In our continuing quest to find interesting blogs and bloggers, we ran into Leah Simmers Photography Blog, where she was capturing her experience with Mentos and Diet Coke. Thanks to Leah for letting us share some her unique geyser pictures here. Check out Leah’s full blog post here. And yes, that is the Geyser Tube she’s using to launch that screaming geyser.

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You might have seen t-shirts or special jewelry (beads) that changes color in sunlight. UV Beads look like ordinary white beads used to make a craft project, but embedded in the plastic is a special pigment that changes color when exposed to ultraviolet light. The color change takes place in just seconds - almost like magic. Mrs. Bratteli’s Third Grade Class from Aikin Elementary School in Paris, Texas, used the beads as a way to see if sunscreen lotion really blocks out harmful ultraviolet light from the sun.

We did an experiment with your UV beads and sunscreen and the types were 10, 30, and 50 SPF. We put them each on a foam plate and had a nothing plate. [control—no sunscreen] They changed colors exactly how they were supposed to, but the 50 you couldn’t see. Read the full experiment write-up.

But, like all good experiments, these third graders discovered something else…

We left them all over the weekend and here are our results. The SPF 50 sunscreen also ate through the Styrofoam plate! The spf 10 did a little eating through the plate, but the 30 did not do a thing and neither did the nothing. Do you think using 50 and 10 SPF is dangerous or would effect us?

Here’s a great example of kids doing real science and making new observations and discoveries. As you might imagine, there’s nothing wrong with the kids’ sunscreen, but what they did discover is that something in the sunscreen reacted with the Styrofoam plate. It’s well known that fingernail polish remover (dilute acetone), spray glue, paints and other household chemicals react with Styrofoam, causing the polystyrene to quickly dissolve on contact. The students discovered something in their brand of sunscreen that caused a similar reaction.

Hats off to Nancy Bratteli and Nicole Sumpter, third grade teachers at Aikin Elementary in Paris, Texas, who do a great job of getting their students excited about science throughout the year. Halloween is especially fun for these two when they host Aikin All-Day Science… and the kids go crazy. One of the prevailing themes in my training seminars is the need for turning ordinary activities into unforgettable learning experiences… and these teachers are doing it. Nice job.

Want to try your own experiment using UV detecting beads? Take a look at these science project ideas and links…

How do UV Beads work?

UV Bead Experiment - Blocking Rays with a Medicine Bottle?

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It’s great to get your e-mails and photos of your children and students doing the science activities featured in our Experiment of the Week. These photos are from Sheila Allen, just one of a number of great teachers in the Department of Defense Schools at Ramstein AFB in Germany. Sheila writes…

“Well today was the big day and boy did the children have fun!
I think my favorite was the Expanding Ivory Soap activity, and I picked just the right kid to trick with the Do Not Open Bottle. We were doing an A-Z countdown to the end of school and so for E we did experiments, and we thought your activities really hit the high point for us! There are 9 kindergarten classes at Ramstein Elementary school (K-2) , and it is a good place for science to happen.”

Sheila Allen and her team of mad scientists are a great example of how early childhood teachers are having an incredible impact on the science concepts that young children are being exposed to in the early years of their education. Over the last 15 years, I’ve seen countless examples of early childhood teachers working hard rewriting their science curriculum to include more hands-on science experiences that prompt children to ask “what if” questions and give them the scientific tools to test out even the simplest hypothesis. Sheila Allen and thousands of teachers like her are working hard to meet and exceed the National Science Standards through their innovative teaching methods, they have a passion for learning and an ability to inspire young children… even if that means getting a little messy.

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Robert Woodhead is always looking for a new challenge with his Casio EX-F1 camera. I found Robert’s first Mentos Geyser reaction on Gizmodo using just a roll of Mentos and a bottle Diet Coke. Watching the reaction at 1200 fps is truly amazing. Robert found a willing subject (the kid running from the exploding bottle) and sent us this video. Huge thanks!

If you haven’t seen the Mentos Slow Motion Video from the people at Perfetti Van Melle, watch it! At 2,000 frames per second, you can actually see the carbon dioxide bubbles forming on the nucleation sites.

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It's also a good idea to find someone in the audience who you've never met and trust that you won't let them sink into a pit of cornstarch goo. Watch the Cornstarch Water Walk Video View more photos at The Science Behind the Goo - Photos from the Ellen Show

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