Teaching Constellations

Twinkle, twinkle little star....It is such nice weather outside at night and my son loves to lay outside on the grass and look up at the stars at night. Last summer he would beg us to stay outside until he saw a shooting star. I do not think he really knew what one was, but he knew that he would be able to stay up later until he saw one!

This activity turned out to be much more successful than I intended! It's simple and you probably have everything you need on hand...

What You Need:

• Round cardboard container similar to an oatmeal container - minus the lid (see above) **
• Pencil or pen
• Paper
• Tape
• Push pin or thumb tack
• Flashlight
• A dark room (bathroom, closet, laundry room, etc.)

** See Variations below


Directions:

1. Trace a circle onto a piece of paper with your pen or pencil. Make it a little bigger than the hole on your container.

2.  Cut out your circle. Find a star chart and trace a few constellations onto the circle. We did the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia and the North Star (added that so that there is something to center them around). I found a book that had a few large enough and easy enough for me to trace. I am sure there are tons online.

3. Tape your circle onto the lid/open side of your round cardboard container (make sure lid is off). Then cut a hole in the bottom of the cardboard container big enough for your flashlight to fit into it.

4. Use a push pin to pop holes into the paper where the stars are. Move the pin around so it is a good, strong hole.

Sorry, white is so hard to photograph with my camera...but you get the general idea.

5. Go into a dark room big enough to fit your group and have some fun with the stars. My flashlight's beam was so strong that I had to aim the beam towards the side of the container and then we could see the "stars" a lot better.


6. Make sure you quiz their knowledge by turning the container and having them tell you where/what each constellation is. Start out with a couple and if they get the hang of it add more. I am sure they are going to surprise you! A couple of nights ago my children were laying on the grass out front waiting for their dad to get home when my 4 year old son said, "Hey Mom, look. There is the Big Dipper." And sure enough it was! Honestly, I did not think that he would really be able to find the constellations I showed him once we got outside because there are so many stars. That was one of those "I feel like a successful mom" moments!


Variations:

• Try a box if you do not have a round oatmeal-ish container (It will just be harder to have more constellations on the paper)
• Instead of the oatmeal container, use a heavy paper (like, card stock or poster board) and tape that directly onto the flash light. Make the constellations smaller and closer together. My flashlight was too strong of a beam to do this with. 

I am off to add some more constellations!


ENJOY!!!


P.S. I am being featured over at Or So She Says today! Come show me some love!

Monster Goo

Get down and dirty with some Monster Goo! Yet another creation made from CORNSTARCH! I know you are thinking, "Another cornstarch project?" Cornstarch is seriously becoming a favorite of mine. It can turn into so many things! This is super simple to make and loads of fun. My kids played with it for a good 40 minutes. That is a lot for us!

Here is what you need:

• Water
• Cornstarch
• Bowl
• Mixing spoon or fork
• A large cookie sheet or a clean flat surface to play on.
• Food coloring (optional)

Directions

The recipe calls for 1/3 cup of water in a bowl  (if you want color, add it before you add the cornstarch - just a couple drops) and add 1/2 cup of cornstarch. Stir together.

The faster you stir the harder it will get to mix it up. Be patient and just dig in it good. It should mix up quickly and will look like liquid in the bowl when it is mixed all the way.

TIP: I don't know if it an elevation thing or what, but this recipe was way too runny. I added almost another 1/4 cup of cornstarch. You want the texture to be firm when you pick it up and liquid like when it is not moving. That sounds confusing, but you will know what I am talking about when you have it right!

Now the Fun Begins...

Here are some ideas of things that you can do with it:

• Roll it into a ball in your hand and then see what happens when you stop.
• Create a monster. Roll it up again and then lay it on the table (or pan) and add 2 marbles for eye balls to create a monster. Watch him turn into "Monster Goo"
• Talk about the texture of what they feel. Is it hard? soft? sticky? slimy? Are your hands soft or rough?, etc...you get the idea!
• Give them a couple of bowls/cups and/or spoons and let them transfer the Goo from one to another.
• For older kids, see if they can recreate the Goo consistency on their own. It really is fascinating for all ages!

TIP: If the Goo gets too dry and is not turning into liquid as fast as before, just add a little water and the fun will continue.

Cleaning Up Tips

•  Do not put the mixture down the sink when you are finished. Leave it out until it dries a little and then put as much as you can in the trash. I have heard that some of these cornstarch mixtures can clog drains.
• When trying to clean off your playing surface, use the mixing spoon or your hand to gather all the dried pieces on the table and throw them away (see picture above). Then wipe it down with a dry rag. Since it turns into powder it makes it a lot easier to clean up. Then you can use a damp cloth if you have anything left. When I did this before, I wiped down the table with a wet rag and I was forever seeing powder streaks.
• The same thing goes with any of the mixture that gets on clothing. Let it dry and then shake it off. It will be much easier to get off if it is not wet!

HAVE FUN!!!

Pepper Chase

This is a fun little experiment involving pepper, sugar, water and soap. It quick and easy to put together and is fascinating for all ages!

What you need:

• Pie plate or large bowl
• Water
• Bar of soap
• Pepper*
• Sugar*

*See the "What Not To Do" secion


Directions:

Fill a pie plate with water.

Shake pepper on the water.

Dip a piece of wet soap in it. Make sure everyone is watching before you dip the soap in. It happens fast...

The pepper will run away from the soap.

Next, shake some sugar in to the clear area of the water and the pepper will come back. In my opinion, this is as dramatic of a reaction when it happens.


Other Variations:

• Try it in individual size bowls. The affect is not as dramatic, but my kids had fun playing with their own water.
• Try different types of soap. Liquid soap causes quite a quick/dramatic reaction, but it is difficult to redo the experiment without changing the water first.

What Not To Do:

• I tried cutting a couple of pieces of soap from a large bar. Since it was small, it was harder for the kids to hold on to when wet and the reaction did not occur as quickly or noticeably.
• Put the sugar and pepper in smaller and separate bowls if they do not already have their own shaker. My sugar is in a large container and while I was helping my son, my daughter put her soapy hands in it and now we have soapy sugar. I learned my lesson!

Just seeing the pepper scoot away so quickly was fun for my kiddos. I hope you, too, will have some fun with this!