VanCleave's Science Fun

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

Archives for 2010

Vegetarian: No Soy?

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Food and Nutrition for Every Kid Question: Can I be a Vegan if I am allergic to tofu?  Answer: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, but according to information I find on websites of vegetarians, the answer is yes. Tofu and other soy products do supply a large percent of the protein in […]

Inherited Trait: PSR

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Sunlight always makes me sneeze. I haven’t thought much about it and assumed that it happens to everyone. While researching the cause of sneezing, I found information about photic sneeze reflex (PSR).  What I thought was a common is a trait inherited by less than 35% of the population. To inherit the trait, at least […]

Sneezing

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A sneeze is a sudden, forceful, involuntary burst of air through the nose and mouth. A sneeze is the body’s way of getting rid of irritating stuff in your nose, such as dust and pollen. Sneezing associated with a cold ejects thousands of  infectious, microscopic droplets that can hurt you. Sternutation is the scientific name […]

Carbonless Copy Paper

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Question: When I write on some papers, a copy of the writing appears on the underlining page. How does this happen? Answer: This is called No Carbon Required (NCR) paper and is used to make original copies of handwritten or typed documents without the use of electronics (copy machines). The process for preparing the paper […]

Scientific Method

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The scientific method must have originated with kids. I say this because they are naturally curious –naturally inquisitive –natural explorers. For example, at eight, my uncle told me that if I would run around our house three times two small spotted calves would be behind me. He swore it was true. His insistence that it […]

Thomas Alva Edison

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February 11, 1847 is the birth date of Tomas Alva Edison. Thomas Edison became very interested in science and inventions at an early age and spend a great deal of time experimenting. At age 10, he built his first science laboratory in the basement of the family’s home. His father did not approve of all […]

Optical Illusion: Zoo Bus

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This is tooooooooo cool! What do you think! will this zoo advertising attract more people to the zoo or scare them away. The zoo bus is advertising the Copenhagen Zoo. I personally love it and it will be on the top of my list of where to go in Copenhagen. I cannot stop looking at […]

Energy: Atmosphere Model

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A model represents something. For example, a model airplane is a replica of some real airplane, but much smaller. A model can also represent how something behaves, such as a closed jar represents how Earth’s atmosphere keeps Earth warm. This is done because the atmosphere, a blanket of air that surrounds Earth, traps heat leaving […]

Forces: Bouncing Ball

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Question: Why does a basketball bounce? Answer: Let’s assume that the ball is dropped, so that the only force on the ball is gravity. All moving objects have kinetic energy. When the ball strikes the floor, the  part of the ball against the surface is flat, and the space inside the ball is smaller, which […]

Teaching Tips: Slime-Viscoelastic

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Gooey, Slippery, Slime is always a fun investigation. You can always “beef-up” the information for more advanced learners. There are so many wonderful science terms related to slime. Today, I want to introduce a property of slime called viscoelastic. This word is a mixture of two words: viscous and elastic. viscous The resistance to flowing. […]