GirlTime! Girl Scout Summer Fun en h c t i K ry t s i m Che E K A M DINO T O N S FUN WITH SCI EN CE Eat A Com et
Welcome To girltime! Hello Girl Scout Brownie, Let s get messy with SCIENCE! Together with your family and friends, you are going to learn about science and become scientists! Get ready for fun experiments as you make your own ice cream, erupt a volcano, discover static electricity, learn about the solar system and enjoy edible comets. Wait! Did we mention we re going to make dinosaur snot? Let s get started! Note to Brownie Parents: Tell your Girl Scout when she sees this logo with an activity, to come and get you to help. Your Girl Scout will complete the Home Scientist badge this month. Look for the Home Scientist badge symbol next to an activity. It means that the corresponding activity goes with that badge. Badges are available for purchase at your nearest Girl Scout shop or online at girlscoutshop.com. Here are some fun science websites to check out with your Girl Scout: www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/ experiments www.sciencemadefunkids.net discovery.com www.pbskids.org Home Scientist badge Who We Are As Girl Scouts As a Girl Scout you can say the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law. The Girl Scout Promise is the way Girl Scouts promise to act every day. The Girl Scout Law is how a Girl Scout is supposed to live her life. You keep the Girl Scout Promise by living the Girl Scout Law. The Girl Scout Promise and Law is said before every Girl Scout activity or event. The Girl Scout Promise On my honor, I will try: To serve God*, and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law. * When making the Girl Scout Promise, individuals may substitute wording appropriate to their own spiritual beliefs for the word God. The Girl Scout Law I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.
What is SCIENCE? Science is the study of something through experiments and observation using our eyes and brains. People who study science are called scientists. This month you are going to become a Brownie scientist! As scientists, we use our eyes to observe and make a hypothesis (smart guess) about what will happen. Once we make a hypothesis, we test it out by completing a science experiment and observing to see if we were right or wrong. Sometimes our scientific hypotheses are correct and sometimes they aren t. Remember, it is okay to guess wrong! It s simply a hypothesis. What is a Hypothesis? Important Brownie Scientist Guidelines y Always wash your hands after having fun with science. y Remember to wear safety goggles. These special glasses keep your eyes safe. You can buy safety goggles at any store with a hardware department. Draw Yourself as a Scientist If you were a scientist what would you look like? 3
KITCHEN CHEMISTRY Being a Brownie scientist is lots of fun! You get your hands messy, use your imagination to brainstorm ideas, make hypotheses and complete awesome experiments. Let s get started now! Everything you need to complete these experiments can be found in your kitchen or house. Grow Your Own Rock Candy This experiment requires you to get a grown up to help with all of the steps. Ask an adult for permission and help before you use the stovetop. Supplies: 1 cup water, 4 cups sugar, food coloring, jar, wooden skewer or string, stove top, small cooking pot, spoon or spatula to stir in sugar Step 1: With an adult s help, boil the water. Step 2: Slowly pour the sugar into the pot and let it dissolve as you stir. When the sugar stops dissolving and begins building up on the bottom of the pot, add a few drops of food coloring. Step 3: Pour the liquid into a jar. Be sure you don t pour any un-dissolved sugar into the jar! Step 4: Put a skewer into the solution or tie string to a pencil and place it across the jar. Place the jar on a window sill or any flat surface where it can be left alone. Step 5: Be patient! You ll need to wait a few days or weeks until your rock candy has grown. Once most of the liquid in the jar has disappeared your rock candy is ready to eat. Delish! By completing this activity your Brownie has completed step 1 of the Home Scientist badge. 4 What s Happening? The Science Behind It Sugar is made out of tiny crystals that clump together. We are going to use the same idea to make your rock candy. Crystals in your jar should start to form in about an hour. The crystals will get larger as days and weeks go by. If you have a magnifying glass you can use it to look really closely at how the crystals grow.
SLIME! Ask an adult for help with pouring the ingredients into your cups. Remember to wear your safety goggles. Supplies: 2 large plastic cups (at least 10-12 ounces), 11/2 cups water, 1/2 cup white or clear glue, 1 teaspoon Borax, food coloring, spoon, plastic bag Step 1: Mix 1 teaspoon Borax and 1 cup of water in one of your cups and stir until the Borax is dissolved. Step 2: In the second cup, mix 1/2 cup (4 oz.) glue with 1/2 cup water. Add food coloring if desired and stir. Step 3: Pour about half of the Borax solution into your cup of glue and mix together using a spoon. Step 4: After a few seconds of mixing with a spoon you will begin to see the slime forming. It is okay to mix the slime now with your hands. Throw away the leftover liquid and store your slime in a plastic bag when you are not playing with it. Remember to wash your hands after playing with your slime. Make Dinosaur Snot Supplies: mixing bowl, 11/2 cups cornstarch, 1 cup water, yellow and green food coloring Step 1: In the bowl, mix the cornstarch and water together with your hands. Step 2: Add a few drops of yellow and green food coloring to the mixture. Step 3: Continue to mix it together to make sure it is all combined. After about a minute, you will have slime that looks like it came from a dinosaur. Achooo! By completing this activity your Brownie has completed step 5 of the Home Scientist badge. 5
Static Electricity What is static electricity? Static electricity is created when objects get an electrical charge. They get this charge when two objects are rubbed together. The rubbing causes tiny particles called electrons to jump from one object to the other. The object that loses electrons gets a positive charge and the one that gains them gets a negative charge. Do the activity below, then read the orange box to learn more. Make Pepper Dance Supplies: salt, pepper, a sheet of paper, balloon Step 1: Pour salt and pepper on a piece of paper. Step 2: Blow up the balloon and tie it closed. Step 3: Rub the balloon on your hair. Step 4: Hold it over the salt and pepper and watch what happens. What happens? The Science Behind It After you rub the balloon on your hair the balloon gets a negative charge. When you bring it close to the salt and pepper the charge attracts the pepper first because it s lighter than salt. The pepper moves to the balloon, where it gets a negative charge, which repels it back to the paper. There, it loses the charge and the dance starts again. DO IT! More Cool Static Stuff with a Balloon y Make your hair stand straight up y Pick up paper y Move a ping-pong ball without touching it Can you think of others? Write them here, then try them. 6 By completing this activity your Brownie has completed step 2 of the Home Scientist badge.
Make an Egg Float Supplies: 1 tall 16 oz. glass, 4 tablespoons of salt, 11/2 cups of water, food coloring, 1 egg Step 1: Mix the salt and 1 cup of water in the glass, then add a few drops of food coloring. Step 2: Slowly pour the remaining 1/2 cup of plain water down the inside side of the glass. Step 3: Make a hypothesis and then carefully lower the egg into the glass. Where did the egg stop in the water? By completing this activity your Brownie has completed step 3 of the Home Scientist badge. The Science Behind It Eggs float in the fresh water because of a large air pocket that forms after the egg was laid. Make a Groovy Lava Lamp Have an adult help you gather supplies and pour vegetable oil into the plastic bottle. Supplies: 1 clear disposable 8 oz. bottle with a cap, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup water, 1 Alka Seltzer tablet Step 1: Pour 3/4 cup of oil into your empty water bottle. Make a hypothesis. Do you think the water and oil will mix? YES NO Step 2: Pour 1/4 cup water into your water bottle and see what happens. Did they mix? Step 3: Add a few drops of food coloring to your water bottle. What happened to the food coloring? Step 4: Add the Alka Seltzer tablet to your bottle and watch what happens. You may need to break up the Alka Seltzer into small pieces. What happened after you added the Alka Seltzer tablet? Step 5: Once your lava lamp stops bubbling, fill to the top with water. Put the cap on your bottle and tighten it. The Science Behind It Water and oil do not mix because water is more dense/heavier (water molecules are closer together) than oil. That is why it sinks. Alka Seltzer creates a chemical reaction and causes the colored water to bubble up through the oil. 7
Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Hmmmm...wonder what happens when you mix vinegar and baking soda together? Fizzy fun! When baking soda and vinegar are mixed together a chemical reaction occurs. A chemical reaction means substances are combined and a change occurs. Say what? Here s a great example: when you place a fresh egg in a pot of water and bring the water to a boil, the gooey, runny egg inside will hardened. That s a chemical reaction! What do you think will happen when you add baking soda to vinegar? Make your hypothesis (smart guess). Write it here. Balloon Science Supplies: 2 spoons, 1 empty clean 8 oz. water bottle, 1 balloon, funnel, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 tablespoons vinegar, Step 1: With 1 of the spoons, add vinegar to the bottle. Step 4: Stretch the mouth of the balloon over the mouth of the water bottle, then lift the balloon straight up until the baking soda falls in the water bottle and mixes with the vinegar. Step 2: With an adult or friend, hold open the mouth of the balloon and insert the tip of the funnel. Step 3: Add the baking soda to the balloon using the funnel. Step 5: Watch what happens! The Science Behind It The baking soda and vinegar caused a chemical reaction that created carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide left the water bottle and entered the balloon causing it to inflate. 8 By completing this activity your Brownie has completed step 4 of the Home Scientist badge.
SPACE SCIENCE Design Your Own Rocket Planet Scramble Unscramble the names of the plants Supplies: toilet paper tube, construction paper, scissors, tape, markers, glue, ruler EPNUNET Step 1: Color the toilet paper tube any way that you would like. RMAS SUENV Step 2: Cut out three triangles from the construction paper - these will be your rocket wings and tail fin Step 3: Tape the triangles onto the rocket near the bottom, as pictured. ECRMYUR Step 4: Cut out a circle at least 31/2 inches wide, then cut a small triangle out of the circle on one side (see picture). Shape the circle into a cone shape and tape shut. RTEHA TAURSN Step 5: On the opposite end of your toilet paper tube that does not have the rocket wings, put glue onto the top of the tube and then place the cone shape onto the glue and let dry. UNASRU PIRJUTE Step 6: Get ready to launch! Planet names can be found on page 11 in the quiz. Launch Your Rocket! Supplies: 1 empty 2-liter soda bottle, 4 feet of clear, flexible, vinyl tubing and duct tape Step 1: Start with a clean and dry soda bottle and stick one end of the 4 foot tubing into the mouth of the soda bottle about 3 inches. Duct tape the mouth of the soda bottle shut with the tube in it. Step 2: Slide your rocket onto the other end of the flexible tubing. Make sure your soda bottle is flat on the ground and full of air. Jump or step on the soda bottle to push the air out of the soda bottle and send the rocket blasting off. Step 3: Blow into the open end of the tubing to inflate the soda bottle and have fun launching your rocket again and again. 9
COMETS A comet is a celestial body of rock, dust, gases and ice that moves in orbit around the sun. Comets are only visible when they are near the sun during sunrise and sunset. Make Your Own Edible Comet During this edible activity you will learn about comets and what they are made of. Each ingredient you add to your bowl represents a different part of the comet. After the ingredient name, you will see what it represents in the comet. Supplies Steps yy Bowl yy Spoon yy Vanilla or chocolate ice cream - represents the icy nucleus of the comet (optional: make your own using the recipe found on the next page) yy Nuts (pecans, peanuts or cashews) and crumbled chocolate cookie (Thin Mint, Oreo) - represents the rock and dust within the nucleus yy Chocolate syrup - represents the organic materials yy Ginger ale - represents the carbon dioxide yy Whipped cream - represents the tail of the comet 1) Add 1-2 scoops of ice cream to your bowl. 10 2) Sprinkle on the chopped nuts and crumbled chocolate cookies onto your ice cream. 3) Drizzle chocolate syrup over your ice cream. 4) Add a small amount (1-2 tbsp) of ginger ale to your bowl. It will start to bubble and fizz. 5) Squirt a whipped cream tail onto one side of your ice cream bowl for a tail. Enjoy!
Solar System Quiz Draw a line from the fact to the object in the solar system. Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune 1. The brightest object in the sky. 2. The biggest planet in the solar system. 3. First planet discovered with a telescope. 4. The planet with the most life forms. 5. The planet closest to the sun. 6. Hottest planet in the solar system. 7. The planet with the nickname the red planet. 8. Planet furthest from the sun. 9. This plant is so light it could float in water. You may need to look a few of these up online. Ask a parent for permission first. Use the solar system poster and stickers you got this month to re-create the solar system. Use the pictures above to put the planets in the right order. Answers: 1 is Sun, 2 is Jupiter, 3 is Uranus, 4 is Earth, 5 is Mercury, 6 is Venus, 7 is Mars, 8 is Neptune, 9 is Saturn Make Your Own Ice Cream for Your Comet Supplies y 1 tablespoon sugar y 1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half y 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract y 6 tablespoons rock or kosher salt y 1 pint-sized zip-top bag y 1 gallon-size zip-top bag y Winter gloves or mittens y Ice y Access to water Step 1: Fill the pint-sized zip-top bag with sugar, whipping cream or half and half and vanilla extract then seal it closed. Step 2: Fill the gallon-sized zip-top bag half-way with ice, then add the salt. Step 3: Place the pint-sized bag inside the gallon bag and seal. Step 4: Put on your winter gloves or mittens. Step 5: Shake the bags for about 10 minutes, until you see ice cream forming in the small bag. Step 6: Once you see ice cream forming in the small bag, open the gallon-sized bag, remove the pint-sized bag and rinse the pintsized bag off with water. Step 7: Rinse out and dry the gallon-sized bag so you can use it again. Step 8: Follow the directions for the Edible Comet activity on page 10 and then enjoy your ice cream. 11
Dancing Raisins Supplies: can of lemon lime soda (Sprite or 7Up), tall glass, small box of raisins Step 1: Pour the soda into the glass. Step 2: Drop 6 or 7 raisins into the soda and watch what happens. What happens? The Science Behind It Raisins are denser than soda and so they sink at first. But then the bubbles from the soda fill the wrinkles in the raisins and lift them up. When the bubbles reach the top of the glass they pop and the raisins sink again. Check out all of the fun events we have for you coming up! REACH FOR THE STARS WILD & WONDERFUL WV FAIRY WINGS & THINGS SLIME & GRIME UNDER THE SEA See all the programs and register for a summer filled with fun at www.bdgsc.org