Inquiry rainbow water destiny tower result

Rainbow Water Density Tower

Aim - To observe how substances with different densities interact

Materials

Glasses - 1 per group

Food colouring (red, blue, green and yellow - you can make purple and orange by combining two colours)

Sugar or Salt (and measuring spoon)

Measuring cup - 1 per colour (you can have 6 colours to work with, or limit it to 4 colours)

Measuring syringes 

Water (warm water from a tap or kettle)

Plastic spoons to mix the sugar and food colouring in the water

Pots of water to rinse syringes between each colour

Plastic plates or trays to protect the table from sticky sugar water

Results 

The food colouring experiment was successful. There were different stages of each colour.  The experiment showed layers of coloured water of different densities, stacked on each other.

Explanation 

Look at the websites below and also do research of your own - Then write a paragraph explaining ‘the science’ behind the experiment.  Why do we see the results that we did?

The science behind the experiment is quite simple. All of the colours had different amounts of sugar, causing the colours to have different densities and refuse to mix together. Since it won’t mix it instead makes a tower of all the colours from the first colour(The darkest one) to the last colour laying on the top( the lightest colour).  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H78Xd3ToxP4

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/colorful-sugar-density-tower/

Christmas acrostic poem

Cookies being munched loudly

Holly wreaths hanging on people’s front doors

Receiving gifts with joy, laughter, and delight

Icing on delectable gingerbread houses

Stockings filled with well thought out, exciting presents

Trees covered with tinsel, ornaments and colourful decorations

Merry Christmas NZ, enjoy the holiday season

Awesome smelling ham, glazed with honey, getting cooked.

Santa Claus handing out gifts to those who have been nice and coal to those who have been naughty. 

water filer expirement

Water Filter Experiment 

Aim/ Purpose - 

To filter or clean water using a number of materials 

How to clean/filter water - making it clean

Materials -

Sand, 

gravel, 

activated charcoal, 

cotton wool, 

plastic bottles cut in half,

bucket of dirty water (can make the water dirty with soil or whatever from outside)

Predictions - What is going to work best?  What steps/process and in what order - why?

Cotton wool at the bottom - It will absorb the smaller dirt particles from the dirty water

2nd layer up - gravel - The gravel will grab onto the dirty parts and the clean water will drip off the gravel through the gaps.

Second Layer Up  - Charcoal - The second smallest material, can absorb the things not cleared by the bigger materials.

Third Layer Up - Sand - Turns hard when it’s wet - Take all the bigger dirt particles 

Top layer - Gravel - All the hugest dirt particles out first.  

Method/Steps:

My group put 3 cotton balls at the bottom second we put gravel thirdly we put sand and lastly, we put on activated charcoal and put a cup of dirty water in.

Explanation - How did it work?

When the dirty water was poured in the gravel so the water goes in the small holes and other big dirt particles in the water would get stuck up on the gravel. The water would go through and then go into the sand which would get hardened when wet and would stop the smaller water particles would get stopped there. Now only the dirty water is flowing down and touches the charcoal, the charcoal took out all the really small particles in the water are gone now the dirty water touches the cotton and the cotton drips down the cotton and comes out much more clean. Though the problem in the experiment was we used activated charcoal and that made the water a little bit black so it made the result only a small bit cleaner.  

Why is it important for cities/towns etc to purify and clean the water before it gets to peoples’ homes?

It could be bad for their health, they would suffer if they had dirty water. If it is not cleaned things would survive with sickness or die.  The thing that will take in the water would become very ill. There can be bacteria, leaves, sticks and other unhealthy/deadly things.

https://science.lovetoknow.com/science-fair-projects/homemade-water-filter-science-project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPP_Yn2w2Sk&t=157s

https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/water-filtration-science-project/

https://childsci.org/water-filtration/

https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/sand-filter-activity/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df12osqZfQ0

The lost city of Atlantis

Atlantis

Once upon a time, there was a keen explorer of the seas called Simon. He was in a submarine looking for new discoveries.  He found lots over the years but one huge mystery was still kept anonymous. THE LOST CITY OF ATLANTIS. 

One day, he was in his deep-sea submarine, admiring the sea-life and vibrant corals when he saw a small source of dim light coming from the ocean floor. He slowly came towards it and took a quick glance.  When Simon saw what it was he was in shock. Could it really be? Simon pondered, the lost city of Atlantis, could this really be the truth? He gathered a group of scuba divers for an expedition to see if Atlantis was really hiding there. 

They went down to the dim light post and started to dig. Then after a few hours, one of the scuba divers couldn’t dig any deeper. They then realized Atlantis was really there.  Excitement filled their bodies and their hearts began to thud uncontrollably. They dug around the glimmering lamp and heaved it out. It was the corner of a building. After that, they continued digging deeper to reach the bottom of the seafloor.  Suddenly Simon started to sink down and fell with a small thump. He woke up after 5 minutes and found that he was right in front of the mythical Atlantis! 

He started taking photos of all the strange building structures that were lying under the ocean floor. After a few pics, he came back to the submarine with all the people. Once they finally got back to the president of the United States, they showed him all the pictures. When the president was confident that the pictures were authentic, he sent some of the top sea experts to explore the area further. They all arrived at the spot and couldn’t believe their eyes. Tall towering buildings lurked above them, it was like they were as tall as the Burj Khalifa. Big statues and ancient artifacts were all over there too. And a humungous building stood in the middle gazing above everything.It was astonishing, they all explored the areas and structures of the great city. The scientists came back and told the president about the things they saw. The president sent many submarines, ships, boats and all of the vehicles that could carry people out at sea. 

Soon the city was brought from the ocean up to land. Many tourists visited the glory of the mysterious lost city of ATLANTIS. 

One picture. One teaching resource. Every day.

How to use...  Pick a da

Catch it as the pomegranate

Catch it as the pomegranate

One normal day I was minding my own business, hanging from my tree, watching the view.  I was plump and round, red and juicy, ready to be eaten at any moment which I, of course, didn’t want to happen.  I was the most delicious pomegranate for miles around and I knew it. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I knew my days were numbered.  Suddenly those darn evil meerkats woke up again. I didn’t know what to do… then they saw me, oh no! They climbed up MY tree and came to me. One of them sniffed me, then another and another…  

They all jumped down and stared at me which made me feel slightly uncomfortable.  What was it with these meerkats? Why had they taken such a liking to me? I pondered to myself.  All of a sudden another predator came and this time it was the vicious bird. It yanked me from my stalk with its razor-sharp talons and flew away. 

To my surprise, the nasty little runners, the meerkats, actually came to rescue me!  “Wow.” I thought, maybe I misjudged them. One of these small cat-like creatures grabbed onto the vulture’s foot, then the others all attached themselves together to form a long chain from the bird’s foot to the ground.  The bird flew around all over the place trying to shake the meerkats off but they didn’t let go.

The bird flapped his wings ferociously, gaining speed and power and finally he flew higher into the air...  The meerkats, still connected together, flew helplessly through the air and looked like the tail of a kite. Then with a jolt, the vulture shook the meerkats free from his foot and they separated out in the sky.  A meerkat caught me in mid-air and passed me to other meerkats until one got hit and I began to fall down to my death. However, the bird snatched me up before I hit the ground. After this, a single meerkat landed on the bird, one, then two, then three... until ten meerkats stood on his back. They made a triangle and weighted the bird down a little. The bird got them off with a large shake of his body which sent the meerkats tumbling through the air once more. As the vulture turned back, he forgot to look where he was going, then… BANG!  He hit a rock face...SMACK!

I flew down towards the clay-colored, orange, scorching hot ground.  Luckily for me, I was saved by a meerkat that caught me with two steady, coordinated hands.  “That was a close call, I could’ve fallen down all the way to the hard ground.” I shuddered. 

They started playing rugby with me...excuse me, how rude! One of them kicked me and I went through these two trees that were shaped like a rugby post.  I hurtled through the air like a cannonball and I felt the wind brushing against my skin. But then, to my horror, I began to plummet, what goes up must come down.  “Ahhhhhh!” I screamed in horror. 

 Sadly I landed with a SMOOSH!  My skin split open and my flesh oozed all over the ground.  I knew my time was up. 

inquiry experiment 2

Inquiry experiment  

Aim/Purpose : 

To make the bag burst out all the air it contained

Prediction - What do we think is going to happen:

I thought that the bag would get filled with air and float up

Steps:     

1.  Open up a paper towel on a flat surface
2. Put 4 leveled teaspoons of baking soda in the center of the paper towel
3. Wrap up the baking soda in the paper towel like a package - Keep the baking soda concentrated in the middle of the paper towel
4. Tape down your package of baking soda with a piece of masking tape so that everything stays in place
5. Open the vinegar and pour it into a cup - until the cup is half full
6. Then open a zip lock bag and pour the vinegar into it
7. Hold the package inside the zip lock bag, making sure it doesn’t yet make contact with the vinegar - then zip up the bag - making sure that it is completely closed
8. Let the package of baking soda drop into the vinegar and the bag up a little so that they start to mix
9. Observe what happens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlmsiPxEuK0

Materials/equipment:

• Baking Soda  (4 x tablespoons) 
• Vinegar (half a cup)
• Ziploc sandwich bags 
• Plastic spoon
• Paper towel 
• Masking tape

Roles within the group:

1. Presenter - conducts the experiment 
2. Assistant - collects all the materials 
3. Videographer - takes a video of the experiment 
4. Recorder - writes out the steps to follow to correctly conduct the experiment 

After students have prepared they can present the experiment in front of the class who will be the audience. The videographer can record the experiment and the recording can be shared at a later stage.  

The Result - What did we see happen?

When the presenter/assistant, puts 4 teaspoons of baking and folds it up like a present. Then we pour the vinegar 3 quarters of a plastic cup. Next, we pour the vinegar in a plastic zip-lock bag. After, we put the baking soda cloth in the zip lock bag but just above it. Then we zip up the bag, drop the baking soda in and shake the bag rapidly. Finally, we leave the bag on the ground and……… BANG  the bag blows up.

Variables - How could we change the variables?

Predict what might happen if we change the variables 

Experiment - Were our predictions accurate?

We tried out two of our variables. The first variable we tried was having less baking soda and more vinegar. The result was it went much faster than it did when we did it normally. The second variable we tried was having more baking soda and less vinegar. The result was it went burst much more slowly than it did when we did it in the normal way.

The Science - Why did it happen?  Here are some websites to look at…. You may be able to find other websites too!

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/balloon-baking-soda-vinegar-experiment-kids/

https://www.science-sparks.com/amazing-baking-soda-experiments/

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-happens-when-you-mix-vinegar-and-baking-soda

https://carrotsareorange.com/baking-soda-vinegar-reaction-experiment/

The vinegar creates a reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, Gass need a lot of room to spread out and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the ziplock packet and then moves into the balloon to inflate it. And finally, it popped.

room 3 inquiry

Plants Absorbing Water 

Aim:

To colour celery or cabbage leaves - Try and see how plants absorb water

Materials 

Glass jars x4 

Celery

Cabbage leaves 

4 different colours of food colouring 

Water 

Scissors/knife/chopping board to cut the celery

Method 

Fill up 4 glass jars up to around halfway 

Put approximately 10 drops of different coloured food colouring into each jar

Place a celery stick or a cabbage leaf into each jar

Explanation 

Part 1 - Explain why plants need water 

All plants need water to grow and survive. Without the water, they would die out. They need water to live on as it is a living thing. And all living things need water.

They need water for 

Growing

Survival

And making it healthy. The water goes in parts of the stem/tree. Water helps the plants keep moist on hot days. The water would help the plant to grow bigger and healthier.plants use water to make itself filled with water and not need water for some time.

Part 2 - How they absorb water

The water goes to the plant and sucks it up. The tree takes in the water from their roots, leaves, and stems. It then goes into the tree. Then travels through the tree and comes to the top of the tree and the tree gets water. Though there are some holes in a tree and some water goes out of the tree then gets absorbed and it rains again.

describe the green sea turtle

Compare and contrast temperate and tropical rainforests

A day in a life of a Takahe

A Day in the LIfe of a Takahe

The sun rises and warms my feathery body. I then slowly stir from my slumber to the sound of grass rrrrrrrrriping right next to me.  My fellow takahe have already started feeding on the green blades of grass. I finally get up, grooming my feathers and getting ready for another day roaming the swamps and grasslands.

My whole family is up already. Man what is it with my family, they wake up sooo early. I turned around and oh, it has been 1 hour since sunrise. Then I got ready to hunt for some beetles and weta.  Yum! I caught a big, juicy weta this time. I gobbled my excellent catch in one gulp! I had some more grass and found a small beetle on a blade of grass, YAHOO!!!. I turned around and realised that I was far from my family.

I quickly ran back to the rest of my family, but…. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a feather zoom past, then disappear in a jiffy.  I stayed as stiff as a brick jammed to a wall. I tried to s-l-o-w-l-y move to my family to not be a single, non protected target right in the open.  Then I saw something on top of a dead tree, I think it was staring at me. I got a closer look and found out it was a karearea ( Takahe’s natural predator). I ran, flapping my wings trying to escape the range of the grievous hunter.  I finally made it to my family and warned them about the threatening karearea that tried to hunt me down. We were all petrified and helpless. Our only safer option was to hide from the sight of the bird. We were safely hidden from the bird. The furious hunter was right next to me, I held my breath and prayed to the almighty BIRD GOD ,that I didn’t get devoured by that dark soul.  He finally went away, my family breathed a sigh of relief that the hunter had gone.  Phew, that was really close. Wow I can’t believe that I survived the claws of that mischievous enemy. I was also a little tired of all the commotion that was going on, that I almost fell asleep on the way to our nest.  Then when I was about to fall asleep, I saw a stoat stealing the eggs that were kept in the nest. Me and my family ran towards the pesky rodent and captured it. We snatched the eggs away from the stoat and gently placed the eggs on a nice, cozy patch of grass.  Ahh...that way such a tiring day. YAWN. I’m soo sleepy that I could…..SNORE.

green sea turtle description map