In the suds at the Thinking Fountain,
© Science Museum of Minnesota.
Bubbles, bubbles everywhere! Images below and right &169;Richard Faverty a/k/a Professor Bubble.
When the Institute for Chemical Education asked primary school teachers what would be the ideal science program,
the teachers responded that they wanted to integrate science into the curriculum, but it had to be exciting. It had to be relevant to "real life." And it had to be non-threatening and accessible to students and teachers alike.The Institute responded by creating "Super Science Connections" (see bibliography), a book of cool science projects that it has introduced to K-3 teachers at workshops over the past four summers.
Super Science Connections covers color and light, insulation, pressure, surface tension, and the states of water. We opened the book at random and were rewarded with "Looking at Lather." This lesson on bubbles started with a "buy-it-anywhere" recipe for bubble solution and a list of high-tech equipment -- stuff like straws and pipe cleaners. Using slippery soap suds, the lesson looked at surface tension, molecular attraction and geometric shapes.
From the one-page science background given to teachers, even The Why Files learned a thing or two: water bubbles, for example, pop when their walls grow thin from evaporation. And variations in wall thickness cause the colorful patterns on soap bubbles.
For a class that can't get enough of soap bubbles (and what self-respecting second-grader can resist?), the lesson can be expanded with a series of "extensions." The lather extensions challenge the kids to make a better bubble-blower, then figure out why it's better.
The "connections" section -- a response to the request to integrate science into the curriculum -- encourages classes to do bubble art, read bubble literature, and write a "foam poem."
No pain, all gain
Even The Why Files could see that the program was simple, painless and even educational. But anonymous participants in Connections workshops revealed something else -- that the program helped conquer teachers' fear of science, thus converting them into enthusiastic promoters of hands-on exploration.
"...I can't believe that in only two days I've discovered how fun science can be. I guess up until now I never really thought those two words went together.""Kids can be turned on to this so young now -- it will be more irresistible -- not as vulnerable to paralyzing 'I'm too dumb' attitudes."
"... it leaves me feeling sort of crushed that so many unfortunate factors interfered with my learning this 20 years ago."
The most important job of elementary science education, says Institute director John Moore, is to make science fun and approachable to all sides in the equation. Indeed, he says, the all-too-common reluctance to deal with science in early grades tends to originate with teachers. "Little kids are perfectly comfortable with science, exploring and figuring things out."
Contact:
Institute for Chemical EducationAre fractals some new kind of fraction? Not quite...
University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Chemistry
1101 University Ave.
Madison, WI 53706-1396
800/991-5534
ICE@chem.wisc.edu
