Category Archives: science

Went to a local Home Ed group meet up at a local museum on the theme of toys and forces.

Just about got there in time. Even though we seemed to be doing ok (why did I waste time making them lunch? – BB ate a packet of crisps and 3 Clementines, SB 1/4 of sandwich and crsips) to start with, but then realised I had to get out some cash from the PO as we didn’t have enough to pay for session, then he car was low on petrol and the little light came on, pulled into a garage which had all pumps locked – could have put a sign up. So carried on up the A1 and had done 20 miles on the light by the time I bought petrol – (wonder how mcuh it will do once the low petrol light comes on, think I’ve done about 20 before).

Bought £10 of petrol as in a hurry – depressing how little petrol that is nowadays – the little light came back on again on the way home.

Then there was the stuck in a queue geting into town , and the going wrong etc. Did just make it in time though.

Girls enjoyed the session. A couple of little explanatory bits from one of the museums staff – first on Issac Newton the tale of the apple and gravity and his three laws of motion. She demonstrated the Newtons Cradle, SB got the wrong answer when asked about what would happen when one ball dropped, but got the principle once she saw it and got another harder question right (what happens if you release three balls to hit the two remaining balls), which I was impressed with.

There was also a good demo of the one with a small and large ball – how to make the small ball bounce higher than on it’s own. You hold a small ball and a large ball so the small ball is on top of the large one. Drop them together. The large ball hits the ground , bounces back and of course hits against the smaller balls. The small ball bounces back up much higher than when dropped by itself, the large ball doesn’t bounce back up so much. She also gave an excellent explanation (the energy from the large ball gets transferred to the small ball ) when we were talking about this at the dinner table later. Well I do tend to fall into scool teacher questioning/ explaining mode when in such situations
There was also a demo of spinning aback up water around so that the water doesn’t fall out – how to tip up the bucket and not have the water fall out was the question.

But mostly we played with the various exhibits about different aspects of forces – pushing , pulling, pressure, levers, magnetism, pulleys, friction etc. Not really anything new as such to SB – but she enjoyed it as she was hoping there would be some levers (she means hands on exhibit type things) And good reminders about things she already knows such as using pulleys to make lifting things easier
So we played with levers

Explored friction

Floating and upthrust

Pulled pulleys

Pulled and pushed and squeezed and stretched

Mass and Gravity

What metals are magnetic
And explored Newtons Cradle.

Didn’t manage to quite do everything before we went off for the second part of the session where we made a cardboard version of push pull toy. We me and SB did, BB cut up the card board into lots of bits (not all just random, she did cut out a chick, and cut nicely along some of the straight lines).

We had packed lunch there – chatted with a mum about a going to school conundrum (glad we don’t have those), a bit more of play then headed off. I got lost going through the shopping centre back to the car, came out the wrong exit and had to walk ages round it to the car park.

We popped into Merry’s on the way back for a short stop – I returned back of bits that had been left in France, checked up on a toy farm she is getting in for my Mum and Dad for BB’s birthday and I had much needed cup of tea (first one since breakfast, I was gasping), I had a nice little natter with Merry while she shooed children back to play. Though SB said later, when asked if she had a good play ‘No, because they were all arguing about what to do’ :-8

I haven’t seen the Puddles for a while so that was nice

Timed leaving just right, got home just in time to drop of BB with Helen, and pick up ballet stuff to take SB to ballet. Whilst SB at ballet, BB and Helen baked a nice cake and did a jigsaw I think. I drank more tea.

Once SB home there was some ‘TV’ watching (is watching downloaded TV programs on the computer watching TV or watching the computer? ) – the obligatory Numberjacks and then followed by Roar. A quick Pasta dinner, with BB being awkward (no – TINY one when the forkful too big) about eating it, but still eating it all in the end. Not sure what SB and Helen did while I put BB to bed. But I dozed off on the sofa while Helen did the SB bed time ooops…

So should really be in bed now I guess.