By Don Steen ~ Staff Writer • [email protected]
Lincoln Heritage Public Library hosted activities from WonderLab Museum of Science, Health, and Technology of Bloomington Thursday afternoon, allowing kids to engage in some practical science lessons. An Eli Lilly grant is helping the museum organize local events across the state, with LHPL being one of the lucky sites included in their itinerary.
The Chrisney Library’s activity for the day was nothing if not ambitious. Annie Groves and Nate Terrell of WonderLab invited attendees to join them on a (simulated) journey to Mars.
The expedition began, as most extraterrestrial stories do, with a rocket launch. In the interests of safety, this was demonstrated without rocket fuel or actual flight.
Terrell informed the audience that, apart from all the literal rocket science that goes into space flight, the fundamentals are simple. One only needs oxygen, fuel, and heat.
To demonstrate this, Terrell and Groves coated the inside of a water tank with rubbing alcohol, allowing the fumes and oxygen to serve as their propellant. After getting everyone clear of the launch pad, they demonstrated how a surprising amount of thrust can be obtained through this simple mixture, though they cautioned that kids should not attempt this at home.
The WonderLab crew also ran through some possible complications astronauts on a trip to Mars might face. For example, a lack of oxygen.
Fortunately, Mars has a polar ice cap, and therefore quite a bit of water. That water could be turned into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis.
After adding salt to a flask of water (to improve conductivity), the crew worked through some technical issues in the circuit to begin running power through the gathered water. Soon, bubbles appeared, showing that hydrogen and oxygen atoms were being released into the air.
The activity ended with kids being allowed to build their own rockets, although these were of the more decorative variety.
Featured Image: Kids participate in a Mars activity at the Lincoln Heritage Public Library
The WonderLab Museum of Science, Health, and Technology provided children with various fun and educational activities to participate in at the Lincoln Heritage Public Library
I love this article and teaching kids about science!
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