Day 3: Camouflage and All About Density!

During day 3 campers in the younger group continued to focus on animal adaptations, specifically camouflage and skin coverings.  They also continued to observe the living animals they have been keeping track of: worms in habitat and beta fish.  Campers wrote a fictional story about their worms, the story had to include an adaptation of fish and why that adaptation is important to them.  They also made caterpillars and lady bugs and discussed the adaptations that make these critters survive.  Campers also each adopted a desert animal (a sponge) which they named and soaked in water.  By learning how the water gets soaked up into the sponge these young scientists were able to conceptualize that desert animals and plants are able to keep and retain water within - an adaptation specific to desert living things.  What a fun day!

Learning about camouflage: campers had to illustrate a portion of the design given, then glue it on - the glued on piece is camouflaged because it looks so much like the background!

More camouflaging!

Can you tell which one is the real one?

Another example of camouflage

Observing the worm habitats and the insects the campers have been catching during their time outside after lunch!

Cover of one of the worm stories

Part of a story

Another worm story cover

Part of another worm story

Another worm story

The word of the day for the older group of scientists as "DENSITY" - campers learned that density is a measurement of matter and learned what the formula stands for D = m/v, in which D stands for density, m for mass and v for volume.  Each word was explained and described.  After getting this part down in their journals campers conducted a couple of kitchen chemistry labs that helped them further understand what density is and how it works.  After lunch it was time to get our rock candy experiment set up!  Man oh man was that fun!  Sixteen pounds of sugar that had been boiling in a pot with water for three hours became a yummy liquid.  Kitchen chemistry can really be lots of fun!

Setting up for the first density lab: comparing densities between liquids (oil, alcohol, and vinegar) using water as the constant variable in all three.

Another group setting up their experiment

Making the first observations and writing them down, which liquid remains at the top?  What does that mean in terms of its density?

Testing densities and making observations

Rock candy lab!  Taking the temperature and observing that a solution made of sugar and water has a higher boiling temperature than water - a whopping 104 degrees Celcius!

Sticks dipped in water and covered with sugar.

Writing down observations about rock candy set-up.

Going deeper and investigating what the sugar syrup looks like under a light microscope.