Hands-on fun with science

They not only learned about science, they learned how much fun science can be.

K4, K5 and first-graders at Pinewood Preparatory School, with the help of 35 parent volunteers, were treated at the school's annual Science Fun Day in April. During the day, 11 groups of youths moved through different science stations and learned about subjects including dinosaurs and chemistry.

It was educational as well as enjoyable for the students, Kristen McMullen, director of communications and alumni relations, said.

The parent volunteers ran the science stations and led the groups. At a station called Fabulous Fossils, students made dinosaur prints filled with plaster. At Super Bubble Ooze they used gel glue and liquid starch to blow bubbles with a straw; and at the Dancing Raisins carbon dioxide bubbles were created that stuck to the raisins and carried them up and down a tube.

At Dry Ice Sublimation, students turned dry ice from solid straight to a gas and at Don't Pop the Balloon, students learned how to put pins in a balloon so it would not pop.

Another interesting station was Invisible Writing, where lemon juice writing burned before the paper did showing what was written and they even created Pretty Pennies, cleaning them with salt and vinegar and then turning some to what looked like silver and gold.

For Ex-Static Experiments, students used test tubes with mini-Styrofoam balls to demonstrate static electricity, and the Egg-citing Egg-speriment used fire and heat to cause an egg to be sucked into a flask. At the Bubble Tower, children blew though a straw into a cup covered with a bubble soaked rag to see how big their tower could get.

At a station called Water Bottle Boats, they used carbon dioxide to power water bottle boats through the water.

"It was an exciting day for all, and perhaps even some budding scientist were inspired from the Pinewood Classes of 2019," McMullen said.

Reach Edward C. Fennell at efennell@postandcourier.com or 745-5865.