The Awesome Cosmic Ray Detector (also known as an Electoscope)

The kids are making their debut today on the blog, so give a give round of applause to "The Kiddos"!!!!  They will tell you what we learned about today in science.  By the way, if you would like to try out some free experiments from supercharge, just click on this link and you too can make some amazing stuff.  Free Science Experiments

First up is J-dawg, who will tell you what we made:

We made a cosmic ray detector, how we did it :  We got  a jar and got a wire hanger . and we put a foil ball on the end of the hanger. We put a little piece of foil  on the bottom of the hanger.

(This was J-dawg unplugged and unsensored...thank goodness there wasn't anything about poop in there).   Yes, you can all be impressed with his spelling...that kid loves to spell words all...day....long for me.  Not bad for a 6 year old!

E-girl will give you the low-down on how we conducted our experiment on static electricity:

To make a static charge, shuffle your feet with socks on the ground or rub a hat on your head.  You could also use a balloon.  Then we would touch the foil ball to see if it had an affect.

This is the point where Big-Daddy comes down stairs and notices our fun experiment (and he is never one to miss out on a fun experiment).  And since our feet weren't quite getting the job done, Daddy brought out the big guns!  The Van De Graaff generator is awesome for creating some serious static electricity.

E-boy will now explain what this contraption does when it gets a good static charge:

When the electroscope has a charge the foil in the jar starts to repel.  This  is what it looks like.

Now for the grand finale, J-dawg will wrap it up for us and tell us what he learned.

When a charge goes throu the cosmic ray detetor the foil goes apart  because they get the same charge.

For some reason, J-dawg refuses to call it an electroscope.  I guess Cosmic Ray Detector sounds a lot cooler.  There are some differences between them, but it can be used as a CRD if you have that Van De Graaff generator supplying it with a constant charge.  

Not bad for a day's work:  science AND computerating all in one project!  Seriously, check out this link if you want some fun experiments for your kids to try out this summer.  Most of the experiments can be done with stuff found around your house.  http://www.sciencelearningspace.com/members/go.php?r=5836&i=l22

Summer Science FUN!!!

So, we've been doing a lot of science experiments this summer.  I ♥ superchargedscience.com.  It is full of awesomely fun experiments that she shows them how to do.  She thinks and does experiments much like my husband, so I can sit back and enjoy it all with my kids.  AND then Chris doesn't have to be torn away from his work (and bringin' home the bacon).

Here's some stuff we made this summer:

We've been studying electricity, so we've been putting together simple circuits with a battery pack, alligator clips and lights or buzzers.  This is a Nerve Tester that sounds an alarm if you touch the wire with the wand.

 The kids got to add some words to the sides and bottom of the base.

They've had a lot of fun doing the things that Daddy knows how to do....and the best part is that I haven't had to go to the store to buy a single thing!  It's all right here in our house...

My Debut!!!!!

So, I thought I would finally jump on the band wagon and pretend that I have time for this kind of extravagance, but don't worry I will probably still be in my pjs every time I post.  Truthfully, it's for my kids.  They need to learn to do some more computerating (yes, that's my word), so you will see mostly posts from them.  At least that's the plan...so that's what will happen, right? 
I was signing our oldest son up for cub scouts a couple of months ago.   They wanted to know what school he went to so I thought it was high time we figured that out (after 6 years).  I know, I know, what's the rush?   "Reade Academy of Higher Learning and Understanding" didn't fit on the application, so I went with the obvious, shortened name:  Reade Academy of Awesomeness, or RAA for those of you who love a good acronym.  It could also be used as a roar, for those of you who love a good onomatopoeia...I know making everyone happy.  Sit back and enjoy the ride, folks!