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Happy Holidays from the Children's Science Center!
It has been a busy and exciting fall and the New Year looks to continue at the same pace. Our initiative to open a science-focused children's museum in Northern Virginia has made great progress. Here are some of the highlights:
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Raising funds. The Children's Science Center has developed a fund development plan in which the first milestone is to raise $250,000 in seed funds by mid-2010 so that we may hire an Executive Director and finance our experience plan for the museum. As such, the Children's Science Center is actively seeking donations from individuals and corporations to meet this initial target. The Children's Science Center team recently has held numerous meetings and house parties to raise funds and awareness.
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Taking it on the road. We have scheduled a series of Community Conversations to engage the community and seek input on the development of the Children's Science Center.
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Business plan. We have revised our business plan with extensive input from experts in the fields of education, finance, children's museums and children's science centers. We are now leveraging the plan in our fund-development activities.  I continue to be very excited about the prospect of a children's science center right here in Northern Virginia. From the many people with whom I have discussed the concept, I know that the community is excited as well. We need to harness this interest and enthusiasm and desire for a science-focused children's museum and translate it into support for the Children's Science Center - volunteers, funds and evangelists. If you would like to help us, please let me know. I wish you all the best for the holidays and the New Year!
Yours,
Leo G. Rydzewski
Chairman, Board of Directors |
The Children's Science Center has partnered with Leadership Fairfax's Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI) to conduct a series of seven community forums in Northern Virginia during the first half of 2010. Dubbed the "Community Conversations" project, the goals are to spread awareness about the proposed Children's Science Center and to learn more about the experience the community seeks in a children's science center. Each forum will target a specific stakeholder group including: parents and families, educators, organizations that serve families and children, Northern Virginia community leaders, members of the science/technology business community, families of and people who serve special needs children, and finally an open forum for all interested people. If you are interested in participating in one of the forums or volunteering to assist with the project, please let us know by contacting Sylvia Montgomery. |
Give a Gift that Will Keep Giving
Have you seen the wonder in a child's eyes when he sees a science experiment unfold in his hands? Just as the holidays are a time of wonderment for children, the Children's Science Center seeks to become a place where wonder happens daily. Please consider supporting this project with a financial donation. The holidays are a traditional time to give gifts to charity - with good reason. Not only do you help a deserving cause, you get immediate tax gratification: The gifts you give during the holiday season reduce the tax bill you must pay by April 15. Please keep the Children's Science Center in mind during this holiday season and help us in making a children's science center in Northern Virginia a reality! Any size donation is sincerely appreciated. The Children's Science Center is a 501 (c)(3) organization and your donation is fully tax deductible. Donate online or by mail (send to address below). Thank you! | |
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Welcome New Board Members!
The Children's Science Center is pleased to welcome the following new members to our Board of Directors as a part of our ongoing initiative to build our Board with new expertise and experience. Their talent and dedication to excellence will help the Children's Science Center chart the future and set a new standard for Board participation.
Gary Crum, Founder and President of LHT Ventures
Jill Corso McNabb, VP, VeriSign, Inc.
Sylvia Montgomery, Partner and Marketing Counsel, Hinge, Inc.
Elizabeth M. Ross, Associate, Lieblich & Grimes, P.C. | |
Art and Science Meet
A key element in the success of the Children's Science Center will be community awareness and support. To help raise awareness as well as propel our goal of making science fun for children, the Children's Science Center partnered with the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) to present Rebecca Kamen's Divining Nature: An Elemental Garden, a sculpture installation inspired by the periodic table of chemical elements. The Children's Science Center helped to lead workshops related to the exhibit for children from Dogwood Elementary School.
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Kids Erupt for New Children's Science Center Activities
Hundreds of children were wowed by the Children's Science Center's latest Museum Without Walls activities at the Fall For Fairfax Kidsfest and Spring Hill Elementary's Science Night in October as well as the Junior League of Northern Virginia's The Enchanted Forest in December. Volunteers from the Junior League of Northern Virginia assisted children with several hands-on activities that demonstrated different scientific principles. One exciting activity had children erupting volcanoes by creating carbon dioxide gas through a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. After being dazzled by the colorful explosion, children were challenged to inflate a balloon without blowing into it by using the same  ingredients. In addition, children tested their understanding of buoyancy and density as they experimented with making boats that could float out of aluminum foil and clay, they were dazzled by being able to hold a bubble in their hand, and they made their own fossils and slime. In addition to promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education through play at these Museum without Walls events, numerous parents learned about our project and signed up to find out more about the Children's Science Center. Upcoming Events |
Challenge: Can You Make Raisins Dance?
Science Experiment Just for Kids
Just in time for the holiday season which is full of happy dancing and "bubbly", let's try to make raisins dance!
Carbon dioxide gas dissolved in soft drinks gives them their fizz. You can use the carbon dioxide fizz from a soft drink to make raisins dance. For this experiment you will need:
- a can of colorless soda (e.g., 7-Up or Sprite)
- a tall, clear glass or plastic cup
- several raisins (fresh raisins work the best)
 Pour the can of soda into the tall glass. Notice the bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. The bubbles are carbon dioxide gas released from the liquid. Drop 6 or 7 raisins into the glass. Watch the raisins for a few seconds. Describe what is happening to the raisins. Do they sink or float? Keep watching; what happens in the next several minutes?
How did you do that?
Raisins are denser than the liquid in the soda, so initially they sink to the bottom of the glass. The carbonated soft drink releases carbon dioxide bubbles. When these bubbles stick to the rough surface of a raisin, the raisin is lifted because of the increase in buoyancy. When the raisin reaches the surface, the bubbles pop, and the carbon dioxide gas escapes into the air. This causes the raisin to lose buoyancy and sink. This rising and sinking of the raisins continues until most of the carbon dioxide has escaped, and the soda goes flat. Furthermore, with time the raisin gets soggy and becomes too heavy to rise to the surface.
You might want to try other objects to see if they exhibit this behavior. Any object whose density is just slightly greater than water's and has a rough surface to which the gas bubbles can attach should be able to dance in the carbonated water. Some of the more common dancing substances are mothballs and pieces of uncooked pasta. Try putting other objects in the carbonated water. Can you find other substances that dance?
Carbonated beverages are prepared by putting the beverage into a can under high pressure of carbon dioxide gas. This high pressure causes the carbon dioxide gas to dissolve in the liquid. When you open a can of soda, the noise you hear is produced by the carbon dioxide gas as it rushes out of the can. When the can is opened, the decreased pressure allows some of the carbon dioxide gas dissolved in the liquid to escape. This is what makes the bubbles in a soft drink.
Another way to do this experiment is to generate the carbon dioxide gas using the reaction of baking soda and vinegar. Fill your glass about 1/2 full with water. Add one teaspoon of baking soda and stir until it is dissolved in the water. Add 6 or 7 raisins to the glass. SLOWLY pour in vinegar until the glass is about 3/4 full. The vinegar and baking soda react to form carbon dioxide bubbles, and the raisins will dance just as in the soft drink!
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Volunteer!
We need you!
Volunteers are the foundation on which the Children's Science Center is being built. If you have some time and enthusiasm, we would love to have you! We are especially in need of volunteers with experience in fundraising and grant writing. If you are interested, visit our Web site or email us. | |
The Children's Science Center is a nonprofit museum dedicated to sparking children's interest in science through interactive exhibits and engaging programs that encourage exploration of math and science, stimulate creativity, and inspire through active learning. For more information, visit www.TheChildrensScienceCenter.org. Please direct all inquiries to The Children's Science Center, 485 Spring Park Place Suite 500, Herndon VA 20170.
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