How could we build a safer bow and arrow that launched a projectile over 250 feet for the Olympics? (Science of Games - HSW)

Most games have rules and boundary conditions, otherwise they would be mass chaos. Some games use equipment, and those levers and balls are designed with a lot of intention because different materials affect how the game can be played. With the Olympics just around the corner, our students used hands-on science to explore the forces, materials, and even the types of rules that optimize fun for the participants.

Today, in this How Stuff Works camp about Sports Medicine and the Olympics, our students designed a unique game of Knockout Ball using custom paddles and materials, while exploring hands-on science:

• how the length of materials of a stick can significantly influence the distance a ball travels when hit (levers apply a force)

• how various balls are made, and how their size, shape and material science affect the distance they travel, as well as the elastic force they can generate

• why most games need rules to allow players to understand how to compete

• how science is used in every Olympic Sport to optimize an athletes ability to compete at the highest level

Your child made a version of Knockout ball and you can engage with them by watching the video below about the science of how rubber balls, such as basketballs, are made…

Is there an actual purpose of types of slime, other than making kids laugh?

Making Different Types of Slime is essential experimentation at Kids Science Labs

Slimes are fun, and slime kits even more engaging, but slime has a real function for animals to defend against attack, ridding your body of germs, and even helping make your toast sweet. Jams, sunbutters, and saliva are all types of slimes that are viscous (thick), sticky (cohesive/adhesive) and wet. On this day, our students made slimes that solve a problem, and explored the elements inside those viscous (thick) liquids in our refrigerator that make them so much fun.

Our young scientists in our Seattle Summer Camps explore the hands-on science below

• How to adjust the ratios of elements to change a chemical’s properties using hands-on science

• When a substance is or is not a slime, based a simple three-part test (Is it viscous? Is it sticky? Is it wet?)

• Comparing the relative viscosity (thickness) of any two liquids, using a simple incline plane to compare their speed rolling down a slight hill.

A Slime Kit is often a child’s second science experiment after exploring the textures of food as a toddler

Toddlers often frustrate parents by mixing beans and mashed potatoes instead of just eating these healthy foods, however, its science. Kids are curious and want to know about the textures and makeup of foods, and essentially can start a child’s science adventure into the world of Chemical Reactions. As parents, we don’t think about it often, but boiling eggs are a chemical reaction, as is burning butter and making toast, because we are changing the structure of matter. Rather than shoo kids out of the kitchen, parents can use the moment to teach them about how matter can change…and you don’t need to be a science expert to explore curiosity.

Chemical Reactions can be found everywhere in ChemBusters, one of our most popular Seattle Summer Camp experiences for Kids

If your child is always looking to explore chemistry, check out ChemBusters this summer here and boost your child’s confidence and unlock their curiosity with a Kids Science Labs Summer Camp in Seattle.

Watch the video below for an episode of Science Max for Kids about all types of chemical reactions, including real applications of slime and please don’t forget your Science Kit, which is customized by your child every Wednesday at Kids Science Labs, to enable at home science and create new neuroscience pathways that increase the fun and build real confidence with hands-on science. ….

As members, please take advantage of our KSL Rewards Program that offers benefits to our entire community. Call us at (773-798-2012 or email support@kidssciencelabs.com) and mention “KSL Blog”

• 10% off any new program registration (parties, camps, group events, field trips) after this camp

• Free access to KSL Academy Programs for gifted and enthusiastic young scientists

• Social media raffle for members to win birthday party giveaways at Kids Science Labs

• Exclusive members-only Youtube content that powers kids to outperform in STEM long-term and on NGSS tests in 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade!

Why does Orange Juice get so clumpy when you add milk to the cup? (Seattle Summer Camps That Teach Real Science)

Seattle Summer Camps offer STEM Programs for kids that teach them about basic chemistry

Kids are curious and we learned many years ago to let their brilliance take over, by offering Seattle Summer Camps that accelerate learning, all starting with basic questions that motivate the brain to learn. For Example.

Why does it get clumpy when we mix orange juice and milk?

Everything is made of stuff called elements. Different combinations make different things. When you mix certain elements and groups of elements together, sometimes they react and fizz, bubble, or explode. Kids are exploring what nearly everything is made of, namely elements, and why certain combinations of elements (molecules) are more reactive than others. A chemical reaction is anytime you mix two things, and you get something new. Students learned that they are irreversible, and typically can be seen via a color change, temperature change, fizzing, or a state change.

Basic science starts with basic questions that kids ask in our Seattle Summer Camps, not because they have to learn it, but because their curiosity demands a question!

On this day, we led our students to deepen their understand that everything is made of smaller things, called elements, and investigated:

• how the entire universe has an ingredient list called the “periodic table of elements” that is organized and helps us understand how things behave when you mix them

• how some elements are metals and exist as solids, and others are non-metals and may exist as solids, liquids, or gases

• what happens when two things mix and things stay the same ( physical reaction) v. something new is created (chemical reaction)

• why ratios matter, and how acid and bases can be used to create innovative tools

In our Seattle Summer Camp, kids are making their own customized chemistry kits, with the elements of fun. We love providing our community with useful resources for kids to learn more at home, so show your kids this fun video to build confidence with Chemical Reactions:

What would happen if all roads in L.A. were made of graham crackers? (Science in the City - Roads)

Roads need to be smooth, strong, durable, and maintained or else we are going to hear about it as civil engineers. Roads also have to fit pipes, wires, and sewers underneath! During Builder’s Paradise, our innovative students at Kids Science Labs investigated

• How to make concrete with various pebble-like textures for added friction

• How potholes are created and how to use science to prevent environmental damage to roads

• Which materials would be best for building roads, and then customizing our very own yellow brick roads with strawberry infusions so driving is both safe and full of wonderful aromas

• When changes in road designs are necessary based on geographic and climate variations that impact safety and our desired driving experiences

Students engaged in problem solving on how to manufacture concrete and to keep each level of the earth flat, when pouring their own custom concrete aggregate. Each child at KSL explored the science in our city layers under the surface, including rocks, soil, clay, and minerals, as well as what happens when concrete (plaster) is poured with varying aggregate materials. This is a two-day experience @ KSL and teachers focused on enhancing confidence through overcoming design mistakes, and problem solving to improve existing designs.

Show the video to your student to learn more or watch it with them to build more confidence in understanding how roads are built in Science in the City!