Christmas acrostic poem

Christ’s birthday is celebrated in joy 

Happy school holidays for all the  students

Reindeer from Santa’s sleigh soar speedily in the moonlit sky, delivering presents.

In the Northern Hemisphere, snow falls gracefully and fireplaces are lit up radiantly 

Santa’s appetite must be huge if he wants to eat all those salted caramel cookies 

Tinsel dresses and Santa costumes are a frenzy 

Mistletoe brings the whole family together on  Christmas night 

A joyous tune is coming from outside the house, it’s a Christmas carol, being sung by a children’s choir

Sleigh bells ring  faintly while Santa takes off with his reindeer 

rainbow water density tower

Rainbow Water Density Tower

Aim - To observe how substances with different densities interact

Materials

Glasses - 1 per group

Food colouring (red, blue, green and yellow - you can make purple and orange by combining two colours)

Sugar or Salt (and measuring spoon)

Measuring cup - 1 per colour (you can have 6 colours to work with, or limit it to 4 colours)

Measuring syringes 

Water (warm water from a tap or kettle)

Plastic spoons to mix the sugar and food colouring in the water

Pots of water to rinse syringes between each colour

Plastic plates or trays to protect the table from sticky sugar water

Results 

Since the colouring of different densities did not mix together the colouring with the lightest density went to the top and the deepest went to the bottom and the one with the equal amount of sugar stayed in the middle here is an example of the result.

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Explanation 

Look at the websites below and also do research of your own - Then write a paragraph explaining ‘the science’ behind the experiment.  Why do we see the results that we did?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H78Xd3ToxP4

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/colorful-sugar-density-tower/

Explanations 
The experiment ended up showing coloured layers of water.  This was because different amounts of sugar were diluted (dissolved) into each colour.  This meant that each colour had a different density.  Water or liquids with different densities don't mix.

Saveer & Arhans Result:

Rishi & Aaravs Result:

ice fishing

Ice Fishing 

http://www.sciencefun.org/kidszone/experiments/ice-fishing/

Aim/Purpose:

To see how salt can affect ice or react with ice

Materials 

• Small paper cups, bowl or an ice cube tray
• Glass of water
• String (yarn or kite string works great)
• Small stick
• Salt

Steps/Method:

1. Fill the cup or tray up with water and place it in the freezer.  You can also use ice cubes from your freezer and skip this step.
2. When the water is frozen, remove the ice from the cup or tray.
3. Put the ice in the glass or bowl of water. The cube will bob up and down in the water and then float on the top.
4. Place one end of the string from the fishing pole on top of the ice cube and sprinkle salt on the ice where the string is touching. Watch as the water melts slightly and refreezes.
5. After about 10 seconds, carefully lift the ice cube out of the water with the fishing pole. You caught a fish (ice)!

My results:

Salt - The string stuck really well to the ice and pulled the ice cubes up out of the water

Sugar - The string didn’t stick to the ice cubes and none of them were pulled up out of the water.  Some people started to see the ice cubes stick - but it then failed after that.

Flour - THe ice didn’t stick to the string at all 

Pepper - The ice didn’t stick to the string at all 

More salt than normal - The ice still got picked up by the string

Changing the variables

Don’t wet the string beforehand 

Use only a little salt

Using lots of salt 

Try to catch the ice using sugar instead of salt 

Try to catch the ice using pepper instead of salt

Try to catch the ice using flour instead of salt

Change the time period that you wait before trying to pick up the string.

Explanation - Why does it work?

When the salt touches the ice it lowers the freezing point making it melt and refreeze and stick to the fishing rod. 

Resources:

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/ice-fishing-winter-science/

https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/fishing-for-ice-science-experiment/

https://sites.google.com/site/sciencekiddoexperiments/fishing-for-ice

https://www.sciencekiddo.com/salt-melts-ice-experiment/

https://www.adabofgluewilldo.com/ice-fishing-science-experiment/

https://www.rookieparenting.com/why-does-salt-melt-ice-freezing-point-experiment/

https://whatsubstancemeltsicefastest.weebly.com/about.html

freshwater biomes

temperate and tropical rain forests

Water Filter Experiment 

Aim/ Purpose - 

To filter or clean water using a number of materials 

How to clean/filter water - making it clean

Materials -

Sand, 

gravel, 

activated charcoal, 

cotton wool, 

plastic bottles cut in half,

bucket of dirty water (can make the water dirty with soil or whatever from outside)

Predictions - What is going to work best?  What steps/process and in what order - why?

2nd layer up - gravel - The gravel will grab onto the dirty parts and the clean water will drip off the gravel through the gaps.

Second Layer Up  - Charcoal - Second smallest material, can absorb the things not cleared by the bigger materials.

Third Layer Up - Sand - Turns hard when it’s wet - Take all the bigger dirt particles 

Top layer - Gravel - All the hugest dirt particles out first.  

Method/Steps:

1.  First, you put 3 cotton balls ate the bottom.
2. Next, you sprinkle activated charcoal.
3. After we put 1 ½ spoon of sand on the charcoal.
4. Fourthly we added 3 big gravel rocks.
5. Finally, you pour the dirty water in the bottle and wallah fresh water. 

Explanation - How did it work?

When you pour the dirty water into the bottle it will gradually go down to the charcoal and from there the Charcoal takes away all the bacteria and that’s why it ends up clean.

Why is it important for cities/towns etc to purify and clean the water before it gets to peoples’ homes?

So people won't get sick and will always have to drink dirty water. If they drink dirty water their health will get very bad and they will die so that's why you need clean water.

    

https://science.lovetoknow.com/science-fair-projects/homemade-water-filter-science-project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPP_Yn2w2Sk&t=157s

https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/water-filtration-science-project/

https://childsci.org/water-filtration/

https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/sand-filter-activity/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df12osqZfQ0

The baking soda and vinegar experiment

Inquiry experiment  

Aim/Purpose : 

To see what happens when baking soda and vinegar mix/combine 

To see the reaction that occurs when these two substances are mixed

  

Prediction - What do we think is going to happen:

We think it will explode/ It’s going to blow up

The ziplock bag will pop open and the liquid will spill out

It could fizz up 

The bag might fill up with air 

Fizz up like soda when shaken

The air pressure created inside the bag will cause the seal on the bag to pop open

Steps:     

1.  Open up a paper towel on a flat surface
2. Put 4 levelled teaspoons of baking soda in the centre of the paper towel
3. Wrap up the baking soda in the paper towel like a package - Keep the baking soda concentrated in the middle of the paper towel
4. Tape down your package of baking soda with a piece of masking tape so that everything stays in place
5. Open the vinegar and pour it into a cup - until the cup is half full
6. Then open a zip lock bag and pour the vinegar into it
7. Hold the package inside the zip lock bag, making sure it doesn’t yet make contact with the vinegar - then zip up the bag - making sure that it is completely closed
8. Let the package of baking soda drop into the vinegar and shake the bag up a little so that they start to mix
9. Observe what happens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlmsiPxEuK0

Materials/equipment:

• Baking Soda  (4 x tablespoons) 
• Vinegar (half a cup)
• Ziplock sandwich bags 
• Plastic spoon
• Paper towel 
• Masking tape

Roles within the group:

1. Presenter - conducts the experiment 
2. Assistant - collects all the materials 
3. Videographer - takes a video of the experiment 
4. Recorder - Record the result

After students have prepared they can present the experiment in front of the class who will be the audience. The videographer can record the experiment and the recording can be shared at a later stage.  

The Result - What did we see happen?

When we dropped the baking soda into the vinegar and that caused a gas eruption. The bag fizzed up and up and until there was no air the bag will explode.  

Variables - How could we change the variables?

Predict what might happen if we change the variables 

Experiment - Were our predictions accurate?

Put 5 or more teaspoons of baking soda into the package - Bigger explosion/more powerful 

If there is too much baking soda and not enough vinegar, it may not work

Put more vinegar  - Bigger explosion/not pop  

Way less baking soda and wrapped in more paper towels - nothing - it would take a longer time to see a reaction 

Baking soda - With no package surrounding it - The reaction would happen instantly and uncontrollably 

The Science - Why did it happen?  Here are some websites to look at…. You may be able to find other websites too!

When vinegar and baking soda are first mixed together, hydrogen ions in the vinegar react with the sodium and bicarbonate ions in the baking soda making a chemical reaction and the air bursts through 

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/balloon-baking-soda-vinegar-experiment-kids/

https://www.science-sparks.com/amazing-baking-soda-experiments/

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-happens-when-you-mix-vinegar-and-baking-soda

https://carrotsareorange.com/baking-soda-vinegar-reaction-experiment/

The Fox Glacier

Info report of the Yellow head( Mohua)

Yellowhead (Mōhua)

Intro

The yellowhead is a rare New Zealand songbird with a yellow head and underparts, found only on the South Island.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAXGER_enNZ784NZ784&ei=qGHUXaz0K8aBvwSAyanQDQ&q=what+is+a+yellowhead&oq=what+is+a+yellowhead&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i10l10.6456.10090..10181...0.2..1.380.3369.0j5j6j3......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i10i70i249j0j0i131j0i22i30.JYlJ82_3W2w&ved=0ahUKEwis6KL5nvflAhXGwI8KHYBkCtoQ4dUDCAs&uact=5&safe=active&ssui=on

 Predators

The Yellowheads predators are possums, stoats and rats. The Yellowhead builds its nests high in trees making it vulnerable to these pests, that's why the Yellowhead is endangered.  

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+are+the+predators+of+the+yellowhead&rlz=1CAXGER_enNZ784NZ784&oq=what+are+the+predators+of+the+yellowhead&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l7.16378j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on

Looks like

 Yellowhead birds have embellished beautiful yellow feathers covering their head and chest. The rest of the body is brown with varying shades of yellow and olive. The male has a vivid yellow head and underparts with a contrasting black bill, eyes and legs, with underparts yellowish brown. Males weigh around 30 grams. The female is slightly less brightly coloured and smaller than the male, weighing  25 grams. The female and the young Yellowhead look similar with the neck shaded brown. The average height of a Yellowhead is 15cm from the point of their bill to the tip of their tail.

http://www.mohua.co.nz/identifying-mohua.html

Conclusion 

The yellowhead bird is a small, vivid bird that is native to NZ.  Unfortunately, the introduction of predators and pests to NZ by humans has threatened their survival.  Their population has plummeted over the last century and it would be a real shame if these birds were to become extinct.