Sparkles, sorting and explosions

I finally got around to making a snowflake with borax and  boiling water.  It worked over night. I like experiments that work right away. It makes a fun sparkly ornament.

The sorting activity uses pictures from old calendars.  We get at least a dozen calendars from various organizations every year.  The pictures shown are for the categories mammal, insect, reptiles, fish and birds.  I would have labels of the categories for them to match up.  This science center would be done on the rug.  The pictures are large, so they would enjoy crawling around creating a giant graph. This activity could be extended by adding a writing or a verbal “report” on what they found.

Other categories that I have come up with for the many, many calendar pictures I have are:

• animals that can swim/fly
• birds with beaks for meat/nuts/insects/nectar
• animals bigger than me/smaller than me  (me being a 5 year old)
• animals that live on land/water/both
• animals with 0/2/4/6/8/10 legs
• carnivores/herbivores
• animals with spots/stripes/both
• animals that live in salt water/freshwater
• pictures of animals in various seasons
• pictures of different habitats.  Ocean/mountain/desert/forest/river/grassland

Can you think of other categories that might work for this project.

The last experiment is the classic mixing vinegar and baking soda.  The balloon was small so you can guess the end result.

POP!