What Is Macaroni Made Of?

Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/1/1998

Dish up some hot science experiments, games, and lessons using the Web.

By October, the thrill of going back to school is gone. Everybody has settled into a routine. But there's nothing routine about the world of science. See what happens when kids try to inflate a balloon in a bottle of water. Or learn to boil water without heat. These and other ideas can be found on brain-teasing Web sites for both students and teachers.

Proof Positive
While lots of sites offer science activities and experiments, not all are reliable. What follows is a choice selection of the most authoritative science activity sites for kids of all ages and interests. Science Snacks, created by the Exploratorium in San Francisco, offers more than 100 quick experiments for primary grade students and teens. The experiments are simple enough to be done either in the classroom or at home. For example, you can shine a penlight through a glue stick to learn how light "scatters", part of understanding why the sky is blue and sunsets are red. Or through different body motions you can create the optical illusion that the glowing red numbers of a digital clock are flickering. Note the link where you can order the inexpensive four-book set of other science experiments.

Are you a fan of Bill Nye the Science Guy? Check out Nye Labs Online, hosted by the TV show's sponsor, PBS affiliate KCTS in Seattle. At the Labs' home page, click on "Demo of the Day" for daily experiments. You can also click on "Episode Guides" and find more experiments categorized by theme.

The Science Museum of Minnesota has created the Thinking Fountain Web site, which provides more than 60 science activities and experiments for kids of all ages. You can surf this site using an index or theme clusters, following self-created "mind maps," or plugging in keywords--an outstanding variety of search options.

Then there's Beakman and Jax of Saturday morning TV fame. Beakman (and his creator, Jok Church) are now on the Web at the You Can with Beakman and Jax Web site. Click on "50 Terrific ?s" to find experiments that help answer the science questions kids ask. (Why do cats cough up hairballs? What is macaroni made of?) If you have Shockwave installed on your computer, check out the interactive experiments.

Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab offers close to 50 science experiments, each labeled easy, intermediate, or advanced. Reeko, aka Brian Haddock, Net techie and dad, created the site to encourage his children and others to learn science. Here you can consider the principles of gravity, light refraction, and flotation. (Why does a rock sink like a rock?) Poke around to find an archive of old experiments as well some new ones still being tested and improved. The text is written with teens and pre-teens in mind.

If energy experiments are your game, then Energy Quest is the name. This site was created by the California Energy Commission for all grade levels. In the "Science Projects" section you'll find more than 20 energy and conservation experiments. (Make sure that you check out "Peanut Power" to see how much energy one late-night snack can generate.)

Labs and Lessons
For teachers and home schoolers who want complete lesson plans to accompany experiments, take a bite out of Newton's Apple. This site, which accompanies the PBS TV program of the same name, is sponsored by KTCA in Minnesota. Check out the lesson on solar powered cars, complete with a vocabulary list and an "activity page." Science Friday is a weekly National Public Radio program hosted by NPR stalwart Ira Flatow. Its Science Friday Kids Connection site contains some 300 lessons for all grade levels. Each lesson includes discussion questions, a project or experiment, and book and Internet resources.

Web Addresses
For previous "Surf For" links, visit SLJ Online at www.slj.com/links.html.

Science Snacks
www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/index.html

Nye Labs Online
nyelabs.kcts.org

Thinking Fountain
www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/nav/tfatoz.html

You Can With Beakman and Jax
www.youcan.com

Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab
www.flash.net/~spartech/ReekoScience/ReekoIndex.htm

Energy Quest
www.energy.ca.gov/education/projects/projects-html/projects.html

Newton's Apple
ericir.syr.edu/Projects/Newton/

Science Friday Kids Connection
www.npr.org/programs/sfkids/