The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Students get wild with weather
Hands-on library program introduces kids to science
By Alana West, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: March 1, 2007
About 20 children and their parents attended the Natural History Museum's science program "Wild Weather and Changing Climate" Saturday at the Manchester District Library.
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The children soon found themselves experimenting with vortexes, creating paper houses to see how a tornado could remove the roof, and modeling their own rain clouds, complete with lightning, as they immersed themselves in the three experiments.
Youth Services Librarian Jennifer Foster said the program was offered in conjunction with the Winter Family Reading program at the library.
"We want everybody to read together as a family," said Foster, who is holding story times 11 a.m. Tuesdays and 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays, with "Baby Lap Sit" 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays.
Foster said she plans to offer more programs for teens so there are more opportunities for all ages.
The science activities were led by Jeff Murray, a museum employee who travels to area libraries with the goal of getting schoolchildren interested in science.
"Our central objective is to get kids and parents to do the activities together," he said. "That's why there are not a lot of chairs in here We want them up and learning with the kids."
Museum officials plan the topics for the annual February science exploration at the libraries.
"Last year, it was evolution," he said. "We want them to get involved in science. It's easy for a 6- to 7-year-old to get enthusiastic. We target most of our (experiments) to that age."
Tammy Wakevainen of Manchester, who was attending with her daughters, Katie and Madeline, said she also attended a program on global warming in January.
"It's nice to have these programs," she said.
Before he turned the children loose on the experiments, Murray showed them how he could make water swirl in a funnel shape by letting water swirl down through the intersection of two large plastic pop bottles, which were taped together at the openings.
He also showed them that when drops of red and blue food coloring are placed in a tub of water, the two colors completely mix and create purple.
"That's what happens to storms, when the air is twirling around like a tornado. They are spinning hot and cold air. This is the same way it works for hurricanes, which are bigger when they finally go," Murray said.
He showed how to make a rain cloud out of gray clay, ground out of green or brown clay, and a backdrop out of card stock. For the lightning, he took a paperclip, bent it into an "S" shape and stuck it into the cloud.
"Then you may need to borrow a partner's hair for the electricity," said Murray, rubbing a balloon on his own hair to capture the static electricity.
"Then hold it near the metal (paper clip) and you will hear crackling sounds," he said. "This is like the thunder. If you try this at home in a room without lights, you might be able to see the electricity. You might see shocks."
Later, as Miles West, 5, of Manchester created his rain cloud sculpture, stuck in the paperclips for lightning, rubbed the balloon on his hair, and held the balloon to the lightning, he leaned his ear in close to listen for the promised thunder.
"I hear it!" he said, amazed.
In another experiment, Murray also told them to stir buckets of water filled with gold glitter until they had created a funnel shape with the water, then drop a paper clip on a string into it.
"That will be your crash test dummy," he said.
He told the children to drop their paper clip into a different spot of the funnel each time, and watch where it came out.
"Where's the fastest place? Where's the slowest place?" he asked. "I think you will find that the best spot to be is wherever the glitter goes."
He said it was like being on the merry-go-round at the park.
"If you sit in the middle, you don't feel it so much. If you sit on the edge, you feel like you're going to be pulled out, and pulled down. In the middle, you are just pulled down."
The last experiment involved building a specially designed paper house, with a paper roof that would lift off when the children blew into it.
"Tornados have all that energy, and in the house is calm air," he said.
During a storm, the calm and the fast-moving air have to mix, sometimes pulling the roofs off houses as they combine to make equilibrium.
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