Miss Science and Jan on the Radio!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Happy-Holidays-and-a-Happy-New-Year-from-Jan-D-Atri-.html?soid=1102033812830&aid=GyILjJzGJF8

It's National Pickle Day!

One of my favorite things about visiting my family in Iowa is that my aunts and cousins would always make homemade pickles. I LOVE PICKLES! I can't get enough of dill, butter, kosher any kind of pickle. The taste, the texture and the crunch are like music to my mouth.

But did you know there is a science to pickling? Yes...lots and lots of science. Pickling isn't just brine and cucumbers. Pickling is scientific!

 From bread and beer to cheese and wine all of these foods are made through a process called fermentation. The fermentation of food has been happening for thousands of years! When cucumbers are soaked in a salt brine, a sugar eating bacteria is allowed to grow and allows for the tart-tasting production of lactic acid. But there is more to pickling than just salt brine and cucumbers.

Check out this great activity from exploratorium.edu and try to create your own perfect batch of pickles!

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/pickles/picklelab.html

Miss Science at Everything Kids Fest 2012

Don't have any plans for this weekend? Well come on out and join me at the 2012 Everything Kids Fest! Everything Kids Fest will run on from Saturday, November 17th through Sunday November 18th! Stop by our SciPreneur booth to make some Turkey Snood (aka. SLIME!) and design your own Turkey Snood label. We might just have a Mentos geyser or two!!! Plus enjoy some hands-on science and fun! You can even pick-up a Miss Science Fun Bag!

Be sure to check-out the Miss Science Shows where we will be spinning buckets of water, making giant smoke rings and EXPLODING PUMPKINS!

Shows are:
Saturday: 12:10
Sunday: 1:35

See you at Reach 11 Sports Complex!!!

EGG-citing Science with Jan D'Atri on Fox News 550 KFYI

MAKE a BOUNCING EGG!

When we think of eggs, we don't think of something that can bounce. Try this experiment and see what happens.

Materials: One egg, vinegar

Place the egg in a container of vinegar and leave it out on the counter for 36 hours.

What is happening?
The shell is dissolving! Vinegar contains acetic acid, which breaks apart the solid calcium carbonate crystals that make up the eggshell into their calcium and carbonate parts. Carbon dioxide gas makes the bubbles that you see.


EGG-Spin

Materials: One hard-boiled egg, One raw egg, flat surface


1. Get both eggs spinning on the kitchen table.

2. Stop both eggs, then release them. Watch what happens.

3. The hard-cooked egg will remain stationary, but the raw egg will start spinning again. That’s because the liquid inside didn’t stop moving when you stopped the shell. The moving liquid starts the shell moving again.

4. Set the raw egg aside. Spin the hard-cooked egg again. Get it spinning very, very fast. Once it’s going fast enough, the spinning egg will spontaneously rise up on end and spin like a top.

5. If you don’t get the egg to stand on end the first time, try again. To stand on end, the egg must be spinning faster than about 10 revolutions per second. It took us a few tries to get the egg spinning fast enough.

What’s Going On?

The short answer is: Friction between the eggshell and the tabletop pushes the spinning egg up.

This trick astounds people because the egg appears to be defying gravity. Rather than lying down comfortably (as many of us prefer), the egg spontaneously stands on end.
Some of the energy of the egg’s spin (kinetic energy) is converted to potential energy, the energy that’s stored in an object that has a distance to fall. When standing on end, the egg has more potential energy and less kinetic energy—at least for a few seconds.

EGG IN A BOTTLE (you will need an adult for this experiment)
Materials: one peeled, hard-boiled egg; a milk bottle or jar with a diameter just slightly smaller than the egg.

1. Cut a strip of paper approx. 2"x6"
2. Light the paper and place it inside the bottle.
3. As the paper smokes and burns out, set the egg on top of the bottle.
4. Observe what happens.

What's Happening?
The pressure of the air inside and outside of the bottle is the same, so the only force that would cause the egg to enter the bottle is gravity. Gravity isn't sufficient to pull the egg inside the bottle.

When you change the temperature of the air inside the bottle, you change the pressure of the air inside the bottle. If you have a constant volume of air and heat it, the pressure of the air increases. If you cool the air, the pressure decreases. If you can lower the pressure inside the bottle enough, the air pressure outside the bottle will push the egg into the container.

More of Miss Science and EGG-citing Science! Check out my first appearance on Arizona Midday. May 2010 Arizona Midday- EGG-citing Science 2010

How to Mix Reading and Science!

Our goggles were on and we were ready to roll with today's segment on Your Life A to Z. Not only were we making cool bubbles, but I mixed in some Elephant's Toothpaste and great books to boot! One of the first questions I got was, "how do you mix science and reading?"

With many states moving to the Common Core Standards, I can't think of a better way to integrate learning. By teaching science through fun with bubbles kiddos of all ages can engage in reading. Whether reading the Mercer Mayer picture book Bubbles Bubbles, or more factual information with The Science of Soap Films and Soap Bubbles by Cyril Isenberg reading is an important part of science.

Take it one step further and bring writing into the picture! Because you allow for hands-on learning  through bubbles, kids can draw on their experiences and ignite their imagination for story writing. Some might find it fun to create their own bubble recipe and "how to" directions for using their special formula. Reading and writing wrapped in with listening and speaking skills can all be brought together through basic and FUN science experiments. Below are the directions for making Elephant's Toothpaste and I've also attached a link with some great bubble recipes.

Have a BUBBLE-icious day!!!

Miss Science
_______________________
Supplies:
- Clean 16 oz. plastic soda bottle (those with a narrow neck work best)
- 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide (liquid) from a beauty supplier such as Sally's Beauty Supply.
- 1 TBS of dry yeast
-3 TBS of warm water
- Liquid dish soap
- Food coloring
- Small cup
- Funnel
- Spoon
- Safety goggles
- A large cake pan to gather the foam
-Towels and more towels for clean-up

Procedure:  Safety goggles are a must....Put them on 1st!

1. Using your funnel, carefully pour the hydrogen peroxide into the bottle. 

2. Add 5-8 drops of food coloring. For multiple colors tip the bottle slightly and allow color to run down the sides of the bottle.

3. Add approximately 1 tablespoon (or count to 5) of dish soap to the bottle and gently mix by swishing the liquid around.

4.  In the cup combine water and yeast. Mix with a spoon for 30-45 seconds.

READY, SET...GO!  

Now pour the yeast mixture into the bottle (be sure to use your funnel), step back and watch what happens!

 

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! 

Hydrogen Peroxide contains 2 oxygen atoms (unlike water that contains only 1) and the hydrogen peroxide that is used in this experiment (6%) is stronger than normal drugstore or 3% hydrogen peroxide. Unlike blowing a regular bubble, Elephant's Toothpaste creates a multitude of bubbles (or foam) by using the yeast as a catalyst (or helper) to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. Not only were thousands of bubbles (or foam created) but you also created an EXOTHERMIC REACTION! Touch the bottle and it is warm!

Now Experiment!

What you just did is a demonstration because I gave you all the directions. Now you can make it an experiment by answering your own questions (or hypothesis.)

Examples:

What would happen if I added more dish soap?

Would using a different bottle make a difference in how much foam I produce?

Homemade Bubble Solutions Check out these great recipes to create some amazing bubbles. Then create your own solution!

 

Memories of Homemade Pudding and Pie

The warm summer months are here and it seems as if everyone is scattering across the country to take a vacation or visit relatives and friends. Many of my summers were filled with trips back to visit family in Iowa. My dad had two sisters (Aunt Wilma and Aunt Millie) and both of them loved to cook. One thing these two country cooks could do better than no other, was whip up some homemade pudding and even a pie or two. In fact, pudding or pie was served twice a day. Once at dinner (lunch) and the other at supper (dinner.)

Well, my kitchen skills aren't very great (something I inherited from my mom) and so I never really tried making homemade pudding, until the other day. I had some overripe bananas that I didn't want to go to waste, so I decided to make a banana cream pie. I quickly went online and looked up what would have to be (based on my skills) simple pie recipes. I soon realized that the filling for the pie was actually just a pudding (ok....yes I'm sure some of you are saying "duh"). This got me to thinking..."what is the science behind this delicious, creaming treat?"

Another Great Day on Arizona Midday

Me and Destry getting ready for some "LEMON-ology" on Arizona Midday.

My Friend Kristy Morcom and "Ferdinand the Bull Snake" from the Wildlife World Zoo in the lobby of KPNX Channel 12.

I started the day a bit frazzled thinking of all the things I had planned for today's segment on Arizona Midday. In fact, I had a dream last night that Destry had called me to tell me that I was late and missed my segment (not sure what that dream was all about.) After running to the supermarket and a local dollar store to grab all of my supplies and props, I ran home to cut lemons, make solutions and bake some mini-lemon pies. I was out the door by 12:20pm (only 20 minutes behind schedule) and raced downtown to the our local NBC studio (KPNX Channel 12).

TGIF!
I made it down town in record time, but soon realized that my segment was 2nd and I had A LOT of prep work to do. Thankfully, today is Friday and Coffee Talk (which usually runs a bit longer) was up first. As I set up I listened to Destry and the girls (including my good friend Jennifer Kaplan) chat about the hot topics of the week. Soon they were done and I was up next. My lab was complete and I was ready to roll just in the nick of time.

I love the time I get to spend on television and even more, I love the fact that I can use Miss Science as a platform to educate viewers about how much fun STEM (especially the SCIENCE part) can be! Next week we start our camps at Arizona State University-Polytechnic and then it's off to Channel 3 on July 6th for the Science of Bubbles!