I’ll never forget it. It’s one of those moments burned into my brain that I haven’t

forgotten since it happened. It was defining and I remember it often. I was in 1st

grade. My teacher said that she could make water disappear. Okay, I was

hooked. She then said that all water, if not covered up, would lift up into the air

and evaporate, just disappear! I was flabbergasted. NO WAY! So she took a

saucer and put water in it and added some blue food coloring. She promised that

she wouldn’t touch the dish and that over the next few days we would see the

water level slowly get lower and lower. GET OUT! I thought, I knew she had to be

creating some kind of trick so you can imagine that as soon as I got home I

asked my dad about it. “Sure!” he said, and told me that same word again,

evaporation. Well, if daddy said it, it was law and I lay in bed that night just too

excited to sleep. I wanted so much to see that dish tomorrow. So I begged mom

to get me there pronto. I literally ran into the classroom and ran up to the dish.

And sure enough there was a ring, not much water gone but you could see some

of it was gone. I grabbed the teacher in excitement and showed her. She laughed

and said, wait until tomorrow, a lot of it will be gone!

Well, I don’t remember why but I couldn’t go to school that next day. I remember

that all I could think about was that water. So when I got back the next day I ran

into the classroom and what I saw astounded me. There was liquid in a circle the

size of a quarter left in the dish. I started jumping up and down and got the

teacher and asked her did it REALLY just go up into the air???? She smiled and

affirmed it and I just sat there frozen staring at the dish. And in that moment I

knew more than I had known anything that whatever people did for a job that

involved this kind of thing, that’s what I was going to do. So I asked my teacher

what subject is this evaporation? She said it was science. I told her that I wanted

to be a scientist. And as soon as I got home I told my parents that I loved,

LOVED science and I wanted to be a scientist. I was fortunate enough to be one

of those people that just came here with a passion knowing from the beginning

what I wanted to do. Nerdy, maybe, but still…I didn’t mind being in college

science lab on a Friday night while my friends were at parties! And I have been

fortunate enough to still be playing with science 40 years later!

Why did I tell you this story?

Because at our ages we take for granted something so simple as evaporation.

It’s hardly something worth mentioning. It’s hard sometimes to put ourselves in

our children’s shoes and remember that they don’t know this stuff. So the

simplest of demonstrations or experiments can be amazing. And they are born

seekers of knowledge. And because you never know when you may also have a

budding scientist on your hands, and when you give them room and materials

and time to make a mess and experiment you will help them find and nurture

their passion.

My children regularly do their own “experiments.” Right now my daughter is

working with cold. She’s frozen a wet rag, glass, metals, wax, juice, and a wet

paper towel, just to see what happens to them. I just watch her discover.

Sometimes I’ll offer little statements like, “I wonder if those things would freeze in

the same amount of time or if one would freeze first, before the others.” My

toddler, boy, is working with physics concepts. He takes train tracks and puts a

train on it. He then takes a large car and sends it speeding into the train. He

studies the result. I’ll make suggestions, like “You should put the Barbie in the car

and do it again.” And he will. And she goes flying.

They are drawing conclusions that they will learn the specifics about later. We

can discuss freezing and melting points as a method of determining what a

substance is. I can tell her now that there are actually tables that tell us at exactly

what temperature wax or anything else will freeze. And the same for melting. We

can look it up on the internet. She will then want to know what temperature the

freezer is. We will use a thermometer and find out. That will lead to a discussion

on restaurant inspections and the temperature of their freezers. Then we will go

read the Health Dept. review at our next eating out! My son will later learn about

elastic and inelastic collisions and the conservation of energy. Someday I can

see him working to make cars safer for people or maybe as a demolition expert.

:)

Try This!

We can set up problems for our children to solve. One of the first activities given

to high school chemistry students is a container of water with salt, sand and iron

shavings in it (mixed well). They are told to separate those items out from each

other and place them in separate containers. They work in groups and

brainstorm ideas. You can work with your kids and ask leading questions. The

solution is to strain out the water with a filter and put it aside. It will contain the

dissolved salt. The remainder will be sand with iron shavings in it. Pour it on a

thin plastic sheet (transparency) and use a magnet underneath to pull the iron

away from the sand. Boiling the water will leave the salt behind, but unless you

can rig up a condenser coil, you’ll lose the water. That’s okay, it’s another rule.

Water (and only water) evaporates when you boil it. Remember not to tell your

children how to solve this, lead them, ask questions, but don't just give it to them.

Here's some photos sent to me by a group in North Carolina, USA who are

working through the workshop. They are doing the above activity. Thanks to

Melissa Greene for sending them.

Of course the premier author and books on experimenting are Janice

VanCleave’s books. You only have about 50 to choose from and chances are

any book store you go to you’ll find a nice choice of them. Her brain seems to just

see the world experimentally and she can turn any science fact, trivia or piece of

information into an experiment that any parent or teacher can do with materials

that are easily available. The books are colorful, give lots of scientific facts and

information and are a must for every homeschooler, household, grandparent and

Chapter Five- Skill- What You Sense

This is a great lesson, not only for science, but for living with others, as well.

Scientists observe. Scientists infer. But the difference can seem difficult to

distinguish at first. My high school kids sometimes had to be reminded. But the

use of each and when is very important.

To observe is to take note of only what can be seen. Scientists must have the

ability to look at something and stick to only what IS there, what is seen with the

eyes, perhaps how it smells, what sound it makes, the senses.

But to infer is to then make assumptions about what observations were gathered

and perhaps to include other information you happen to know to be true about

that subject. This is sometimes used for brainstorming ideas, coming up with a

hypothesis, or figuring out the possible why's. Scientists must be able to make

assumptions while working through possible scenarios for conclusions and

problem solving. But these two skills are very different and important to be used

separately and at different times.

Using Observation and Inference

Criminal profilers are good at taking observations, and making very good

inferences wit them. Researchers must be able to infer if they are to continue to

follow the path where the research leads. When concluding a lab report, the

writer must be able to bring together various aspects of the results and draw

conclusions. Learning to think logically and critically will lead to accurate

inferences. (We also address logic skills in this book.)

Interestingly, I decided to write this chapter at a local coffee shop. First year

medical students were there studying for exams, and I decided to pick their

brains. First year medical students Reagan Bollig and Daniel Dees were both

willing to give an idea of how they use observations and inferences in their

studies and experiences. They talked together, each talking over the other as

they explained that with them, the more observations they acquire, the more

reliable the inferences are going to be. The example they gave me was in

reference to their experience working with a cadaver in their anatomy class. Their

observation was that the heart of the cadaver was enlarged. As we continued

the conversation, this is what they told me about the observations:

• The person had a crooked spine
• She was obese
• Her heart was enlarged
• Her aorta (the vessel that leaves the heart) was three times normal size
• The walls of the left side of her heart were enlarged

  From these observations they inferred the following concerning the cause of death:

• Her crooked spine is a disease called Scoliosis.
• Her scoliosis caused her to become less active
• Her sedentary lifestyle caused her to become obese
• The obesity caused her to get high blood pressure
• The high blood pressure caused the heart to enlarge and the walls to thicken
• The higher output of blood caused the aorta to become enlargedAs the heart walls becomes thicker the chambers get smaller and put out less blood
• As the heart pumps out less blood the fluid begins to collect in the lungs
• She died from fluid in her lungs preventing her from being able to breathe

  These two students wanted me to stress that they do not know how she died but

  that these are observations, which led to inferences. Because of the number of

  observations they were able to make, they said that they feel pretty comfortable

  about the accuracy of their inferences. I want to thank these students who

  graciously gave their time to our cause.

  Famous Scientists Who Observe and Infer

  I encourage you to read some work by Rachel Carson. She was an active

  environmentalist in the 1960’s. Her book, The Sense of Wonder, was a bestseller

  and a trendsetter. Her book ushered in the environmental movement. It is a

  beautiful, creative and feeling book that is easy to read and full of imagery. In

  her book she said :

  “ If you are a parent who feels he has little nature lore at his disposal there is still

  much you can do for your child. With him, wherever you are whatever your

  resources , you can still look up at the sky- its dawn and twilight beauties, its

  moving clouds, its stars by night.”

  Her observations of our earth are something all children should read as part of

  their scientific education.

  When I think of a scientist who is the embodiment of observational skills, I think of

  Jane Goodall, the woman who lived with and studied chimpanzees. Her entire

  days were spent in silent observation and what she learned forced humans to

  redefine what it meant to be human. She learned that chimps used language,

   

and taught skills to their young. Reading about Jane Goodall’s work is a

fascinating way to spend some time. She has written many books but one book,

Jane Goodall, 40 Years At Gombe ISBN 1556709471 is easy to read, full of

photos and would be a perfect way to introduce her work to your children. I