Sap to Syrup: States of Matter and Heat

Explore what form of energy transforms maple sap into maple syrup, then maple candy!
Video Introduction: Sap in the Sugar Maple Tree
Book: Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky
Resources to explain the process: Word Playhouse
Maple Sugar Tree Identification sheet: Ohio Thoughts Blog

Recording sheets about Heat and the States of Matter: click here 
- Students label the states of matter for each stage of the maple syrup process. Then, they identify heat as being the form of energy that changes maple sap into syrup, then maple candy.
- Maple Taffy Experiment with snow, students record the results of the experiment.
- Checklist if students go on a maple sugaring field trip

Recipe for maple candy: All Recipes
Recipe for Maple Taffy for the Freezing Experiment - The Kitchn

Season: End of February / Beginning of March

Cubes and Color

How does color affect how fast an ice cube will melt?! Investigate the heat absorbing capacity of different colors by placing ice cubes on various colors of construction paper (make sure you include black and white). Do certain colors reflect or absorb more light? Lay the paper and cubes in a super sunny spot. Then, make a prediction, create a list of what cubes you think will melt the fastest. Have kids write the color names in a column, starting with the color they think will make the ice cube melt the fastest and ending with the color they think will melt the ice cube the slowest. Create a graph of the kids' predictions. 

Green Planet suggests a twist on the experiment. Kids test colored cubes on white paper. They use food coloring to create different colors. For a white cube they add milk. To create a black cube they add cola. They place one colored cube on each piece of white paper. Which cube will melt the fastest?!

Solar Energy Balloon Blow Up!

Explore the power of the sun's heat by blowing up a balloon on a bottle! Kids paint one soda bottle white and the other black. Once dry, they attach a small balloon to the necks of their bottles. Then, they put the bottles out in the sun for a solar reaction!

Kids see that the air in the black bottle will make the balloon expand! The white bottle doesn't heat up as fast. Check out the experiment here!

Solar Water

Investigate renewable energy, while exploring the water cycle, with this fun experiment from Agoosa! Kids magically turn salt water into fresh water with the help of solar energy!

how to:
Pour 2 cups of water into a large bowl.
Mix 3 tsp of salt into the water. Taste the water, it's super salty!
Place a small empty bowl or cup inside of the larger bowl. 
Cover with plastic wrap and place outside in the sun.
Either place a rock on top of the bowl or secure the wrap with a rubber band (to keep plastic wrap tightly secured on the bowl).
Keep the bowl outside for 1 to 3 days (until you get enough purified water into your small bowl to taste).
Compare the water in the larger bowl to the water in the smaller bowl. Do you taste the difference?!

what's happening?!
The sun's rays will heat the water, causing it to evaporate!
Salt is too heavy to evaporate; so, it stays in the larger bowl.
Condensation will occur, creating water droplets on the plastic wrap.
Gravity makes the large droplets drip into the "collection container" (your small bowl) - creating fresh water!

Keep It Cool!

This experiment comes from Zoom! Kids are divided up into groups. Each group gets two ice cubes and two paper or plastic bowls to hold the cubes. They create a cube container for one of their ice cubes. The other cube will be exposed to the sunlight with no protection.

Cube Container: Kids use their creativity and construct some type of container that will keep their ice cube from melting in the hot sun. Who's cube will last the longest?! Compare the ice cubes that had no protection to the cubes that were placed in cube containers. Is there a difference?

materials:

2 bowls (for each cube to sit in)

1 shoebox

wax paper

foil

newspaper

masking tape

rubberbands

free choice - kids come up with a material they think will work!

Also, check out Popsicle Preservation!

Matter Race

Give each child a sandwich baggie with an ice cube in it. Kids race to melt the ice cube in the bag, transforming their solid into a liquid. Once they have a liquid, the teacher adds a piece of an alka seltzer tablet to their bag - presto: gas (their bag will expand and the contents in their bag will fizz and bubble)! Math - Estimate how long they think it will take them to melt their cube.

Above is a recording sheet for students to use as they are melting their ice cube. Click here to download! Click here for a checklist to assess your students. Also, check out Bag Bomb!

Popsicle Preservation

Can you keep a popsicle preserved from the sun's radiant energy? Kids test out a variety of insulators to see what type of material will preserve a popsicle the best, preventing the transformation of solar energy to thermal energy! Kids work in teams using aluminum foil, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, paper towels, newspaper, as well as a variety of other items to construct insulators. Then, they put their protected popsicles out in the sun. Along with the insulated popsicles, put one uninsulated, unwrapped popsicle outside as well. Who's popsicle can withstand the heat? As soon as the uninsulated popsicle melts, check your protected popsicles. Then, record your findings.

Magic Rising Water

Demonstrate air pressure with this magical tabletop experiment from Steve Spangler. Pour 9 oz. of water (food coloring optional) into a shallow dish. Place a candle in the center of the dish and light it. Put a glass over the candle and watch water rise right before your eyes! What's happening? The flame heated up the air trapped in the glass, causing the flame to go out. Once the flame goes out, everything cools down. The cool air (gas) acts as a "vacuum," causing the water to rise! Once you lift the glass up, the water falls back into place. Besides air, talk to students about thermal energy. Is the glass an insulator or a conductor of heat? 

Flying Hot Air Balloon

Construct a tissue paper hot air ballon to demonstrate thermal energy and convection currents - hot air rises and cold air sinks. This is a fun art / science activity to go along with a weather unit. Kids can get super creative with their balloon design. After you make your balloon, test it out with cool air and hot air from a blow dryer. Hold the nozzle in the opening of your balloon to fill it up. You will notice that hot air makes the balloon rise because hot air is not as dense. 

Below is a simple video tutorial, great for kids by Gordon Dipple. You can also find a rad photo tutorial at the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago. Visit the activity page of this site for more science fun!  Click here and here to check out two super cool hot air balloon projects by kids!

Solar Power

Go green, learn about radiant and thermal energy, and have a snack! Upcycle a pizza box into a solar oven! Whip up smores, roast a hot dog, munch on nachos, or zap leftovers. The oven heats up to 275 degrees. Click here for written instructions!

Water Conductivity

When learning about insulators and conductors, this is a cool experiment to try. Kids see how water conducts heat. It absorbs it. 

materials:

lit candle (or lighter), water, 2 balloons

how to:

1. Blow up one balloon and tie it. "Hold the balloon a foot or two over the top of the flame and slowly move the balloon closer and closer to the flame until it pops. You'll notice that the flame doesn't have to even touch the balloon before the heat melts the latex and it pops." - Spangler

2. Fill the other balloon to the top with water (about 1/4 cup), blow it up, and tie. Place the water-filled balloon over the flame. 

explanation: "As the water closest to the flame heats up, it begins to rise and cooler water replaces it at the bottom of the balloon. This cooler water then soaks up more heat and the process repeats itself. In fact, the exchange of water happens so often that it keeps the balloon from ever popping!"- Steve Spangler

Also, check out Andy Brain's thermal energy experiment with balloons!

Heat: Insulators + Conductors

Which tool is the best conductor, allowing heat to flow through it easily? Which material will keep the jar the warmest, not allowing heat to flow through it easily? Visit Beakers and Bumblebees to see this experiment in action!

Snowflake and Ice Experiments

Examine, grow, melt, and cook with these four fun experiments:

photo via Austin Kids Blog

1. Snowflake Shapes
Kids can see all snowflakes have 6 sides and not one looks the same!

materials:
black paper or black fabric
magnifying glass

instructions:
1. Place paper in the freezer for a few hours to prepare it. Then, put the paper outside on a snowy day.
3. Let some snowflakes land on it
4. Use the magnifying glass to see the snowflakes up close.






2. Experiment with Insulation and Ice
Cocopreme helped kids learn about thermal insulators and how they affect the temperature of ice. 

Document what factor caused the ice to melt the fastest: salt, newspaper, or aluminum foil. Also, try other forms of insulation. 

photo via cocopreme

3. Classic Snow Ice Cream Recipe:
1. Put a big bowl outside to collect snow (8 cups)
2. Mix in a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk and either 1 tsp of vanilla extract or 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of chocolate syrup (you can play around with ingredients) 

Photo is from KSPR, click the link for more snow ice cream recipes!

4. Grow snowflakes in a bottle! Find out how at Snow Crystals by Ken Libbrecht.