Curiosity Corner LIVE Design Challenges for the Week of June 15 through June 19!

If you’ve been following the last few weeks, we’ve been participating in the Great Lakes Science Center’s Curiosity Corner LIVE Design Challenges on social media! Last week I posted a summary of our design challenges from the previous two weeks. Today, I’m sharing this past weeks challenges! Be sure to check out my social media pages for more videos and photos!

Here’s the link to my previous Curiosity Corner LIVE posts!

Episode 87: Science Misconceptions

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#Scientific #misconceptions was the topic this morning on #Curiositycornerlive with the @greatlakessciencecenter ! They shared a few common misconceptions about the #seasons and #lunarphases. Then we were challenged to test and prove out our own common scientific misconception at home! A common misconception among young children is around the idea of measurement and volume. Many believe that because the amount in the container appears to be more (visually) that there is actually more. This is a myth that can easily be debunked and it's a great learning opportunity! I gathered 5 different shaped containers and filled them all with 1 cup of water (I added food coloring to better distinguish the difference and to make it fun). I also had one container that was empty that looked the same as one of the other containers. I asked questions like: 1️⃣What do you notice that is different between each? 2️⃣ What is the same about each? 3️⃣ Which container is larger (if you try this, you could put the containers in a row of biggest to smallest)? 4️⃣ Which container holds more? Both kids thought that the blue cup held the most amount of liquid. So, I grabbed an identical cup and gradually poured each of the other colors individually into the empty container to see the outcome. After several times at this, they realized that each container had the same amount of liquid or VOLUME. This activity could be done with candy, rice, marshmallows, goldfish crackers, etc. basically anything that has #VOLUME and can take the shape of the container! #momgineeringthefuture #StayCuriousCLE #math #STEM #toddlerSTEM #preschoolactivities #preschoolSTEM #kindergartenstem #kindergarten #ElementarySTEM #stemeducationforkids #stemeducation #stemprogramming #stemforfamilies #clevelandbloggers #ohiobloggers #stemblogger #midwestblogger #homeschool #stayathomemom #sciencefun #science

A post shared by Momgineering the Future (@momgineering_the_future) on Jun 15, 2020 at 8:39am PDT

Episode 88: Train Wheels

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Train wheels were the subject on #curiositycornerlive this morning with the @greatlakessciencecenter . They shared the cup examples in the first two videos. A train wheel works specifically because of its semi-conical shape and the way in which the forces are distributed as the train moves. The flange also supports the train from derailing. Our design challenge was to create our own train wheels and test them out. While we did come up with our own designs, they did not consistently work as well as the cup example that was shared with us. And I can not adequately explain to you why our designs didn't work consistently, other than maybe the design of the wheels and weight distribution across them was not consistent on each side. Our 'rail' (or slide) might have had an influence too. But I would need to refer to an expert 😂. I did post one photo and video of one of our designs that seemed to work most of the time. The part that I loved the most about this project was that my kids were very curious and began to try rolling all sorts of objects (like marker caps) down their slide to see what would happen. Thank you to the GLSC for another challenge that expanded our curiosity! If you need more information for this challenge, I found this website to be extra helpful to understand it: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/train-wheel-science/ #physics #engineering #trains #trainwheel #designchallenge #clevelandbloggers #ohioblogger #midwestblogger #STEMblogger #StayCuriousCLE #centrificalforce #stem #stemeducationforkids #stemeducation #stemforkids #stayathomemom #homeschooling #clemom #momblogger #engineeringforkids #STEMforKids #stemforkids

A post shared by Momgineering the Future (@momgineering_the_future) on Jun 16, 2020 at 12:00pm PDT

Episode 89: Weird Motion

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Have you ever noticed things that exhibit #weirdmotion ? Honestly, I've never paid that close attention. When the @greatlakessciencecenter introduced the #intermediateaxistheorem (also known as the #tennisrackettheorem) this morning on #curiositycornerlive, I knew we had to try this out! The Intermediate Axis Theorem describes the movement of an object on 3 different axis or moments of inertia (the extent an object resists motion)! The rotation of the object around the first and third axis is stable while it is not stable around the second axis. In the video below, we rotated our tennis racket on the second axis. (You can try flipping it other ways at home to see the difference!) Watch what actually happens to the racket! Not only does it rotate, it also flips! 😱. I taped yellow paper on the racket so it is easier to see that it lands the opposite direction in our hands! We tried with some other objects… Cell phones and books, for example, act similarly while round objects like basketballs do not. Pretty cool! My kids are too young to understand all the math and physics behind this but they liked hearing new words like inertia and discovering how different objects rotate. Here's a YouTube video that I found incredibly interesting to explain this thereom even more! https://youtu.be/1VPfZ_XzisU Try it out and post your video in the comments or tag me (and I'm sure the GLSC would love the tag too #StayCuriousCLE) in your stories! #momgineeringthefuture #STEM #stemeducation #Physics #stemeducationforkids #homeschool #stayathomemom #stemblogger #clevelandbloggers #ohioblogger #midwestblogger #clemom #momblogger #momentsofinertia #inertia #engineering #stemforkids #stemforfamilies #tennistricks #tennislife #physicsforkids

A post shared by Momgineering the Future (@momgineering_the_future) on Jun 17, 2020 at 10:38am PDT

Episode 90: Depth Perception

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The #ScienceViking at the Great Lakes Science Center shared the topic of #depthperception this morning on #curiositycornerlive. We were challenged to find other examples of depth perception usage in our day to day lives. So, we set up an obstacle course with our trampoline, tunnel and balance beam and talked about how our depth perception helped us do the obstacle course. For example, our eyes and brain work together to interpret the image we see so that we know where to place our foot on the balance beam with each step, when to push down with our feet with each jump on the trampoline, and how to maneuver our bodies through the tunnel so that we would fit. We discussed further about how our depth perception helps us develop our hand eye coordination to catch a ball, clap our hands or pop bubbles! Infants can learn about depth perception too! Put a mirror in front of them to look at themselves or place an interesting object (safely) above them to look at. Place a snack in front of them and let them practice reaching for it and putting it in their mouth. You can even use the word 'depth perception' and explain what they are actually seeing with their eyes to help develop language! This topic has so many possibilities! In this episode, the #scienceviking shared some fun tricks about depth perception. Check it out! #momgineeringthefuture #StayCuriousCLE #eyes #eyesight #stemeducation #stemeducationforkids #STEM #obstaclecourse #learningthroughplay #toddlerstem #preschoolstem #kindergartenstem #elementarystem #homeschool #stayathomemom #clemom #clevelandbloggers #ohiobloggers #midwestbloggers #thisiscle #stemblogger #momblogger #handeyecoordination

A post shared by Momgineering the Future (@momgineering_the_future) on Jun 18, 2020 at 11:08am PDT

Episode 91: Invisible Ink

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If you are still looking for an easy and fun Father's Day gift / activity for the kids, I thought that today's episode of #curiositycornerLIVE with the @greatlakessciencecenter would be so fun for kids and Dad's to do together. The topic was on #invisibleink ! Invisible ink is a kind of #Steganography, which is the art and science of concealing a message, image, file or video. Steganography is used often in cyber security to encrypt or hide important data or files. Here's a way kids and Dad's can enjoy it together this weekend! Material's needed: 1️⃣ Paper 2️⃣ White crayon 3️⃣ Water color paints & water (or you can use a little bit of water and food coloring, you don't need much!) 4️⃣ Paint brush Steps: 1️⃣ Tell your kids to draw a secret picture or write a special note to Dad with a white crayon on a white piece of paper. 2️⃣ Grab the the paints, paint brush and water and have the kids ask Dad to color over the image to reveal their special message! This works because the #wax in the #crayon repels water while the paper absorbs it! Wax is used in many industries for #waterresistance (many times to prevent corrosion of metals like in plumbing, automotive, etc.). Joy shared other ideas in episode 91 on invisible ink, so if you need other ideas to make secret messages, check it out! #momgineeringthefuture #StayCuriousCLE #stem #stemeducation #stemeducationforkids #stemblogger #clevelandbloggers #clemom #momblogger #preschoolstem #ElementarySTEM #cybersecurity #STEAM #STEMkids #STEMforKids #thisiscle #stemprogramming #stemkindergarten #stemincleveland #STEMactivity #homeschooling #paintingwithkids #fathersdaygift #watercolor

A post shared by Momgineering the Future (@momgineering_the_future) on Jun 19, 2020 at 11:39am PDT