In our home school group we are getting ready for our science fair. I was put in charge of doing an experiment with the little girls. Which, I couldn't be happier with because they are the most darling girls ever!!!
We experimented with Solar Beads and it turned out to be a lot of fun and interesting. This is what the beads look like when unexposed to the light, below. (Just wanted to point out as a side note that they got in to dress ups before performing these experiments...lab coats, dress ups, it's all the same.... :)
We experimented with Solar Beads and it turned out to be a lot of fun and interesting. This is what the beads look like when unexposed to the light, below. (Just wanted to point out as a side note that they got in to dress ups before performing these experiments...lab coats, dress ups, it's all the same.... :)
This is what happens to the beads when exposed to UV light from the sun. It happened to be a cloudy day which was great because the girls could see that UV light effects us even with a cloud covering, hence the importance for sunscreen on cloudy days. :)
We experimented with what might happen if we covered the beads with different sunscreens...
This is the SPF 30 from Trader Joe's.
It didn't do the best job, the beads were still changing with the UV light.
Spray on sunscreen....?
Pretty effective, only one bead really changing.
The SPF 50....?
Quite effective.
An amber colored pill bottle?
Completely protected. This amber color you see on pill bottles is a special plastic specially made so that your pills will not be harmed by UV light and other types of energy. Interesting huh? :)
The girls noticing that the beads changed even when in the indirect UV light, because UV light travels beyond the pointed source.
When I asked the girls what they thought would happen if we put the beads under a light bulb, I was very impressed with Georgia's answer. She paused and looked thoughtful, and said, "I don't think the beads will change because the light bulb isn't the same light coming from the sun." Um, yes, she is already a scientist at six years old. :)
Of course once the experimenting was over we played and made jewelry with our Solar Beads!
They really do change to very pretty colors.
Georgia and Isabel experimenting with Solar Beads, May 7th, 2013.
Could Georgia be any Cuter?! The answer is no. What an awesome lesson to teach them, I am going to have my kids look at this so they know why I am always on them to wear sunblock. You are such an awesome mom & teacher.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you my dear. It was so fun doing this with them and really poignant. Love you, talk soon,
DeleteShauna xo
What a great project! Do you have a link to a sight where you saw this experiment! Would love to try it with my children.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun experiment! I didn't know that the pill bottles protected the pills from UV rays. That's super interesting! :-)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about pill bottles either! Sometimes I think I need to start my education all over again for all the stuff I missed the first time around. :)
ReplyDeleteWOW - you guys are so smart - so fun for the girls (and of course dress up = lab coats) I don't think we have enough sunshine here to do that experiment, but I sure liked it :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Saturday,
Axx
This is so impressive! I love how you get into the experiment so much...amazing. I'd have no idea where to start. Science was not my thing.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day Shauna! I hope you had a fantastic day today...you deserve it.
What a fun experiment! Especially when you get to do your science experiment with friends. I love the jewelry they made afterwards!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a happy Mother's Day!!
What a fun experiment. Where did you get the beads? Cullen's little inquisitive mind would love something like this!
ReplyDeleteAnd that is so fun that you and Bennett share a birthday :) We are moving next week..eek!
what an amazing experiment!!! How cute.
ReplyDeleteIs home-schooling tough?