WonderWorks: The technology of thermometers

How do we measure how hot or cold something is?

Today's Topic: thermometers!
Supplies:
a variety of thermometers.  I found some at the dollar store and at Big Lots and I e-mailed participants to ask if they could bring any thermometers they had at home that were appropriate for sharing (i.e. not germy medical thermometers).
Ice cubes
water
pitchers
hot water (I asked the coffee shop next door to make a carafe of hot water
straws
red chenille stems
this printable thermometer


Book:
Temperature : heating up and cooling down / Stille, Darlene R.

WonderWorks: Does it absorb?

Let's learn about things that absorb and things that repel liquid!

Today's Topic:Absorption
Supplies:
fabric scraps (various kinds)
water
containers to hold water 
water droppers (we also used baby-ibuprofen-type syringes)
paper towels
coffee filters
foil
waxed paper
regular paper
plastic wrap
styrofoam plates
paper plates
sponges
measuring cups and/or spoons


Book:
  Maisy takes a bath / Cousins, Lucy

This book was a bit of a stretch, but I've always loved the page where Maisy is standing at her front door in her towel, dripping water and it's not easy to search for picture books that specifically include towels!

For one of the classes, I also showed this duck video and talked a little bit about how duck feathers don't get wet but the water just slides right off and why (the ducks have a special oil gland that they use to spread oil over their feathers to waterproof them).

The Supper Club: Mixed-up Apps

Mice that moo, yellow stop signs, and scrambled animals all make for hilarious fun in this month's apps!  Here's the list:

All Mixed Up Apps 
 

READ: Red in Bed (99c, iOS & Android)

(you can also get just the "xylophone" of the color dots for free here or here for Android) 

READ/PLAY: Miximal ($1.99 iOS)

PLAY:    Elmer’s Photo Patchwork ($1.99 iOS)

TALK:    YAKiT Kids (free, iOS, Windows)

WRITE: Curious Letters (99c, iOS)

STEM: Little Alchemy (free, iOS, Android, Chrome….)

Take Out Box: Big Reading Show (Backwards Day episode), Moo! Said Morris (Free, iOS)

We ended the class by making our own peek-through paper dolls similar to the elephants in Elmer's Photo Patchwork. The dolls were printed from this site (which, although I cannot read the Czech text, I can tell you is FULL of fantastic free printables--definitely worth exploring!). The kids especially loved running their paper through the cold laminator (this one is much cheaper and looks like a similar product...).

 And then "dressing" their paper dolls in clothes that matched their own outfits.  How fun!

The Supper Club: STEM Apps

Last month, we focused on apps that encourage play with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  There are a lot of my favorites in this bunch!

August 2015 --Fun with STEAM:

Math: Weigh the World by Ravensberger ($1.99, iOS only)

Science: Toca Lab by Toca Boca ($2.99, iOS & Android)

Engineering/Tech: The Everything Machine by Tinybop ($2.99, iOS)

Science: This is my Body by urbn; pockets ($2.99 iOS)

Math/Tech: Curious Ruler by Curious Hat (99c, iOS only)

Math: GeoMatry by Fernando Pires ($1.99, iOS)

Math/Science: Tic Toc Time by Seven Academy ($3.99, iOS & Android)

The Take-Out Box: 
Inventioneers (Free, iOS/Android)

Marco Polo Weather ($iOS, Free Android)

Bridge Basher (99c iOS, Android), 

Universal Zoom (3.99 iOS)

Geoboard (free, iOS, Windows + Chrome)

The Human Body (tinybop) ($3.99, iOS)

We ended the program by making super-powered paper airplanes with rubber band launchers.