The days are warm and long and we spend more time outside.  It also offers the opportunity to try some fun science activities at home or school that just lend themselves to the days of summer and the occasional mess that’s better outdoors! Watch our video as Rowan enjoys a root beer float and learns about the states of matter, too. Then with the leftover root beer, try Gilbert’s Gas to see if all the carbon dioxide gas escaped when making the float.

The Quirkles offer many more fun summer science activities too. Here’s a few other ideas in other Quirkles books:

Andy Acid: Talk about acids and bases then demonstrate with the lovely hydrangea plant. How can you make the flowers pink or blue?

Jazzy Jet:  Make paper airplanes of different sizes and shapes and measure the distance they fly. What makes them aerodynamic?

Kitchen Chemistry Kal: Once something a little more ambitious than root beer floats? Make homemade ice cream! The easy recipe is in the book.

Mary Motion: Learn about centrifugal motion with Mary Motion’s Spinning Bucket.  Be careful, you might get wet! (More Quirkles Experiments)

Vinnie Volcano: Vinnie’s Exploding Soda Volcano uses dry ice (adult supervision required) and a two liter bottle of soda to make an oozing outdoor volcano.

But that’s not all. Try all 52 Quirkles experiments (or the 52 additional ones in More Quirkles Experiments).  Or check out our other fun science series The Fuddlebrook School Science Series and join Herman Tweed, Mrs. Wigglebum and the gang (www.fuddlebrook.com) for even more fun science ideas.  Yes, make this a science summer!

This month we consider motion, gravity, and Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and demonstrate a very cool activity that reinforces Newton’s First Law of Motion (and gravity) in a fun and memorable way. All it takes is a raw egg, clear drinking glass, water, non-breakable pie plate and toilet paper tube.  

But before we start “slinging” eggs, let’s learn a little about Sir Isaac Newton (and at $6 a dozen we may not want to "sling" many). After all, he is considered one of the most important scientists in history. Even Albert Einstein said that Isaac Newton was the smartest person who ever lived. During his lifetime Newton developed the theory of gravity, the laws of motion (which became the basis for physics), a new type of mathematics called calculus, and made breakthroughs in the area of optics such as the reflecting telescope.

In grade school you probably learned Newton’s apple story around the time you learned about Washington cutting down the cherry tree and the Pilgrims celebrating the first Thanksgiving with their native American friends. Since neither of these stories proved to be true, you probably have your doubts about whether Newton actually sat under an apple tree and had a “eureka” moment concerning gravity, either.

It might surprise you to learn, then, that Newton was indeed sitting under an apple tree when he had his so-called “eureka” moment on how gravity worked.

Although, it took him over two decades more to develop the fully-fledged theory of “universal gravitation” and he also didn’t complete it without some ideas others had already come up with, such as Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, and Edmond Halley (of Halley’s comet fame). So perhaps “eureka” is an exaggeration. From accounts, he was more just put on the correct path while musing under the tree.

Further, it would seem that the apple didn’t fall directly on his head- at least there is no documented evidence of this. But if you discount the notion that he near instantly fleshed out his universal theory and the “fell on his head” bit, the common story is pretty accurate.

And through that we begin to understand gravity, the mysterious force that makes everything fall down towards the Earth.

Newton is credited with many well-known quotes. Perhaps one of the most inspiring is this: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” As for our budding Quirkles scientists and many, many others, they have stood on the shoulders of the giant Sir Isaac Newton.

How about some fun science activities that demonstrate states of matter? But the best part? After learning about solids, liquids, and gases, you can eat this tasty treat!                                                                                                            

A bottle of carbonated soda, a balloon, and some salt never fails to entertain and provides a lot of teachable moments. Watch what happens to the balloon!