STAR SCIENTIST

Brady was our Star Scientist last week.  He showed us a cool diagram of the inside a of a baseball.  Then he showed us an actual baseball cut in half.  We compared the materials inside a real baseball with an "indoor" baseball.  I showed the kids how to throw a curveball!

Brady made a power point and presented it to us, so that we could learn more about him.  Did you know he has two hamsters named Wink and Dink?

Brady and his mother showed us how to make alka seltzer rockets using 35mm film canisters.  Ask you student what it means to change a variable while conducting an experiment.  Read below to see how to do this at home and enjoy the pictures.

Ingredients:

• empty film canister
• Alka-Seltzer tablet
• water

Instructions

1. Place the Alka-Seltzer tablet in the film canister.
2. Add approximately 1cm of water.
3. Fit the lid on the canister, making sure the seal is tight.
4. Turn the canister upside-down and place it on a flat surface. Stand back!

How Does it Work?

When water is added to the Alka-Seltzer tablet, bubbles of carbon dioxide gas are given off. When the lid is fitted tightly to the canister this gas is contained within an enclosed space. As more gas is given off the pressure inside the canister rises until there is enough force to overcome the seal of the lid. The built up pressure exerts enough force to shoot the canister into the air, forming the rocket.