Happy Fourth of July

 Since tomorrow is the Fourth of July, I'll be taking a brief break. See you back here next week!

Meanwhile, check out some hands-on ways to celebrate the holiday at this post from two years ago.

By Michele Mazzola – Wikimedia [CC BY 3.0] 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71302982

Fizz! Pop! Boom! Fourth of July Science

With the Fourth of July just around the corner, I thought I'd do something different today. Instead of a book review, I've collected some creative alternatives to fireworks. Hands-on activities that will provide plenty of fizz, pop, and boom without the big noise and smell of gunpowder. 

 

You probably have many of the ingredients in your cupboards, but check the materials lists in case you need to stock up before Monday. Then, after the parade and potato salad, invite friends and family to create their own Fourth of July celebratory works of art – and science.

My kids loved to play with baking soda and vinegar. I’d find a bottle that fit a cork, then let them play around with those two ingredients to see how far up they could make their cork rocket fly. You can dress up a cork with some red and blue ribbons, but keep it light so it will fly.

Here are some other creative ways to celebrate the day:

Exploding sidewalk paint ~ use glow-in-the-dark paint for night fun

Flying chalk rockets ~ a different approach to sidewalk art  

Fizzy sidewalk paint ~ perfect for toddlers

Fizzy pop chalk ~ for fingers or brushes

Erupting Rainbow ~ another fun one for the youngest kids

And how can we not include the Diet coke and mentos geyser ~ definitely outside fun!

 Have a fizzy, fun weekend and I'll return on Wednesday for a nature break and more outside exploration.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Fireworks!

It all started with an experiment.
About a thousand years ago.
A Chinese monk stuffed gunpowder into a piece of bamboo and tossed it into the fire. He wanted to make a noise loud enough to scare away ghosts.

He did more than that; he inspired people to continue experimenting with noise and colors. That's why, when you head out to a fireworks display this week, you'll get more than a big bang. The designs and colors we see in the sky are a result of chemistry. Inside the fireworks are pellets of the sparkly stuff that burns in the sky. The pattern you see in the sky results from how those pellets are placed inside the firework. They may explode outward in shapes that look like fronds of a palm tree or a brittle star. Or they might snake across the sky. You can read more about patterns here.

The colors come from burning different metal salts: barium chloride for green, lithium carbonate for red, copper compounds for blue, and sodium - like the salt you shake onto your potatoes - for yellow. Here's a handy color chart.

Have fun and remember: it may look like a fireworks show but it's Science in the Sky!

Fourth of July Science

About a thousand years ago a Chinese monk stuffed gunpowder into a piece of bamboo and tossed it into the fire. He wanted to make a noise loud enough to scare away ghosts.

If you head out to a fireworks display tonight, you'll get more than a big bang. The designs and colors we see in the sky are a result of chemistry. Inside the fireworks are pellets of the sparkly stuff that burns in the sky. The pattern you see in the sky results from how those pellets are placed inside the firework. They may explode outward in shapes that look like fronds of a palm tree or a brittle star. Or they might snake across the sky. You can read more about patterns here.

The colors come from burning different metal salts: barium chloride for green, lithium carbonate for red, copper compounds for blue, and sodium - like the salt you shake onto your potatoes - for yellow. Here's a handy color chart.

Have fun on the fourth, and remember: it may look like a fireworks show but it's Science in the Sky!