Astronomy

Today almost seemed like a repeat of a couple months ago's lab. It was still fun but I guess me being tired just slowed everything down. I want to build my telescope sooooo bad.

Today, the teens got to experience the power of Carbon Dioxide! They combined baking soda with solutions of varying acidity to determine what combinations would blow the cork off a soda bottle. After this explosive experiment, teens researched the mythology behind a constellation of their choice. We all learned a lot from the presentations each teen gave about their constellation. This research and presenting experience will prepare teens for their April field trip to the Unisphere.

This was my first time in the morning Astronomy component, and it was a lot of fun! Teens had a chance to test which substance (vinegar, soda, OJ, vegetable oil, etc) worked best to create a rocket--vinegar won by a landslide. Then, we all researched the myths behind various constellations and presented our findings to the group. Everyone did a good job! Public speaking is definitely tough, so it was great to see everyone do their presentations.

well today we made bottle rockets. Thar was really fun. We use different mixtures: water and vinegar, tonic water and water, Pepsi and water. We tried to see if they would pop, explode. Today we also worked on our presentation skills. Worked on constellations. I had Andromeda. she was the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus and they were rulers of Ethiopia.  Cassiopeia believe that she was the most beautifulest person in the world and the Greek gods thought she was wrong and wanted to destroy Ethiopia The only way they can protect Ethiopia was to sacrifice her daughter. It was so sad.

Corvus is Latin for raven or crow. This constellations myth is a really interesting one. Corvus was Apollo's sacred crow. Apollo, the sun god, was having a feast, so he sent Corvus to gather some water with his goblet. On his way to get water, Corvus stopped to eat some figs off of a fig tree, except they weren't ripe yet. Corvus rested and waited for the figs to ripen, ignoring his original mission. When he returned late, Corvus carried a snake in his claws, blaming the snake, Hydra, for the delay. Apollo saw through the lie and banished Corvus, the goblet, and Hydra to the sky. Corvus lies on Hydra's back, not being able to reach the goblet, suffering from eternal thirst, and that is the reason why crows have such a harsh croak.

Today we made rocket bottles we made them out of Vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, water, germ x and some more. I looked up the Orion it is also known as the hunter in Greek mythology the story behind it was that the man had two hunter dogs, they are fighting Taurus the bull. When they draw out the Orion he sometimes have a lion in his hand. The belt and sword is also called the Saucepan in Australia.

Today we where able to learn about how different combinations of drinks, oils and other thins allowed us to make bottle rocks. You would be surprised to find out what things popped and which things didn't once combined with baking soda.It was a pretty cool experiment. You should try it!