Planning Ahead for Halloween

Halloween is a perfect time to add a little energy into the daily routine. Some fun science-related activities require some advance planning, and now is the perfect time to get started in order to complete some of the more intriguing projects in time for Halloween.

Classic activities such as apple dolls can take a seasonal twist and become shrunken heads while students explore related topics such as food preservation and dehydration.

Chicken bones lend themselves well to Halloween as well, in the form of gruesome bone wind chimes, which can lead to the exploration of sound waves and pitch, and also "rubber" chicken bones in which students explore the effects of an acid on the calcium in bones to create a fun twist on the skeleton theme.

Students can learn about owls and their dietary habits through owl pellet dissection. You can collect and sterilize your own pellets, or order some from an educational supplier.

Carving Jack O'Lanterns early on allows you to watch as they slowly decompose into Zombie Jack O'Lanterns. Use a magnifying class and/or microscope to examine the results up close.

Detailed instructions for these activities can be found at the following links:
bone windchimes
apple dolls and also, the "shrunken head" or "house elf head" verson of this activity
"rubber" chicken bones that can be tied in a knot
dissecting owl pellets

Also see my earlier blog post on Halloween Science
as well as my main Halloween Activity Index
my Strange Science page
and related Harry Potter Activities

Science calls

I'm not sure why it is, but the most interesting sites and resources I find tend to be somehow science related. I guess, when it comes down to it, most things are science related in some way.

I recently picked up powdered agar from a health food store. This is an incredibly versatile food. It can be used as vegetarian gelatin, with the unique characteristic that it can be melted down again and re-jelled if you wish to adjust the consistency etc. It can also be used as a culture medium for bacteria--the classic "ew" experiment!

Sometimes the "ew" factor can be a compelling motivator for kids.

Some of the favourite science activities our family has done include making kid concoctions such as: slime, ooblick, magic mud and silly putty (especially great for preschoolers/kindergarten kids), identifying animal scat on hikes, dissecting owl pellets (not gross at all in reality, but certainly popular and interesting!), examining insects, pond studies, vermicomposting / backyard composting and identification of decomposers, and exploring alkalinity with red cabbage water indicator (smelly but pretty to see!).

In the near future we'll be trying out some bacterial culturing and possibly some forensic experiments from here.