Today we did our first science experiment for the year. I could never get away with building or preparing anything science-related without all the kids getting on board, so this particular experiment was offered during awake hours because I knew it would be a huge hit. Our science curriculum this year is centered around flying creatures, so of course this includes the dynamics of flight as well as the study of various kinds of wonderful animals.
To test “lift,” we built two gliders that were identical except for the wing size. One had to have a long, narrow wingspan and one had to have a short, wide wingspan. Our job was to determine which glider would stay in the air longer.
The girls got to try out words such as “hypothesis” and “aerodynamic” and “thrust” and “variable” and as you will hear on the short video clip, I am barely able to contain my laughter. For some reason, the girls both still think that they have to pick opposing hypotheses in order to compete against each other, even when they both know the correct one. I suppose making it a game is more interesting. Today was no different. Jaelah chose the short, stubby glider and Selah chose the long, skinny one.
Both were convinced their gliders would win. Our only variable was supposed to be the size of the wings so that we could accurately judge flight distance based on the shape of the airfoil alone. However, Mrs. Pregnant Brain completely forgot about that and let each girl throw her own glider (obviously resulting in very different outcomes, not just based on wing shape). Oh well. The results were still quite clear even after several flight attempts. Jaelah was not too happy
with her outcome, but she quickly forgot her disappointment when I allowed all the children to stay outside and play with their gliders all afternoon on this unseasonably warm day. And what would a family science experiment be without a little bee drama? Or a lot of it. I swear those vile creatures sense fear and come calling, however we were still able to get some good video footage before everyone went screaming into the house. It’s been awhile since we’ve had this much fun.
