Posts

LED Flat Flashlight

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Materials: 5 mm or 10 mm white diffused LED light (We got ours from Evil mad Scientist , which unfortunately they are no longer selling. Other suppliers  All Electronics ,  Goldmine Electronics , or Amazon) 3V lithium coin battery (we got ours from sciplus.com item #  40919) copper tape (found in the gardening section of hardware stores as an anti snail/ slug product or alternatively in 1/4'' form on Amazon ) electrical vinyl tape jumbo craft stick Tools: Scissors Ruler (optional) Cut copper tape long enough to go down the length of the craft stick and to wrap about 1/2'' to the other side. Place your coin battery on to the short piece of copper tape you wrapped over the end of the stick with the positive side of the battery facing up, negative side down touching the copper tape.  Take a shorter piece of copper tape and fold each end over about .75'' each side, leaving the middle section with adhesive, and adhere it to the craft stick...
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Science In Sports

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Discovery Science · Field Notes A popsicle stick, a rubber band, and a shot at the buzzer. Oakland students turned favorite basketball and soccer memories into working ball launchers — then spent an hour thinking like sports engineers to make their shot go farther. Catapults Design Basketball & soccer Inspiration All ages Builders Oakland Location “What would it look like if we could build a machine that could help us learn how to be better at one of our favorite games?” — The question that started the build In this session, we started by sharing sports memories — watching the NBA Finals with family, cheering a World Cup match, shooting hoops at the park.  Then we asked students a simple question: had they ever noticed ways science shows up in the games they love, a...
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When Students Become Stewards

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Discovery Science · Field Notes Twenty kids, two cups of water, and one very muddy question. A 60-minute lesson where Oakland students ages six to twelve traded “student” for “water engineer” — and built something that actually worked - or taught them just as much when it didn’t. 20 Students 6–12 Ages 60 min Session Oakland Location “Think of your favorite time you got to play with water—maybe at a pool, a beach, a lake, or even just splashing in a hose on the sidewalk.  What made that water fun and safe to play in, and who do you think helps take care of it?  Today we will pretend it is our job to help take care of the water and keep it clean.  In Oakland the person who helps keep the water clean in your favorite places is called a water engineer.  Today we get to be the engineers a...
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Glow in the Dark Gak

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As Halloween is approaching, we have updated this activity to include a more cost-effective way to have gak "glow in the dark".    Gak, more commonly known as slime, is something almost everyone has made, but here are some instructions on how to make glow-in-the-dark gak.  At the end of the instructions, explore some of the science behind gak and glow-in-the-dark toys. For this experiment, you will need:   PVA glue - we find that Elmer's school glue works best Borax Hand Soap Water Measuring cups and spoons spoons for mixing 2 plastic containers for mixing Airtight container for storage Green phosphorescent pigment (the most affordable we found is at  www.douglasandsturgess.com) .  Alternatively, use highlighter markers to make slime glow under ultraviolet (UV) light or a blacklight (try with clear glue) Add 1/4 water and 1 tsp. of borax to one container. Add 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup glue to a second container. Make sure that...
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