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Publix GreenWise Market Magazine - Spring 2009
Earth Day Experiments
 Want to make a big impression on your kids? Instead of telling them how to care for the environment, show them.
Simple, fun activities you can do at home are a wonderful teaching tool to educate your kids about the earth’s natural resources, says Sean Miller, director of education at Earth Day Network, a nonprofit organization that each year sponsors Earth Day celebrations around the world.
“Children experience the effects of environmental pollution significantly more than an adult would because their immune systems aren’t fully developed, and so we need to educate today’s youth about what is happening and what solutions are possible,” he says.
Science teacher Donna Burrus agrees. That’s why she spends a lot of time talking to her students at Fayette Academy in Somerville, Tennessee, about the environment. She also heads the school’s ecology club; last year members gave away compact fluorescent lightbulbs at a local Earth Day event. At Christmas they donated 430 of the bulbs to include in care packages for needy families.
“Earth Day is a wonderful day to talk with kids about plants and animals,” she says. “Get outside and enjoy nature and make it a really fun day.” Or pick an age-appropriate experiment to try at home. Just be sure to make it a family affair.
Eggs Over Easy
This experiment will help show your kids the danger that oil spills in the ocean pose to water plants, fish and birds.
Best suited for: Grades 2 to 4
You’ll need:
- Four sealable plastic bags
- Marker
- Water
- Motor oil
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- Watch or timer
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To do: Label the bags, A, B, C and D. Fill each with ½ cup water and ½ cup motor oil. (You can use vegetable oil with a few drops of food coloring as a substitute.) Place one egg in each bag. Remove the egg from bag A after 15 minutes, from bag B after 30 minutes, from bag C after one hour and from bag D after two hours. Carefully remove the shell from each hard-boiled egg. Those that stay in the oil-polluted water the longest will show the most damage. Source: No-Sweat Science: Nature Experiments by Anthony D. Fredericks (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2005)
Make A Worm Farm
Explore this easy way to turn kitchen scraps into quality soil for use in your garden.
Best suited for: Preschool to Grade 1
You’ll need:
- Large bucket or tub
- Bedding material
- Water
- Table scraps
- Piece of burlap
- About 100 earthworms (available at most bait shops)
- Screen wire to cover the container
To do: Fill the tub with bedding material (shredded paper, leaves, straw, corrugated cardboard or peat moss) about 8 inches deep. Add water until it’s moist. You’ll need to add water every two weeks or so. Mix in table scraps. Add worms. Cover the soil with damp burlap to slow evaporation and put screen wire over the container. Keep the farm inside or outside, but don’t let it freeze. With a good balance of “food” and water, the worms will begin to multiply. In six months you could have thousands. Recycle some into the garden, where they’ll help nourish and loosen the soil.
Source: hobbyscience.com
Smart Lightbulbs
Besides having a short life span, incandescent lightbulbs give off lots of heat and can cause your air conditioner to work much harder to cool your home. That’s just one of the reasons compact fluorescent bulbs are a better option.
Best suited for: Middle school to high school
You’ll need:
- White towel
- Gooseneck-style lamp
- Mercury thermometer
- Incandescent lightbulbs of different wattages—25, 60 or 75, 100 and 150 watts
- 2 compact fluorescent lightbulbs—7-watt and 23-watt
- Ruler or yardstick
- Watch or stopwatch
- Paper and pencil to record your observations
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To do: Put the towel on a table and set the gooseneck lamp on one end of the towel. Place the thermometer on the towel under the lamp bulb and measure the distance from the bulb. Unplug the lamp and screw in the smallest-wattage lightbulb first.
Measure and write down the starting temperature. Turn on the lamp and start your watch. At the end of five minutes read the thermometer and mark down the final temperature. Repeat the steps above with each bulb. Be sure to allow the lamp and towel to cool for half an hour between tests.Source: California Energy Commission
Everyday Earth-Saving Ideas
Betty Bigney, an award-winning science teacher at North Topsail Elementary School in Hampstead, North Carolina, suggests these simple things children and parents can do:
- Reuse just one paper towel throughout the day to dry your hands.
- Use both sides of paper—from school papers to craft projects.
- Opt for a reusable lunch box and washable containers instead of paper or plastic bags.
- Read together and discuss The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and The Wump World by Bill Peet.
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