VanCleave's Science Fun

Your Guide to Science Projects, Fun Experiments, and Science Research

Archives for 2010

How Do Flies Eat?

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Flies have a special mouth part called a proboscis. Much like the way the boy in the photo is using a straw, a fly uses its proboscis to drink liquids. Since flies do not have teeth, can they eat solid foods? Yes, and it really is gross, so get prepared: Flies vomit their stomach contents […]

Emperor Penguins

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Penguin Activity Are your students as tall as an Emperor Penguin? Prepare a place to for kids to compare their height to that of an emperor penguin (males can be as much as 39 inches tall). If possible, have a picture or diagram of a penguin. Secure the pic/diagram to a wall with the penguins […]

Penguins

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Penguin Facts: They adapt to various climates. They live in large groups called rookeries. They waddle when they walk. They communicate with each other through body language. They spend most of their lives in water. They are not afraid of people. Their have blubber, which helps to keep them warm. They leap out of water […]

Panda Bears

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Panda Bears are considered special in China. Ancient emperors of China kept panda bears as pets. These pets were thought to have magic powers that could scare away evil spirits as well as natural disaster. Today, pandas are believed to be a symbol of peace and good fortune. Pandas only eat bamboo and can sleep […]

Saturated Solution

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Question from Anthony & Glynnis How many Alkaseltzer tablets can dissolve in water? Facts to Consider: AlkaSeltzer + water produces water + salt + carbon dioxide gas The carbon dioxide gas escapes leaving the salt dissolved in the water, this is called a salt solution. Saturated Salt Solution = A solution made by adding salt […]

Extract Red Cabbage Juice

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How to Prepare Red Cabbage pH Indicator While the cabbage shown is definitely purple, it is commonly called RED cabbage. With that out-of-the-way, I have a brand new way to extract the colored juice from this cabbage. FREEZE IT!! This was one of those serendipitous discovery. Not wanting to discard an old partial head of […]

Challenge 1: Separate Salt and Sand

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This challenge is to separate and collect the individual parts of a mixture. Make the Mixture: Combine equal amounts of table salt and sand. One-fourth cup of each will work. Teacher Tip: Be sure to use sand and not dirt. Part of the dirt will dissolve. You want only sand, which does not dissolve in […]

Eukaryotic Cells: Plasma Membrane

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Both animal and plant cells are eukaryotic cells (cells that contain a nucleus). All eukaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane. This membrane is also called the cell membrane. The plasma membrane is much like a thin plastic  sack with tiny hole. This membrane sack contains all the cell parts and fluids. Since there […]

Teeth: Baby Teeth

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Deciduous Teeth : AKA baby teethmilk teethprimary teethdeciduous teeth People have two sets of teeth. The first set, baby teeth,  start forming before a baby is born. When the embryo is about six weeks old, its baby teeth start developing. The eruption of these baby teeth starts when a baby is about six months old. […]