Leakyproof Bag
Have you ever seen a filled ziplock bag with holes, but doesn’t leak?! Test out the Leakproof Bag Experiment and find out! Ziplock bags are made out of chains of molecules also known as polymers. The specific type of polymer for ziplock bags are known as polyethylene (LDPE). When the pencil pokes through, it only separates the chains of molecules, but does not completely break the chains of molecule, so the water does not leak!
Ecosystem Survival
During Week 9 at Girlstart After School, girls learned the ins and outs of ecosystems! The lesson started with vocabulary, where the girls reviewed the parts of an ecosystem, including nonliving and living things. Students separated living things into producers and consumers. Finally, girls identified the three types of consumers: carnivores, herbivores, omnivores.
Next, club leaders demonstrated the importance of each part of a food chain by building a cup tower based on the “foundation” of the Sun’s energy, which powers food chains and food webs. When one cup was removed, the food chain fell apart. The girls participated in a quick discussion, where everyone concluded that each part of the chain is necessary for energy flow! With this concept in mind, girls divided themselves into groups to connect the individual parts of an ecosystem’s food web.
This activity was easier said than done! Girls quickly found that a plant or animal can be food for a number of different consumers, or that animals often have many more than one food source! Some groups devised their own arrow, color, or numbering system to keep everything organized. Finally, girls played one round of “Ecosystem Survival,” a board game where they competed for limited resources. Girlstart students had a great week learning about the amazing intricacies of food chains, food webs, and ecosystems!
Exploring Hydroelectric Energy
This week at After School To-Go, Girlstart students put their engineering skills to the test and designed their very own water wheels! Before the brainstorming process began, girls reviewed the differences, pros, and cons of nonrenewable and renewable resources. After a quick discussion, girls were ready to see hydropower at work!
Each group was given a pie pan, clay, and a pencil to create their water wheels. After building their initial designs, girls tested their wheels three times and recorded their observations. Groups were given the opportunity to improve and retest their designs before coming back to the large group discussion. Students had a short discussion about hydroelectricity and turbines. Girls were excited to realize that they had just created their very own simplified turbine! Everyone was ready to put their water wheels to work.
Girlstart club mentors challenged students to make their water wheel do work by lifting a load of binder clips. Each group worked together to test their water wheels once again: one girl held the water wheel steady, another girl counted the number of rotations needed to lift the binder clips, and a third girl timed the entire process. After everyone recorded their observations, the large group discussed their findings.
As part of the learning and critical thinking process, Girlstart students are encouraged to analyze their designs and their applicability in real life. To wind this week’s activity down, girls discussed the benefits and drawbacks of relying on hydroelectric energy. These up-and-coming water resource engineers offered their ideas to the class and contributed to an incredibly important conversation about future energy use!
