VanCleave's Science Fun

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

ABOUT THE SOUND PICTURE

With mouth wide open, vibrating air coming up the throat from the vocal chords leaving the open mouth and spreading in all directions. Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, author of 50+ best-selling science experiment books for children ages 4 through high school. I taught science for 27 years and now am creating this science website.   My scream was not staged. The picture was to be of two adult cats, which I was holding. A microsecond before the camera snapped, the two cats dug their claws into my skin as they prepared to leap out of my arms. A picture like this is great for making inferences. Kids could make "guesses" as to why I am screaming. They would be drawing on facts from the photo, such as I look like I am in pain or maybe I am just pretending.

Sound Supplies and Sound Investigations

Educational Innovation Sound Supplies A black and yellow logo for Educational Innovations. A place to find fun science supplies.

Carbon-14 Dating

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Question: What happens to the Carbon-14 when plants and animals die? Answer: When organisms containing C-14 die, there is no further intake of Carbon 14, so the Carbon- 14 concentration slowly decreases as individual unstable Carbon- 14 decay back into stable Nitrogen -14 atoms. Question: What does radioactive half-life mean? Answer: Carbon -14 has a […]

Damages of Acid Rain

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Acid Rain Damages Vegetation While acid rain affects all plants, trees often show the first signs of damage. Acid rain affects trees directly when it comes in contact with their leaves and bark (this makes tress vulnerable to disease and insects). Indirectly, acid rain affects trees by dissolving nutrients in soil that trees need. The […]

Moon Illusion

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Question: Why does the Moon follow us everywhere we go? Answer: Sky watchers from the beginning of time have observed the presence of the Sun and Moon no matter where they travel. Early astronomers’ explanation of this phenomenon was that Earth is flat and has a dome over it. The dome acted as a background […]

Earthshine

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Question: What does earthshine mean? Answer: The photo of the Moon at the right shows a lighted crescent shape plus the remaining part of the Moon can barely be seen. This shadowy section of the Moon can be seen because of earthshine, which means a faint light reflected from Earth’s surface lights up the darkened […]

Stellar Scintillation: Twinkling Stars

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Science Project Idea Why Do Stars Twinkle? Facts What Do You Want to Find Out? Stars appear to twinkle because star-light refracts as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere.     1. What is light refraction? 2. What causes the star-light to refract? 3. Does the angle of the light affect how it might refract? 4. […]

Dwarf Planet

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Astronomy for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiment That Really Work A dwarf planet is a celestial body that: orbits a sun has enough mass to give it a nearly round shape is not a satellite of another object has not cleared out all the objects in its own orbit This definition of a dwarf planet […]

Scientific Method:Research

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Research is any process that results in the collecting of information about a specific topic. There are two basic kinds of research, primary research and secondary research. Secondary Research: Information recorded by others. Primary Research: Research that you discover on your own. For example, research experiments, called exploratory investigations. The kids in the photo are […]

Science Fair Ideas

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I WILL BE ADDED NEW IDEAS TO THE FOLLOWING LISTS, SO STOP BACK PERIODICALLY FOR MORE IDEAS. JANICE Ideas for developing Science Models Astronomy 1. What is a solar eclipse? You could show diagrams of the position of the Sun and Earth during a solar eclipse. Diagrams of how to safely observe a solar eclipse […]

Sun Blockers

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Natures Natural Sunblockers Some of the organisms in the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean have a natural sun-blocker. What is this substance? Answer: Pigments (coloring substances) in living organisms, such as melanin in human skin, can also protect them from UVL. The young girl on the left in the picture above has very little […]

Electromagnetic Spectrum

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Question: What is electromagnetic spectrum? Answer: Radiation is a type of energy that moves in the form of waves or particles. This energy is emitted by one body, travels through a substance or space, reflected by some bodies, and ultimately is absorbed by a body. There are different kinds of radiation that differ from each […]