Mystery Science

Building Bridges 

 

Freezing Hands Experiment

 

Mystery Science has become our favorite science curriculum of late. We watch four episodes and do two experiments per week. This program is free for a year. We really like it because the videos are interesting and engaging. They are followed by step by step instructions on how to do the experiments and they also have extra links to videos and articles to read.

Here are the boys making a bridge out of paper. They were able to cut it, fold it, crumple or twist it to create their own bridge. They learned about different types of bridges and why they work. Then they put coins on their bridge to see how many each could hold.

Another experiment we did was from one of the extras. It was called "Polar Bear Hand". In this activity they covered one hand in vegetable shortening and left the other hand as is. Then they submerged both hands in icy cold water and noted how long each hand could stay in. The one with the fat covering it could stay in the water much longer.