There was a lot to be excited about. A trip to partner with teachers in Uganda. Promoting an upcoming speaker series. Planning a water workshop. Prepping for professional development sessions. But in mid-March, with fears growing over the coronavirus, the pause button was pressed on normal life, halting everyday activities, shuttering offices and closing schools. […]
Activity: Have you ever noticed that sunlight makes colors fade? Gather brightly colored paper, several pennies or other shapes like legos or building blocks. Find a spot outside that gets several hours of sunlight and arrange them to form a pattern or design. Wait 4-6 hours and then remove the pennies or blocks and observe […]
Activity: Using a packet of mixed wildflower seeds or bird seed, ask your child to sort the seeds by properties they observe. Maybe they can sort the seeds by size, by color, or by shape. Count how many different kinds of seeds there are. Safety Tip: Some seeds can be eaten, like sunflower seeds, but all […]
Explore the interactions of living (plants, animals) and nonliving (water, light and air) parts of the environment. Then think about what living things need to grow. Activities: If you have dry beans at your house, soak them and see if they sprout. See if they can grow without air, without water, without light, or without […]
Activity: Using a mason jar with a lid, boiling water, a little hairspray and some ice cubes you can make a cloud in a jar. First boil about 1/3 cup of water and add it to the jar. Quickly spritz a bit of hairspray in the jar and add the lid upside down to the […]
Explore the similarities and differences of life cycles of plants and animals. Activities: Grow a plant from seed and watch its life cycle from birth, to growth, to seed production, to death. Observe plants around your house or neighborhood in different life cycle stages. Draw realistic pictures of what you see. Label your drawing. https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.colt.lp_plantcycle/plant-life-cyclesGo […]
How do plants and animals interact? How do ecosystems change over time? Activities: Make a list of the living and nonliving things in your yard or neighborhood. Use the free iNaturalist app to identify the kinds of plants and animals in your yard or neighborhood. Try to make a food chain from things you find, […]
Activity: Using a CD, a flashlight and a piece of white paper create your own rainbow reflec-tion. Start in a dark room and place the CD on the floor blank side of the CD up. Place the white paper on the wall and secure with a bit of tape. Aim the flashlight at the CD […]
Activity: Save a few seeds from some fresh fruits and veggies or use a packet of flower, fruit, or vegetable seeds. Place a few seeds inside a lightly damp paper towel until roots appear. Then move the sprouted seed to a sunny place and bury it just beneath the surface of the soil. Keep watering […]
Activity: Try this fun activity on a sunny day to explore patterns of how sun reflects light. Take an old CD and use the shiny side to reflect light onto a blank wall or poster board. Questions to Ask: What do you notice? Do you see a pattern? Are the patterns moving? Do you see […]