stuff

Today we tried mixing things together. Here are the results:

  • water + sugar = this didn't work. the sugar didn't mix
  • water + molasses = this worked. the molasses wasn't sticky anymore, it was like water but not the color of water.
  • water + baking soda = looked like water
  • water + vinegar = light yellow water
  • water + baking soda + vinegar = light yellow water with bubbles
  • water + oil = did not work. It looked like the layers of the earth, with the water at the bottom (like lava) and the oil at the top (like the earth)

  • Then I mixed it all together and the molasses won. Then it exploded. That was a joke.

    Monday, June 15, 2009

    My Box Turtle


    We saw a box turtle yesterday in our back yard. We gave it some lettuce. It closed up like a rock when we went to see it. I picked it up. I was very careful.

    We know it was a box turtle because we looked it up this morning. They eat snails, frogs (if you have frogs in your yard don't get a box turtle!), grass and humans (that was a joke). If you don't like snails you can buy a box turtle and it will eat them all. I saw his butt.

    I think he eats the same weeds as the rabbit we see a lot in our yard. We did not let Stevie (my cat) see the turtle as he might attack it and make the shell older. I don't think turtles can grow another shell. So if you see a turtle don't let your cat outside.

    When we backed up a little bit his head came out. I liked it so much than when I see it again I'm going to hug it carefully. We checked before I went to bed and he was gone. I think he went to Ms. Pam's yard because she has water and turtles need water.

    Friday, June 12, 2009

    Stevie is a knuckhead

    My cat Stevie injured a bird so bad this morning it was close to dying, but I think it flew away or the girls got it. This is a fun game for Stevie.

    Some animals eat other animals. Birds eat birdseed, owls eat some birds, birds of prey want sleepy baby cats. Lions eat gerenuks (Trotman just dragged out a book about mammals).

    We have a bunny in our yard. I want to make it a home. He likes to eat the weeds in our yard.

    Ms. Pam's tadpoles, part 2

    Me and mom went next door to see Ms. Pam's tadpoles yesterday. One had two legs in the back. We saw lily pads and three fish: one baby, one who is brown, and one who was an orange fish - not a baby, just an adult. They were swimming around and I was trying to catch them. I could not, but I caught a tadpole with legs. It will turn into a frog.

    I am glad that frogs eat mosquitoes. Some frogs eat other frogs, then there will only be one.