Turn off the video games, turn off the cell phones, and spend some fun family time together. On Tuesday, February 10th at 6pm, the doors to the CRDL Science Lab will open for
CRDL Family Science Night. Stop into the Veterans Memorial Library branch of the Chippewa River District Library System anytime between 6pm and 7:30pm for 4 different hands-on family-fun science experiments.
CRDL Family Science Night is a free event, but supplies are limited. Experiments will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Experiments are appropriate for all ages and parents are encouraged to help and interact with their children while participating.
CRDL Family Science Night is for families, no adults will be permitted without a child chaperone.
When 1,500 school children in a national study were asked what they thought made a happy family, they didn't list things like money or cars, their number-one answer was doing things together. Children want parents to show interest in their activities, do things with them, and talk with them. Giving time is an important way of showing love and appreciation. A strong family finds that opportunities for quality time emerge from quantity time: the more time you spend together, the better chance you have of sharing quality experiences. Eating meals together, talking about the events of the day, sharing joys and defeats, doing household chores together, and spending some evenings popping corn and watching movies are examples of shared activities. Some families even schedule one evening every week for special family activities. Healthy families keep a good balance between "too much" and "not enough" time together. They spend enough time to satisfy all family members. Children learn to bring balance to their lives when they see their parents setting aside time for what they value.
What will we be doing at CRDL Family Science Night? We have 4 experiments planned, however, sometimes our CRDL Mad Scientists get a little carried away and...we'll let's just say things don't go as planned. Sometimes we have to switch experiments, but as of right now here's what we have planned.
Atomic Slime. Slime is a great way to introduce children to the chemistry behind cross-linking solutions. Thelong-linking chains of molecules are called polymers; the other solution acts as a cross-linking agent for these polymers and helps the chains connect. Slime solution is also a great illustration of what scientists call a “Non-Newtonian Fluid”… when you apply pressure it forms a sort of solid and breaks. When you let it flow like a liquid it easily stretches. All of these science secrets are made even better with the addition of a special coloring agent that fluoresces under black light. When the energy from the black light “excites” the fluorescent dye, you end up with a brightly glowing, very exciting, ooey, gooey experiment!
Tornado in a Bottle. Create a tornado in a bottle! This exciting experiment is a hands-on demonstration of "VORTEX ACTION." Use this experiment to study kinetic and potential energy, as well as the atmospheric conditions needed to create a tornado vortex. Introduce yourself to kinetic energy and potential energy. Discover how air pressure and density work together to create an incredible force of nature. Learn about the science of vortex energy, the swirling, twisting and spiraling action that can be found everywhere in nature.
The Amazing Windbag. How many breaths does it take to inflate an 2 meter (8 ft) Windbag? 70 breaths, maybe? With a simple science secret you can amaze your family and friends by blowing up your Windbag in one breath! Learn about the properties of air molecules and how they move. Demonstrate the scientific principle called the Bernoulli Effect, which explains why you can blow up the amazing Windbag with only one breath!
Grass Hair Planters. Have fun with plants. Create the most hilarious, most bizarre planters you've ever seen out of nylon, sawdust and grass seed. This project will inspire gardeners of all ages.
* Experiments may be subject to change without notice
The experiments have limited quantities so plan on getting to CRDL Family Science Night early and see why everybody's saying "I Love My Library"
