As I've mentioned it is science fair time. For the next couple of days we tackle the kindergartener's project. She'll be finding out what yeast eats.

Today we read a little bit about how bread is made, talked about the ingredients and observed that there were lots of tiny little holes in bread. Then we took half a cup of very warm water and mixed in a teaspoon of sugar. On the top we sprinkled 2 teaspoons of yeast. After about 3 minutes we took a spoon and played with the bubbles on top. Wow! There were tons of them. I explained a little bit about fermentation to Sadie (although I didn't use that word at first). The yeast "eats" the sugar and makes a gas called carbon dioxide. She took a sniff and then a little taste. I explained to her that the bad taste was the other thing the yeast makes when it eats the sugar, alcohol. We came up with a few things to test to see what else yeast eats - flour, salt, honey, apples and potatoes.

I'll show you how we measure the carbon dioxide tomorrow. In the meantime, take a look at the story of yeast and other experiments you can do.

On the third day of Christmas the Fieldlearning blog gave to me three websites about the physics of light and color.

I used these sites in a 4 week homeschool co-op class on light:

The easiest and most accessible is this first one. Lots of experiments to try with easy to find household things.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/iconlight.html

The second is text heavy, but they also have some really neat java tutorials that allow you to learn about color.
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/lightandcolor/index.html

Got a useless cd lying around? Why not make a mini spectroscope?
http://www.uwm.edu/~awschwab/specweb.htm

Got any ideas for upcoming days of Christmas? Leave a comment!

• Tuva - geography and culture
• Throat Singing - Tuvan and other
• Nomadic Peoples - Tuvan and other
• His Nobel Prize - what is a nobel prize and how they are awarded as well
• The nature of light
  
• Development of the nuclear bomb
• Other important physicists of the 20th century
• Safe-cracking and Drumming
• Feynmann Diagrams
• Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster
• Nanotechnology

You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.
~Richard Feynman

Blame it on the PA State Parks. They produce these short brochures about the geology about many of their parks. Ask when you get there, or download them before you go. For a more general overview of rocks, minerals and fossils, download educational guides on these topics specific to PA, here.

Wherever you live, you can celebrate Earth Science Week by doing the activities at this site. They've got a kit you may order as well with posters and informative brochures. There are a few contests and even some real live science to participate in (you have to jump through some hoops before you can submit your data though). Groups can order patches (like a scout patch) to commemorate their participation in ESW.

If you need resources to learn about hurricanes, I think the National Science Teacher's Association has found some great ones. Try the free Sci Guides about severe weather for high school age (or to brush up yourself!). Sci Links is another service they provide with information about storms for younger children, hurricanes for grades 5-8 and hurricane fundamentals and preparation for high school age kids.

One final note, don't forget to make cross-curricular connections by reading a bit about the people for whom the state parks are named. Gifford Pinchot and Samuel Lewis weren't Pennsylvanians I knew of before last month and it turns out they were pretty important people in regard to PA and US Forestry and Conservation.

Any interesting rocks near you?

�Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot.�

Space Weather News for Sept. 6, 2005http://spaceweather.com
SUNSET PLANETS: On Tuesday, Sept. 6th--that's today--the crescent moon will leap up from the glare of the Sun to join Venus and Jupiter in the western sky at sunset. It's going to be a beautiful sight; don't miss it!  Bonus: Can you see a ghostly glow across the dark part of the moon? That's Earthshine.

Take part in a global project during the September Equinox by joining with students at Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador) and students and educators from around the globe in SunShIP, the Sun Shadow Investigation Project. Participants will measure the altitude of the mid-day Sun and use this information to calculate the polar circumference of the Earth. Additionally participants are encouraged to take pictures of student involvement or of mid-day shadows from various latitudes for comparison.Participating individuals or classrooms that send in data will receive an official certificate from the Eratosthenes Society.Visit the project web site at http://sunship.currentsky.com for more information, activities for all grade levels, and to add your name or classroom to the participant guest map.