April 13, 2011 Science News - Volcanoes & Tsunamis

Deer Park Shore Parents,

Hello again from the Wonderful World of Park Shore Science. We’ve had an exciting albeit messy couple of weeks in our science room! We’ve endured Volcanoes, Earthquakes and even a few Tsunami Waves (as the children focused on the letters V and W in their classrooms). 

First we discussed the three layers that make up the earth: the crust, the mantle and the core. We talked about how the crust is made up of different pieces, called plates, that fit together like puzzle pieces and move around very slowly. When they move into each other, volcanoes and earthquakes could result.  Our baking soda and vinegar volcano was a big hit and very hands on. The children all took part in adding the ingredients that made our volcano work. Rather than an explosive volcano (which would have required cleaning the ceiling many times), our volcano oozed thick “hot lava” thanks to our special ingredient: dish soap, a big favorite in our lab! We had two eruptions in each class…very fun!

Next up was our discussion about waves and our tsunami simulation experiment: (http://www.weirdsciencekids.com/TsunamiSimulationExperiment.html).  We talked about the possible causes of tsunamis which include underwater earthquakes and volcanoes, landslides and meteorites. The children were very excited as they each had a chance to create a tsunami wave.  By pulling a string, which caused a plate to flip up simulating an earthquake, the children created a large wave that crashed over our pretend beach. We went through many rolls of paper towels for this experiment but it was all worth it to hear the shouts and laughter that filled the science room!

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who sent in water bottles enabling us to finish our wave unit by making wave bottles. We remembered a previous experiment which demonstrated how different densities cause water and oil not to mix. The children helped pour the water and oil into the bottles and picked the color they wanted their wave to be…beautifully colored waves resulted which the children were very happy to be taking home.

The weather finally seems to be turning more spring like, so next we will begin to focus on new beginnings… stay tuned!  

Sincerely,