Author: Britta Spencer

5 STEM Experiements to Take on the Road

Summer is here! It is a good time to have fun, but that doesn’t mean taking a break from satisfying our curious minds. We know busy families are often on vacation this time of year, so here are 5 STEM experiments you can take on the road.

  1. Make a balloon powered car!

This experiment explores the scientific concept that for every action, there will be an equal and opposite reaction (Newton’s third law of motion). The air expelled from the balloon creates the force to propel the car forward. Also, the friction and resistance of the car to the surface slows the car to an eventual stop.

What you will need:

  1. Toy Car
  2. Balloon
  3. Tape
  4. Straw(s) – ideally, a variety of several different straws

Instructions:

  1. Tape the opening of the balloon around one side of the straw, ensuring there are no air leaks
  2. Tape the straw to the top of the car
  3. Inflate the balloon through the straw.
  4. While covering the opening of the straw with your finger or pinching the end of the straw closed, place the car on the floor.
  5. Let go of the end of the straw and see your car go!

What did you observe happening? Which direction did the ballon propel your car? Does changing the surface (such as linoleum or carpet) affect how far your car drives? If you were to use a different straw, how might that affect how your car drives? What happens when you use a jumbo straw versus a skinny straw? Do you have a bendable straw? Try putting a bend in it and see what happens. Have a race with your friends!

2. Things that float/sink

This experiment explores the scientific principles of density and buoyancy. Buoyancy is the upward force exerted by fluid (in this case water) that opposes the weight of an object. Density describes how much matter is in a certain amount of space (volume), or how much space a certain amount of matter takes up. An object with low density is going to weigh less than an object of the exact same size with high density.

What you will need:

  1. Bowl/ tub of water
  2. Any collection of objects that will fit within the container of water. Let your imagination run wild!
    • Coins
    • Chinelle stems
    • Pieces of fabric
    • Buttons
    • Small plastic or steel bowl
    • Cutlery – plastic and metal
    • Toy boats
    • Pieces of wood
    • Wine corks
    • Ice
    • Rocks
    • Sticks
    • Leaves
    • Feathers
    • Oil

Instructions:

  1. Take each object and place them in the water
  2. Observe how different objects behave in the water

What are your observations about what happened? What is the difference between the objects that float and the objects that sank? If a fork that is made of steel sinks, how can a bowl (or ship) that is made of steel float? Why does ice float in water? Why do some objects float initially and then later sink (such as the fabric or some types of wood)?

3. Take a road trip movement break and observe gravity!

This one is easy, gives the littles a chance to get some wiggles out, and explores the scientific principle of gravity! Gravity is the invisible force that pulls object towards earth.

Find some open space! Or at least enough space to move around without disturbing others. Jump up and observe what happens. Did you fall back down to Earth? What would happen if you jumped up and there was no gravity pulling you back to Earth?

4. Try skipping rocks!

This experiment is a timeless classic! It explores STEM concepts in physics. There are many forces at play when skipping rocks, but the most fundamental ones are gravity and lift. Gravity pulls the rock towards the water and lift is what pushes the rock up from the water. If the lift from the water is stronger than the gravity pulling the rock down, the rock skips!

You will need to find the right spot. This will include a smooth body of water, such as a calm section of a stream or a lake. You will also need a place where there are a lot of small, smooth stones.

You will also need to find the right rock. Look for a small, roundish or oval, flat rock of uniform thickness that fits well in your hand.

Now, let’s try to skip that rock across the water. Remember, this takes practice! Set the rock in the crook of your pointer finger and thumb. Curl your other fingers underneath your stone. Next, stand up straight with your feet parallel to the water, facing the length of the shoreline. Throw the stone at a side angle, as parallel to the water as possible.

Keep trying until you get it right. If you are struggling, try to get a good spin! The gyroscopic force prevents the stone from toppling over and falling into the water. (Have you ever played with a spinning top?)

Were you able to make it work? What did you discover makes a good skipping rock? Why do you think some rocks are better for skipping than others? Where do you find the best skipping rocks? Are they usually near water? Why or why not?

You don’t have to leave the littlest kids out! If you have kids that are too small to skip rocks, have them Kerplunk! the rocks into the water. Why do you think those rocks sank immediately versus the rocks that skidded across the water?

5. Make a nature walk bracelet

Are you going to be exploring in nature this summer? Study the ecology around you and make a bracelet while on a nature walk! Using duct tape, make a cuff with the sticky side out. As you walk or hike, add things that you find, such as plant samples, flowers, and other nature items to your sticky bracelet. (However, avoid poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac. They often have leaves of three; though not aways!)

Can you find an item from each color of the rainbow? Are some colors easier to find than others? Don’t forget! When you get home, look up the items that you found on your adventure.

Did you find these experiments fun?

Contact your local High Touch High Tech franchise and we can bring even more exciting hands-on STEM activities directly to you!

Introducing Biodiversity Britta!

As the newest member of the High Tech High Touch Team here in Asheville, NC I followed the tradition of choosing a science name that honors a part of our individual interests in science. So, why did I choose the name, “Biodiversity Britta?”

I have lived in this part of Western North Carolina since 2004 when I became a student at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Economics. During my lifetime, I have witnessed a lot of changes in the natural world around me, and not all good. As an advocate for the health of our planet, I choose to honor biodiversity because of its importance for life on Earth.

The term “biodiversity” is short for biological diversity, and it refers to every single life on our planet. This includes each animal, plant, fungi, Protista (such as algae), and microorganisms (bacteria and archaea). Biodiversity not only refers to each organism; it also refers to the genetic variation within them. It is a fundamental and integral concept in the study of our natural world.

Earth is a unique place in our universe. It formed in the early days of our solar system, and is thought to be approximately 4.54 billion years old. The earliest known life forms on Earth existed at least 3.7 billion years ago, as evidenced by the existence of carbon molecules in rocks that are consistent with life. Since that time, life on this planet has evolved from the most basic microbes to the plant dominated world that we now live in, where animals also play a significant role in our biosphere. There is an interconnected relationship between every life on this planet.

Humans are a relatively new species on Earth. The first modern humans, Homo sapiens, originated sometime between 550,000 and 750,000 years ago, and have played a significant role in the change of biodiversity. There have been many periods of rapid change in biodiversity in the history of Earth, but within the span of human existence, the most significant change has occurred within the last 100-150 years. This change is the world we know today.

Asheville, NC exists in the Southern Appalachian region of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This area has experienced its own unique changes in biodiversity. In 1995, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae, was discovered in North Carolina in three counties adjacent to Virginia. The HWA originated from Southern Japan, and as such, is invasive to eastern North America. They are small, aphid-like bugs that attach to the base of the pine needles and feed on the starches of the branches. It is estimated that 80% of all eastern and Carolina hemlocks in Western North Carolina are now dead, and much of the blame for that decline can be placed on the HWA.

The implications of this decline are far reaching and is something that I have intimately witnessed over the past two decades living in WNC. By the time the woolly adelgid was discovered in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 2002, the largest record-breaking old growth hemlocks were on their deathbeds. Hemlocks are a riparian tree, meaning they grow in the moist soils along stream banks. Hemlocks are shade-tolerant evergreens, and one of their most important ecological contributions was shading mountain streams. This contributed to the low water temperatures where native aquatic animals, such as Hellbenders and Brook Trout, thrive.

This is not the first rapid change in biodiversity that this region has experienced in recent human history. In the early twentieth century, the chestnut blight wiped out the American Chestnut tree, which had once dominated forests in the eastern United States. Chestnuts had once provided an abundant nutrient-dense food source to humans and animals alike. The loss of species is not limited to plants: we have seen Passenger pigeons, the Carolina parakeet, and bison eradicated. Countless other species are threatened or endangered. There has also been an undesirable proliferation of invasive species beyond the HWA, from feral swine to kudzu, that can be attributed to a loss of biodiversity. Experts estimate that the decline of 42% of threatened or endangered species can be attributed to exotic, invasive species.

The health of our natural world can be measured by biodiversity. Change is inevitable: some as part of the natural evolution of our species on our planet and from anthropogenic causes. Just in my lifetime, I have observed the transformation of the forests I grew up hiking through. What changes have you witnessed in your lifetime? How has your region of Earth changed?

Stay tuned for Part II where we’ll explore why biodiversity is so important for humankind

“Biodiversity” Britta Spencer

https://wordwildlife.org https://earthguide.ucsd.edu https://www.planetary.org/articles/how-old-is-the-earth https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/essential-timeline-understanding-evolution-homo-sapiens-180976807/ https://savehemlocksnc.org/hemlocks-hwa/hemlock-woolly-adelgid/ https://www.americanforests.org/article/the-last-of-the-giants/ https://tacf.org/history-american-chestnut/ https://ncwf.org/blog/extinct-wildlife-in-north-carolina/