Saturday, February 11, 2012

Science Fair 2012!

Yay! Science projects are complete and turned in. This year, only two kids were required to do one (next year Henry will again). Mae and Lucy were very quick to choose an experiment, thankfully, because that can be the hardest part. Mae's was about basketball net color and if it affected shooting percentage. We recruited an extra spray painter (in fact 3 extras, just not pictured) to help paint the nets.
This was, perhaps, the most fun part. Shooting was pretty good, too. Henry, John and Mae were the test subjects. They aren't all basketball players, but I'm not sure that mattered. It would have been nice to have Larry Bird or Steve Nash, but they don't live on our block.
If you're wondering....it turns out that this family shoots better when the net is their favorite color. So, yes, net color does affect shooting percentage.*
Lucy wanted to see if she could make dye and paint from natural sources (plants).
This was a super cool project. Creative, pretty and useful (if you like to dye or paint).
The resulting color on cotton fabric was beautiful. The watercolor looked quite pretty, as well.
These are some of the natural sources she used; coffee, red cabbage, blueberry, spinach, onion skins, beets and strawberry.
During the science fair, viewers from other classes (the whole school actually) got to test her dyes on fabric or watercolor paper. It was a huge success, enjoyable for all. And yes, you can make dye from plants!!!
::
*data collected was probably not statistically significant, however, it was 5th grade appropriate!

3 comments:

Wendy & Jil - The Original Agreeable Sisters said...

Super cool projects. I want a purple net!
Jil

Grandma Nancy said...

You are definitely a colorful family in every respect!

georgi said...

Very neat...always wondered about the different options for colors...great idea!

About Us

Moms to Henry, Mae, Isabel, Josephine, Lucinda and Matilda