Today I did the burn the dollar bill demonstration with my science classes. I use this as a discrepant event in that what happens is not what one would think happens, and this gets their attention. I also use this as an introduction to a discussion on class safety. Each class tried to name as many safety procedures that I demonstrated while doing this demo.
While I was preparing for this demo, I took my time and made sure I did all the little things like to move the alcohol away from the flame, keep the water running, washed my hands after I soaked the dollar bill, wore safety glasses, used safety matched, gave the class procedure for what to do during a fire drill, gave the procedure if a beaker is dropped and broken in class, put a lid on the solution so no vapors excape, and put salt in the solution to see the flame. I also discussed with the class that accidents usually happen when one is rushing to complete a task.
To complete the lesson, I challenged each class to list as many safety aspects as possible on the Smartboard and to think of more than the preceding class. Every class did very well. It was a great first day and I think I’m more excited than the students about doing some science this year.
Thursday was he last day of the Mars Habitat. We finally finished this project but it took an extra week. This week was the first week that we had sunshine for more than three days in a row. I invited all the teachers to bring their classes out and explore the Habitat. We probably had over 300 students go through. Of course Murphy’s Law showed up, right on time. Just as we were at full pressure and about to let all the students in, we lost power and all the fans went off. And it was also when the newspaper reporter was interviewing me and the class lead engineers. Fortunately, within a few minutes, the fans went back on and the Mars Habitat went to full pressure. It was a great learning experience for all the students.
Every year, I conclude my science classes with the Mars Habitat activity. I started this project about fifteen years ago and have progressively made it larger and with more features. This is a great cooperative activity as it requires the full class to fold and tape the habitats and tunnels. I do this with three 8th grade classes and I have my other 7th grade classes help make repairs. This year they built six habitats and connected them with four tunnels.
We use lots of 3mm plastic tarps and about 20 rolls of duct tape. This year I started buying the 3mm tarps in bulk. I make it another class exercise to cut the plastic to sizes needed. Each habitat requires two 10′x25′ tarps. There is a certain way to fold the plastic and tape them together. I will explain in another video how this is done.
The Commander routine and outfit is from when I taught in Florida. We took the students to Space Camp for a week and I got into it as much as they did. It’s a great activity and I enjoy teaching this level. If you are a science teacher and would like to try this activity, let me know and leave a comment. If there is sufficient interest, I’m give more information on how to do all this.
One of the most important concepts in science is density. To teach this, the student must first understand the difference between the mass and weight of an object. So be sure to teach mass and weight first. I found an easy way to help the students remember this formula using a heart. I have found that they remember the formula and gain confidence using it to calculate the density of various objects. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
