Mealworms: Everyone's Favorite Insect

"Is a mealworm a worm?" was the question that I asked the PreK students last Friday. What would your answer be? Most people assume it's a worm, but in fact, it is an insect. We're finding out a lot about mealworms during our Mealworm Life Cycle unit. Each student has a mealworm to study for the next few weeks. In our first exploration the students learned the mealworm body parts and became acquainted with handling their worm. It was a lot of fun, as you can see!

Exciting Day!

Well, today was a very exciting day in Lower School Science! The 2nd grade students began the first in a series of experiments relating to their classroom study of Egypt. Today's question was: "Will grapes be better preserved in sand, air or soil"? There were predictions for all three choices. It will be very exciting in a few weeks when they discover the answer! Next was the 5th Grade Egg Drop!! Needless to say, it was wonderful. We had over 12 "judges" including Crissy, Rich, Polly and Heidi, who judged the students on five different factors. So, even if a group's egg broke (and some did) the group could end up with a very good score in the other categories. The container designs were very impressive, and many protected the egg quite well - even though the drop was over 40 feet!

Science and Environmental Education Resource Catalog

Are you looking for books, videos or science equipment to foster your child's curiosity about the natural world? I've found Acorn Naturalists to be an invaluable resource for just about any kind of science or environmental education product. You can find track molds (shown in this picture), field guides, nature journals, science games, binoculars, and much, much more.

Mold Symposium

Today in science the 4th grade continued to work on their Mold Symposium posters. If you're not familiar with the Mold Symposium, it's a science symposium for 4th grade students on the topic of.....mold! And it all started 25 years ago at AFS under the direction of Lynne Mass. Each year 4 schools get together and discuss their mold experiment results, and have a lot of fun in the process. Here's a sample of one of the "moldy" experiments at Week 3 (Comparing corn with salt and corn with pepper).

1st Grade Evaporation Experiment

Today I am here at school getting set up for the week's experiments. One of my favorites is the evaporation experiment with 1st Grade. We compare evaporation rates of water in a closed test tube, an open test tube and a closed test tube of snow. The students are always so surprised when they see how different the water levels are after a few weeks. I try to time this experiment just after a snow fall, which was quite easy to do this year!

Egg Drop Challenge

The 5th grade students are certainly ready for our Egg Drop Challenge which is happening this week. The students design a container to protect a raw egg from a 50 ft drop! Needless to say, it's all very exciting to watch. The designs are amazing this year so check back for pictures of their work very soon. Here's one example of a "work in progress".

Family Nature Summits

If you are interested in an incredible nature filled family adventure, check out Family Nature Summits. It's a great way to vacation with a family; the kids have an action-packed program with their peers, while adults get to choose from a variety of amazing nature and adventure programs. If you'd like more information feel free to contact me; I've been on 9 of these programs around the country!

Welcome to the Lower School Science Blog!

This blog will give everyone an idea of what we do all year in science class! I'll also post useful links and articles when I find them. I'm hoping that this will be a great record of all the wonderful things that our young scientists are doing!