Project and Water News

To celebrate the season (and to help science-minded parents keep their sanity) here’s CI-WATER’s list of ways to keep kids busy this Winter Break:

1. Add some physics to that sledding excursion.

2. Create a Rube Goldberg machine that puts a marshmallow in a cup of hot chocolate.

3. Show a younger child how to waterproof a chicken with this Science Sparks project or introduce the concept of filtering with this one.

4. On the car ride to Grandma’s, read aloud from One-Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Science! by father-daughter team Eric and Natalie Yoder.

5. Build a water clock with this project plan from Science Buddies.

6. Construct a lava lamp using oil and Alka Seltzer.

7. Learn to code—or learn to code in a new language—with a tutorial from Code.org.

8. Make a crystal snowflake using Borax.

9. Polish the holiday silver with a simple chemistry experiment from SciFun.org.

10. Make a rainbow.

11. Hold a water science trivia game with questions like these or make up your own and serve the winner extra snow ice cream.

12. Gather ‘round and share these (somewhat) science-y jokes for kids.

According to an article published on NOAA’s Climate.gov website, “extreme dust events” that transfer particulates from the Southwest to the Upper Colorado River Basin could advance the complete meltdown of snowpack by as much as six weeks.

How do Angry Birds fly and Plants destroy Zombies?   If Hadi Partovi gets his way, your kids will soon know about the code behind their favorite games—and so much more.

The founder of Code.org, along with a host of partners, is urging parents and teachers to spend an hour during Computer Science Education Week discovering that "anybody can learn to code." More than a million people in 141 countries have already signed up to engage in "An Hour of Code" between December 9 and 15.

No electronic devices in the classroom? No problem. Resources on the website include activities that teach the principles of code using pencil and paper, such as "My Robotic Friends" by Thinkersmith. Activities and interactives run the gamut, making it easy to find something to suit any age, level of experience or device.

According to a statement released by Partovi, fewer kids learn computer programming now than they did a decade ago. The Hour of Code event is meant to demystify code and the process of coding so more people understand the technology they use.

Fifth grade teacher Tina Dinh will introduce her students to coding as part of the event.

"I love technology," she says. "In order to write code, students need to understand the ultimate goal, devise a plan and explicitly communicate the instruction to execute the plan. This is one way to promote creative, critical thinking in my students."

Several CI-WATER researchers cite online tutorials as a great way to learn code. Year-round, Code.org is one place kids and adults alike can begin. The site is a hub for free tutorials from organizations including Scratch, Code Academy, Khan Academy and CodeHS. 

CI-WATER partner, Wyoming EPSCoR is hosting a Communicating About Water essay writing contest for students at the University of Wyoming and Wyoming Community Colleges. “This writing contest is intended to increase the level of dialogue and interest in water issues among Wyoming students,” says Liz Nysson, project coordinator.

The contest consists of two categories, undergraduate and graduate. The winner of each category will win $500, publication in an anthology, and other honors.