Fun with Science Friday: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

With the massive winter storm sweeping the nation, we felt today’s featured item for Fun with Science Friday should have something to do with the science of weather – so we chose the barometer. 

Since the late 19^th century, barometric pressure and measurements of the change of pressure over time, or pressure tendency, have been used to forecast the weather. A barometer is a scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. The mercury barometer was invented in 1643 by Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian physicist and mathematician. Today, air or water may also be used in barometers to measure the pressure exerted by the atmosphere and they come in all shapes and sizes.

Want a fun project? Click here to find out how to make a simple weather barometer of your own.

To have some real fun in all this snow? Try one of these delicious snow recipes:

Chocolate Snow Ice Cream

1 gallon snow

½ cup white sugar

2 cups chocolate milk

Directions: Place a large, clean bowl outside to collect snow as it falls. When the bowl is full, stir in sugar. Gradually stir in chocolate milk until you have your desired consistency. Serve and eat immediately.

Snow Candy

1 cup real maple syrup

¼ cup salted butter

Fresh, clean snow

Directions: In a medium saucepan, heat the syrup and butter over medium-high heat and stir. Once the mixture starts to boil, continue heating and stirring for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 minutes. Pour over snow. It will cool very quickly, so pick it up and enjoy!

Snow Cream

3 cups of clean snow

½ cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: In a separate bowl, mix cream, sugar and vanilla. Gradually add snow until you have your desired consistency. Serve and eat.

Article by:  Alisha K. Ard

Fun with Science Friday: Building Your own Wind Turbine for Your Home

Following our earlier Fun with Science Friday post about building your own wind turbine on a small scale, we started doing some research into building a real, working wind turbine to help power your home. We found a lot of companies selling wind turbines for home use, as well as a lot of ebooks and manuals for sale on how to build your own. And then we found this free site which shows step-by-step, with pictures, how one man built a wind turbine for $140.62!

For an overview of the benefits of channeling the power of wind energy for home use and determining if it is practical for you, read this.

Fun Fact: Texas accounts for nearly 25% of the total installed wind power capacity in the U.S., with 10,085 MW of installed capacity. (source)

Article by: Alisha K. Ard

Fun with Science Friday: Naked Eggs & Flying Potatoes

When it comes to making science fun, there is no doubt Steve Spangler is the perfect guy for the job. His latest book, Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes, is filled with easy and inexpensive science experiments guaranteed to amaze and entertain while you learn about the secrets of science behind the reactions. And the best part is you can do these experiments without complicated lab equipment or impossible-to-find chemicals! Most of the items needed will be readily available in your household.

Article by: Alisha K. Ard

Visual Frequency - Fun with Science Friday

Ok, we are giving you fair warning - you will want to turn the sound DOWN for this one! Watch the incredible patterns and shapes created by the vibrations of the frequencies in the sound waves at varying pitches. Interesting to note that they get more complex as the pitch increases.

Article by:  Alisha K. Ard

Fun with Science Friday - Build Your Own Wind Turbine! (on a small scale)

Whether you are looking to teach about alternative energy sources, searching for a gift for a science-loving kid (recommended for ages 8+), or you just like the idea of building your own wind turbine (there was no upper limit in the age group, after all) - this looks like a lot of fun!

Product description from the Thames & Kosmos website:

"Build wind-powered generators to energize your electric vehicles and charge your rechargeable batteries! The wind spins the turbine, which turns an electric generator, which in turn charges your rechargeable AA batteries (not included). You can then use those wind-charged batteries to power the model vehicles you build. The six models include a glider, sail car, jet car, tractor, racecar, and tricycle."

Wind Power 2.0 kits are available to purchase online (with FREE shipping) through Amazon.com. To locate a local place to pick up one of these great science kits click here. And here is a link for more great alternative energy and environmental science kits (you know, in case you prefer solar or hydropower to wind).

Article by: Alisha K. Ard

Fun with Science Friday - Self-Folding Robotic Paper

 

Thanks to Engineers at Harvard and MIT, you are looking at an honest-to-goodness Transformer. Sure, it only transforms into the origami shapes of a paper airplane or a boat, not a sporty automobile that can double as a guardian and friend, but you have to admit it's impressive. Unfortunately, Hasbro has the copyrights on the name "Transformer," so they are calling it "Shape-Shifting Sheets" and "programmable matter by folding," which are not nearly as catchy.

All joking aside, this is amazing to watch. It will be interesting to see what develops in the future from this noteworthy achievement. Read about the programmable matter here.

Movie credit: Robert Wood, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Daniela Rus, MIT

Article by: Alisha K. Ard

Friday Fun with Science - Boo Bubbles

Fridays are hereby officially declared "Fun with Science" days at the Get Geekt blog! Each Friday we will post a link to an article or video that features a product we think is too awesome not to share with you.

This week, we are introducing you to Boo Bubbles - bubbles filled with dry ice smoke.



Whether you want to give a demonstration and show off your knowledge of gasses and surface tension, or if you just want to bounce the bubbles around while wearing cotton gloves, Boo Bubbles are guaranteed to entertain people of all ages. To get your own Boo Bubble Generator, click here.

Article by: Alisha K. Ard