Our Burd Nest: Science Fair

Two of my boys participated in our homeschool group's science fair this year. We kept it simple by picking what we were currently studying as a topic. We were learning all about the three states of matter, and so the boys picked this super cool snowman experiment.

Shortly after deciding on the experiment, Kaleb started singing "do you want to melt a snowman?" and suddenly realized he had the name for his presentation. :) I asked if he would sing his version to the judges....he declined. Ha!

I found all of the ideas and printables on Pinterest. Here is a link to my Pinterest board.

Supplies used for experiment:

balloons

water

large jar or bowl

heat source

(We chose the fireplace because it's winter time here so the great outdoors or sunny window didn't help much.)

We filled balloons with water and froze them overnight. Cut the balloons off of the frozen ice and assembled ice into a snowman. I shaved off the tops and bottoms to create a flat surface. Then we placed our snowman in a large jar, and placed in front of the fire.

The boys observed the snowman throughout the day. Kaleb, being older, followed the scientific method and made a timeline to add to his board. Drake filled in a First, Next, Last paper which acted as the scientific method (we did discuss this as a group) and added a cut and paste page (found on Pinterest but I don't have the link) to show pictures of different states of matter. After observing the snowman melt all day, we then poured him into a pot and watched him become a gas.

We also did a fun craft to show atoms in the three states of matter, and discussed the freezing/melting and boiling/condensation points of water.

Both boys rocked their science fair presentations!! Parents were asked to leave during judging...I was a little anxious about leaving Drake. This was his first time so he was a little (a lot!) nervous. The judges said he did fabulous after just a little prompting and received a great score. Kaleb also did a fabulous job and won 1st place in his age division!!

We celebrated with lunch and came home for one final matter experiment. What happens when you pour root beer (a liquid) over ice cream (a solid)? It forms a yummy bubbly gas!!! (And everyone wins!!!)