At Home Activities
AT HOME ACTIVITIES FOR LASM
KIDS!
DRAWINGS BY TAMMY JOHNSTON
GROW A SWEET POTATO VINE
WHERE IS THE IRON?
TOOTHPICK TIME
GROW SUGAR CRYSTALS
BUBBLE ART
INVISIBLE INK
SCORPIO PAPER BAG
CHOCOLATE-CHIP CONSTELLATION COOKIES
AND ASTRO SUGAR COOKIES (PDF)
GROW A SWEET POTATO VINE
YOU NEED: one small sweet potato, clear glass jar, toothpicks, water, and a sunny window ledge.
Ask your mother for one small sweet potato, a jar, and some toothpicks. (A thick chunk of sweet potato with skin could substitute the whole sweet potato. Make sure the skin is partially submerged.) Test your jar to make sure your potato fits. Midway down the potato draw a line that resembles the equator. Next, poke in toothpicks evenly spaced along this line. Lower the potato into the jar so that the toothpicks hold 1/2 of the potato above the jar. Fill the jar with water to cover the bottom part of the potato. Place the jar with potato in a bright window. In time you will see sprouts root spouts, then vine sprouts. Be sure to change the water once a week. You will be amazed as you watch this plant grow all summer.
WHERE IS THE IRON?
YOU NEED: dry breakfast cereal, a zip-lock bag, a rolling pen, a strong magnet.
Here is a cool science project you can do with dry breakfast cereal. Ever wonder what is in your cereal? Parents do! Iron is a valuable nutrient that many cereal makers add to their breakfast cereals. Here is a way to see the iron. First, read the nutritional facts on the side of the box. Select several brands of cereal that list iron. Have one small zip-lock bag for each brand of cereal. Place your cereal sample in the bag and zip it closed. Use a rolling pen to crush the cereal> into a dust. Lower your magnet into the cereal dust. Does the cereal cling to the magnet? If so, then you are on your way to fulfilling your daily dietary iron requirements!
TOOTHPICK TIME
YOU NEED: at
least one box
of toothpicks,
white glue
or wood glue,
some
newspaper, a
flat work surface,
and a lot of time and patience.
Challenge yourself or a friend to create the tallest sculpture you can with only toothpicks and glue. Work on newspaper to catch any wasted glue. You will need to glue each place the toothpicks touch. This is a project that you can begin in May and work on till it s time to get back to school! Make a tall building, or an animal or plant. Maybe you can make a hat! Be creative.
GROW SUGAR CRYSTALS
YOU NEED: an adult to help you, a clear
glass jar, a stick or skewer, popsicle
stick, a piece of string at least 6 long,
sugar, water, a spoon, and a
small saucepan.
With the help of an adult, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add one cup of sugar one spoonful at a time, stirring as you go until all sugar is added and dissolved. The solution should turn into a clear syrup. Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool for 10 minutes. Pour the syrup into a glass jar. Now tie one end of the string around the stick, securing it with a knot, and tie the other end around the popsicle stick. Make sure you have enough string to reach the syrup. Place the stick across the top of your jar so that the popsicle stick hangs in the syrup. Set your crystal maker aside. Take a look at it every day to see what s happening. After about one week, you should find little crystals of sugar along the string.
BUBBLE ART
YOU NEED: water, liquid dish soap,
food coloring, plastic cups, baking
sheet, plastic drinking straws, and
white art or typing paper.
For each color in your artwork you will need a separate cup. Mix 1/2 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of dish soap, and a few drops of food coloring in< a plastic cup. Place the cup on a baking sheet. Lower a straw into the cup and blow bubbles until the bubbles overflow the cup and spill onto the baking sheet. Make sure not to suck any of the soap into your mouth! Remove the cup and place a piece of paper on top of the bubbles. Lift the paper off. The colored bubbles will create a cool design on the paper as it dries. After the paper is dry, you can use it to wrap a small gift, or you< can use a marker to draw a picture on it or just outline the shapes left behind by the bubbles.
INVISIBLE INK
YOU NEED: lemon juice, paper, a small
artist paint brush, and a lamp with an
incandescent bulb.
This is fun and simple. Did you know that you could use lemon juice to write invisible messages on paper? Just use the lemon juice like ink, write your message on paper, and let it dry. When you are ready to read your invisible message, hold the paper up to sunlight or a light bulb. Cool! The lemon juice is acidic and it weakens paper. When the paper is heated, the acid turns the writing brown before discoloring the paper.
SCORPIUS PAPER BAG
YOU NEED: a paper sandwich bag, scissors,
a pencil, colored tissue paper, tape or
glue, a flashlight, the Scorpius Star pattern
(left), a grownup to help with the
first step.
Ask a grownup to enlarge the Scorpius pattern on a copy machine so that it is big enough to cover the side of a paper sandwich bag. Trace the Scorpius constellation pattern onto the bag with a pencil. Cut out the star shapes. Glue a piece of colored tissue paper inside the bag behind the cut-out shapes. Hold a flashlight on the ground pointing up to the sky. Place the bag over it and the stars glow!