Science Saturday
Not to be confused with Science Day, which usually falls on a Saturday as well, but happens in February.
Science Saturday is a day where 6-8th graders came to learn about how science is in our world. This years theme, was chemistry colors our world. There was a little explanation by a few chemistry professors with some interesting color displays at about 9 o'clock, and then everyone headed up stairs, put on their lab coats and goggles. Each CSU Stanislaus student volunteer had 2 younger kids to watch and help do the experiment.
This years experiment was extracting carminic acid from cochineal bugs, mixing them with other chemicals such as borax or Iron 3 Chloride and creating different water colors to paint with. They had to crush up these dead bugs to a fine powder, and heat and stir on a hot plate for 25 minutes. Once the time had passed they filtered the carminic acid through a funnel and spread the solution through out the plate wells with the different compounds.
When the experiment was done, each participant went home with a pinwheel of colors, and a couple painting/drawings on a canvas using the colors they created.
It was pretty fun, and I'm glad I got to participate in this activity. I even got a certificate of appreciation for helping out the younger students and helping them.
Science Saturday is a day where 6-8th graders came to learn about how science is in our world. This years theme, was chemistry colors our world. There was a little explanation by a few chemistry professors with some interesting color displays at about 9 o'clock, and then everyone headed up stairs, put on their lab coats and goggles. Each CSU Stanislaus student volunteer had 2 younger kids to watch and help do the experiment.
This years experiment was extracting carminic acid from cochineal bugs, mixing them with other chemicals such as borax or Iron 3 Chloride and creating different water colors to paint with. They had to crush up these dead bugs to a fine powder, and heat and stir on a hot plate for 25 minutes. Once the time had passed they filtered the carminic acid through a funnel and spread the solution through out the plate wells with the different compounds.
When the experiment was done, each participant went home with a pinwheel of colors, and a couple painting/drawings on a canvas using the colors they created.
It was pretty fun, and I'm glad I got to participate in this activity. I even got a certificate of appreciation for helping out the younger students and helping them.
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