Science

Materials

• Lemon
• Drinking glass
• Water
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• Some sugar to make it sweet

Process

1. Squeeze as much of the juice from the lemon as you can into the glass.
2. Pour in equal amounts water and lemon juice.
3. Stir in 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
4. Give the mixture a taste and add in some sugar if it needs to be sweeter.

Results

The mixture should be bubbly and taste like a fizzy lemonade drink. If you added some sugar it might even taste like a lemon flavoured soft drink you've bought at a store.

The bubbles that form when you add the baking soda to the lemon mixture are carbon dioxide (CO2), the same bubbles you'll find in store-bought fizzy drinks. The carbon dioxide bubbles formed through a chemical reaction between the lemon (an acid) and the baking soda (a base).

This experiment was adapted from the Science Kid's article, "Make a Lemonade Fizzy Drink."

Want more Saturday Science? See all of our at-home activities on the blog or on Pinterest. 

Our Extraordinary Scientist-in-Residence, astronaut Dr. David Wolf, has been speaking with students and families about his experience during his 168 days in space—including watching the Leonid Meteor shower from the Space Shuttle! Learn more about the impact craters that these meteorites leave behind in today's Saturday Science!

Some meteorites have enough energy and mass that when they hit the Earth, they make a large circular indention in the surface called an impact crater. Impact craters can take on various shapes based on the meteorites' size and the speed they hit the Earth. Try this activity to learn more about meteorites and impact craters.

Materials

• Newspaper
• 3-5 small round rocks and/or balls of different sizes, 1/2" to 2-1/2" in diameter
• Plastic tub
• Flour
• Cocoa powder
• Flour sifter or salt shaker
• Ruler or measuring tape

Process

1. Spread the newspaper on the floor and place the plastic tub in the center.
2. Fill the tub with flour so that it is about 1-2 inches deep.
   TIP: Don't compact the flour by pressing on it.
3. Using a flour sifter or salt shaker, sprinkle an even layer of cocoa powder over the flour.
4. Select your first rock to be a meteorite.
5. Using the ruler, select a height to drop the rock from and then drop the rock into the pan at this height.
6. Carefully remove the rock from the flour. Observe the crater it made
   TIP: The cocoa powder will help you see how the surface moved
7. Without fixing the surface of the flour, select another rock to drop into the flour. Drop it from the same height as you did with the previous rock (but drop it away from the first crater). Compare its crater with the first crater.
8. Continue dropping the rest of your rocks at the same height using the same flour surface. Drop them so that they each make their own separate crater and don't overlap. Observe and compare each of the craters. 

Results

Ever wonder what it's REALLY like to float in space?—Well why not ask an astronaut?

Describe your first time in space.

What does it feel like to be in space?

What is it like to float in space?

Photo, NASA Astronaut Joseph Acaba, RSA Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, and RKA Cosmonaut Sergei Revin, courtesy of Dr. David Wolf.

Materials

• Adult helper
• Your child's amazing strength

Process

1. The adult helper should make two fists and stack one on top of the other.
2. Extend your arms until your elbows are straight (or as straight as possible).
   Tip: Your goal is to keep your fists together. Your child is going to knock your fists apart using just her fingertips.
3. Have your child keep her hands open and  place the fingers of each hand on the back of each of your hands.
4. She should now use her fingertips to give your hands a very quick sideways push.
   Tip: Make sure she pushes your fists in opposite directions. Your fists will separate.
5. Press your fists together even harder and try it again. Is it easier or harder for her to push them apart this time?

Results

The Geckos exhibit has caused a lot of excitement around the museum, and many of you have had questions about how to keep geckos as pets. Luckily we have Anna Simpson here to answer those questions! Anna is a zookeeper and lecturer at Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland, an AZA accredited zoological facility in Pennsylvania. Anna has been in Indianapolis caring for the geckos  while they're here at the museum.

Leopard Geckos

Crested Geckos

Vermicomposting uses worms to create compost for your garden. This takes up very little space and can be done year-round in a basement or garage. It's an excellent way to dispose of kitchen waste!

Materials

• 1' x 2' x 3.5' plastic storage bin (size is large enough for 6 people.)
• Tray
• Newspaper
• Worms

Process

1. Drill 8 to 10 holes, approximately 1/4" in diameter, in the bottom of the bin for drainage.
2. Line the bottom of the bin with fine nylon mesh to keep the worms from escaping.
3. Put a tray underneath to catch the drainage.
4. Shredded newspaper works well as bedding. Rip into pieces and water well so that it is thoroughly moist. Place on one side of your bin. Do not let it dry out.
5. Add worms to your bin. Redworms are recommended for best composting, but other species can be used. Redworms are the common small worms found in most gardens and lawns. You can collect them from under a pile of mulch or order them from a garden catalog.
6. Provide worms with food wastes such as vegetable peelings. Do not add fat or meat products. Limit feed -- too much at once may cause the material to rot.
7. Keep the bin in a dark location away from extreme temperatures.
8. In about 3 months the worms should have changed the newspaper bedding and food wastes into compost. At this time add fresh bedding and more food to the other side of the bin. The worms should migrate to the new food supply.
9. After a couple of weeks, open your bin in a bright light. The worms will burrow into the bedding. Scoop out the finished compost and apply to your plants or save for use in the spring. 

Results

To celebrate DNA Day at the museum, this week's Saturday Science takes us inside a strawberry—down to the molecules! In this experiment from Genspace, your family will have a chance to extract DNA from a strawberry using everyday materials around your house.

Materials

• Strawberries (at least 2 juicy ones)
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt (NaCl) – don’t use too much!
• 1 teaspoon dishwashing detergent
• Meat Tenderizer
• 1/2 glass water
• Ziplock baggie (1 quart volume)
• A disposable coffee filter
• A plastic funnel (Not necessary but could get messy without it.)
• Rubbing alcohol (91% isopropanol works better than 70% strength)
• Ice or a refridgerator to cool the rubbing alcohol prior to using
• A tall drinking glass (but don't actually drink it!)
• A thin wooden stick (used to fish out your DNA)

Process

1. Drop the strawberries into a ziplock baggie.
2. Add the detergent, meat tenderizer and salt.
3. Seal the baggie and “mechanically disrupt the cells." In other words, start squishing the strawberries in the baggie with your hands.
   Knead the bag for about 5 minutes until it's the consistency of a smoothie.
4. Open the baggie and add some water. Shake it up a little.
5. Place your filter in the funnel and place this in the glass. Now pour the contents of the baggie (the squished strawberry mixture) into the filter.
6. Let the contents drip through the filter into the glass. It should look milky pink. Be patient! If the filter is working too slowly, you can gently squeeze it, but not too hard or it may break.
7. Holding the glass at an angle, very slowly pour the chilled rubbing alcohol down the side into the strawberry mixture.
   You want to pour it slow enough so that a layer of the clear alcohol forms on top of the pink layer underneath, since the alcohol is less dense than the water layer containing the strawberries. If you pour too quickly you won’t see this layer form, so remember to do it slowly. Pour enough alcohol so that you have at least a 2 inch layer on top.
8. Set your glass down. You should start to see a wispy white layer start to form between the bottom pink layer and the clear alcohol on top. It should take about a minute or more to develop. It will start to look like a small ball of cotton. Sometimes it looks like many small pieces of cotton. Give it some more time and it will gently rise to the surface. This is the strawberry’s DNA starting to precipitate
9. Using your thin wooden stick, you can now fish out the DNA. It will be rather “stringy” since DNA molecules form long chains. These types of molecules are known as “polymers”.

Questions and Answers

In this activity from PBS Kids' Design Squad Nation, you'll have a chance to share a super-stong feat with your family and friends by proving that a balloon can be indestructible! Learn the nanoscience behind what makes it possible to skewer a balloon without popping it!

Materials

• Barbeque skewer
• Balloon (Helium quality, if possible)
• Vegetable oil or skin lotion (optional)

Process

1. Inflate the balloon. Make sure it’s shorter than the skewer.
2. Before you tie it off, let out a bit of air. That will relax the rubber a bit.
   TIP: If it’s hard to tie off the balloon… Before you tie, pull out the neck, making it long and giving you lots of rubber to work with. This can be the hardest part of the trick. In a pinch, close the neck by wrapping it with a rubber band.
3. Hold the balloon gently with one hand.
4. With your other hand, push the skewer into the “button” of thick rubber at the top of the balloon.
5. Twist the skewer as you push. Push slowly and firmly. The balloon will deform. Eventually, the skewer will work its way through the rubber button and into the balloon.
   TIP: If the skewer is curved or rough… Choose a straighter, smoother skewer, which will slide through the rubber more easily.
   TIP: If the skewer doesn’t slide smoothly… Make it slippery by coating it with vegetable oil or lotion.
6. Make the second hole by aiming the skewer for the thick rubber neck opposite the rubber button.
7. Still holding the balloon gently, poke the skewer through the thick rubber of the balloon’s neck. Push hard, if necessary.
8. Amaze your friends: Pull the skewer through and out. The holes will close and hardly any air will escape.
9. Destory the evidence! Before too much air leaks out and your friends notice the balloon getting smaller, pop it!
10. Poke the skewer into the side where the rubber is stretched thin.

Results

Rubber is made of long, springy chains of molecules. Pushing the skewer into a thick pile of these molecules is like pushing your finger into a bowl of cooked spaghetti. Your finger pushes the spaghetti aside and slips between the strands. Even though they move aside, the strands stay in contact with your skin. In a balloon, the skewer pushes the rubber’s long molecules aside. They flex a little and squeeze against the skewer, making a tight seal.  Engineers do seemingly amazing things by understanding their materials.

Want more Saturday Science? See all of our at-home activities on the blog or on Pinterest. 

In this activity from the Exploratorium, the average egg from your kitchen can become superpowered! Watch an eggshell become invisible using just a few materials from around your house.

Materials

• A few eggs
• White vinegar
• A container big enough to hold all your eggs and a cover for the container
• A big spoon

Process

1. Place your eggs in the container so that they are not touching.
2. Add enough vinegar to cover the eggs. Notice that bubbles form on the eggs. Cover the container, put it in the refrigerator, and let the eggs sit in the vinegar for 24 hours.
3. Use your big spoon to scoop the eggs out of the vinegar. Be careful—since the eggshell has been dissolving, the egg membrane may be the only thing holding the egg together. The membrane is not as durable as the shell.
4. Carefully dump out the vinegar. Put the eggs back in the container and cover them with fresh vinegar. Leave the eggs in the refrigerator for another 24 hours.
5. Scoop the eggs out again and rinse them carefully. If any of the membranes have broken, letting the egg ooze out, throw those eggs away.
6. When you’re done, you’ll have an egg without a shell. It looks like an egg, but it’s translucent—and the membrane flexes when you squeeze it. Very cool!

Results

When you submerge an egg in vinegar, the shell dissolves. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which breaks apart the solid calcium carbonate crystals that make up the eggshell into their calcium and carbonate parts. The calcium ions float free (calcium ions are atoms that are missing electrons), while the carbonate goes to make carbon dioxide—the bubbles that you see.

Want more Saturday Science? See all of our at-home activities on the blog or on Pinterest. 

The answer to this week's "Never Stop Asking Why" comes from the museum's Evaluation Research Coordinator, Claire Thoma. When Claire's not busy evaluating programs, she's also a science educator and was previously the museum's NASA Fellow for Flight Adventures. Fun fact: Claire has a degree in astronomy!

Spring has sprung! In this experiment from PBS Kids, get back to nature and try out your fraction skills as we feed the birds and celebrate the (soon to be) warmer weather.

In this activity your family can combine the fun of feeding your local birds with building measuring and fraction skills as you create a homemade bird feeder.

Materials

• Measuring cups
• Pinecone or whole fruit (such as an apple)
• Peanut butter
• Peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, and cranberries for bird seed mixture
• Mixing bowl
• Dull knife for spreading
• String

Process

Gather Bird Information and Measure Bird Feeder Materials

1. Invite your child to observe the birds around your neighborhood. Explain that bird feeders are a fun way to attract birds.
2. If you have individual measuring cups, have your child lay them out from smallest (1/4 cup) to biggest (1 cup). If you have a single measuring cup, help your child identify the fractions on the side of the cup. Explain that a fraction is a part of a whole.
3. Measure 1/4 cup of each of the following: peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds and cranberries. Pour these into a mixing bowl.
4. Explain to your child that the four parts of the birdseed mixture equal one whole batch of birdseed.
   Seeds make up what fraction of the mixture? (1/4)
   Nuts make up what fraction of the mixture? (1/4)
   Fruits make up what fraction of the mixture? (1/2)
5. Measure 1/3 cup peanut butter.
6. How many 1/3 cups of peanut butter would it take to get one cup?

Build your Bird Feeder

1. With a dull knife, spread the 1/3 cup of peanut butter over the outside of the pinecone or whole fruit.
2. Roll the pinecone or fruit in the birdseed mixture.
3. Tie a string to the top of your bird feeder and hang it from a tree branch.
   TIP: Birds enjoy a variety of healthy nuts and fruits; however, confirm that any substitutes are appropriate for your local species.

Results

As we welcome our new Extraordinary-Scientist-in-Residence, former astronaut Dr. David Wolf, we've begun thinking of all sorts of questions about space—like, what do astronauts eat up there? In reality, it's changed a lot over the years!

Some geckos can see colors by moonlight!

Geckos: Tails to Toepads was created by Peeling Productions at Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland.

With this Saturday Science experiment, you can learn from Sid the Science Kid right at home! Measurement is an important scientific concept—children begin to understand the value of standard measuring tools when they experiment with different sizes of non-standard units such as paperclips and pencils.

Materials

Process

1. Ask your child to pick out three to five objects to measure (e.g., stuffed animal, soda bottle, book).
2. Choose another object to use as a non-standard measurement tool.
   HINT: The tool should be at least half the size of the smallest object being measured.
3. On a table, place the objects to be measured.
4. Ask your child to measure each object with the measurement tool. If you are using coins or paperclips, it may be easier for your child to use a lot of them, lining them up end to end next to the object and then counting them.
5. Ask questions using comparative words such as "taller/shorter," "smaller/bigger," and "wider/thinner."
   How many pennies long is the book?
   Is the stuffed animal taller or shorter than the book?
   Is it wider or thinner?
6. Try measuring one of the objects with a tool of another length (e.g., a pencil or pen).
   How many pennies long is the book?
   How many pencils long is it?
7. Now show your child the ruler. Explain that the length of the ruler is called a standard: the same length is used by everybody. Help your child measure each object with the ruler.

Take It Further

Text adapted from PBS Kids Shape Hunt Adventure.