Jackson Walnut Park

Let’s just say, it’s GOOD to be back. When Clarissa first replied to our outreach email, I was overjoyed to be so warmly welcomed back into Jackson’s incredible school community — this time, as an alumnus! We met with a group of twenty kids from grades  2-6. They loved all of the experiments, but our magic colors and disappearing water tricks were the clear favorites. The kids couldn’t believe that we could make water change into several distinct colors–red, aqua, purple, green and yellow–all using ph. To help the kids understand this phenomenon, we made the analogy of acids to a lemon and bases to soap. Next, we played a game with red solo cups and made water disappear! The trick was to put sodium polyacrylate in the bottom of one of the cups. When we poured the water into this cup, the material (which we got from babies’ diapers) absorbed all the water. Thus, when we flipped the cup to pour everything out, nothing precipitated and the kids were astonished! After explaining each of the tricks to our inquisitive listeners, we broke into groups where the kids made their own color-changing rings and lava lamps. The kids loved making their rings and told us they would trick their parents with them later. Overall,  it was a great time for us and the kids. We even got invited to a birthday party! It was clear that the students learned very much and enjoyed this experience exploring science!

Thanks for the great times, Jackson! —Eric