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Sunday, September 05, 2010

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Oobleck! - Friday, August 27, 2010

As part of their study of states of matter, third grade students have tried to determine if "Oobleck" is a solid or a liquid. (Oobleck is actually a non-newtonian fluid called a dilatant, which means that it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it.) To make Oobleck at home, find the recipe by clicking on the link in the document section at the bottom of this page. It's messy, but it cleans up easily.

Let it ooze through your hands, then squeeze or pound it to observe how it changes. If you make enough of it, you can run across its surface. (I've never tried this!) It even has practical scientific applications. My daughter told me that one of her fellow college physics students used it for a project on waves. The special properties of the Oobleck allow it to hold and display wave patterns when layered on top of a shake table.

See what you can do with it...

Inside Science Lab

First Trimester:

In the fall, all students study Physical Science. Current topics include:

Science Slides

Documents

Title	Category	Modified Date	Size
Oobleck		8/27/2010	Unknown	Download
Kids' Stuff About Waste Reduction and Recycling		5/13/2010	Unknown	Download

Science

Mrs. Post

Science specialist Linda Post sees each 1st - 5th grade class once a week for science lab instruction. During these 45-minute periods, students participate in hands-on and enrichment activities that support and enhance their regular classroom science instruction. Mrs. Post has been teaching science to elementary school students for over 10 years, and worked as a lab analyst at an environmental engineering firm prior to that. She received her BA in Biology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and her Multi-Subject Teaching Credential from St. Mary's College in Moraga. Mrs. Post shares her home in Walnut Creek with her husband, four cats, one rabbit, and eight desert tortoises. One of her daughters is currently attending medical school, and the other is an undergraduate college student majoring in physics. In her spare time, Mrs. Post enjoys gardening, hiking, birding, traveling, and photography.