Nanotechnology is the study of what happens when things get very, very small – only a few atoms in size. The word “nanometer” means one billionth of a meter, perhaps five or six atoms long. At the nanoscale, materials can have very different physical or chemical properties, even though they are the same. In particular, super thin films of material, only a few nanometers thick, can cause interference within light reflecting off them, resulting in beautiful displays of colors.

A crystal is a natural solid made up of a repeated pattern of molecules connected together. Crystals can form through the slow cooling of molten material (gemstones), or when a warm gas such as oxygen cools down (snowflakes), or when a liquid that contains dissolved minerals cools very slowly (salt). In this activity, students will observe various substances and determine whether these substances are crystals based on their physical properties. They will also learn one of the processes for crystal formation and how to create their own crystals by cooling a supersaturated solution.

Sound is all around us. Everything we hear in our day-to-day lives has a distinctive sound, from the jingling of keys to the tapping of footsteps in a hallway. Sound is created when objects vibrate. These vibrations cause the air around them to vibrate, sending sound waves in various directions. Some objects tend to vibrate at a specific rate. This is known as their resonant frequency. In this activity, students will explore the vibrating nature of sound and how it travels from molecule to molecule.

Although scientists do not fully understand the mechanism behind lightning, they think it is created when particles collide with other particles, causing them to generate and build up large amounts of static charges. The same basic process that creates lightning also occurs on a much smaller scale when you get a shock after shuffling across a carpet and touching a doorknob. What is giving you a shock is static electricity. In this set of activities, students will generate static electricity by rubbing or “charging” a balloon.

There are hundreds of different kinds of cheeses that are produced in various countries around the world. Although each type of cheese has its own distinct taste, all cheese-making processes begin by separating the semi-solid portion of milk, called curd, from the watery liquid, known as whey. In this activity, students will learn how to make a simple cheese using kitchen utensils and household ingredients. Students will discover the chemical reaction that occurs when an acid, vinegar, is mixed with a milk protein and how this chemical reaction separates the milk into curds and whey.

Bacteria are one-celled organisms that can only be seen under a microscope. There are thousands of kinds of bacteria, and they are found everywhere - in the air, in the depths of the ocean, in the human body and on human skin. Under favorable conditions, bacteria can multiply rapidly and form colonies (millions of bacterial cells grouped together) that can be observed with the naked eye. In this activity, students will formulate a hypothesis about which area of skin on their bodies may have the most or least amount or kinds of bacteria.

Many popular sports, including basketball, are based upon the use of a ball. Yet each type of ball is easily associated with a specific sport, because each ball is distinctly different. A ball’s performance is directly influenced by its characteristics or properties. For example, the oval shape of a football allows it to travel farther in the air than a ball that is round. In this activity, students will explore the properties of various balls from different sports, and discuss why the design of each ball is suited to its associated sport.

Mycology, the study of mushrooms and other fungi, has helped increase our awareness and understanding of fungi and how they affect our daily lives. Fungi play an important role as decomposers, breaking down organic matter and recycling nutrients. Fungi also are responsible for the production of beneficial drugs such as penicillin, and of fermented foods such as breads, wines and cheeses. All over the world, mushrooms also are cultivated for human consumption.

Complex fluids are special kinds of mixtures that have characteristics of more than one phase of matter. In this video, the combination of cornstarch and water resulted in a substance that exhibited the properties of a solid and a liquid depending on the amount of pressure or force applied to it. These types of fluids that don’t behave like what we think of as “normal” fluids are called non-Newtonian fluids. Many non-Newtonian fluids are made of polymers, long chains of repeating molecules that give the fluid unusual physical properties such as flexibility and strength.

PKO now joins the Rev. in the history books.
We had a great turnout, not only in numbers, but in the level of engagement. Almost everyone stayed until the very end, leaving around 10:30 PM on a weeknight.
Congratulations, Philadelphia!
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