Leaf Pigments

Materials: 4-5 Fresh Leaves & Acetone (Nail polish remover) & Plastic container with lid & Coffee Filter

Leaves have many pigments trapped inside of them that are masked by the green of chlorophyll most of the year.  This experiment can show you some of the other colors that are present- oranges (carotenids), yellows (xanthophylls), browns (tannins), and reds/purples (anthocyanins).  

Tear the leaves into small pieces and cover them with acetone.  Place a lid on the container and let it sit for at least 10 hours.  After 10 hours, open the container, and place a half of a coffee filter into the solution (you will probably at least see  some of  green pigment-chlorophyll-in the solution), with part of it sticking out or resting over the edge of the container.  Wait for 5-10 minutes, then check the filter paper.  You should see at least two bands of pigments (green and yellow), and possibly more.  Check out http://www.backyardnature.net/lf_color.htm for more information on leaf colors.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

Materials:  Baking Soda & Vinegar & Clay/Model Magic & Cup of supersoapy water & paint or food dye (optional)

Make a volcano out of clay or model magic.  Place in sink or wash basin, add soapy water, coloring, and baking soda to the crater of the volcano.   When you're ready, add the vinegar.  Your lava is the result of a chemical reaction between the baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid).  In the reaction, carbon dioxide gas is made.   As the carbon dioxide gas is produced it makes bubbles (thanks to the soap) that come flowing out of the 'volcano'.

 

Diet Soda and Mentos Volcano

Materials: 2 liter bottle Diet Soda & 1 pkg of mentos & tube or funnel 

In an open outdoor area, place a funnel on top of a newly opened 2 liter bottle of diet soda.  Taking care not to have your face directly over the opening of the bottle, place 10+ mentos in the funnel, allowing them to enter the bottle at the same time.  Watch as a geyser of soda erupts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_and_Mentos_eruption 

 

Quicksand-like GOOP

Materials: Corn starch & Water & Bowl/container

Add 1 part water to 2 parts cornstarch (try starting with 2 cups of cornstarch and 1 cup of water) to a bowl, mixing well.  You want your mixture to be the consistency of a thick milkshake, keep adding cornstarch and/or water until your mixture is thick enough.  Now, play!  Try floating something, punching the whole mixture, writing your name through the goop, drizzling it, etc.  The combination of corn starch and water in the goop actually creates a "non-newtonian liquid" which means that it sort of follows the rules for both liquids and solids. 

Nature Activities and Resources

 

 

Life Stories with Tree Rings

Materials:

v     Tree Ring Picture or actual tree ring

v     Paper

v     Pencils

v     In a Nutshell  Joseph Anthony and Cris Arbo

Tree rings (one dark and one light band/yr) can tell the story of a tree - its age, the years with a lot of growth (larger space between bands), years of little growth, and times of damage/disease.  Ask your patient(s) to create their own life in tree rings - with one ring for each year, and suggest that they try to keep in mind their own physical and or emotional growth when creating the width of the bands, as well as markers for tough times like family turmoil or illness.  Sometimes this is a different and less threatening way for patients to reflect on their lives. Ask them to write what they think or hope (or maybe both) the next five years will be like.  For younger patients, read In a Nutshell, and then have them draw a tree that represents them and tell a story about it. This activity is based on an activity presented by Peggy Jessee.

 

Leaf Rubbings 

Materials:

v     Laminated Leaves and/or leaf rubbing plates-check Acorn Naturalist www.acornnaturalists.com  (Leaf rubbing plates)

v     Crayons with paper peeled off

v     Paper

v     Water colors

Laminate leaves or use leaf rubbing plates from Acorn Naturalist and use crayons to make leaf rubbings of leaves from different trees. Put the leaves or leaf plates under a piece of paper and rub crayon on top. Compare/contrast, make a book of leaf rubbings, do rubbings with white crayons before the kids see them and then paint over them with watercolor ‘like magic’.

 

Leaf Man inspired Leaf- Critters

Materials:

v     Leaves or Dye Cut Leaves--Acorn Naturalist www.acornnaturalists.com  (dye-cut leaves)

v     Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

v     Paper

v     Glue Sticks

v     Googlie Eyes

Read Leaf Man. Use real leaves or dye-cut paper leaves from Acorn Naturalist and googily eyes to create animals and people out of leaves. Write/dictate a new leaf critter story.

 

Liquid Watercolor Leaves

Materials:

v     Liquid Watercolor

v     Leaves for watercoloring  try Discount School Supply www.discountschoolsupply.com (Liquid Watercolor, Leaves)

v     Small containers (pill cups work well)

v     Paint brushes, pipettes and/or syringes

v     Salt

v     Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber

v     Silk leaves (try post-halloween sales at arts and crafts stores)

 

Use liquid watercolor (from Discount School Supply)  to mix leaf colors, apply with syringes or pipettes (add salt for an extra effect) to Discount School Supply leaves to create realistic looking fall leaves- a good lead in for talking about leaf pigments and why leaves change colors. For younger kids, you can read Leaf Jumpers. We have also collected silk leaves and tossed them at individual kids to recreate leaf pile jumping (which usually results in squeals of delight J).

 

Treasure Hunts

Materials:

v     Animal Tracks www.acornnaturalists.com

v     Dye-Cut insect papers www.acornnaturalists.com

v     Stingrays to color www.mbayaq.org/lc/activities/sharks_hidearay.asp

v     Stickers or other prizes

v     Doublesided tape

 

Hide objects (inside or outside) such as animal tracks, insects, & hand colored sting rays. Let patients search for the objects, or allow them to hide the objects so their families/nurses can find them. We’ve found that this is a great motivator for exercise.

 

Snow party! 

Materials:

v     Insta-Snow www.discountschoolsupply.com

v     Large container (wash basins work well)

v     Water

v     Liquid watercolor or paint and syringes

v     Styrafoam balls

v     Extra long q-tips (for piecing balls together)

v     Sharpies or paint

 

Use instant snow, let kids use paint or liquid watercolor to color it by mixing it in their wash basin. Use Styrofoam balls as “snow balls” to throw at a target, make snowmen out of balls and long q-tips, then decorate.

 

Butterflies

Materials:

v     Butterfly life cycle page

v     http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/schools/beal/curriculum/butterfly/cycle/nsrccycle.html

v     Butterfly Bedroom Kit www.creativityforkids.org Search for Butterfly Bedroom Kit, order wholesale

v     Monarch Caterpillars to raise into butterflies (www.monarchwatch.org),

 

Butterflies are a great way to talk about life cycles. Even if you can’t raise butterflies, you can learn and talk about their life cycle and decorate with them.