Boo Bubbles

May 9, 2014

Hello Families,
Well, this week we finished up all of our crystal making.  I have one student's creation that we are still trying to make grow crystals.  I'll be sending home all of the jars you donated.  We had such a variety of crystal creations.  Our independent variables were our pipe cleaner shapes and colors.  We tried to keep the ratio of Borax to water the same.  We tried to keep our water temperature the same.  All but one of our crystals grew.  However, the size and density of crystals varied..  It was a fun experiment to watch the Borax Detergent dissolve in the water and to also have a quick turnaround for crystal growth.  We would need to be more specific in our data collection to determine why the crystals looked so different.

On Friday we made Boo Bubbles with dry ice, warm water, and homemade bubble solution.  We talked about dry ice, what it is made of, how to handle it correctly, to respect it, and how it changes from a solid to a gas.  Sublimation.  Students wore a glove to encourage the bubble to hold its shape.  Occasionally the bubble would stick to a soapy hand or a T-shirt.  Students made educated guess about what Boo Bubbles would do(based on previous knowledge and info shared) and what they would look like.  We made a lot of Boo Bubbles but no one thought we made too many.  We talked about Dry Ice safety and we also talked about how scientist are smart with their experiments.  Dry Ice needs to be respected.  Please do not do any experiments at home with Dry Ice without first making sure you are informed about how to be safe when you are using it.

Permission slip (green) came home today.  The money is due back by the 16th.  The cost is $24 plus an additional $1 for a slice of pizza.  Please make sure you have returned the photo consent(white) also.  You will be receiving an additional slip on Monday regarding chaperoning.  Not everyone who offered to chaperone will be able to go due to volunteer limits from JA Biztown.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers!  Thank you for all that you do to help your child be successful at school.   I hope you are all spoiled on Sunday!  You deserve it!

Yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs