Kitchen counter science: rocks, minerals, and crystals

That rock collection that's been taking up so much space on our nature shelf (and in drawers, and on the porch, and on the deck, etc.) is finally being put to good use, and there is much to be said for such a tactile, hands-on science subject as geology.

We studied rocks this week, with our fingers, our noses, and our eyes. We explored the scientific definitions of rock, mineral, and crystal, and the concept of the periodic table within these contexts. We grew rock candy and a salt crystal garden. We broke open a geode. We ran tests on a few mystery minerals to look at such defining characteristics as magnetism, reaction to acids, and hardness. We tried our hands at writing chemical formulas for a variety of minerals and gems.

It has been a week-long process so far, and is still underway. In fact, I suspect that we'll be exploring the subject at least until our rock candy is done growing. Most of the projects required only such things as we already had around the house, but there are a few pet materials that I'm glad we had:
A labeled rock and mineral collection (ours is by American Educational)
A good magnifying glass
Let's Go Rock Collecting, by Roma Gans
The Elements, by Theodore Gray
and a good copy of the periodic table (ours is a laminated placemat)
We also used the Young Scientists' Club Set 3, which was I was glad to have because we'd gotten for more than half off through Zulilly, but honestly it's not worth the full price.

Making rock candy and a salt crystal garden

four days later...

Taking notes and identifying minerals

Busting a geode...

Kitchen counter science: soluble/insoluble

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. Especially this stuff. I wouldn't drink from a single one of these glasses.

This week finds us exploring mixtures and solutions. You know, the breaking down of a substance into its basic molecular form so it can "swim" among the liquid masses. Calvin got a real kick out of that visual. We had a good time creating a chart with columns for soluble, insoluble, and hypothesis, and I was thoroughly surprised by how often he was right on with his forecasting. He didn't know why he thought sugar would dissolve while flour would not, but he was right on pretty much across the board. Plus, it was great fun to design and create interesting concoctions in the kitchen.

{field trip} UofM Exhibit Museum of Natural History—Behind the Scenes Day

What was I just saying about having so many great field trip opportunities so close to home?

Rotunda

This one was only fifteen minutes away, which was a good thing when we were leaving the house this afternoon with only about that much to spare. The Exhibit Museum of Natural History at the University of Michigan has already become a favorite stopping point for us, but today they opened their wings and offered a special glimpse of their behind the scenes work as well.

bird specimen collection

There are a few things in this world that fill me with great warmth and joy simply at their mention. I'm sure this is true for most people—our minds tend to link the feeling of comfort with certain experiences, this being the basis behind the pacifier, the trusty blanket, a hug from a loved one, and, of course, comfort food. For me one of these moments was an entire semester, later in my college years, spent studying the object of my desire: evolutionary biology and animal behavior. I spent an obscene number of hours studying that term, and most of them were spent in room 303 in the Natural History Museum: the Museum Teaching Collection and Lab. Mere memory of that lab and its professors is enough to fill me with an inner peace and longing, a pang of nostalgia.

room 303

Calvin and I have been visiting the museum several times annually for a couple of years now. Of course he loves the museum. The countless hours we have spent pouring over books on prehistoric life are made real there, as are a number of rare and/or local species he has never seen alive himself. He loves the rotunda, and the selection of reading materials available in the small library on the main exhibit floor. We both enjoy the dioramas of ancient life, and the murals, which are ancient in their own right. And every time we visit I feel a pull from the authorized personnel only doors off to the side, or turning a corner in the specimen hall will fill me with nostalgia for days of packed lunches eaten on the benches there while pouring over notes on the identification of lagomorphs based on dental orientation, or something of the like.

in the exhibit museum

Today was a chance for me to return to those moments, and to share them with Jon and Calvin. The rooms looked the same and smelled the same and I could not contain the smile that crept onto my face when we entered them. We took four tours, the one in the bird and mammal wing being the most important to me, but we also toured the paleontology, invertebrate, and anthropology wings. Aside from rare views of rooms full of specimens, we were also treated to the exuberance of the true scholars of each field, professors and graduate students, all being thoroughly in love with their fields and more than eager to share their love with the public. Though the event was free, groups were kept to manageable sizes by requiring pre-registration and tickets, which also helped limit attendees to those were actually interested in an hour's worth of lecture on the subjects.

scarlet tanagers

in the mammal teaching specimen room

in the Paleontology wing—mammoth study room

in the basement...the Paleontology collection

in the mollusk wing

viewing a butterfly's wings under a microscope

a pretty private look in the anthropology department

Calvin says his favorite moment was the Paleontology tour, and possibly making a cast of a Clovis point in the anthropology wing. Jon, who had yet to even visit the museum with us, says he enjoyed everything. For me, the greatest moment was just walking into room 303, and getting to see the cabinet of bat specimens, my favorite creature of study from that year so long ago, was just icing on the cake.

Hats

It's one of the advantages to avoiding the use of air conditioning that when the cold finally starts coming around I am usually more than ready for it. Things got chilly a little earlier this year, and we didn't have the distinct return to hot weather that we usually have at least once in the weeks surrounding Halloween, but still, after the scorching, dry summer, we have welcomed the crisp fall weather. And there is a moment each fall, too, when I feel that my body has finally made the transition, when I no longer label fifty degrees as chilly, but a veritable heat wave, when even thirty degrees does not keep us from a neighborhood walk. Of course, that moment of transition might have more to do with the swapping out of short, thin clothing for longer, heavier duds and layers. And hats. Definitely hats.

The season change opens up a pretty obvious field of study. Charting and discussing the rotation and orbit of the earth is something that Calvin already has a pretty good grasp of just from discussion over the years, but this fall we have actually marked out specific time to discuss it more in depth. Fall is a good time for this because not only is the gradual change in seasons more obvious, as the cusp between daylight and dark now falls before bedtime (especially around the clock change), but in our ancient history studies we have come across numerous references to the change of the seasons, particularly in the fall, and often in myth. That is, after all, what Halloween was for many all those thousands of years ago. Last week we took a break from our march through history (which right now has us camping out in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas about three thousand years ago) to drop in on Stonehenge and the Celts. One of these years I just might try to find a turnip big enough to carve. How appropriate that next week, with the clocks turned back and the sun setting before dinner, we will be entering into the Greek Dark Ages.

Wednesday

First thing this morning, the Lego princess married the man in the bunny suit to the sound of pirate music and scales (i.e. piano practice).

Then we were visited by a woodpecker while we were math-ing at the kitchen table. I take it as a good sign for our deck that he didn't stay long.

There was some playing with the parts of speech, and some map crosswords. Calvin is determined to learn cursive right now, so I downloaded this wonderful practice book from Currclick while it was on sale and he enjoyed some writing and coloring in that. There was much reading, of course, and some jogging around the block to exercise both the dogs and ourselves.

And then it was lunchtime. (No, we didn't have muffins for lunch, but later on we did snack on these pumpkin muffins we made together on Sunday. It's pumpkin season again, and that makes Jon happy).

We were out for the early afternoon, playing at the park and whatnot, but back at home the wedding party continued while Iris kept a lookout for the kids arriving home at the bus stop in front of our house.

Then some science. Calvin and I watched some Bill Nye (not my favorite) and did some bone assembly activities. Building on the idea of adaptations, after learning about food webs and biomes, we are exploring the adaptations of movement in animals. This is us moving forward in BFSU (from B5/D4 to B6). The more I use it, the more I really love the way that book is laid out, the way it gives ideas for a path of study that will allow building on prior learning, but ultimately leaves the decisions up to those who are actually doing it. It's a wonderfully loose set of suggestions for those who don't necessarily want to go it alone, but don't want to be told how to learn, either.

This is the stuff we are both loving right now, and I think we'll spend some more time exploring the idea of adaptations in various species before we move on again. Today we were mainly looking at what moves us (aside from a good book, that is). Before going to bed tonight he asked me to give his "humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, and phalanges a squeeze."