===APPENDIX B: EXTENDED LEARNING MODULE====================================== This section gives instructions for making some discoveries of your own at home or school. PROJECT 1: Understanding Time How long is long? Construct a time line of the Universe to identify historical events. 1. Find Materials: a. a twelve month calendar b. pencils, crayons, rulers 2. Using your blank calendar, use the scale below to record the history of the Universe through the twelve months. Decorate the locations of the various events with your own drawings and artwork. 1 month = 1.25 billion years. Scientists believe the universe began on January 1, (about 15 billion years ago). The Earth began to form about September 1 (5 billion years ago). 1 day = 40 million years. Dinosaurs appeared on December 26 and vanished on December 30 (this means they lived about 140 million years on the Earth). 1 hour = about 1,666,666 years. Humans appeared about 9:00 p.m. on December 31 (about 5 million years ago). 1 minute = about 27,778 years. Fire was discovered and agriculture developed during the last two minutes of the last day of December (about 52,000 years ago). 1 second = about 463 years. Recorded history began during the last seven seconds of December 31 (about 3,500 years ago). 3. Taking it further... a. Make a different time line showing the important discoveries since the beginning of man's existence. (Magellan's trip to the Americas, Newton's theory of gravity, and other important events). b. Make a time line to reflect historical landmarks in the space program, transportation, medical fields, etc. c. Make a personal time line showing the important events in your own life. d. Make a mobile time line indicating historical events on a hanging string. PROJECT 2: Making a Viewer CAUTION: MUST BE SUPERVISED BY A TEACHER OR PARENT! What do I really see? Make a pinhole viewer. 1. Find Materials: a. small cardboard box b. ruler, pencil, black tape c. a hobby knife d. tracing paper, flashlight e. small object (like a toy block) 2. Construct your camera. a. Hold each part of the box up to the light. Look for any points shining on the inside the box. Cover any holes which allow light into the box with black tape. Now the box is "light proof." b. Use the compass point to poke a clean hole in the center of the top of the box. c. In the center of the bottom of the box draw a rectangle 2 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches. Carefully cut this out with the hobby knife. This hole is the "aperture." d. Cut a piece of tracing paper large enough to fit over the rectangular hole. Tape the paper to the box with the tape, making sure there are no gaps. e. Put the top on the box and put black tape on any gaps around the lid. 3. Now, put your viewer on a table in front of the toy object, the pinhole facing the toy. Standing in front of the viewer, look at the tracing paper while someone shines the flashlight onto the toy from several feet away. Look at the aperture (the tracing paper) and notice that the object appears upside down. This is because the light shining on the toy is reflected at every angle away from it. Only a small number of light rays can pass through the pinhole. Since light travels in straight lines, the image will appear inverted. 4. Taking it further... a. Use your pinhole viewer to look at sunspots. Remove the box top and hold the top up, parallel to the sun. Put a piece of paper on the ground. Look for the image of the sun on the paper. Hold still and watch for sun spots (magnetic storms in the sun's upper gaseous layers). IMPORTANT: Never look directly at the sun! Never look through the pinhole directly at the sun. PROJECT 3: Making a Compass CAUTION: MUST BE SUPERVISED BY A TEACHER OR PARENT! Show me the way: Make a compass and learn to use it. 1. Find Materials: a. a straight pin, a knife b. a styrofoam cup c. small bowl or pie tin d. a magnet and water 2. Making your compass. a. Cut a 1/2 inch square of styrofoam cup. Make a narrow groove at the top, large enough to hold the pin. b. Magnetize the pin by rubbing it 50 times with the magnet in one direction; start at one end and slide it to the opposite end. Make a small semi-circle over the pin with the magnet after each stroke. c. Float the square with the magnetized pin in it in the pan of water. When the water is calm, watch the pin move to a north-south position. d. Give it a slight push to change the direction. If it's magnetized, it will return to the north-south direction. Mark north, south, east, and west in the room. The "compass" will return to its north-south position because the Earth has its own magnetic field. The pin inside a real compass is a magnet. It will point north, telling you which direction you are facing (in relation to which way is north). PROJECT 4: Making a Kite How can it fly? Make a kite and experiment with aerodynamics. 1. Find Materials: a. plastic (supermarket) bags b. plastic straws, tape c. newspaper, pencil d. a hole punch, scissors, ruler e. string, permanent markers 2. Making your kite. a. Measure a pattern on the newspaper to match the diagram on your screen. Cut this shape out and set aside. b. Cut your plastic bags so that the shape you cut out of the newspaper will fit onto the bag. c. Put the newspaper pattern on the bag and trace the shape. d. Carefully cut out the shape. Mark a triangle shape in the lower center of the bag and cut it out carefully. (see diagram in the Extended Learning Module in the Discoverers program) e. Tape two straws together, end to end and set aside. Repeat this step. f. Tape the far corners of the shape and use the hole punch to make a small hole in the center of the taped areas. g. Place the straws on either side of the shape. Tape the ends of the straws to the plastic, then tape down the center of each straw. (see diagram in the Extended Learning Module in the Discoverers program) h. Attach a 40-inch string to the holes on the outside of the corners of the shape--this is the bridle string. i. Attach a long flying string to the middle of the bridle string and fly the kite outside in strong winds. 3. Use permanent markers or paints to decorate your kite! PROJECT 5: Making a Map How do I get there? Make a map of your house and neighborhood. 1. Find Materials: a. pencils, rulers b. large grid graph paper c. tape measure 2. Making your map. On the graph paper, map your bedroom, using ceiling or floor tiles as square feet in the room. Note the entrance, your desk, bed, and anything else that takes up floor space. Make another map of your neighborhood, adjusting the scale. 3. Verify the map with your parents or siblings. Map making only works if the map is readable to others! PROJECT 6: Using a Prism What color is light? Use a prism to experiment with light. 1. Find Materials: a. a prism b. white paper c. heavy paper with 1/4 inch slit d. a light source e. darkened room 2. Hold the heavy paper with the slit in it up to a ray of light (use high wattage if using a light bulb). Have a friend hold up the white paper, opposite the heavy paper. Hold the prism, by the edges, in between both sheets of paper so that the light coming through the slit hits the prism. The colors coming through the prism will strike the white paper making the colors easy to see. 3. Taking it further... a. Move the prism, changing the angle and varying the distance between the two papers. b. Experiment with mirrors. Try to separate the colors so they reach different parts of the room. c. Make a cardboard disk ruled into 50 equal parts (like a pie). Count the divisions into 6 equal sections and color them in (white, primary and secondary colors). Put a pin through the center of the disk and attach it to the eraser of a pencil. Give it a spin. The faster you spin the disk, the whiter it gets! PROJECT 7: Understanding Topography Looking down: Observe rocks to determine topography. Relate this to the process used to map the surfaces of the planets. 1. Find Materials: a. 3 different-sized and -shaped rocks b. an empty bucket or tub c. a bucket full of water d. waterproof permanent black marker e. paper and pencils f. towels for clean-up 2. Steps to determining topography: a. Add about 1/4 inch of water to the empty bucket and place the first rock into the water. Remove it and mark the water line with the marker. b. Replace the rock and add about 1 inch of water to the bucket. Again, remove the rock and mark the water line with the marker (see diagram in the Extended Learning Module in the Discoverers program) c. Repeat the above process as many times as you can, adding 1 inch of water each time, until you reach the top of the rock. d. Repeat the procedure with the other two rocks. 3. The views from above the drawn lines is a demonstration of the contour lines. When you are finished you will be able to view the contour lines of three different-sized and -shaped rocks. 4. On the paper, try to draw the contour lines, showing the topography of the rocks. Examine the relationship between the contours and the actual shape of the terrain. 5. Taking it further... a. Get topographical maps of local camping and hiking areas and plan several trails through the terrain. Try to make the trails cover easy and difficult paths. b. From the rocks above, figure out the best locations for a space station or human habitation of some type, by looking at the contour lines created.