While there are so many good things going on with the Children's Science Center this month, being selected by Microsoft to receive a software grant is the most noteworthy. With the opening of a new store in our area, the first in the northeastern U.S., Microsoft is marking their move to our community with a significant measure of local support for four area non-profits.

The Facebook voting campaign continues for several more weeks, so our final grant value is not yet known, but we expect at least $50,000 in software as a result of this award that we will use to greatly improve the content and scope of our current Museum Without Walls programming.

We look forward to a long term partnership with Microsoft and their local employees. We look to them as technology experts who not only share our vision to excite our community's children about STEM learning, but also as those that have the know-how to directly help us in doing so.

We make new connections almost every day with people from all across our community who truly grasp the possibilities for children in our region with a Children's Science Center. And when respected industry leaders like Microsoft step up to support our cause, we know that those possibilities are limitless.    

The Children's Science Center was thrilled to join other hands-on exhibitors to excite Girl Scouts to explore subjects ranging from science and fitness to fine arts and team-building at Adventure Day with the Girl Scouts of America on October 15. 

Bubbles and balloons drew attendees' attention for our new hands-on Museum Without Walls activity entitled "Does Matter Matter?". Over 280 participants explored the fundamental differences between solids, liquids and gases at our activity.

The Museum Without Walls team used "Does Matter Matter?" first to characterize the innate properties of solids, liquids, and gases. Next, volunteers engaged children in two activities to define the concepts of matter changing chemically and physically.  Participants learned that when matter undergoes a physical change, a new substance is not produced although its shape

By dropping a piece of dry ice into soapy water, participants witnessed a physical change occurring. The "smoking" bubbles rising out of a graduated cylinder was a fun, dramatic demonstration of the physical change carbon dioxide undergoes when it sublimates from its solid form (dry ice) to its gaseous form (gas-filled bubbles).

To observe a chemical change, the Girl Scouts inflated balloons without using their lungs - they used the simple reaction between the solid baking soda, and liquid vinegar to produce gaseous carbon dioxide.  Although both activities produced carbon dioxide, they did so in very different ways.  This gave the participants clues they needed to identify the types of physical and chemical changes they may see in everyday life! (Can you identify whether an ice cube melting is a physical or chemical change?!)               

Challenge:  Make Your Own Lava Lamp

Get into Your Groove with this Easy Experiment  

 

What You Need:

• Water
• A clear plastic bottle
• Vegetable Oil
• Food Coloring
• Alka-Seltzer

What You Do:

1. Pour water into the plastic bottle until it is around one quarter full (you might want to use a funnel when filling the bottle so you don't spill anything).
2. Pour in vegetable oil until the bottle is nearly full.
3. Wait until the oil and water have separated.
4. Add around a dozen drops of food coloring to the bottle (choose any color you like).
5. Watch as the food coloring falls through the oil and mixes with the water.
6. Cut an Alka-Seltzer tablet into smaller pieces (around 5 or 6) and drop one of them into the bottle.  Things should start getting a little crazy, just like a real lava lamp!
7. When the bubbling stops, add another piece of Alka-Seltzer and enjoy the show!

Why this Works: