Halloween

What is the real meaning of Halloween?

Halloween was originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. … The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.

Who started Halloween?

Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe. At the end of summer, the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin.

How did Trick or Treating start?

In North America, trick-or-treating has been a Halloween tradition since the late 1920s. In Britain and Ireland the tradition of going house-to-house collecting food at Halloween goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as had the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween.

How is Halloween Celebrated?

Many Americans celebrate the traditions of Halloween by dressing in costumes and telling tales of witches and ghosts. Pumpkins are carved into glowering jack-o’-lanterns. Children parade from house to house, knocking on doors and calling out “Trick or treat!” hoping to have their bags filled with candy.

Why do we Carve Pumpkins at Halloween?

Pumpkins are a Symbol of Halloween. The tradition of carving faces into vegetables dates to the Celts. As part of their autumnal celebration, they wanted to light the way to their homes for the good spirits, so they carved faces into vegetables such as turnips and squash.

Check out our experiments page and make some “Pumpkin Putty” with the children.   http://sciencemadefunwnc.net/experiments.cfm

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!

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Source: Google.com

Great Pumpkin Science!

Great Pumpkin Science

It’s October, which means it is pumpkin time!  Pumpkins are a North American fall staple known for their bright orange hue, hard skin, and round shape.  We bake goodies, decorate with, and carve pumpkins every year, but what makes them special and how did our traditions start?

Pumpkins are a cultivator of Cucurbita pepo, which is a family of squash plants.  A cultivator is simply a group of plants preferred or propagated because of specific desirable qualities.  For pumpkins, that is their color, size, and shape and as pumpkin enthusiasts propagate the plants they can enhance certain features. Everyone is on the hunt each year for the perfectly round, bright orange pumpkin to carve and farmers deliver through their propagation efforts. Think of it like a combination of nature and nurture; the traits are there but we breed the plants to enhance the results.  There is one type of pumpkin that has grown HUGE; Cucurbita maxima aka the giant pumpkin.

Thirty or so years ago, the biggest pumpkin ever was only around 500lbs, but now the world record for largest pumpkin ever weighed in at 2,625lbs!  How did this massive growth happen?  Most giant pumpkin growers propagate that specific species with seeds originating from one specific award-winning Atlantic Giant variety of pumpkin.  Their cultivation has one goal: size.  They focus their energy on that trait as they propagate and their efforts echo across future generations producing bigger and bigger pumpkins over time.

What makes this type of giant pumpkin different from your regular garden variety is that it has oversize phloem.  Plants have two types of tissue responsible for moving nutrients and water around a plant: xylem and phloem.  Xylem moves water and phloem moves sugar or food.  Pumpkins are 90% water but can grow bigger and bigger because of the efficiency of their supersize phloem.  Regular pumpkins are already large compared to other squash and giant pumpkins are even larger.

This trait is further manipulated by cultivators who add beneficial fungi, pruning techniques, special greenhouse conditions and other methods to the mix. Mycorrhizal fungi will happily colonize the pumpkin’s roots and enter a symbiotic relationship that benefits them both.  Thanks to the fungi, pumpkin can more efficiently pick up nutrients in the soil and transport them on their phloem superhighway, and in exchange the fungi gets essential carbohydrates necessary for their survival. More nutrients and bigger phloem add up to huge growth in the pumpkin world!

Pruning a plant’s blossoms down to just a few also helps with growing giant pumpkins because more resources are dedicated to those few pumpkins versus spreading the resources out to many pumpkins.  Again, the goal is to produce a few giants versus many regular-size pumpkins.

Some competition growers also use greenhouses to completely control the environment around their pumpkin.  This takes the guess work out of weather conditions and can prevent them from losing their prize-winning pumpkin to drought or too much rain.  Do you think you’d want to try growing a giant pumpkin? Or maybe you just want to stick with carving the standard 12lb variety.

Pumpkin carving is a great example of America’s culture being a melting pot of ideas.  Pumpkins are from North America but carving vegetables for Halloween is from Ireland!

Jack o’ Lanterns have been around for centuries and originated around the Irish myth of Stingy Jack.  People would carve turnips and put an ember inside on all hallows eve to keep evil spirits and Stingy Jack away.  When Irish immigrants arrived in America, they brought their tradition with them and switched to the easier-to-carve pumpkin.

 

 

 

When you carve pumpkins this year, you can try a cool experiment that makes them erupt!

Carve your pumpkin like usual but in the bottom of the inside of the pumpkin put a generous amount of baking soda plus some food dye.  While outside, pour vinegar into the top of the pumpkin and watch as the pumpkin erupts with a fun science volcano effect.  It might pour all out of the mouth or also out of the eyes and nose!

Check out our other SPOOKTACULAR science experiments here!

 

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

Sources: Pixabay
Sources: Google.com
Sources: Wikimedia.com

 

 

Pumpkin Science on National Pumpkin Day!

Image Source: Pixabay.com

It’s that time of year again where the leaves are changing colors, little graveyards are popping up in neighborhoods and millions of pumpkins are going through a metamorphosis to become jack-o’-lanterns. It’s Halloween time! 

There are some interesting facts and science about the pumpkin.  In history, it was said that the jack-o-lantern was to fend of any evil spirits. Of course, there is no science of any kind to back up evil spirits being chased away by jack-o’-lanterns. BUT, scientists have found that pumpkins have a lot of science associated with them.

Here are some examples:

 

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Pollution Plucker

Scientists have found that pumpkins are incredibly good at taking pollution out of soil! When the scientists planted pumpkins on test areas polluted by dioxin, the large pumpkin plants pulled up the dioxin and deposited it into the plant. Leaving less of the pollutant in the soil and ultimately making the soil pollutant free!

 

 

 

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Pumpkin Antimicrobial 

Scientists from the American Chemical Society found that a substance in pumpkin skin fights off disease-causing microbes that try to harm and rot the pumpkin. Without that protective skin, the pumpkin would surely rot long before it was time to carve it. Later, scientists took out proteins from the pumpkin skins, and found that the proteins stopped not only infections in pumpkins but also some common human infections! 

 

 

Image Source: Pixabay.com


Pumpkin Genetics 

Growing the biggest pumpkin has become a popular sport among some farmers — it takes some science for the farmer to grow that monster pumpkin! They use genetics in order to grow bigger pumpkins. They do this by collecting the seeds from giant pumpkins each year and controlling how the flowers are pollinated. Winning pumpkins have weighed in at more than 2,000 pounds!

 

Check out the world’s heaviest pumpkin here: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/worlds-heaviest-pumpkin-tips-scales-2-096-pounds-n213846

 

For some fun at home pumpkin science experiments to try with your kids,

please visit our Pinterest page: 

https://www.pinterest.com/hthtworldwide/fall-fun-science/

Holiday 2014 E-News!

Put the FUN back into your holiday function with hands-on science!

From Halloween to New Years, High Touch High Tech is the perfect way to add excitement to your holiday celebration! Whether it’s a class party, corporate function or birthday extravaganza – you can make this holiday season one to remember with FUN, hands-on science that comes to you!


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There’s no trick here! Have FUN as we treat you to some hands-on, spooky science! Come face to face with our creepy crawly Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, spark excitement as you touch lightening, weave a web of suspense as we investigate some incredible spiders & much, much more! Call or email us today for more information about booking a Frankenstein’s Freaky Laboratory party today!


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From falling leaves to falling temperatures, get ready to fall in love with science all over again! Uncover the science behind Mother Nature’s Autumn fashion show as we make our own leaves change color using a cool chemical extraction! Have you ever wondered why we have 4 different seasons? We’ll investigate the reason for the season as we learn about the Earth’s wobble. Have FUN as we experiment with one of our favorite times of year, make your own pilgrim putty to keep & much more! Call or email us today for more information about booking a Fall Festival of Science party today!


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Discover why science is so cool as we take you on a journey through our scientific winter wonderland! First stop, we’ll go on a chilly fishing expedition where you’ll get to go ice cube fishing. Next, grab your skis as we make our very own snow! We’ll mix things up a bit as we learn about some crazy chemical reactions and make your very own Polar Bear Putty to keep! These experiments & more are all included in this magical, winter wonderland experience!


Hosting a holiday party has never been easier – we bring the FUN to you!
Let us transform your special event from ordinary to extraordinary
with exciting, hands-on science!
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All Candy. All Science. All FUN – Make Your Halloween Scientifically Spooky!

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Drop a Warhead in baking soda water, and bubbles erupt. Leave a Skittle in water, and the S floats to the surface. Melt a Starburst, and shiny oil spots form. That’s right, next week is Halloween which means – All Candy. All Science. All FUN! 

Candy experiments are a great way to use up all of that candy & still enjoy all the sweetness Halloween has to offer.  Why not play with your candy? Any seasoned trick or treater knows that his loot is full of candy that brings lots of unwrapping and stirring and sticking things together – it’s one of the important parts of the trick or treating experience. We love candy experiments because they can teach basic science lessons about topics such as density, dissolving, and nutrition. Listed below are just a few ideas to get started. Have fun, and as always, let curiosity be your guide! 

Here’s A Few of our Favorite!

Acid Test: This experiment tests for the acid often found in sour candy. 

Chocolate Bloom: Chocolate is made of cocoa butter, cocoa solids, and other ingredients that have been mixed together. Can you take them apart? 

Color Separation (Chromatography): You know candy is colored with artificial dye. To see the different dyes for yourself, try this. 

Density Rainbow: Sugar water is denser than water—the more sugar, the denser. This experiment shows you how to layer different densities into a rainbow.

Dissolving Hot/Cold: See if candy dissolves faster in hot or cold water. 

Hidden Candy: Most candy is made from sugar, corn syrup, and flavorings. These ingredients are used to sweeten lots of different foods. Can you find the “hidden candy” in other varieties of food you eat? 

Lifesaver Lights: Do wintergreen Lifesavers really make a spark in the dark?

Sink/Float Most: candy sinks in water, because sugar is denser than water.  But some will float. Why? 

Oil Test: If you thought your candy was all sugar, think again. Many chewy candies also contain oil. This experiment uses heat to let you see the oil for yourself. 

Pop Rocks: What’s the secret ingredient in the candy that crackles? 

Sticky You: know candy can cling to your fingers—but how sticky can you make it?  

For step-by-step instructions and more information about these experiments, visit www.candyexperiments.com

The fun doesn’t stop there! Check out these additional resources on ways to make your Halloween scientifically spooky! 

FUN Science with Halloween Candy!

Check out our updated list of spooky science Halloween Activities here! 
Worried about having too much Halloween candy laying around? Here’s a little science you can do with your kids’ haul—or your own!

Chances are if you’ve got kids they’re going to want to go trick-or-treating. This means they’ll end up loaded with way more candy than you’d want them to actually eat. What could you do with the rest? Well, you could donate it, you could take it to a candy buyback program or you could do a little science with it! Here are a few ideas from Candyexperiments.com.

Lifesaver Lights
Here’s a simple one. Grab some wintergreen flavored Life Saver candies, stand in a dark room, face a mirror and chew them with your mouth open. You’ll see flashes of light that result from electrons in the candy; these are more easily visible thanks to the wintergreen flavoring.

 

 

Pop Rocks
Ever tried pouring some Pop Rocks into a glass of water? If you do, you’ll find that it’s a pretty effervescent experience.

 

 

 

Chocolate Bloom
By rapidly heating and cooling a piece of chocolate, you can gradually seperate it into its component parts. This results in white streaks and spirals called chocolate bloom. You can even still eat the chocolate once this is done—the texture might be a little unusual but it’s still perfectly edible!

 

Density Rainbow
Skittles are both delicious and colorful – here’s a way to really help that color shine. By using different quantities of various colored Skittles and the principle that sugar makes water more dense, you can create a liquid rainbow. This is one of the tougher experiments to try; make sure you pour the melted Skittles very slowly otherwise the different colors will just mix together.

 

Color Separation- Chromotography
Even if a piece of candy is only one color, that color can actually contain a variety of differently colored dyes. By dissolving candy coloring into water then slowly dripping that water down a piece of paper, it’s possible to see all those various colors. This is an easy experiment and the results are striking. Try it with brown M&Ms!

Goblin Goo

On Saturday October 25, High Touch High Tech participated in the Town of Fletcher Halloween Carnival at Kate’s Park in Fletcher, NC bringing hands on spooky science fun to the holiday festival. Children dressed in costumes enjoyed mixing orange Goblin Goo concoctions that they took home at our booth with Seismic Shelby. High Touch High Tech also participated in the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County Halloween Carnival in Hendersonville, NC on Halloween. Over 700 people from the community attended the annual event.

Check out our website by clicking on the following link to find recipes for Goblin Goo and more:
http://www.sciencemadefun.net/resourcesinfo.html