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The weather is getting warmer, the sun is starting to stay out longer, it can only mean one thing: Spring is here!This year do something out of the ordinary with our Ultimate Spring Break List! Each activity gets your kids' brains working while they have fun during their vacation. How many will you and your family do?
Go to a local museum.
Pack up the kids and find a museum near you, no need to travel far! Fun tip: Check to see if the museums have a special kid day!
Plant flowers.
Your little learners will love to watch their creations grow! You can also plant veggies and watch your kids' delight as they eat something they planted with their own hands! This may be the trick to getting them to eat their vegetables. ???? ???? ????
Get up early (or wait for dinner-time!) to watch the sky burst with colors! Explain what causes this awesome view in the sky! Small particles in the atmosphere change the direction of light rays, causing them to scatter different directions.
Read a book everyday.
Just because there's a break from school doesn't mean you should take a break from reading! Mix it up: Keep your kids' brains active by having them read to you!
Walk to the park.
Get moving and bring some snacks for a trip to the swings! Have the kids navigate your way to and from the park!
Try a new food.
Break the habit of picky eating with a new food; maybe mango or another sweet, exotic fruit! You never know what new favorite will be discovered!
Cook dinner together.
Have the little ones be sous chefs for the night with mixing and pouring! This is a fun way to teach basic measuring skills.
Rainy day activities.
Spring showers bringing you down? No worries, check out this Rainy Day DIY Activities list! It includes an umbrella craft and an indoor rainbow activity!
Learn a new game.
Pick out a new board game or find one on Pinterest.
Make up a game.
Take it a step further and make up your own game instead! Put on your thinking caps and make up your own rules for a classic game, maybe a new way to play checkers? The kids can also get creative by designing the board themselves!
Paint a picture.
Get wild with the water colors!
Volunteer.
Go to the local pet shelter and help feed the cats and dogs for a few hours! This is an amazing habit to get kids into at an early age. It teaches compassion and you get to play with animals all day! Win-win!
Go bird watching.
Break out the binoculars and see how many birds are coming out to play! Listen and look carefully and record each birds different characteristics.
Go on a nature hike.
Find a local forest preserve and walk the paths! Bring a bucket for special findings along the way!
Make a bird feeder.
Click here to create this simple bird feeder out of recycled items in the house!
Who doesn’t love a good snow globe? Each one is a spellbinding combination of swirling, swishing liquid, and falling glitter that is perfect for sensory play. As mesmerizing as they are, did you know that snow globes are actually an experiment regarding the scientific principle of viscosity?
Let’s apply the standard of viscosity by creating a Snowman Snow Globe. We’ll put it together and then explain why it works.
You will need the following:
A water bottle (a clear glass water bottle was used here)
Clear glue
Tap water
Glitter
Black tape for the snowman’s top hat
Markers, paper, and pipe cleaners to make the snowman face
Craft items for the “floaters” inside the globe, like snowflakes, stars, buttons, or jingle bells
First, let’s get our snow globe looking like a snowman. Using a sharpie marker, draw on the eyes and buttons.
Second, you can draw on the carrot nose, but we used leftover orange sticky craft paper here.
Next, select a pipe cleaner to tie around under his carrot nose for a little scarf.
The man needs a top hat, right? Wrap the cap in black tape for his hat.
Now that he’s dressed and ready to go, squirt the clear glue into the bottle. We added more glue to one of our bottles. Will more thick glue make the glitter move slower or faster?
Next, sprinkle in your glitter and drop in the items that will float.
Now it’s time to watch the snow fly!
So what does viscosity mean for the snow globe?
The viscosity of a fluid is its relative “thickness.” Think of glue or maple syrup. Both are thick and slow. Viscosity is measured by its resistance to a stress factor. In the case of our snow globe, the stress is the water and shaking motion. Compared to the water, it is much thicker, slowing the fall of our glitter, snowflakes, and jingle bells.
The snow globe we made with less glue moved the objects much faster through itself. Less viscosity = easier movement of objects.
Is it getting hot in here? Since those Firelytes love the heat, we thought we’d go an adventure with them to the hottest spot in our galaxy: the SUN!
The Sun is a spot of constant fascination for scientists and space-lovers alike. On August 12, 2018, NASA launched the historic Park Solar Probe. Its mission is to revolutionize our understanding of the Sun. Parker will be able to travel through the Sun’s atmosphere, closer to it than any spacecraft before!
The hope is that Parker will be able to provide humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star.Before we get into what Parker is looking for, let’s have the Firelytes describe to us all the parts of the sun. The sun accounts for 99.86% of our solar system, and is made up of the gases hydrogen and helium. It is so big that one million Earths could fit inside it. Wow! It is made up of several layers that help us understand its makeup, so let’s take a look. Take it away, Firelytes!
Layers of the Sun
Core
Erupto says: The Sun’s core is about 200,000 miles across and takes up about one quarter of the Sun’s size. The temperature inside is about 15 million degrees Celsius. The core is tightly packed, which creates an environment for nuclear reactions to occur.
Radiative Zone
Hearther says: The radiative zone is just outside the core and generates energy by nuclear fusion. Both the core and radiative zone spin differently than the rest of the sun. This energy produced is in the form of photons, or particles of light or radiation.
Convective Zone
Chark Says: A thermometer would read 15 million degrees Celsius in the convective zone of the Sun. Energy created from the radiative zone is transported through here by radiation and conduction.
Photosphere
Blazer says: The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun. It is what we see on Earth. Light is radiated from the photosphere’s surface.
Chromosphere
Magmunch says: Temperatures at the Sun’s chromosphere are about 4,000 degrees Celsius. This is the layer that emits the sun’s reddish color only visible during eclipses.
Corona
Twotorch says: The Sun is surrounded by a “jacket of gases” called an atmosphere. The outermost later is corona. It is usually not visible because of the Sun’s bright light, but can be seen by a total solar eclipse.
Now back to Parker, the NASA’s space probe currently making its way around the Sun. For the first time, Parker will be able to gather data from the corona, hoping to deepen scientists’ understanding of the origin and evolution of solar wind. The neatest part? Parker will be able to give information to NASA’s ability to forecast changes in Earth’s space environment that will affect life and technology here on our planet.
Parker will hurtle around the Sun at 430,00 mph.
How fast is that? Well, fast enough to get from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. in one second!
And what about the heat? Parker’s outer solar shield will be up against temperatures of about 2,500 degree Fahrenheit, but inside the probe it will stay a comfortable room temperature. The Sun is the only star we can study up close. As the source of light and heat for the Earth, the more scientists study it, the more we can understand how life on Earth developed. Solar wind, or the flow of gases from the Sun, can cause disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. All good stuff to find out – Parker is going to help scientists do it.
Stay tuned on Parker’s latest findings at nasa.gov. And thank you, Firelytes, for our Sun fun facts!
Ultimate Spring Break Activity List
The weather is getting warmer, the sun is starting to stay out longer, it can only mean one thing: Spring is here!This year do something out of the ordinary with our Ultimate Spring Break List! Each activity gets your kids' brains working while they have fun during their vacation. How many will you and your family do?
Go to a local museum.
Pack up the kids and find a museum near you, no need to travel far! Fun tip: Check to see if the museums have a special kid day!
Plant flowers.
Your little learners will love to watch their creations grow! You can also plant veggies and watch your kids' delight as they eat something they planted with their own hands! This may be the trick to getting them to eat their vegetables. ???? ???? ????
Get up early (or wait for dinner-time!) to watch the sky burst with colors! Explain what causes this awesome view in the sky! Small particles in the atmosphere change the direction of light rays, causing them to scatter different directions.
Read a book everyday.
Just because there's a break from school doesn't mean you should take a break from reading! Mix it up: Keep your kids' brains active by having them read to you!
Walk to the park.
Get moving and bring some snacks for a trip to the swings! Have the kids navigate your way to and from the park!
Try a new food.
Break the habit of picky eating with a new food; maybe mango or another sweet, exotic fruit! You never know what new favorite will be discovered!
Cook dinner together.
Have the little ones be sous chefs for the night with mixing and pouring! This is a fun way to teach basic measuring skills.
Rainy day activities.
Spring showers bringing you down? No worries, check out this Rainy Day DIY Activities list! It includes an umbrella craft and an indoor rainbow activity!
Learn a new game.
Pick out a new board game or find one on Pinterest.
Make up a game.
Take it a step further and make up your own game instead! Put on your thinking caps and make up your own rules for a classic game, maybe a new way to play checkers? The kids can also get creative by designing the board themselves!
Paint a picture.
Get wild with the water colors!
Volunteer.
Go to the local pet shelter and help feed the cats and dogs for a few hours! This is an amazing habit to get kids into at an early age. It teaches compassion and you get to play with animals all day! Win-win!
Go bird watching.
Break out the binoculars and see how many birds are coming out to play! Listen and look carefully and record each birds different characteristics.
Go on a nature hike.
Find a local forest preserve and walk the paths! Bring a bucket for special findings along the way!
Make a bird feeder.
Click here to create this simple bird feeder out of recycled items in the house!
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