VanCleave's Science Fun

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

Science Fair Projects: Question

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  I love my apple slicer. Like the apple slices in the photo, I press the slicer into an apple and voila’ I have nice slices that spread out like flower petals. Even the apple core makes a decorative center for apple “petals.” But, the apple slices must be eaten in a short period of […]

Teaching Tips: Fill-in the Blank

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Notes from Janice’s Desk Spice up fill-in the blank worksheets as well as emphasizing the order of the alphabet by listing the answers with letters that come before each correct letter.  Note that Z would be used for the letter before A.For example: More Later, Janice VanCleave

Periodic Table

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The periodic table is something that even young children can study and have fun putting all the little boxes together. The table on this page is reduced and part of its bottom sections are not shown. Young learners can make Element Flash cards showing the atomic number, symbol, and element name on one side of […]

Chemistry: How to Develop a Topic

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  Chemistry: Project Topics Psssst! You cannot depend on any of the following statements being true. For each ask yourself these inquiry questions. 1. I wonder….Is that really true? 2. I wonder… How can I find out? Now you need to research the topic. Read about it. Ask people in the know, such as your […]

Elements

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Notes from Janice’s Desk A friend tweeted the link to the element video below. I love it. It is a fun, colorful, musical production about elements, which is exactly the way that chemistry or any science topic should be introduced. Below the video is an element  book by Tom Jackson. It is a must see. […]

Plate Tecktonics: Divergent Boundaries

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Notes from Janice’s Desk The diagram shows two paperback books of equal size separated by a space. The space represent a break in the crust beneath the ocean called a rift valley. . Did You Know? While the seafloor is spreading at ridges, the total amount of crust on the Earth stays the same. This […]

Radiation

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Today, while looking for a book, I found a sack of Ultraviolet Detecting Beads.These beads absorb UV radiation and change from white to different colors depending on the dye molecule in the bead. How cool is that? Of course I had to play with the bead to find out what colors I had left in […]

Flowers

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Generally by mid-October, flowers are non existing in Central Texas. But we have had rain–yea!! The grass is green and plants are producing flowers. We are all going crazy over the rain. My ponds are full and overflowing–first time in about three years. While the cactus is not blooming, the photo shown is so beautiful […]