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| Photo: Frozen balloons magically reinflate
in warm hands. Photo by Sarah Anderson. |
"In the class, we freeze inflated balloons in liquid nitrogen,
and they come out as small thin balloon wafers. They appear
completely deflated. This is because the gas inside the balloon
is so cold that the molecules have very little energy to bounce
around, and are all sitting in one small spot. Now, we hand
these frozen balloons to the kids, and as they rest in the kids'
hands, they magically reinflate (it only take a few seconds).
What is happening is the heat from the kids' hands warms the
inside of the balloon, which sends the molecules inside the
balloon bouncing into each other again - fully inflating the
balloon - as the kids watch it. With this (literally) hands-on
experiment, they directly experience the relationship between
gas pressure (inside the balloon) and temperature. It is really
cool to see the kids figure this out (it is called Charles's
Law) - and then they can explain, in their own words, what's
going on. For me, as the teacher, that's rewarding!" - Tom
Nordin, Keck Observatory operations engineering manager
The following Keck Observatory staff members volunteered their
time to conduct the summer science program at the Kahilu Theater:
Sarah Anderson, Randy Campbell, Marc Kassis, Jim Lyke, Tom Nordin,
and Julia Simmons. Laura Kinoshita, Public Information Officer
for the Observatory, contributed valuable educational materials
to the Keck team. Jamie Higginson cut the individual hexagonal
pieces of the four-foot wall murals and oversaw the mural installation
at the Observatory Headquarters. Mahalo nui loa to these outstanding
individuals for inspiring "ah-ha" moments and sharing their
mana'o (thoughts and minds) with local youth.
The Keck team began with the most easily recognizable object
in the night sky: the Moon. Kids learned all about "Earth's
little sister": her size, distance from Earth, composition,
natural history, and significance to various human cultures.
Many cultures have created myths around the images they perceived
in the moon, including the man in the moon, a rabbit, and a
fox. The kids were asked to make drawings of what they saw in
the moon. "A wide variety of imaginative objects were created,"
says Keck Support Astronomer Randy Campbell, "the most common
of which was a poodle. Perhaps you can see a poodle the next
time you gaze up at a beautiful Hawaiian full Moon!"
As a follow-up to the moon discussion, the kids were asked to
plan their own mission to the moon. They watched historical
videos of the Apollo program, as well as more modern International
Space Station videos. Kids were divided into teams and asked
to design a space craft that could provide a comfortable trip
to the moon, perform a scientific mission, and safely return
to Earth. Kids were challenged to think critically about the
problems of space travel and how best to accomplish the scientific
goals of the mission. They presented their ideas to each other
in a mini technical conference and learned much from each other's
ideas and designs.
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| Photo: The real fun began when piles of
spacecraft building materials (old computer parts, wires,
disks, etc.) were distributed. The young space travelers
fabricated some very impressive space craft. |
The "Black Box" project was next on the agenda. Young scientists
were grouped together and given small locked boxes that contained
some rolling parts and obstructions. They performed experiments
and observations on their boxes, and each group was asked to
create a model of what they could surmise about the contents
of their box. The models were presented to the other groups
at a "scientific conference" on black box research. Students
discovered how enlightening it can be to gather with your fellow
researchers and share ideas. They were then able to experiment
further and refine their models, perhaps converging on the true
nature of the black box.
"In science, one does not necessarily get to open up and
look inside the object of study and find the true answer to
the scientific question. For example, one cannot open up a star
and measure directly the physical processes going on there,
even though the large body of research on the sun and other
stars has provided a very good understanding of the internal
physics of stars. So, in keeping with real science, the children
did not get to open up the black boxes and see what the 'right'
answer was, much to their surprise!"
- Randy Campbell, Keck Support Astronomer
Jim Lyke and Julia Simmons broadened the discussion to include
our entire solar system. They talked about the size of the planets
and the fact that there are now more than nine planets. Kids
were asked to make clay models of the planets. "By the time
we got to Pluto, many kids were astonished that Pluto was just
a tiny speck of Playdoh -- smaller than what flakes off when
you mash it around," said Lyke. "Jupiter (60%) and Saturn (35%)
account for most of the planet volume in the solar system."
Julia Simmons led a session to illustrate relative distances
in our solar system using toilet paper. Kids drew the sun on
the first sheet of a roll of toilet paper. They were given a
chart showing the relative distances of the planets from the
first sheet, or the sun. For example, both Mercury and Venus
are located one sheet from the sun. But Pluto is located way
at the other end of the roll, a fact that again surprised the
students. "This is a great hands-on, 3-D activity," says Simmons.
"The big challenge is for the kids to write on the toilet paper.
We used lots of tape!" Download the "Toilet
Paper Solar System" activity and try it at home.
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| Photo: Vibrant depiction of the life cycle
of a star. |
Next, students learned about the sun. Lyke showed some slides
of the sun and talked about how it's different than a planet
because it makes its own energy. Lyke described the life cycle
of a star like the sun and showed how stars "die" as planetary
nebulae.
Simmons presented a slide show of images she gathered from the
"Astronomy
Picture of the Day" web site to inspire the kids' imaginations.
Kids were then asked to paint individual hexagons based on the
celestial objects they saw in the slide show. Most kids painted
star scenes or planets or nebulae. The individual hexagons were
assembled by Nancy Candea, Summer Arts Program Director, into
a four-part wall mural, which now graces the hallway at Keck
Observatory Headquarters.
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| Photo: After looking at images of nebulae
and movies of the sun, the kids were asked to paint anything
that inspired them. |
Marc Kassis discussed rainbows and the visible color spectrum,
and how astronomers use spectra to determine the composition
and temperature of astronomical objects. Students learned how
astronomers might make a spectrum using a prism or gratings.
Then the students made simple spectrometers and observed the
spectrum of neon gas and light from a 40-watt bulb as it passed
through colored plastic. The students made two kinds of spectrometers,
some of which incorporated used CDs as a reflective grating
to separate the light into different colors. "Some kids were
surprised that when you examined the light from a standard light
bulb, you could see all the visible colors," explained Kassis.
"And some were surprised that there was green light in a spectrum
of neon when the lamp to the naked eye looks red."
Perhaps the highlight of the program was the Liquid Nitrogen
Ice Cream created and served by Tom Nordin and Sarah Anderson.
Students learned about gases and liquids using nitrogen. Liquid
nitrogen is a very cold substance, which boils at room temperature.
As liquid nitrogen is exposed to the air, it warms up and one
can see its transition from a liquid to a gas. From watching
this transformation, students learned the correlation that temperature
determines if a substance is a solid, liquid, or gas. They also
learned that when things become very cold, they behave in mysterious
ways. Nordin demonstrated how it's possible to shatter a frozen
penny using a hammer and crumble plumeria and hibiscus flowers
after freezing them in LN2. "The main reason for learning all
this, however, is so we can enjoy Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream,
the most expensive and smoothest ice cream in the world!," exclaimed
Nordin. Learn how to make "The World's
Coolest Ice Cream" and impress your family and friends.
At the end of the summer program, the kids put together a science
"museum" for their families. Small groups of students presented
hands-on demonstrations of the various science lessons they
had learned. Students also performed dances based on the astronomy
theme on the stage at Kahilu Theatre. "They were really proud
of their work and eager to show off what they had learned and
built," said Julia Simmons. View a short video clip of the Saturn's
Rings Dance (requires Quicktime
player). 
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