Sarah and Danny

Science Expo, pt 3

Moving on to the Chemistry Department! (... do we look tired yet?)

They had lots of little mini-experiments all shoved into one laboratory, but they were really kid friendly too. This one showed water cyclones in soda bottles.

Here, Race learned about water tension using canning jars.

This experiment taught about the difference in water pressure. Each soda bottle had little vials inside with varying amount of pressure so that when the bottle was squeezed, the vials sunk, and when let go, they floated. Plus, this one gets points for creativity - they decorated the vials to look like a little diver and a ballerina.

We're making a connection! ha.ha. ha. -_- This particular one was about making or breaking electrical currents, so when we weren't touching, the current to the ball was broken and the light wouldn't turn off.

... I think this was about wind tunnels? maybe??

... another kinda lame one, making sticky bubbles out of ... something... kinda slow and they didn't really say much.

Learning about density using diet and regular cokes, and then wrapping them in foil to decrease the density.

... can't recall the "lesson" to be learned, but basically it was poking long skewers into balloons without them popping.

Afterwards, relaxing and letting Danny spend some "quality" time with the nephews...

... or more accurately, becoming a human jungle gym, lol.

Science Expo, pt 2

More physics fun outdoors! Race got to try driving a segway... a little nervous at first.

... but soon enough was cruising like a pro... or at least, as well as any kindergartner can.

We heard some explosions, so of course all the boys wanted to check it out. ... prepping a big barrel with water and the liquid nitrogren...

and BOOM! huge water gyser at least three stories high. the boys were practically drooling, lol.

more liquid nitrogen fun, this time with raquetballs and flowers.

in goes the carnation...

... looks okay...

... but the frozen flower crumbled at the slightest touch.

The frozen raquetballs created quite the show...

... as the once bouncy and rubber balls now shatter when thrown on the ground.

Race had fun (and a lot of exercise) playing with the trebuchets.

... there it goes...

they made all the little kids run after the balls right after launching them.

... and to think, the kids thought that this was just having fun, not just bringing the balls back so the college students wouldn't have to get them, haha.

Science Expo, pt 1

Another trip we got to take with Danny's sister-in-law and family was to Texas A&M University's Science Exposition where the physics and chemistry departments put on projects and displays for people to come and learn more about science and see cool stuff. Some were kinda boring (esp. for a five and a two year old), but there were lots of really neat experiments too.

Brent rides the square-wheeled tricycle

Danny learns about centrifigal force while sitting on a stool that can spin and holding a spinning bike wheel.

... depending on the direction he tipped the wheel, it changed the direction he spun on the chair.

The physics building on campus is one of the newest buildings on campus, only a year or two old, designed by Michael Graves. It was really cool to get to see inside and all the features it had, like this several story pendulum in the middle of the foyer.

Barbie teaches about electricity!

hmm. I think with my hair in a half-ponytail and it being really humid that day, electricity worked better on the Barbie.

They had a machine that created big huge fog donuts.

Elena caught one right on her face.

They had one whole room devoted to experiments with lasers. This particular one showed that the laser in question went through translucent items but would pop opaque ones. There was a black opaque balloon blown up inside a clear one.

... after the laser turned on, the clear balloon stayed whole while the black balloon inside popped! cool, huh? (... wish I could remember the more technicall parts of the demonstration though...

Danny with his nephew Dash (2.5 years old)

Cameron Park Zoo

One of the perks of living in the same town as your sister-in-law and not going to school or having a job yet is that you get to spend a lot of quality time with extended family. Danny and I did a lot of stuff last fall with their family, and I was able to really get to know them better. I even got to go with her and her kids on outings like school field trips (soooo many five year olds!) and play groups. One tuesday when Danny was in class all day, I got to join his sister and her youngest son on a play group trip to Waco's Cameron Park Zoo. I've been to this particular zoo before not too long ago with my dad and remembered it being a nice zoo, so I tagged along to get out of the house and help be an extra adult chaperone. It's definitely an eye opener being around moms and little kids, and sometimes it gets a little tedious like when they want to watch the turtles for half an hour but get bored with the lions after ten seconds, but it's fun to watch how excited they all were at something as simple as a trip to the zoo.

One other great thing about living close to family? Danny's sister is a total shutterbug, and let's me have copies of all the great pics she takes ... granted, these pictures here represent about 3% of the pictures she actually took of this event, haha. Isn't digital photography great?