Dolly Science

So, after Pi Day, my husband, John, came down with pneumonia for two weeks, we had Miss J's 1st birthday, and immediately after that, John came down with shingles (coincidentally, on the day Miss J was vaccinated against chicken pox and the day J's sixth birthday present of the chicken pox arrived on our doorstep). So needless-to-say, I've been working full time and mommying two (at times, sick) kids, basically on my own for two months. I'll admit that there have been days I've pooped out before 8p.

Background on the lesson:  I was able to save a few of my childhood dolls. Miss J has taken a particular liking to my Cabbage Patch doll, Meggie. She gets so excited any time we pull her out. Besides being a way to get her to stop evening screams, she is learning a lot. She took interest in this doll right around 7 months, and the bond has only grown stronger.

Science lessons learned by playing with a baby doll

• Anatomy!! Ask about, describe, and point out parts of the doll's body. 
• Miss J's favorites are the doll's nose, toes, and belly button.
• Big bro, J, is joining in on the fun and knows that the belly button is where babies were attached to their mommies and how they received food while inside their mommies.
• J likes to help her identify body parts and will even sing songs (ie. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, the Hokie Pokie, etc.) with her and the baby doll.
• Have them teach: Babies like to show you what they have learned. Ask him/her to point to the body part on the baby doll, him/herself, and you.
• Relationships and conclusions: Deciding what do do once you know a result is important. Ask your baby what to do if the baby doll is cold/tired/hungry/grumpy/happy/excited. How would the baby express if she is tired, happy, grumpy, etc.?
• Miss J loves to cover her baby with a blankie, giving hugs, tickling the baby, cheering with baby, clapping the baby's hands, giving the baby a binkie, etc.
• Order and direction: Science is full of order: you do this, then this, and then that (ie. put on bib, eat food, and clean up). 
• In science, skipping steps can lead to bigger problems. Equate it to bathing your kid and then giving them that big giant bowl of chocolate pudding. Some things you just don't do out of order.
• Show order while playing with the baby doll. See if your baby catches you doing something out of order or not what is expected. 
• Do something silly like put the baby doll's shoes on before her socks. 
• Of course, discuss it with your child! Communication is key in science.
• Practice: Retention (remembering how to do something) is important in science, so practice skills!
• Miss J loves putting bibs on Meggie and then pretend spoon feeding her.

Just in case anyone was wondering, Big bro, J, also played with a doll at an early age (no gender bias here):

What science lessons can you learn by having simple childhood toys around?

A Different Perspective

One of Miss J's favorite things recently is being flipped upside down. She'll crawl up to me and put her head in my lap as a sign to flip her upside down.

I love caving in and letting her hang upside down. Why?

Babies love to predict what is going to happen next. They crave routine.

She is developing a hypothesis. I'm not so sure what hypothesis/hypotheses she is forming. Maybe it's if I put my head in Mommy's lap, she'll flip me upside down. Most of the time I'll swing her upside down. Every once in a while, I'll do something else, like tickle her to see her reaction.

The world also looks different while hanging upside down. People seem to be hanging from the ceiling! It's not really so, but it looks like it when you're upside down.

Your body feels different! Blood rushes to your head, and endorphins kick in. You try it - handstand on the couch, I won't tell anyone.

Babies are discovering the world around them. Help them out a little bit.

Acute Baby

I saw a design similar to this onesie when I was pregnant with Miss Baby J. We are kind of maker-type people (when we have the time). I put it on my list of things I want to make her, but I figured that I'd never get to it (much like updating this blog, which sat lonely for a few months while I was trying not to drown).

Anyways, I had a few days over winter break to create my own shirt. I dyed a white body suit purple and drew the design in Inkscape before John helped me convert it into a digital file that is compatible with an embroidering machine. It's fun to have unique, nerdy pieces, and "acute" model to wear them:

Inside of a breast pump

There, I've said it, "breast" is now on my blog. It's no secret that I work full time outside of the house. My breast pump provides me the opportunity to give my children milk during their first year. A few weeks ago, my older pump (~5 yrs old), which I currently use and keep at work, began acting up. It would oscillate and lose suction with each cycle. As an engineer, I wanted to find a fix.

For a week or two, just re-positioning the tube connection to the pump would keep it in long enough for my pumping session. Then that didn't work. I just needed the external pump cylinder (what I'll be referring to as the "suction piece") to stop moving in and out of the pump. If it was stationary, the suction would work just fine. In a pinch, I grabbed some scotch tape (the only tape I had handy) from my desk. That worked for a session or two. Then I added more and more tape until finally I remembered to bring it home to ask John for some duct tape (which we didn't have! I feel like we failed as mechanical engineers).

I explained the situation to John and that I just need the suction piece to stop moving and it works. John wanted to open it up. I was nervous, but it was well out of warranty and heck, we're engineers!

Voila! The inside of the pump. It's so pretty, and fairly basic!

We saw the plastic clips that held the casing surrounding the suction piece were broken and coming off, allowing the piece to move in a way that it wasn't supposed to. We needed something to wedge in there. Luckily, I hoard milk caps (for science!). With a hole cut out to fit the pump cylinder, a milk cap was wedged into the pump. The pump was closed and tested out. It worked!! It's been ok for a week now, and I hope it lasts for another 3 months. A penny solution is much better than buying a new pump!

Broken clips, like the one shown under the motherboard and our milk cap wedged in at the far right

On a customer service note, my original pump did die 9 months into J (5 yrs ago). It was still under the first year warranty, so I called and they overnighted me a new one (which is the one that broke this time)! I was (and still am) a very heavy pump user, and until I acquired a second pump, I was bike commuting with my pump, which probably gave it some extra shaking. All-in-all, I've been very satisfied with my breast pump.


Is there anything you recently took apart or reverse engineered to see how it works?

Are there any mommy tools that could be helped through better engineering and technology?

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) had an innovation contest to redesign the breast pump. I'd love something quieter, less bulky/clunky, and more discrete!

Baby Science at Feeding Time

Simple science experiments that babies do on their own - and how you can embrace the science:

*Squish their food - How does that feel on your hands? Give them something else to squish with a different texture. How does that feel? How does it feel on your face? How does it feel on your hair? (It's inevitable, you'll have to hose them down anyways).

*Prefer one food - Give the baby a few different food items on the tray and watch him/her pick up the preferred items first. Once the preferred items are gone, watch which item disappears next. It's a form of sorting, the bin is just his/her mouth!

*Drop things - Where did it go? Did you hear it hit the ground? Give the item back to them (assuming you're ok with whatever condition the floor is in). Whoa, did it happen again? Was it the same? Then offer something different (i.e. plastic, wooden, metal spoons). Did that sound different? How about this sippy cup? Whoops, the lid fell off. Did you hear the water splash on the ground? (you'll have to wait a few minutes while I clean it up!)

Little Miss J is now 9 months! As you can probably tell by this post, we're well into the feeding craziness of babyhood. Oh, being a parent is fun!

Babies repetition and hypotheses

Miss Baby J is growing so fast! Her giggles are contagious.

She loves knowing what comes next (babies love repetition - that's how they learn). Miss Baby J loves to dance. We started singing a made up song, "a dancey dance dance, a dancey dance dance, a dancey dance dance dance ___" where ___ is "jump" or "kiss" or "dance," etc. We do the song and dance a few times one way and then switch it up saying it another way. We always get a giggle after the different one. It's almost like she's formed a hypothesis about what will happen next and giggles when it doesn't turn out to be what she predicted. Wouldn't that be fun if we all took our mistakes like that? "Oh, that was different. Ha."

What scientific things catch my infant's interest?

*Shadows
*Light
*Pictures (perception, depth, light, colors)
*Looking through a window (perception, depth, light, colors)
*The baby in the mirror above her swing (reflections)

It's amazing how quickly babies grow and develop. According to my "What is your baby doing this week?" email, at 7 weeks, she should be seeing more colors and in 3D. We've definitely noticed her focusing on objects at a distance. She definitely enjoys contrast. Blinds are some of her favorite things to stare at, and if I raise the blinds, she gets so excited to look out the window and explore the world with her new, sweet eyes. The best thing we can do is safely facilitate her curious interests (ie. don't let her stare into the sun b/c she likes light) and discuss what she sees.

How early is too early to start science?

Miss Baby J is now 6 weeks old. Time is flying by, when it's not 2 am.

We're starting to get into a routine now that our special helpers/visitors have all gone home, which means that it's just me and Miss Baby J during the day (when J's at preschool). Research tells us that we should talk to our babies starting as young as possible, but what should we talk about? Science!

She is calmer when she hears my voice, so I do love talking to her. Here are some things that I've talked about with Miss Baby J:

• Kiss a body part and talk about the body part (anatomy) - my personal favorite.
• Count fingers, toes, and other body parts (math).
• Colors (physics).
• The weather (physics/thermodynamics).
• Sing songs, clap rhythms (music).
• Identify noises we hear (physics/fluid dynamics).
• How anything we come across that catches her attention works (various science categories).
• Facts about different animals while pointing out the animal in J's and her stuffed animals (biology).
• Trees and other plants (biology).

What do you discuss with your infant?

J's lesson on light

I've been really behind on posting science experiments. Most of my days are spent at work and then tending to J's needs. By the time he goes to bed, I'm spent and rarely want to spend more time at the computer, let alone trying to make coherent posts.

Anyways, this morning, in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for church, J excitingly proclaims that he has a science lesson for me. Of course, I stopped in my tracks to listen to my four year old. He shined his finger light (LED of sorts) on the wall and showed me what happens when he was close to the wall versus when he was further away from the wall.

After dinner, I asked him to demonstrate again, so I can record it:

What is happening:

*The light is more concentrated the closer it is to the wall. The light is approximately the size of the LED finger light. Though it is small, it is very bright.

*As you move further away from the wall with the light, you have the same amount of light spread out over a bigger area (the more diffuse the light gets). The light may get bigger in size, but it's not as focused and bright. The light has more space to move through and spread out.

Other fun things you can do:

*Have fun with shadows. Hold a light source at a set distance from the wall. Make shadow puppets. How do the shadows look when your close to the light? How do the shadows look when you are close to the wall?

Related Posts:

• If you like my son's experiment he came up with all on his own, check out some other science lessons he has made up: J Lessons. One of my favorites include a finger counting lesson.

Static Electricity

I love simple, unexpected science lessons. It was a beautiful day which made for perfect static electricity hair when playing at the park. All he had to do to get the crazy hair was slide down the tunnel slide. Then he grounded himself by jumping off the slide onto the ground or shocking himself on a slide bolt to get his hair back to normal.

Fun quote: J saw the picture and stated, "I look like a puffer fish!"

An Awesome Review, Thanks Stroller Hikes

One day, when Nerdy Science was a baby (ie. Nerdy Baby), I was at the park with my son trying to get the wiggles out after school, before coming home for dinner. I ran into a friend and was telling her about this brand new blog adventure and how I was getting little sleep between setting it up and J waking up between 4-5a (it was pretty awful). I guess the passion for this science blog showed through my words (and maybe my baggy eyes). Another person playing with her daughter happened to overhear and told me about Stroller Hikes, a non-profit organization that encourages family outdoor activities together. She had done some web work for the group and put me in touch with the organizer. I was hoping to help write some of their science curricula, but it turned out that I went into hyper drive with the Pepsi Refresh campaign, then the grant, and now Science Saturdays (sorry, Stroller Hikes). They still have tons of information for parents about fun activities in the outdoors, including science activities. I highly suggest checking them out whether you are a Bay Area Local or not.

Since our Science Saturdays happen to take place in local parks, I decided to see if they would be interested in our science activities. They wrote a fantastic blurb about Nerdy Science's Science Saturdays on their website. I look forward to meeting more parents as the activities continue. If you would like to join in on the Science Saturday fun, please email me using the link to the left and I'll add you to our email list. Since we depend on weather and our family's health, we can only predict about 5 days in advance when the next Science Saturday will be. So far, April's activity is looking like April 20th or 27th. Stay tuned.

Helicopter Leaves

Ok, I admit it, I'm from the desert.  I can name you the type of cacti and the latitudes and altitudes where each one grows (maybe that's another lesson).  However, trees are definitely not my specialty (to give you an example: my thermo prof in undergrad was surprised that I didn't know what an acorn on the ground was, but to my defense it didn't have the cap on it as the cartoons, or in particular Ice Age, depicts since the cap fell off in the drop from the tree).

Anyways, we've been having an extremely long fall (or so it seems).  Leaves are still falling from our trees around here and offer at least a few minutes of science-y fun.  Being from Oregon, John knows much more about trees than I do.  He had pointed out the helicopter leaves to me once in undergrad at UP.  However, I had no idea that we lived next to a tree for almost four years that dropped helicopter seeds until John pointed it out to J recently.

For background purposes: helicopter leaves/whirlybirds are seeded pods (the linked article says they are from S. American Tipu Trees) that are shaped in such a way that they spin on their way down.  My quick Google search is popping up Maple trees give off helicopter leaves too.  That seems a little more common.  Maybe you have them close by!

We've been dropping them off of our balcony lately (as seen by the seeded mess on the pavement below).

Why do the helicopter leaves spin?
Their special shape slows their fall down.  The seeds are shaped like a helicopter blades, catching the air as they fall.  According to a Science article, this allows them to travel longer distances if caught in the wind.

Try at home:
Drop different leaves from a height - note their shapes and how they fall.
Drop a different object (ie a soft ball) from the same height.  How does it fall compared to the leaves?

Fan 2011

Good to know that the fan can still keep J's interest over a year later.

He's into kicking the floating ball nowadays, but he likes to keep it floating.

Yes, we did get a new, more powerful fan and the floating ball works so much better (and our house is MUCH cooler - double win!).  The original fan is still in commission on the other side of the apartment hoping for any sort of cross breeze.  And for safety, J knows that he is not allowed to touch the fan.

Reflections

Play with light a little. We've already discussed shadows, now it's time for reflections. Instead of absorbing/blocking the light (as we do with shadows), we're bouncing light in another direction with reflections.

From a young age, J loved seeing his reflection in the mirror. I still have no idea if he knew it was him when he was 6 mo old. Now, he just really loves looking at himself in the mirror and all of the funny faces he can make. He also likes to point out his favorite body parts while looking in the mirror (anatomy lesson!).

High five mirror baby!

Fun things to do with reflections:
**Find and point out different objects where you can see reflections.  Mirrors are obvious.  Aluminum foil, windows, water, plastics, etc.  Which are the best reflective materials?
**Write a message so that it is read normally in the reflection.
**Stick something on your child where they wouldn't be able to see it without using a mirror.  Direct them to a mirror to find the object.
**Set up multiple mirrors and get different views/multiples of your child.
**Can you make a mirror of half of your body?  Do funny things, like pretend to run, fly, jump.
**Laser light show!!  (just don't shine lasers in peoples eyes, of course)


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Edited Nov 13, 2012 to remove Pepsi Refresh Voting information.


P.S. I love you guys. Thanks for all of your support!

Noise - sound and frequency

J loved banging on things from a young age.

This picture was actually taken the first time he decided to sit up on his own - when we put a pot in front of him and gave him a wooden spoon. He was a very content baby. The next few weeks - well, ok, the next year and a half - were spent trying out different sound wave formations by banging on anything we'd let him.

Things to try:
* Different objects doing the banging: sticks of various sizes, lengths and diameters, wooden spoons vs. metal spoons, water bottles full of water vs. rice.
* Banging on different objects: floor, walls, pots and pans of various sizes, some unbreakable toys that could get beaten up a little bit, play or real drums.
* Beat fast!!  Beat slow.  Can you repeat a rhythm?  Put on music and tap out some beats.

Remember to set boundaries.  Don't let your kid bang on or with anything valuable or breakable.

I'm going to recommend this experiment for the babies, just for sanity purposes.  Toddlers + banging = bigger headache!

Magnets

Magnets produce a special field that excites material containing iron (steel is a common material containing iron). When excited, the material wants to stick to the magnet. Or - the magnet sticks to the material (ie. the fridge - good luck moving the massive fridge with the very small magnet).

For this experiment, take a magnet (preferably a free one from restaurant advertisements) and go on a hunt to find where the magnet sticks!

Or just make it stick wherever...

Aw man, that didn't work.

Make sure you record your findings! Any surprising places? The fridge is a given, but my favorite is the dishwasher. What do your findings tell you about the material of those items?

If you get a stronger magnet, you can see what the magnet picks up. Use your imagination for picking out items (think office supplies, tools, stuff with steel). If some of your selections don't work, that's part of the learning process. Make sure your kid knows that some things didn't work and they are of a different material that doesn't have magnetic properties (ie. plastics, ceramics, etc.).

Soap

If you haven't experienced it yet, give your child a fresh bar of soap that has been dipped in the water. It's pretty hilarious.  Make sure you say "whoops" as it slips out of your hands into your child's.  It seems to work better with a bigger bar of soap.  I'm assuming that this is since there is more slippery surface and it's harder for small hands to grab in the first place.

Theory: Reduced Friction Surface

Friction is caused when items rub together.  The closest thing we get to frictionless surfaces in the touchable world is rubbing ice-on-ice.  Soap is a slippery surface with reduced friction.

What other items are slippery to hold?



**Sorry I don't have a video.  I wasn't expecting the reaction I got when I first gave J the soap and I didn't feel comfortable leaving him in the tub while I grabbed the video camera.  Trust me, it was definitely good.  I hope you get a similar reaction.

***We were having bathing issues a few months ago and the novelty of trying to hold onto the soap helped us get J into the tub for a few weeks, until the novelty wore off.

Sound Amplification

J loves hearing his voice and playing with tubes.

Why is your voice louder when you speak through a tube?
*The tube focuses the sound waves in one direction rather than the sound waves bouncing around the room before they hit your ear (my interpretation from the many websites explaining this concept to kids).
*This explanation is simple enough for kids.  However, there's a whole division of engineering focused on acoustics.  I also know how fun fluid dynamics could be, and so, I'm sure it's way more complicated than just "focusing the sound waves."  I just don't want mean comments.

Anyways, there's a lot that you can do with experimenting with tubes and sound!

What to try at home with your scientist:
*Speak into tubes of various sizes in length: toilet paper tube, paper towel tube, wrapping paper tube.
*Speak into tubes of various materials: paper towel tube, PVC pipe, plastic hosing.
*Speak into tubes of various diameters: PVC pipe would be good for this.  They sell it in varying diameters, and it's super cheap.  Or, maybe you have some lying around from various projects.
*Whisper, talk normally, talk loudly, sing songs, have fun!

Which makes the best amplification sound?
*I'm not telling.  Guess you'll have to experiment.

And for all you Mommies who need a muffler for your kid, Grief Speaks has just the solution: a scream box!**


**Again, we have yet to try this out.  I don't want to suggest anything that could make J squeal louder than he already does.  We're working on inside voices.  Maybe one day we'll try it, but he'll have to use it only outside (even if it muffles his scream).

Box Fun

Lately, I've been turning to boxes to help keep my sanity. You can do a lot with boxes. Since this is supposed to be science based, I'm going to convince you boxes are scientific.

First, let's talk shape. Kids are pretty good at identifying shapes. This is a good one for any age!

What type of objects fit in a box?
Can you fit different boxes within boxes? Who needs nesting toys when packaging is so plentiful?
How many different things can you pack into a box? Include baby, and trust me, baby will have fun helping you take everything back out (and putting it back in again!)!  I live for the giggles that occur when babies are having scientific fun!

Then, there's make believe fun! You can make boxes into just about anything using your imagination. I won't go into too much detail, but I am convinced that boxes are great inexpensive structural engineering materials for kids.  I'm sure if you use your imagination, you can justify making castles, forts, kitchen sets, cars, trains, etc. for "science".

J driving his car at 6 months!

Next, let's talk trajectories (yes, this is me getting giddy). Yay, physics! I was helping J clean up his toys, but I was being lazy and didn't want to get up. J pulled down his toy bin, and I threw a ball into the bin (now, I'm really not that sporty or coordinated). I didn't think anything of it until J squealed with delight. Then we played a little basketball, but Mommy mixed it up a little.

For background purposed: trajectories need a vertical and a horizontal component. You can hit the same target through multiple trajectory paths.  Show that you can throw the ball multiple ways and still (hopefully) make a basket.

Can you throw it a ball up high and still make it in the box?
If you miss, how can you change your throw to try again?
How far away can you stand and still make it into the box?
How hard can you throw? (Maybe, try that one outside)
What happens when you switch balls/throwing materials? Maybe put a lot of force into a lighter Nerf type ball, but it won't go as far as as a solid ball. Why is that?
Can you put a spin to the ball?  How does that affect your basket making capabilities?
Color different boxes (wrapping paper, construction paper, tempera paint) and have your kid throw into a specific box color. If you're super creative or have a lot of time on your hands (I'm envious), make cute bean bag toss targets (like a clown with an open mouth - or something that won't scare your kid).
Time your games.  How many balls can you make into the basket in a given time?  How long does it take you to make all of your balls into the basket?  Can you beat your high score?

Most of all, have fun!  This started out as what I thought would be a one time thing, but J loves playing makeshift basketball now (as you can see from the pictures above, we haven't moved far from the target yet).  Let me know how your games go and any other suggestions to add to why and how boxes are scientific.

Homemade Bubbles

What kid doesn't like bubbles?

It's not really bubble season, but we had a beautiful 70 degree February Saturday and J wanted to play with his bubble blowing Octopus.  We unfortunately didn't have enough bubbles left to make the toy blow bubbles, and we were temporarily car/bikeless, so trying to see if stores had bubbles wasn't going to be easy.  We did a quick Google search on homemade bubbles and found this recipe: homemade bubbles which seems to agree with a lot of other bubble recipes out there.

To fill the empty bubble container, we did the math and used:
2 tsp Ultra Concentrated Dawn
1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp filtered water (we don't have distilled water on hand)
1/2 tsp of light corn syrup

Right away: The bubbles were great in the sense that they were heavy duty and remained a bubble shape on the floor without popping.  However, they didn't float very well compared to store bought bubbles (which in all actuality don't cost to much, so I still highly recommend them for quick and easy sciency fun).  These bubbles seemed heavy and came out one at a time.  Too much corn syrup, maybe?

Some tips on the Google search said to let the bubbles rest over night in a sealed container.  Some other sites say corn syrup is optional.  I experimented.

Results of corn syrup recipe resting:
*More bubbles per blow than previous day (pictures below).
*Still heavy compared to store bubbles, but didn't seem to sink as quickly as previous day.

Results of no corn syrup (also resting over night):
*Not recommended.  Bubbles barely formed.  No pictures since it wasn't very exciting.

Overall evaluation: Use corn syrup if making homemade bubbles.

Stomping on the bubbles

Bubble Science:

What shape is a bubble?
What do you need to create a bubble?
What different objects can you use to blow bubbles?
What happens when you blow into the bubble wand fast/slow?
What happens when you blow bubbles into a fan?
What happens when two bubbles touch?
Can you catch a bubble on the wand and blow a bubble again? How many times can you do this?
Can you blow a bubble within a bubble?
Why do bubbles float?
What colors do you see in the bubbles?
What happens to the bubbles if you touch/stomp on them?
Can you catch a bubble on your hand?
Can you touch a bubble with your ___ (name favorite body part)?

Catching bubbles on nose!

Update 2/14/11 - Bubbles work even better when rested a week!  The week old bubbles floated a lot better than last week.  The only problem with this is planning ahead!  Good luck :-)