We did it!  We all made it through another school year!  As we all know, the end of the school year is for fun and celebration.  In that spirit, we've gathered a few fun (and science-y) activities you can do with your class or at home.  Enjoy!

Bubble Geometery
Materials
Four pipe cleaners
Strong bubble mix
Deep bucket
Somewhere you can get wet!

Process
1. Make a cube out of your pipe cleaners.

• Fold two of the pipe cleaners separately into squares. 
• Cut one of the remaining pipe cleaners into three parts.
• Wind each of the cut pieces into the corners of the square pipe cleaners.  Connect the two squares together using the smaller pipe cleaner pieces.
• Use the final pipe cleaner to complete the cube, leaving a small amount hanging off of the cube to use as a handle.

2. Carefully pour the bubble mix down the side of the bucket to avoid making small bubbles.
3. Dip the cube into the bucket and carefully withdraw it a few times.  Can you make a cube shaped bubble form on the inside of the frame?
4. If you have more pipe cleaners, try again with other 3-D shapes!

Fizzy Lemonade
Materials
Lemons
Sugar
Baking Soda
Water

Process
1. Boil a couple of cups of water on the stove.
2. Add two tablespoons of sugar per cup and stir to dissolve.  Let the mixture cool.
3. Squeeze lemon juice into cups.  It takes about one lemon per glass of lemonade.
4. Add the sugar water to the cups with lemon juice.
5. Add 1/4 tsp of baking soda to the lemonade.  Enjoy your fizzy lemonade!

Homemade Sundial
What you need
1 paper plate (or a circle cut out of cardstock or cardboard)
1 straw (or a pencil, chopstick or skewer)
1 pointed object (like a sharpened pencil)
Rocks (optional)
Sidewalk chalk (optional)
Compass (optional)

Process
1. Use a pointed object, like a sharpened pencil, to carefully poke a hole through the center of a paper plate. If you don’t have a paper plate, you can cut out an 8-inch-diameter circle on a piece of thick cardstock.
2. Place the straw or pencil in the hole you made.
3. Write the number 12 at the edge of your sundial for 12 p.m. (noon).
4. Take your sundial outside to a sunny spot that doesn't get shady shortly before noon.
5. Rotate your sundial until the straw's shadow aligns with the number 12.  Your sundial will now look like a clock!
6. Slightly angle the straw or pencil in the direction of the shadow so it points north.  (Use your compass to confirm the direction.)
7. Secure your sundial in place using rocks.
8. Return in an hour and check the position of the shadow.  Has it moved?  Write the number 1 at the edge of the plate where you see the shadow.
9.  Continue to record data on the edge of your plate each hour.

As we get closer and closer to summer break (and camps!), enjoy this fun spring themed science projects you can do from home with materials you likely already have on hand!

Make a Miniature Water Cycle Model
Materials:
Re-sealable snack-size plastic bags (2)
Permanent marker
Water
Liquid measuring cup
Tablespoon
Strong tape, like duct tape
Blue food coloring
Area that gets lots of sun and another that gets very little sun during the day
Optional: Sand or dirt
Optional: Larger pieces of rock that will fit in the bag, at least 2

Process:
1. If you begin this activity in the morning,  you can observe the experiment over the course of the day.  (This activity works best on a sunny day.)
2. Flatten both plastic bags and decorate them with some elements of the water cycle (clouds, sun, etc.) with a permanent marker.
3. Add one drop of food coloring to about 1/3 cup of water.
4. Keeping the bags upright, add 2 Tbsp. of the colored water to each plastic bag.
**Optional: Add 2-3 Tbsp. of sand to one side of each of the plastic bags.  Part of the sand should be submerged, and part should be above the water level.  If you have a larger pieces of rock, add one each to the other side of the plastic bags, with part of the rock above the water level.
5. Still keeping the bags upright, carefully close both plastic bags and make sure they are fully sealed.
6. Find a sunny place, like a window, that is in the sun for a large part of the day.  Tape one of the bags upright in the sunny spot.  Use enough tape to keep the bag in place for at least one day.
7. Tape the second bag upright in a place that gets very little sun.
8. Observe both bags over the course of the day.  Check them every 1-2 hours.

For this activity, you basically made a very miniature water cycle inside a bag.  As the water in the bag heated up, it turned into water vapor.  As it cooled down, it turned into condensation along the side of the bag.  Eventually, those water droplets became large enough that gravity pulled them down the side of the bag--like rain!

How Many Colors in a Rainbow
Materials:
A shallow glass baking pan
Water
A white piece of paper
A red piece of paper
A blue piece of paper
Sunlight
An outdoor table, chair, or helper to hold the pan for you

Process:
1. Fill your pan about halfway full with water.
2. Take your pan outside and place it on the table so that one end is sticking out over the edge.  Be careful not to let the pan tip over!
3. Place your white paper on the ground where the sun is shining through your pan.  What do you notice?  Do you see any colors?
4. Slowly angle the paper until a small rainbow forms.  Experiment with the angle of the paper until you get the largest rainbow possible.  Notice the order of the colors that appear on your paper.
5. While holding your white paper so that you can see the rainbow, place your blue paper gently on top of the white paper.  What do you notice about the rainbow on the blue paper?
6. Switch back and forth between the white and blue papers to see how the rainbow changes.
7. Remove the blue paper and repeat the process with the red paper.  What do you observe?

Measure Photosynthesis with Floating Leaves
Materials:
Transparent cups, 4 or more
Permanent marker
Baking soda
Measuring cup
Water
1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon
Dish soap
Light source (a bright light works best)
Single-hole puncher
Plant leaves (spinach or ivy leaves work best)
Plastic syringe, 10-mL or bigger (without the needle)
Aluminum foil
Paper towels
Timer
Lab notebook
Pencil or pen
Optional: Adult helper

Process:
1. Using a workspace that can get a little wet, label two cups with "+ baking soda" and two cups with "- baking soda."
2. Prepare the baking soda solution by filling one of the "+ baking soda" cups with 300 mL room-temperature water.  Then add about 1/8 tsp. of baking soda to the water and mix until the baking soda has dissolved.
3. Add one drop of dish soap to the baking soda solution and stir until it has dissolved.  Stir gently to avoid creating foam.
4. To one of the "- baking soda" cups, add 300 mL water and one drop of dish soap.
5. Set up your light source so it shines straight down onto your workspace.
6. With the hole puncher, cut 20 leaf disks from the plant leaves.  Avoid punching through major leaf veins.
7. In your lab notebook, prepare a data table with three columns. Column 1 is the time in minutes. In columns 2 and 3 you will record the results of your leaf disk assay—the laboratory procedure you are using to investigate photosynthesis—both with baking soda and without baking soda.
​

In 1961, the United States was embroiled in a race against the Soviet Union to put the first human being into space.  The US launched Project Mercury with the intention of getting people into space.  The Soviet Union won the race in April of 1961 when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed an orbit of the Earth.  Less than a month later, on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space during a suborbital flight aboard his Mercury Capsule, Freedom 7.

Shepard and the other Mercury astronauts trained for hundreds of hours to prepare for space flight.  The first attempted launch, scheduled for May 2, 1961, was scrubbed due to inclement weather.  On May 5, the weather was better, and 45 million Americans tuned in to watch Shepard's launch.  After more than two hours of delays due to technical issues, liftoff was achieved at 9:34 AM ET.

After a 15 minute and 22 second flight, Freedom 7 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.  Recovery forces retrieved Shepard from the capsule within 20 minutes of splashdown.  Onboard the recovery ship, the U.S.S. Champlain, Shepard received a medical examination and a congratulatory phone call from President John F. Kennedy.

Alan Shepard's successful spaceflight inspired the White House to offer more funding to NASA, as well as to set a new goal of reaching the Moon before the end of the decade. 

When you think of NASA, you probably think of astronauts, satellites, and other things not on this planet.  So why does NASA study Earth?  Because Earth is a planet!

NASA has actually studied Earth more than any other planet.  Not only is Earth a planet, it's the only one we know of that can support life.  NASA has been monitoring Earth's weather via satellite since the 1960s.  Todays satellites do a lot more.

Satellite data is used to observe how Earth is changing and to make predictions of what the future might hold.  NASA shares this research with scientists all over the world who use the data to work on some really big problems.  This data is being used to help us fight climate change, manage natural resources, and improve our responses to natural disasters!

To learn more about our Earth and play some cool games check out Climate Kids.

Earth Day is all about caring for each other and our environment.  Come celebrate with your community at one of these local Earth Day events!

SLC Earth Day Event
April 22
Jordan Park
10 AM-1 PM
Help clean up Jordan Park.  There will be several projects going on, including refreshing the dog park, bench repair, general cleaning, weeding, and more.  This is an outdoor event, so wear sunscreen and bring a water bottle!  Click here for more info.

Arbor Day Celebration
April 25
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum
9 AM-7:30 PM Free Admission

Composting is an easy way that you can help the Earth from home!  Compost is a dark, crumbly, loamy material produced by the decomposition of leaves, grass clippings, and other organic materials.  Finished compost contains nutrients necessary for plant growth and improves soil structure.  The decomposition process happens without human intervention, but composting allows you to expedite the natural process.

Composting reduces the amount of material going to landfills.  Approximately 51% of municipal waste is made up of yard waste, food waste, and paper, most of which can be composted.  Compost can replace soil amendments used by gardeners, such as peat moss, fertilizer, or vermiculite.  Compost even suppresses some soil-borne diseases!

What to add to your backyard compost pile:
Nitrogen-rich Materials ("Greens")

• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Grass clippings
• Coffee grounds and paper filters
• Paper tea bags (no staples)
• Eggshells (crushed)

Carbon-rich Materials ("Browns")

• Dry leaves
• Plant stalks and twigs
• Shredded paper (non-glossy, uncolored) and shredded brown bags
• Shredded cardboard (no wax coating, tape, or glue)
• Untreated wood chips

What do avoid adding to your backyard compost pile:

• Meat, fish, and bones*
• Cheese and dairy products*
• Fats, oils, and grease*
• Cooked food (small amounts are fine)*
• Compostable foodservice ware and compostable bags*
• Herbicide-treated plants and grass
• Aggressive weeds/weeds with seeds
• Diseased and pest-infested plants
• Treated or painted wood
• Pet waste and cat litter
• Dryer lint
• Glossy paper
• Produce stickers

*Backyard compost piles generally do not reach high enough temperatures to fully decompose these materials.  These can often be composted at commercial composting facilities.

Steps for backyard composting:
1. Collect and store your fruit and vegetable scraps in a closed container in your kitchen.  For browns, set aside an area outside to store leaves and twigs.
2. Choose a space in your yard for your compost pile that is easily accessible year-round and has good drainage.  Avoid placing it right up against a fence and ensure that there is a water source nearby.  It does not matter if it is in sun or shade.  Choose a bin for your pile.  They can be constructed from materials like wire, wood or cinder blocks.  They can also be includes in barrels or tumblers.
3. Build your compost pile.  Start your pile with a four to six inch layer of browns such as twigs or wood chips.  This layer absorbs extra liquids and allows air to circulate at the base of the pile.  Then layer your greens and browns like a lasagna.  When adding browns and greens, add at least two to three times the volume of browns to the volume of greens, and ensure that your food scraps are covered by four to eight inches of dry leaves or other browns.
4. To ensure air circulation, add enough browns, and turn the compost occasionally.  To maintain moisture, the pile should have the consistency of a wrung-out sponge.
5. As the materials in your compost pile begin to decompose, the temperature of the pile will rise.  A well-maintained backyard pile can reach temperatures of 130 to 160 degrees F.  Be sure to turn and mix your pile from time to time to help speed up the decomposition process and aerate the pile.  Use a garden fork to turn the outside of the pile inward.
6.  Monitor your pile for moisture, odor, and temperature.

• If the pile is too dry, moisten the pile and turn it.
• If the pile has a bad odor, it may be too wet or need more air circulation.  Add more browns and turn the pile.
  
• If the pile is not heating up, mix in greens and turn the pile.

7. When your compost pile is no longer heating up after mixing and when there are no visible food scraps, allow the pile to cure for at least four weeks.  After curing, your pile will shrink to about one-third of its original size.  Compost in a well-maintained pile will be finished and ready to use in about three to five months.  Unattended, it may take a year to decompose.
8. Screen or sift your finished compost to filter out materials that didn't break down.  Pits, eggshells, etc. that you sifted out can be added back to the active pile or to a new pile.

​Happy composting!

Plastics are one of the biggest pollutants on the Earth.  They are found in our clothes, our body wash, and nearly everything we touch every day.  Plastics eventually find their way into the ocean where they are hurting the wildlife.  Here are some things you can do to reduce plastic waste.

1. Bring your own bag.
Sea turtles mistake plastic shopping bags for jelly fish and ingest them, leading to blockages and starvation.  Reusable shopping bags are a relatively cheap and easy way to make a difference in plastic wastage.  At the store, try and choose products with minimal packaging.  You can let your fruits and vegetables stay loose in your bag or in your own cloth bag instead of collecting them in plastic.

2. Skip the straw.
This is as simple as saying, "No straw, please," when you are out to eat.  Straws take 200-500 years to decompose, and even then, they still threaten wildlife as they degrade into microplastics.

3. Use a reusable water bottle.
This reduces the use of single-use water bottles.  If you're concerned about the taste of your local tap water, consider investing in a water filter.  It's a small investment that pays off in the long run.

4. Pack your lunch sustainably.
Bring your own reusable containers from home and skip the plastic silverware!

5. Say no to balloons.
Balloons are another plastic that frequently gets mistaken for food by wildlife.  Animals also get tangled in the ribbons of discarded balloons.  And don't worry.  A party without balloons is still a party!

Don't get discouraged if you aren't able to completely cut plastic waste out of your life all at once.  If this list sounds overwhelming, trying choosing one or two of these ideas and challenge yourself to adopt that change for a month.  Once it becomes a habit to avoid plastic waste in one or two ways, it will get easier to make other changes as well!

Despite making up nearly half of the workers in the US, women are still vastly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.  As of 2019, women accounted for only 26% of STEM employees.  Women are also represented unequally across different areas of STEM.  For example, women are overrepresented in health-related jobs, but only 15% of engineers are women.  Within STEM jobs, there is also a wage gap, with women in full-time STEM careers making less money than their male counterparts.

Here are some ways to encourage girls into STEM fields:
1. Early exposure and education is key to fostering interest in STEM.  Elementary schools can introduce children to computer science, engineering, and math concepts through hands-on activities and experiments.  Parents can encourage interest in STEM by encouraging play with toys that utilize the imagination to build simple machines or structures and by celebrating their child's success and efforts in STEM.

2. Providing girls with female role models and mentors in STEM can make a huge difference.  Seeing and interacting with women who are successful in STEM roles can motivate girls to pursue similar paths.

3. Making STEM relatable encourages all children, not just girls, to stick with STEM as they grow.  For instance, showing students how to use math to create a community garden or calculate the cost of a small business makes math engaging and fun.  Using local examples of how STEM affects their lives shows students that these are not abstract principles, but tools that can help us understand and improve our communities.

4. Having a supportive school culture is key to keeping girls interested in STEM.  Teachers should be trained to recognize and fight against gender bias, both their own unconscious biases and those they observe in others.  Girls' achievements should be recognized and celebrated to reinforce to them that they are capable STEM students. 

5. Equal access to resources and opportunities can help empower girls to succeed in STEM.  This can include access to the Internet and computers, as well as scholarships, internships, and apprenticeships targeted at girls.

Keeping girls interested in STEM requires parents, teachers, and communities to work together to encourage and support them as they grow!

Meet computer scientist and tech entrepreneur Marissa Mayer. 

Marissa Mayer has been involved with tech companies since the beginning of her career.  She joined Google in 1999 as employee number 20.  She started out writing code and advanced quickly to a managerial role within the company.  In 2005, she became Vice President of Search Products and User Experience.  She stayed with Google in an executive capacity until 2012 when she moved to Yahoo!.

Mayer was appointed president and CEO of Yahoo! in July of 2012.  As CEO of Yahoo!, she oversaw its acquisition of Tumblr in 2013 for $1.1 billion.  She later oversaw the selling of Yahoo! to Verizon in 2017 for $4.48 billion.

Since leaving Yahoo!, Mayer has started Lumi Labs, later rebranded as Sunshine, a company focused on artificial intelligence and consumer media.

For Women's History Month, we are using this opportunity to highlight women in STEM that are making a difference now.  Meet Fig O'Reilly.

Fionnghuala "Fig" O'Reilly is an Irish-American model, data analyst, and fierce advocate for women in STEM.  In 2019, she was crowned Miss Universe Ireland.  She made history as the first woman of color and Black woman to represent Ireland at the Miss Universe pageant.  At the Miss Universe pageant, O'Reilly used her platform to highlight the need for diversity and women in STEM.  O'Reilly is a correspondent for the television series Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove, and a data analyst for NASA.

In 2022, O'Reilly founded the organization Space to Reach, which is a platform that connects employers to Black and Brown women in technology and engineering.  Members gain access to resources, workshops, and programming designed to enhance their skills and knowledge.  O'Reilly travels around the world to speak about women's empowerment and diversity in STEM.