Wow!! Had such a great week with the Wild World of Science kids. Such a creative bunch of characters. Here are some pics from the week:
Wild World of Science
Bridge Building Challenge
One young scientist piled 288 pennies on a bridge built from a single piece of paper at yesterday’s Wild World of Science Camp. Can you beat her in this Bridge Building Challenge?
The Rules:
- Only one sheet of paper may be used.
- The piece of paper must bridge a gap between textbooks or boards.
- The bridge must sit on top of the text books or boards.
- All pennies must be placed on the bridge, over the gap (not over the textbooks or boards).
Good luck!
Boundary Bay Rambles
Spent a morning earlier this week exploring Boundary Bay in prep for this week’s Outdoor Ed Camp. I can’t wait!!! It’s just so beautiful and absolutely perfect for a week of leadership building, camp cooking, survival skills and tracking. Looking forward to it! Here’s a couple of pics I snapped as I was out and about:
Lori Goes Viral with Zac Efron
Howling with laughter!!! Always knew our very own Lori Yearwood was a Rock Star, but the paparazzi pics that spread virally of her with Zac Efron on the web today proves it.
Not much of a celebrity hound or quite frankly an advocate of star power, but I have to say that it was interesting to see how a paparazzi pic taken of our very own star, Lori Yearwood, could go viral on the web in a day. She’s on:
- celebuzz
- the velvet hot tub
- ocean up
- socialite life
- popsugar
…. and the list goes on. And the funny part, the info they gave on all these sites isn’t even accurate. Same misinformation across the board. Just goes to show you that not everything you read, especially online, is true.
As for the original photographer? Not a clue, but glad nobodies jumping out of the bushes to shoot me.
Nutty for Nature: Pond Scope and Treasures Aquarium
It doesn’t matter how old I get, the summer still brings with it a yearning to return to my old stomping grounds – the pond. As kids, some of my fondest memories are of mucking about in the pond. My brother, Petey, and I even had ‘frogging birthdays’. Rather fitting really that summer brings with it childhood memoirs of time spent at the pond, as ponds are the old stomping grounds for many critters in the spring & summer. A pond is in fact a ‘creature nursery’. I’ve got some great instructions for you on how to build your own pond scope and a temporary treasures aquarium. Often, when out on set teaching in BC, we have found ourselves schooling in an outdoor classroom on location. This is a great inspiration to give the child a break, take a nature walk and get some science based learning in!
Here are a few of my favourite childhood pond nursery pals:
And a few that spend their lives in the pond:
Pond waters teeming with life, you just have to slow down to see it. Heres two ways that I’ve done this:
Building a Pond Scope
Supplies:
- yohgurt / ice cream container
- saran wrap
- elastic band
- exacto knife
- Get an adult to help you cut out the bottom of the container.
- Cover new opening with saran wrap and fasten it to the container with an elastic band.
- Stick the saran wrap side of the container in pond water, hold still and and watch to see what swims by. It works just like a pair off goggles. Be patient and try not to stir up the water.
Creating a Temporary Treasures Aquarium
Supplies
- pond water
- pond dipping nets
- clear glass container
- door screen
- Fill glass container with pond water.
- Use a dip net and run it over the vegetation in the pond. Empty the contents of the net into the aquarium.
- Cover the opening of the container with door screen and place in the shade.
- Let the water settle and watch the critters inside that you didn’t even realize were there.
- Many of the critters are babies and leave the water as adults, so don’t keep the critters more than a couple of days before returning them to where you found them.
Have fun and remember to be respectful of the critters and the pond. Your visiting their home.
For more science fun, check out my science camp this summer.
