Energy Expo at State Fair

The sixth graders visited the energy fair at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson on Tuesday, September 15th.   Students were greeted by members of the KCC who facilitated several experiments dealing with energy and the conservation of energy.   One of the experiments required the students to manually generate enough electricity to turn on a radio.  Students walked away with a new appreciation for the amount of power it takes to generate a watt of electricity.

Dan Whisler, from Sterling High School, worked with students to design their own windmill and then test it with an electrical watt meter to see how many watts of electricity it could generate.  If the windmill failed, students were able to adjust their design and try again.  Engineering at its best!

After the expo, sixth graders were treated to a show from Dr. Goddard's Lab.   During this show they learned about the three things needed for combustion.  Liquid oxygen and cotton were ignited and created a terrific example.  After the demonstration, students were shown how to make rockets using alka-seltzer and water.  They were strongly encouraged to use these materials when experimenting at home!!

Dan Whisler, Sterling High School teaching about electromagnets used in windmills.

Abby generating enough electricity to turn on a radio.

 Students experimented with oil, soap, and water to make an emulsifier.

 Students learned about adding enzymes to oil to change the consistency.

 

 

Students were able to enjoy some fair food after the presentations. 

 

Liquid oxygen, cotton, and fire = KABOOM!

Rocket Combustion! 

Compare/Contrast Essays

Sixth grade science students worked in the outdoor classroom and on the playground as they completed a field investigation to see which environment contained more evidence of life.   The outdoor classroom was subdivided into a prairie upland, a woodland, and the wetland area.  

Students observed and compared the air temperature, cloud cover, wind speed and direction as abiotic, or nonliving, factors of the ecosystems. Next, they observed  the biotic, living, factors that could be found in each environment.

Students concluded the activity by writing a four-paragraph compare/contrast essay to describe what they had seen.   The conclusion that was drawn by most of the students at the end of their essays was that the outdoor classroom had more evidence of life and greater biodiversity than the playground because more habitats were available.