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Science Adventures for School Groups (check the calendar)
Library Laboratory Science Experiments
Check out the websites for some more Science Experiments and instructions on How to Do a Science Project
The projects listed on this page are experiments done in the laboratory. We encourage you to work with an adult when doing any experiments.
Materials 
Directions
What happens?
The bubbles from the soap will look familiar to a tornado. The effect will not last as long as a tornado. If you don't get it the first time try again
Another Idea
Trace a spiral on a piece of paper. Suspend it above a lighted bulb. The warm air will cause the spiral to turn. This works like a dust devil, which is a kind of twister but smaller. Heat from the earth causes the air to rise while the cool air takes its place. This causes an imbalance of the air pressue.
What is a tornado?
A tornado is a brief, but powerful whirling windstorm forming a dark, funnel-shaped cloud that is one of nature's most powerful forces.
Did you Know?
Three tornadoes have struck San Juan County since 1963: May 28, 1963, June 18, 1968, and September 28, 1990.
Further Reading
Materials
Directions
What is a Volcano?
A vent or crack in the surface of the earth through which lava flows out and the mountain that builds up around it.
Where are Volcanoes?
Most volcanoes are on the Pacific rim called the Ring of Fire, which includes the countries: Japan, Phillippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, Columbia, Bolivia, Chile, and the Pacific Coast of North America.
Materials
Directions
What happened?
The Ping-Pong ball halves blocked the flow of the wind, so the wind pushed them out of the way. This caused the wind speed gauge, or anemometer, to turn. Wind speed was figured by counting rotations per minute.
Will a Dogs Bone Float?
What happened?
The push of the water tries to support a solid object.
But if the object weighs more than this push, it sinks.
This happens only if the object is made of a material like metal that has a greater density than water.
If the density of the material is less than that of water, the object floats.
Dog Vision & Senses
Did you know that when we look at an object light coming from that object enters our eyes?
Why?
It passes to the retina a sensitive layer of skin that lines our eyes. The optic nerve carrie information from the retina to the areas of the brain that controls vision. Then the brain determines what color you see.
Dogs see less sharply then we do, especially things that aren't moving. They also see in various shades of reddish gray. So, if dogs could drive-they'd keep confusing traffic lights (maybe they'd need some kind of "traffic smell": cats-red, dog bone-green, big bird-yellow.)
Research the library... find out who is ROY G. BIV
Tangram came from China many years ago. The Chinese began writing books about tangram in the early 1800s, around the time Americans and Europeans stared playing it. The Chinese tangram books had rules for playing and designs of letters, objects, animals, and people to copy. You can make more than 1,500 different designs. You can use several tangrams together. Use your imagination to show the ears of a rabbit, wings of a bird, etc.
How many can you make?
Try making a dog using:
Directions
The wind comes from air around the earth . In some areas, the air is heated more than in others. For instance, the air at the equator is much warmer than the air at the North Pole. Warm air is lighter than cold air. When the air is warmed up by the Sun, it rises. Cooler air moves in to replace the warm air that has risen. The cold air is then warmed up, and it too rises, to be replaced by yet more cold air. These movements of the air form the major winds that blow over the surface of the Earth all the time.
Try this -- with the help of an adult
Take your dog on a ride in the car and see if he tries to hang his head out of the window.
Do you think he likes the wind in his face?
Most dogs do that to check on their surroundings and don't mind getting a cool breeze at the same time.
How does gravity work?
Earth's gravity holds things on the ground. When you throw a ball in the air, gravity makes it comes back down. When you lie down, gravity keeps you from floating off your bed. Gravity is the force of attraction between two bodies or objects. Scientists know what gravity does and where it can be found, but no one knows exactly what gravity is-one of nature's great mysteries.
Gravity Dogs
What you will need
- cardboard box with a lid
- aluminum foil
- masking tape
- black permanent marker
- 4 Styrofoam packing peanuts
- a tissue
What to do
What is solar energy?
Solar energy is energy from the sun.
How can we use solar energy?
Make a sunlight print
What is a fossil?
A fossil is part of or all of an animal or plant that lived very long ago.
How are fossils made?
Fossils are made when animals or plants die and are covered with dirt and sand. Over a long period of time the remains begain to rot and eventually become as hard as stone.
The result is a fossil.
Enjoy your fossil!
Have you ever wondered why you have two ears and why one is on each side of your head?
Why?
Having two ears helps tell the direction a sound has come from.
A sound will reach one ear a fraction of a second before it reaches the other.
It will also be a tiny bit louder in one ear than in the other.
The brain puts the information from both ears together and figures out where the sound came from.
Some animals can move their ears independently of each other to help pinpoint exactly where a sound is coming from.
Did you know that whistles make high-pitched sounds?
A dog whistle makes a sound that is too high for humans to hear, but that dogs can hear.
Try an experiment with your dog using different sounds.
Which sound does he like the best?