Today we’re going to talk all about EXPLORATION while we explore the Boundless Brilliance STEM Workbook together. Using our workbook, we can find a bunch of science experiments, make our very own compass, and do empowering activities! First, let’s take a look at an amazing scientist and explorer of the ocean, Sylvia Earle!
Star Scientist: Sylvia Earle
Sylvia Earle is an oceanographer, which is a special type of scientist who studies the physical environment of the ocean. She is known for her research on the effects of overfishing and pollution on the ocean. Her work has led her to explore the depths of the ocean around the world. One of her experiments tested the health effect of humans living in underwater structures. She led the first all-female team to study this and they lived in an underwater structure for two weeks! Her expeditions and experiments have had huge impacts on our understanding of the effect of human interactions with the ocean.
Make Your Own Compasses!
All explorers and scientists, like Sylvia Earle, rely on scientific tools for research and new discoveries. One tool that has helped explorers navigate for centuries is the compass. Today we are going to make our own compass by doing an experiment featured in our workbook!
Materials:
Magnet, sewing needle, wax paper, tape, scissors, a bowl of water
Directions:
First, magnetize your sewing needle by rubbing one side of the needle with the magnet in one direction fifty times. This end of the needle will represent our North Pole. We can mark this end with a small piece of tape. Then flip the needle over and rub the other side in the opposite direction.
Next, cut a circle out of wax paper about one inch in diameter. Then, thread the needle through the paper so that each end of the needle is visible on both sides of the paper.
Place the needle in the bowl of water. Before doing this, take a moment to make a hypothesis about what you think will happen and write it down in the workbook or on a piece of paper.
Now go ahead and put the needle in the water so that the wax paper floats on the surface. Do you see how the compass starts to move? This is the compass aligning itself with the north. Be sure to record your observations.
How Does it Work?
So how does our compass work? When we rub the needle with the magnet, some of the magnetic material gets left on the needle, which magnetizes the needle. When we float the compass on the surface of the water, we remove friction; this allows the earth's magnetic field to pull at the opposite ends of the needle. This is what moves the needle to point toward the north!
Now that we have our own compass to navigate with, let's do an empowering activity!
Empowering Activity: Know, Want to Know, What I Learned
In this activity, we are going to reflect on what we currently know and what we want to learn more about in the future. This will give you a visual representation of what you know, what you still want to learn, and what you learned!
First, start off by finding a blank wall. Using sticky notes, create three columns with the titles “KNOW”, “WANT TO KNOW”, and “WHAT I LEARNED”.
Then, choose three sticky notes of the same color. Think of a topic that interests you. Write something you already know about that topic on one note. Write something you want to know on the second note. Leave the third note blank for now, and fill it in later once you have learned something new about the topic! Place each sticky note in the corresponding column on the wall.
As you learn things from your “Want to know” column, move the sticky note to the “Know” column. When you move a sticky note, write a new sticky note for something else you want to know! Write as many post-it notes as you would like. Also, write any additional information you learn on the blank note in the “What I learned” column.
Add new sets of sticky notes for other topics that interest you.
Watch your wall change over time as you learn more and more!
Make sure to check out the Boundless Brilliance workbook for more experiments and empowering activities titled: “We Are Brilliant: A STEM Workbook for Future Leaders!”
Find it here!
