Science Experiment: Lava Lamp

It's time for another science experiment! We're going to make our very own Lava Lamp!

This project requires four things: 

* an empty, clean bottle

* vegetable oil

* food coloring

* Alka-Seltzer tablet

First step: fill bottle about 3/4 full with oil.

Next step: fill nearly to the top with water. Watch where the water goes.

Note--have the child that spills more pour in the water. It makes cleanup a lot easier.

Even though the water was poured on top of the oil, it ends up at the bottom. Why?

(Water is denser than oil, so it sinks.)

Ask your child to try to mix the water and oil by shaking the bottle. 

When they don't mix, tell your child to shake harder.

Eventually you should explain why they won't mix. (Basically the water molecules form an exclusive clique, not allowing any other non-polar molecules to join them. Oil is non-polar, so it can't join the party. Check out a more detailed explanation here.)

Of course, if your kids have lots of energy, you could have them shake the bottle for a very long time.

They may, however, really want to get to the next step:

Adding the food coloring! (A great use for a food additive that's not so good to put into our bodies.)

The instructions said to put in 10 drops, but we put in a lot more than that. Where does the dye go?

Finally came the last part: put in a piece of an Alka-Seltzer tablet.

It takes over 20 seconds for something noticeable to happen after the Alka-Seltzer is dropped in.

But then it becomes quite apparent; something magical is happening. Blue bubbles are rising.

They become more and more agitated. Once they reach the surface, the blue sinks back down to the bottom. The Alka-Seltzer creates carbon dioxide gas, which clings to the molecules of water, which have been colored. The gas is less dense than the water or oil, so it rises to the surface, attached to the colored water. Once the carbon dioxide reaches the surface, the gas is released, and the colored water molecule sinks back to the bottom.


The kids found this fascinating.

They took turns putting in the other pieces of the Alka Seltzer tablet.

We did this experiment many times. Actually, it's a demonstration, as we're watching it over and over. To really be an experiment, we need to be able to change things: amount of Alka-Seltzer, or have several bottles with different amounts or types of oil. Nevertheless, I think they learned at least a couple scientific things during this lava lamp demonstration.

Later we did it in the evening and used a flashlight to illuminate the lava lamp, and it looked so cool.

This was a really fun project, and we still have it on the shelf to share with visitors. The lava lamp has made a trip to school, and I think it will be around for awhile.

A Little Snowshoe Trip with a Special Treat

On a day off, I took the kids up for a little snowshoeing, the first time this winter. They were very excited. I think they were more excited that I let them pack their own snacks than that they were going snowshoeing, but I'll pretend that it was the outside time they were craving. We hadn't received snow for awhile, so the snow was hard packed, meaning that you didn't really need snowshoes to walk on it. That was okay, it made it much, much easier to practice!

We also packed a sled and skis so Desert Boy could ski down and Desert Girl could take the sled. That was exciting, too, as the more snow toys, the better.

It was just below freezing, so it felt good. When Desert Boy asked how far we were going, I told him he could decide. Wow, the day just couldn't get any better for him!

Desert Girl was about to have her highlight of the day:

She found something on the snow.

Now, she may be three years old, but she's still a little like a baby sometimes, wanting to fully explore things with all her senses.

First, she looks at it and touches it.

Then she smells it and eats it.

Well, I guess whatever it was, it was good.

We continued a bit more, then turned around and switched the snow gear. It was a rockin' time down the gentle slope. Yippee, a fun little jaunt in the snow!

A Quick Horse Ride

We've had a lot of activity at the ranch lately, as it's time to ship some of the one-year old calves. They weigh about 800 pounds now. Wow! I am always amazed by how fast they grow. And a little grateful we don't grow that fast. I sure enjoy having little kids around for multiple years!

We headed down to see some of the activity surrounding moving the calves, and the kids were fascinated with the horses. Who wouldn't be? Seeing a bona fide cowboy galloping is the quintessential image of the West.

As we were wandering about, I noticed some metal artwork that captured the Wild West flavor. Hanging on the scale building was a cowboy roping.


I took two photos because it stretched around the corner and one part was in the shade and another part in the sun. But then I tried to capture the whole thing.


I'm not sure who put it up, but it sure is clever. And what cowboy wouldn't like to be able to lasso all those cows that are just out of sight!


Next we were very lucky to have Tierannie share her horse with us. Desert Girl took the first ride. She wasn't too certain about being up on a horse, but she really wanted to do it. It was interesting reading all the expressions going across her face.

She held on tight and enjoyed being up so high.

Then it was Desert Boy's turn. He sure was ready!

His most exciting part was when he got to hold the reins. Tierannie gave him a two-minute rundown on how to ride a horse, and Matthew declared that now he was a cowboy because he knew how to control a horse.

My little cowboy. He even was wearing his cowboy boots for the occasion.

As soon as he got down (all by himself, just like a real cowboy!) he declared he wanted his own horse. I guess he and his friend Ava now have something more to talk about!

Signs of Spring

While we might not have turkey vultures migrating through, we do have some signs of springs. First off, it's so much warmer than it has been, so that we are actually willing to venture out of the house and go look for those signs! Hurray! The house sparrow (above) had grass, a clear sign that it's building a nest. It won't be long till we have more of this non-native species in the area.

 The house sparrow isn't the only one taking to the air--it's time to get the spray plane out of the hangar and get it ready to go. Cheatgrass is already greening up, and it won't be long till the other plants follow.

 My favorite sign of spring I saw today:

 Mud puddles! Desert Girl was prepared, wearing her rain boots (aka irrigating boots, but hers are just too pretty for me to feel comfortable calling them irrigating boots!). She had accessorized herself with some red beads, and they sure did jiggle as she jumped and jumped and jumped in the mud puddles.

Life is good when you can jump in your own mud puddle.

Desert Girl's Birthday

Desert Girl recently turned 3, which to her means that she is now a big girl. To me, that means it is time to be toilet trained! So diapers are out the window (so to speak) and Desert Girl is using the toilet like a big girl. This tactic worked with Desert Boy amazingly well, and is going well so far with Desert Girl. 

But back to the birthday. We decided to have two celebrations. One for kids in the local gym so they could run around and have fun, and a family gathering later in the day after my husband was done with work. 

I took a bunch of dress up clothes to the gym, and the kids had fun trying on different outfits.

 It was hard to get them to stand still for long!

We played some bean bag toss and the kids switched outfits and ran around (at least the younger ones. The bigger ones were doing something in the corner!)

 Then we tried the balloon race, with each kid squeezing a balloon between his or her knees.

 Desert Girl needed a little help.

 Next it was time for the piñata--one of my kids' favorites! My husband thinks it should be banned from our town, as many a kid has nearly got whacked--and a few have got whacked--by the pinata stick. Nevertheless, I don't think it's going away anytime soon.

 I brought some healthy food, which disappeared quickly, I think mainly because the kids liked eating with toothpicks.


Then came the blowing out candles part. Desert Girl seems to have a hard time aiming her breath.


Nevertheless, she eventually succeeded!

 In the evening she had some fun with one of her uncles.

 She was also ready to blow out more candles!

 She blew them out so fast I hardly had time for a photo!


It was a relaxing time with family, and Desert Boy even had us all playing an alphabet game.

 Desert Girl was delighted with a new princess skirt. Oh my, it is hard not to catch her enthusiasm!

 Brothers hanging out.

 There is such joy at a little kids' birthday party. It is so precious to witness. I try to take lots of photos, because I know that those teenage years aren't all that far away! Happy Birthday, Desert Girl!