Test

Testing to see if i can post to this blog.
Here is the link to the science fair idea:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/geek-life/profiles/14yearold-student-turns-rain-into-electricity/?utm_source=techalert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=071212

MAKER MAGAZINE - TEN RG MACHINES.

HERE ARE TEN RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINES

http://blog.makezine.com/2011/03/17/top-10-rube-goldberg-machines/http://blog.makezine.com/2011/03/17/top-10-rube-goldberg-machines/

SUMMER EVENTS

We are adding cultural events to this post as well.  The idea is to get out and see stuff.. it helps creativity!

PLEASE POST INTERESTING EVENTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE DISCOVERED. 

JAZZ AT STANFORD

HERE IS THE COMPLETE LIST OF SUMMER JAZZ EVENTS AT STANFORD

http://stanfordjazz.org/jazz-festival/events/

Would a group of children be interested in attending the Everything you want to know about Jazz concert?
We can carpool.

June 28 — Everything You Wanted to Know About Jazz | 7:30 p.m. Campbell Auditorium, Stanford
July 20 — Jazz Camp Student Showcase | 6 p.m. Multiple venues


ART AT STANFORD
PLEXIGLASS PUZZLES
( not sure how good it is.. but if you are out there, might as well check it out along with the Rodin sculptures)

A FEW HOW TO VIDEOS

Just a few videos on how to make things. These are very very simple constructions.

http://www.howcast.com/videos/429819-How-to-Make-a-Simple-Electric-Motor
http://www.howcast.com/videos/425708-How-to-Make-a-BalloonPowered-Car
http://www.howcast.com/videos/181515-How-To-Build-a-Mini-Hovercraft
http://www.howcast.com/videos/428093-How-to-Make-a-Water-Wheel
How to blow up a balloon with soda and vinegar:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmzBf3XGsOE

I will add more if I find any.

Feel free to add more and post them in the comments area.

COMMENTS/ONE MORE RG.

HI
I would appreciate comments. It lets me know who is reading the notes and how much time to put into it.   Even if you just write READ... then I know who has at least, looked at the material.

Here is a winning entry from a contest.

Pace Invaders from Ontario win first prize

MAY 27, SIMPLE MACHINES DAY -1

Our workshop was devoted to designing different types of catapults using huge clothes pin style clamps, sawed pencils, pvc tubes and Gorilla tape. Those who missed the workshop can build their catapult at home. It is the first lesson on levers and fulcrums.

A lot can be learned from the simplest of catapults.

For those who did not get to make one and even for those who did, here are some catapults. Try to make one more.

The  first three are links and the fourth is a diagram but no  link.

1) TINY CATAPULT

Builds  a frame and then the launcher. The video demonstration is further down the page on this site.

2A) RUBBER BAND AND POPSICLE STICKS ONLY

No actual frame. Just a beam and a launcher. 

2B) Hot Glue and clothespin version - Can use masking tape  Quickest version perhaps.

CLOTHESPIN VERSION

3) Here is a larger version of the clothes pin style catapult    KIDAPULT

4)  In this version, The fulcrum is in the middle as opposed to at the end of the launcher.

'

It is important to have a fulcrum around which the launcher can rotate. Torsion can be created in a variety of ways: a metal spring, a wound up piece of string  like a winch or a plastic or rubber band.  There also needs to be a base.  In one of the oldest catapults, a sling shot, human beings held the slingshot and formed the base and launched it. In the model we have a frame.

 These are basic parts, but the crucial weight and length of the projectile must be proportional to the size and strength of the torsion springs. The building of catapults brings together knowledge and skill in design, physics and mathematics/geometry. 

You can also browse around the following website to find out more about how tension was created in catapults and projectiles during medieval times:

TORSION AND FRAMES

Vocabulary

Trajectory — The path or curve described by a body (as a planet or projectile) under the action of given forces.

Potential Energy — The kind of energy that a body has by virtue of its position. When a body is raised to a higher level, it is able to do a certain amount of work in falling back again, and hence it was given a certain amount of potential energy in raising it.

Kinetic Energy — The energy that a body has by virtue of its motion. It is the amount of energy required to accelerate the mass from stationary to its current velocity.  Catapults and bows held under tension are also examples of potential energy. The term applies equally to energy stored electrically, chemically and so on.

 

Energy Storage — If a spring is compressed, and then is forced to stay in that compressed configuration, the spring can be said to have “stored” energy. Once the spring is released, it will return to its original configuration (usually expending the stored energy as rapidly as possible). The same goes for stretching a spring; when released, it will collapse back to its original configuration.

Trigger — The device used to release the catapult once it has been loaded and charged to fire the projectile.

Ballistics — The science of projectiles.

Range — Distance for which a projectile can be thrown.

Prior to the discovery of gun powder,  catapults were used for war.

5 TYPES OF CATAPULTS:

5 types of catapults

Background

Over 2000 years ago, the Greeks and Romans did not know about gunpowder, yet were able to hurl projectiles over a large distance using kinetic energy storage devices. Through the years, some modifications were made to increase the accuracy and throwing distance of these machines.

The first two types of throwing machines were the catapult and the ballista. The catapult started out as a large cross bow to shoot oversized arrows at an enemy. The ballista was about 10 times larger than a catapult and threw large stones.

The ballista’s design consists of two pieces of wood, each fastened at one end to a torsion device rotating about a more or less horizontal axis. The free ends of the wooden pieces are connected together with a rope. The projectile to be thrown is held by the connecting rope used as a sling.

When most people think of the catapult, they are actually thinking about an onager. The strange name is derived from a wild donkey kicking with its hind legs. The onager (or gone, mangonel, or nag) was typically a single spar held in a more or less vertical position by a torsion device rotating around a horizontal axis. The projectile was located in either a pocket at the top end of the spar or in an attached sling.

The choice of the Middle Ages was a trebuchet. This device used gravity instead of torsion springs to provide propulsion energy. The theory is simple: put a large weight at the short end of a lever arm and put the projectile in some kind of basket at the other end of the lever. The velocity of the projectile can become quite large when the ratio of the lengths of the lever arms is great. Incidentally, the trebuchet was also used as a punishment device called the ducking stool. People were placed in a seat at the long end and successively ducked into a pool of water.

The catapult is still in use today, although radically different from those used in history. The modern catapult is used to launch aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. The aircraft carrier catapult uses steam as a source of energy to push a piston along a linear track in the aircraft carrier’s deck. The piston pushes the aircraft and accelerates the plane up to flying speed in a very short distance. The same kind of mechanism can be found at Knott’s Berry Farm, where it propels the Montezuma’s Revenge roller coaster ride.

( Courtesy: Cornell Center for Materials Research)

MORE RELATED SCIENTIFIC TERMS..

LAUNCH ANGLE, PULL BACK ANGLE

ILLUSTRATION OF LAUNCH ANGLE AND PULL BACK ANGLE

ALSO, IF YOU RECALL FROM A PREVIOUS WORKSHOP ON BRIDGES:

The resistant force felt when pulling the string/wire/elastic taut is called tension.

The resistance force felt when pushing on the ends is called compression.

FINALLY  A QUICK OVER VIEW OF SIMPLE MACHINES

Here is a link that very briefly describes different types of simple machines.

SIMPLE MACHINES -MIKIDS

Click on the examples to take a look at them.

Here is a link to a  Rube Goldberg machine that uses concepts from simple machines to create a 34 step process to drink a glass of milk.

ZOOM - RUBE GOLDBERG
http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/phy03_vid_zmilk/


Here is Bill Nye's mini movie series on Simple Machines

Bill Nye's Simple Machines 

SUNDAY MAY 20,2012

It was a very exciting weekend. With sports, music concerts and the eclipse.

• MAKER FAIRE

Almost half the children made it to Maker Faire. The participants  talked about their favourite projects. Hopefully over the month of June, they will submit a write up of their favourite projects and describe how the projects were put together. Only choose projects where you learned how it works even if it is a basic or general description.

• BIG JUNE PROJECT

They all received a copy of the magazine and need to choose a project that they would be interested in working on.  They can also chose to work on a Rube Goldberg machine or an old assignment from the Tech Challenge or Odyssey of the mind.  The latest challenge has been posted for next year for some of the contests. 

Hopefully they can find a partner and work in pairs. Geoffrey and Henry want to work on a Arduino Project which they learned about at the Faire.
 

• MAY PROJECTS

Over the first few classes, they had  more open ended challenges. Now the children have one that needs to work mechanically.

They started working on a balloon dragster and will complete it and test it next week.

• POPCORN WEBSITE

THOSE WHO HAVE NOT, PLEASE COULD YOU SEND THE PARTICIPANTS GMAIL ADDRESSES SO THAT GEOFFREY CAN SIGN THEM UP FOR THE WEBSITE.

PBS - BUILDING BIG LINKS

This is from the pbs site




HERE ARE SOME EXCELLENT INTERACTIVE LINKS

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/shapes.html


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/materials.html


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/loads.html


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/forces.html 


Check out the major types of bridges

CLICK HERE: BRIDGE TYPES

ECLIPSE AT FOOTHILL

Los Altos Hills

Foothill College Observatory (12345 El Monte Rd.) will be open, with telescopes in and outside the dome, from 5:30 pm to about 7:30 pm.  Join the members of the Peninsula Astronomical Society for free eclipse observing and explanations. For a map and webcam, see: http://www.pastro.org/dnn/Observatory/FoothillObservatory.aspx

I will decide later about watching it from home or Foothill. Will post it here.  I will have extra viewing glasses thanks to Sanjana.

HERE IS A FAIRLY DETAILED DESCRIPTION ABOUT BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION

http://pghbridges.com/basics.htm

(Please print and bring to class or bring a laptop so that you can view it online.  Its quite a few pages.. between 15-20)

 

Here is a link to a bridge building contest

http://www.balsabridge.com/

If you scroll down below one can see a picture of the 100 gram bridge that took a load of 209 kg

Also if you click on the different links by year, they show how students are constructing their bridges


Important Terms in brief:

anchor arm: The portion of a cantilever bridge that counterbalances the
cantilever arm.

cable-stayed bridge: A bridge supported by straight cables radiating
outward from one or more towers.

cantilever arm: The portion of a cantilever bridge that projects beyond an
intermediate support.

deck truss: A truss bridge with the deck located at the level of the top chord.

suspended span: A central span of a cantilever bridge. The suspended span
is supported by the cantilever arms.

through truss: A truss bridge with the deck located at the level of the
bottom chord.

SUGGESTION REGARDING COMMENTS

After reading the posts,  please post a comment or write READ. So that we all know who has read which posts.

The young Prestigians' email addresses please

Please forward email addresses of the participants so that I can invite them to join the blog.  I hope each of them on joining will find one cool science article to share with the group.

SOLAR ECLIPSE THIS SUNDAY AT 5:30-7:30

TIME CHANGED TO BETWEEN 5:30-7:30 

  http://mashable.com/2012/05/14/ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse/

SIMPLELAND IDENTIFIED

As mentioned in the first post, Simplefied is the pseudonym for the the authors who write about the workshop.

TWO CHILDREN WILL WRITE ABOUT WHAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE WORKSHOP every week.

They will describe the workshop challenge and the overall experience.

They should proof read each others writing and post it. It does not have a big thesis.. just keep it fun. 

They can attach any links or pictures/videos. 

There is no deadline for the post but ideally it should be asap.

MAY 13 WORKSHOP BRIDGE BUILDING I a)Hightlights of the video - identification of main types of bridges and key terms : Varun. B)Highlights of the workshop and Models: Mike.

MAY 20 WORKSHOP BRIDGE BUILDING II A)Highlights of the visit to Maiker Faire reports: Reva B)Highlights of the bridge building exercise and over all workshop Darius and Kevin

ALL CHILDREN ARE ENCOURAGED TO POST ADDITIONAL COMMENTS/info  AND PICTURES OF THE MODELS and ANY INTERESTING LINKS ETC.

DETAILS REGARDING YOUNG MAKERS FAIRE

YOUNG MAKERS FAIRE

The fair takes place on Saturday and Sunday May 19-20.

 Please make notes about your favourite contraptions.

 Please print out the list of questions to answer as a worksheet. 
 a) Why did they choose this model?
 b) How did they make it?
 c) How it works?
d) Any major challenges that they faced when making it?
 e) If possible draw a diagram of the model  and take pictures/videos of the model and post it at Prestigia.

 YOUNG MAKERS FAIRE SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES:

http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2012/schedule/index.html

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS:

YMF FAQ including where to buy tickets.. whole foods

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST FEW WORKSHOPS

At the first workshop, our Prestigians had to knock down 16 cups distributed over 20 square feet standing behind a line from three feet away. 

At the second workshop, they had to design a bridge with no assistance applying the concepts that they had seen in a video documentary AND also using their common sense. 

The third workshop will be more of an instructional evening. More detailed instructions will be provided.  They will build different types of bridges with straws, toothpicks and other common materials.. They will also have to talk about the models they saw at Young Makers Faire.  Its going to be a very special Sunday: Sanjana is going to help us view the solar eclipse.

WELCOME TO PRESTIGIA

       Welcome to Prestigia- the blogspot for the Sunday science and creativity workshops. 

Prestigia and Simpleland are two imaginary countries identified at a recent workshop. 

• Prestigia is the name for the workshop blog.

• Simpleland will be the pseudonym for the authors that report on workshop activities.

• Check in here for  news, feedback, upcoming events and pictures, videos etc. I will not be sending out individual emails to the group. 

•  Feel free to post activities and links etc as well. You have all been authorized to post information on the site.

•   Regarding comments: In the spirit of staying positive, please post only positive comments. Any criticisms and potentially negative comments should be mailed to me directly and privately.
•  All participants and their parents will have access to the group.