Mr.J’s Learning Lab News Volume 2- August 29, 2013

What an awesome second week we have had in the learning labs!  Students have painted using acrylics and watercolors, made “Gravity Falls” inspired mystery inks, and are even engineering a giant wooden statue for the front office!

Our first two “introduction weeks” are over, and next week will be September!  It will be the start of our first theme, “The Arts and Sciences of CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS,” that we will use all month to learn in the Labs!

Next week, we will be learning about & creating “FOODIMALS” and having marshmallow and milk (dairy) science labs.

FUN ANNOUNCEMENT! To celebrate our FOOD inspired THEME we are hosting a special FUNDRAISER at Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt next Friday, September 6th.  Go to the location at River Club Plaza (5770 Ranch Lake Blvd) anytime from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and the Learning Labs will receive 10% of all sales made that night!  Let your family & friends know money raised will be used for Learning Labs supplies & curriculum.

DON’T FORGET!! This year, students will create STEAM reports each week that will count for part of their grade (see the attached Information Sheet & examples).  Report sheets will be given out each Thursday (Attached to this Newsletter), and will be due every Tuesday.

This year we will need donations of materials from time to time, I will write a list and put them on the Learning Lab News.

Current Materials needed:

Cartons of eggs (one dozen boxes)

2% milk

Food coloring (any variety/colors)

ajax/dish soap

Bags of marshmallows (any size)

Acrylic paints (any color)

If you can help provide or get some of these items donated, Mr. J will give you a big thanks, and more importantly the students of MSAS will  have great Arts and Sciences in the Learning Labs!

 

Want to try our experiments at home?  Need a copy of any form given out in the Labs?  Then visit our NEW website @ www.MSASLearningLabs.com  And click on the “THEME BLOG” page!

 

Have a great Labor day weekend!

Learning Labs NEWS Volume 1 - August 22

Mr.J’s Learning Lab News Volume 1- August 22, 2013

What a great first week we have had in the learning labs!  Students have created zentangles, made temporary tattoos, created acid + base explosions, and even made minion goo!

Next week, we will be creating watercolor works of art, and making invisible inks! 

This year, students will create STEAM reports that will count for part of their grade (see the attached Information Sheet).  Report sheets will be given out each Thursday, and will be due every Tuesday.

This year we will need donations of materials from time to time, I will write a list and put them on the Learning Lab News.

Current Materials needed:

Lemons (any size)

Baking soda

Purple Grape juice

75 watt light bulbs

Acrylic paints (any color)

If you can help provide or get some of these items donated, Mr. J will give you a big thanks, and more importantly the students of MSAS will  have great Arts and Sciences in the Learning Labs!

 

Visit our NEW website for more info @ www.MSASLearningLabs.com

 

 

STEAM Report Student/Parent information sheet

MSAS Learning Labs (Arts and Sciences) S.T.E.A.M. Report

Student/Parent Information Sheet

This year all students (K-6) will work on weekly projects in the MSAS Learning Labs.  The projects will be fun hands-on experiments and art creations.  They will relate to our new S.T.E.A.M. focus that mixes the sciences with the arts.  After each week the students will create a S.T.E.A.M. report for a grade.  In the report they will talk about how they feel the project of the week relates to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (S.T.E.AM.).  (See examples below) The reports will be due every Tuesday during their Learning Labs class time.  If a student does not return their report in on time, they will miss Art the next day. 

Students in Kindergarten and First grade can dictate their answers and the parents can write their responses on the report page.  The responses should be at least two sentences for each area.

Students in second grade and third grade will handwrite their responses and they should be at least three sentences for each area.

Students in fourth grade and up will handwrite their responses, and each response should be a paragraph (5 sentences) in length.

Examples of how you could relate a project to the following areas:

S- Science	In the project did you have to use any scientific knowledge?  Did you use any Lab materials (Beakers, test tubes, balances, etc.)?  Did you have a guess or hypothesis about a part of the project?
T- Technology	Were computers used in the project?  What technology or gadgets were used?  How did the technology used affect the project’s outcome?
E- Engineering	Did you build something?  How did you construct a piece of the project?  Did you have to have an outline, idea or blueprint for a part of the project?
A- Arts	What types of Arts were used in the project?  Did you paint, sculpt, dance, sing, etc.? Did you have to use your artistic eye to design a part of the project?
M- Mathematics	What math was used during the project?  Did you have to measure or weigh anything?  Did you have to count or calculate any data?

 

 

STEAM Report (Blank Copy)

MSAS Learning Labs (Arts and Sciences) S.T.E.A.M. Report

My Name:

My Teacher:

This week’s project:

How this project relates to S.T.E.A.M. (Fill out table, you may staple additional pages if needed)

Area	Your description
S (Science)
T (Technology)
E (Engineering)
A (Arts)
M (Mathematics)

Sciences Learning Lab #2- Minion Goo

Lab #2- Minion goo

Equipment/ Materials needed:

Florence Flask

Lemon Ajax

Baking soda

One fresh lemon

40 ml Beakers

ziplocks

Process:

Mix 80ml of baking soda with 80 mL of Ajax in Florence Flask

Pour mixture on table or surface & sprinkle with baking soda

Squeeze one fresh lemon onto mixture (witness the acid/base reaction!)

Sift the mixture until it becomes goo!  Scoop into ziplock bags then notice how the acid and base separate!

Sciences Learning Lab #1- Bubble Bomb

Bubble Bomb Lab - Tuesday August 20th

Taken from www.Exploratorium.edu

 

Equipment /Materials

measuring cup (40 mL Beakers)  zipper-lock plastic sandwich bags paper towel Baking Soda Vinegar

 

Tear a paper towel into a square that measures about 5 inches by 5 inches. Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda in the center of the square, then fold the square as shown in the picture, with the baking soda inside. This is your "time-release packet."   Pour into your plastic bag: 1/2 cup of vinegar 1/4 cup of warm water

 

Now here's the tricky part. You need to drop the time-release packet into the vinegar and zip the bag closed before the fizzing gets out of control. You can zip the bag halfway closed, then stuff the packet in and zip the bag closed the rest of the way in a hurry. Or you can put the time-release packet into the mouth of the bag and hold it up out of the vinegar by pinching the sides of the bag. Zip the bag closed and then let the packet drop into the vinegar. One way or another, get the packet in the vinegar and zip the bag closed.

Shake the bag a little, put it in the sink or on the ground, and stand back! The bag will puff up dramatically and pop with a bang.

Why does the Bubble Bomb explode? The bubbles in the Bubble Bomb are filled with carbon dioxide, a gas that forms when the vinegar (an acid) reacts with the baking soda (a base). If you've ever made a cake or baked a loaf of quick bread (the kind that doesn't use yeast), you've already done some experimenting with the bubbles that come from an acid-base reaction. Most cakes and quick breads rise because of bubbles in their batter. Those bubbles, like the ones in your Bubble Bomb, are created by the chemical reaction of an acid and a base. Take a look at a recipe for quick bread. If the recipe includes baking soda but no baking powder, it will probably also include an ingredient that's acidic-such as buttermilk, sour milk, or orange juice. Quick-bread recipes may call for baking powder in addition to or instead of baking soda. Baking powder is made by combining baking soda with an acidic ingredient, such as tartaric acid or calcium acid phosphate. When you add water to baking powder, it will fizz as the acid and base interact. In fact, if you ever run out of baking powder, you can make your own by mixing two teaspoons cream of tartar (it provides the acid), one teaspoon of baking soda (it's the base), and a half-teaspoon of salt.

 

Questions and other things to try: Try using a different size of zipper-lock plastic bag. What do you think might happen? Do you think you'll need to use more baking soda, vinegar, and water to make the bag explode? Try it and see. In the original experiment, we asked you to use warm water. Try using cold water or hot water. Does changing the temperature change your results? How? The first time you tried this, you mixed the vinegar with water. Try doing the experiment again with just vinegar. How did this change your experiment? Instead of using paper towel, make your "time release packet" using a different kind of paper, like toilet paper, tissue paper or notebook paper. What happened?

Themes for the FALL 2013

• August 19th- 30th: Welcome to the Learning Labs (Zentangles, Materials & Equipment reviews, Grab Bag projects)
• September 3rd- September 30th: The Art and Science of CLOUDY with a CHANCE of MEATBALLS 2- Revenge of the Leftovers (Food/animal art, Food Science, etc.)
• October 1st- October 31st: Famous Artists and Scientists with Mustaches!
• November 1st- November 22nd: The Art and Science of GAMES (Including Ender's Game, The Hunger Games, etc.)
• December 2nd- December 20th: The Art and Science of Disney's FROZEN