This Week in the Lab 2013-14
Here you will find weekly pictures and information from the lab.
Using tools and following written directions,
our TOAST builders assembled 6 benches
and 3 wagons for us to use in the
Outdoor Learning Center.
THANKS!
Remember 2013-14... HERE ARE A FEW PROGRAMS FROM LAST YEAR
Bird Watch June 6 at 7AM...
Fishing 5-15 and 22.....Soap Box April 28, May 5,
After-School Science Fair Help...February 27, March 5 and March 6
March Bird Watch March 7 at 7AM, January 16, Science Explorers
Bird Watch January 10 9-17, 9-24, TOAST Builders, MST Night 9-21-13, Museum Night -10-10-13
LEGO League 11-18,25 and Dec 2Microscope Mania 10-15, Builders 10-29-13
Bird Watch 11-1-13 ,11-25-Builders December 2 - Jr. LEGO 2:30-4:00,
December 6 - Bird Watch 7AM, Saturday December 7 -
JR FIRST LEGO at SUNY Albany, 1-3PM.
Bird Watch June 6 at 7AM...
Fishing 5-15 and 22.....Soap Box April 28, May 5,
After-School Science Fair Help...February 27, March 5 and March 6
March Bird Watch March 7 at 7AM, January 16, Science Explorers
Bird Watch January 10 9-17, 9-24, TOAST Builders, MST Night 9-21-13, Museum Night -10-10-13
LEGO League 11-18,25 and Dec 2Microscope Mania 10-15, Builders 10-29-13
Bird Watch 11-1-13 ,11-25-Builders December 2 - Jr. LEGO 2:30-4:00,
December 6 - Bird Watch 7AM, Saturday December 7 -
JR FIRST LEGO at SUNY Albany, 1-3PM.
Rocket Science
Great job rocket scientists!!!
Students constructed a working model rocket and launched it.
SQUID DISSECTION
A great way to end the year. Fourth graders learned about these amazing "cephalopods".
Roller Coaster Club
After working many hours,
the coaster is almost complete!
2014 Capital District
Soap Box Derby
A great time and some great racing!!!
Thanks to the drivers, the pit crew and the parents.
The hip bone's
connected
to the...
Three of Mr. Costello's scholars assembled a
skeleton for one of our third grade classrooms.
Look at the photos below.
Concentration
and
Determination
The TOAST Soap Box Derby Team members are preparing
brake pad set-ups. We go through a lot of brake pads on
race day and these need to be ready. Great job!
JUNE Bird Watch
On Friday June 6, 2014, we had our last bird watch.
We saw robins, crows, a song sparrow and more.
Thanks for coming out each month.
Maybe nest year we will have a few new bird watchers!
9th Annual JR.
Science Expo
Pre-K through Grade 3 students shared their science collections and experiments from home. Each Jr. Scientist received a 'swag bag' filled with a few science tools and an owl pellet.
Nice job.
June 5, 2014
Fishing Club
On May 29, (and after two weks of training)
our students hiked over to
Washington Park for some fishing.
We caught over 50 sunfish!!!
I've got one!!!
A couple of our TOAST Scholars hauling in some
plastic fish as they practice for next week. We are heading to Washington Park to fish for real next Thursday.
5-29-14
Nice Casting Technique
Remember:
1. Be very careful...there is a sharp hook on the end of your line.
2. Look all around you before you cast.
3. Cast from your side, not over your head.
Do You Speak Latin?
Say cogitate strenue and you are saying,
challenge the mind, in Latin!!!
Latin is the language of science and
cogitate strenue is our TOAST motto.
Three Little Trees
Our 3 newly planted trees outside of the science lab are doing well.
A big thank you to the city forester who waters the trees for us.
The three trees are: (leaves shown from left to right)
1. Red Maple 2. River Birch 3. Catupala
Showcase Near the Cafeteria
Be sure to look at the Under The Sea showcase when you go to lunch.
Can you see any containers used to
measure liquids?
Knot Again!
We are learning how to tie knots for fishing. Stop by the lab to practice or practice at home using some old shoe laces.
GIANT SQUID
18 meters long!
That's right! 18 meters.
You heard me.
Enough said.
New Exhibit Cases
Did you see the new cases in the front lobby?
One is called Science and the other is Technology.
Look at them closely to learn about red tailed hawks.
Do you have any ideas for a case layout for next year?
(Don't forget...last bird watch is on Friday June 6!)
Animal Webcams
Scholars get to peek inside of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. Students can choose from the bird cam, kelp forest cam, open ocean cam or penguin cam.(shown here) Our TOAST scholars are learning how to observe animals in a natural setting. Check it out.
montereybayaquarium.org/
WORLD POPULATION
The global population grows by hundreds of thousands each day!!! How much food, water and oxygen (and space) does the earth have left? Can we use science and technology answer these questions?
TOAST is a 'SCOOL' School
SCOOL stands for:
STUDENT CLOUD OBSERVATIONS ON-LINE
TOAST scholars learn about clouds and make 'real' cloud observations. Our data is then sent to NASA to help scientists calibrate their weather satelites in space. Pretty cool!!
Salmon Run
Scholars played a game where they pretended to be spawning salmon. Students leave their birth river and swim to the ocean. Then, as a group, they find there way back to the place where they were born...be careful of the many dangers!!!
Your So Far Away
Can you see earth. That little speck is what earth looks like if you were standing on Mars. This picure was taken by the Mars Space Lab. I think it is the first ever pictue taken of earth from Mars.
JHSF
The Joseph Henry Science Fair
was on March 29, 2014.
Our TOAST scientists presented
their projects well.
We are so proud of you!
DENSITY
Diet Coke is less dense than Regular Coke.
Regular Coke contains 39g sugar making it more dense than water. making it more dense than water.
DENSITY
Diet Coke is less dense than Regular Coke.
Regular Coke contains 39g sugar making it more dense than water. making it more dense than water.
EARTH DAY 2014
With the help of the City Forester,
4th graders at TOAST planted three trees.
A red maple, a river birch and a catalpa tree. All 3 trees are native to the Northeast.
ARBOR DAY IS APRIL 25
Science Games
TOAST scientists learned about water molecules
as we played the game, "Where in the World is all the Water."
Scholars pretend to be water molecules and when they roll the
dice, they head to a new place in the world.
Lunar eclipse
Did you see the Lunar eclipse on April 15...neither did I.
I was awake but it was raining and cloudy
for the entire eclipse time. Too bad. There will be another eclipse in September or October. I will keep you updated.
Did you see the Lunar eclipse on April 15...neither did I.
I was awake but it was raining and cloudy
for the entire eclipse time. Too bad. There will be another eclipse in September or October. I will keep you updated.
April Bird Watch
We saw american crows, robins,
ring-billed gulls, european starlings,
song sparrows, house sparrows, and
Canada geese.
100's of birds in total.
And the winner is...
Now that winter is finally over...I think,
we can announce this year's winner of our annual
Snowfall Prediction Contest. Our total snowfall was 71.1 inches and one of our fifth graders predicted 71 inches. Nice job. She wins a very cool star projector!!! Really.
DENSITY OF WATER
The plastic cube floats in the salt water
because the cube is less dense.
The cube sinks in the freshwater
because now the cube is more dense.
WATER IS...
Water is like no other substance on earth.
Here we see the water as it displays some
of it's awesome properties. Water 'clings' to
the penny beacuse of surface tension, adhesion,
and cohesion.
BIG RED
Watch BIG RED at her nest
in Ithica NY.
Click below for the streaming
24 hour video live from Cornell University.
Joseph Henry Science Fair
The city-wide science fair was fun.
Our young scientists presented their projects well!
Great job.
Snowfall Predictions
How much snow did we get this winter?
I will be looking at your predictions and selecting the winner!
The scholar with the closest prediction wins a very cool
3-D Adventure Projector...good luck!
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The TOAST SCIENCE FAIR was a great success! Thanks to all of you for coming out and the presenters were a big hit. Next stop for our 8 finalists, is the Joseph Henry Scienc Fair on March 28 at the College of St. Rose.
Can I Get A Lift?
Blowing up this bag full of air lifts the chair off the ground. As the students will tell you...I did not even have to blow very hard.
(our theme...In the Air)
Capillary Action
We celebrated St. Patricks day by turning white carnations green (and yellow) by using Capillary Action. How fun! We also learnded about primary and secondary colors.
TOAST SKATES
A lot of fun was had at the Empire State Plaza
Skating Rink this Winter. Thanks for taking part in this fun community event.
CHANGING PRESSURE
Blow in hard...Marshmallows contract (get smaller) due to high pressure.
Suck in hard...Marshmallows expand (get bigger) due to low pressure.
Happy Pi Day
Math and science geeks around the world celebrate Pi , t
he ratio between a circles circumference and radius,
on March 14. Pi is equal to 3.1415926... and it goes on forever?
The sculpture in the picture is how Pi is written in math.
SPRING IS ON
THE WAY...I promise.
March 20, 2014 is the first day of spring.
March came in like a LION.
Will it go out like a LAMB?
ASTRONOMY
Winter Astronomy is fun!!! Without the light of the milkyway,
it is easier to identify stars and consellations.
Winter Astronomy is fun!!! Without the light of the milkyway,
it is easier to identify stars and consellations.
IN THE AIR
Go to the library and read books
about IN THE AIR topics.
AIR PRESSURE
The bottle with the yellow balloon has a hole in it. When you blow into it...it fills with air. When you blow into the pink balloon (no hole in bottle) you cannot blow it up. The air is trapped inside.
RAPID PHASE CHANGE
Crushing a can with air from the science lab. The 'trick', (SCIENCE) is to remove the air inside the can by making the water vapor condense quickly!!!
Great March Bird Watch!!!
(3-7-14)
We saw:
9+ seagulls (on their way somewhere)
4+ american crows (as usual)
1 Blue Jay (also, one dead Blue
Jay...PREDATOR?)
4+ American Goldfinch
Thanks for coming out. Next birdwatch, April 4.
Happy Valentines Day from the Science Lab
Our heart is a muscle. Not skeletal or smooth, but cardiac muscle. Our heart continuously pumps blood through our body. pumps blood through our body
Happy Valentines Day from the Science Lab
Our heart is a muscle. Not skeletal or smooth, but cardiac muscle. Our heart continuously pumps blood through our body. pumps blood through our body
Marmota monax is latin for groundhog.
Scientists use latin and give each living thing on this planet one first name and one last name...that's genus and species. Scientists like the one name system...it's less confusing. Binomial nomenclature or two name naming system.
Phil saw his shadow...What might that mean?
3...2...1...Blast Off!!!
Learning about action and reaction as we lauunch balloon rocket down a stringed guidance system.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINCOLN and DARWIN
Up, Up, and Away
A great way to kick off our new theme, In The Air! We learned about the Andean Condor's 3 meter wing-span and Bernolli's Principle. Here we are using fast moving air to create a low pressure system around the ping pong ball. The higher pressure air in the room is causing lift.
Scientific Observations
A TOAST student in Mrs. Molitar's class
kept track of the birds he saw last week with his father. Are you noticing any trends?
Great work E.
All Aboard!
I am currently working with 4th and 5th graders building a detailed HO Scale Train Layout. Our plan is to have bridges and tunnels complete with snow and trees, etc.
LET IT SNOW!!!
TOAST scholars learned about the many different types of snowflakes and the famous scientist, Wilson A. Bentley from Vermont. Bentley was the first person to photograph snowflakes.
January 2014
HOW LOW CAN IT GO?
Check out this wind chill chart. TOAST'ers learned about wind chill, hypothermia and frostbite. Understanding science can keep us safe. Watch out for the polar vortex.
January 2014
Let's Eat
Seeds, bark, stems, nuts and beans are used to make our Holiday Specialties taste yummy!!! Finding the science in food and taste is fun.
December 2013
Rate My Project:
A TOAST and Hackett Collaborative
8th Grade Regents Sciene Students, (thats 8th graders taking a 9th grade regents course!)
created these cell projects and our
TOAST Scholars rated them.
12-15-14
Another Science "toy" for Mr. Flynn
Potential and kinetic energy, conservation of energy, transfer of energy...just a few things to learn while having fun!!!
Let There Be Light!
In this "dark" time of year, we are learning about light. People all over Albany are fighting off the darkness by lighting all types of lights.
December 2013
WHICH WAY DID HE GO?
TOASTERS learned about animal footprints. We used words like pace, gait, and stride. We will go outside and look for animal tracks after a fresh snowfall.
Engineering at TOAST
Fourth and fifth grade groups were challenged to build
the largest free standing structure using just a few types of materials... geat fun and great science!
VIP VISITORS
Congressman Tonko came to TOAST from Washington D.C. with a group of scientists. He works on (at) Capital Hill.
Plant Cell Model
One of many great cell models produced by students in Mrs. Chainyk's class.
NICE VIEW
This old 3D toy, a Viewmaster, still offers the best views of a shark that
you could find anywhere.
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Students will be playing the food chain game this week as we learn about this very important scientific topic. 11-18-13
SEED PROJECT
Two of our kindergarten scholars are conducting a seed germination project.
Mermaid's Purse
One of our fourth graders went to Cape Cod and found this excellent egg case from an animal called a skate! Growing up on Long Island we called them Mermaid's Purses.
Periscope
Scholars had fun "playing with" and learning about this mirrored device. It is fun watching students as they figure out how it works.
scopeo = to examine peri = near, around, adjacent to.
Hiding in plain sight
This week we played a game where I play the preditor and the students get to camouflage the prey animals.
TOAST Rock Park
Each class learned about
the rock cycle and had
a tour of the Rock Park. Feel free to stop by Albany's only rock park anytime...it is open to the public!
The Lost Ladybug Project
One of our fifth grade scholars found this beetle in our school and brought it to the science lab. We took its picture, completed a short report, and sent it all to Cornell University. This will help with a very important New York State insect study.
FALL IS HERE!
Two of our
TOAST Scholars
put together a special
Fall Display Board.
NICE JOB GUYS!!!
TYPHOON HAIYAN
This powerful typhoon hit the Philippines as a
category 5 with winds at 195 mph! It is now a
category 4 and heading towards Thailand.
Hurricane Update!
According to our local fourth grade hurricane expert,
Tropical Depression 18 is a 35 mph storm. It could possibly hit Mexico in the next five days or so. We will keep you posted. Report made Friday 11-1-13 at 2:05 PM EST.
What happens to the flame when gaseous
CO2 is poured into the beaker?
Frozen CO2 or Dry Ice
What a great time of year to explore the 'sublime' properties of CO2. Scholars had fun learning about evaporation, condensation, and sublimation. Sublimation is when a frozen substance, like CO2, goes directly from a solid to a gas.
Scientific Observation
Scholars are challenged to think
about pumpkins in whole new way.
Get ready for
Scientific Pumpkin observations
Also, be
on the look out for
a lost (and very friendly) gorilla.
As Fall turns to Winter
This picture was taken on October 8,2013
at 3:30 pm. What will it look like in
four weeks from now?...eight weeks from now?
SOIL OBSERVATION
In keeping with our current theme,
TOAST ROCKS, our scholars observed
soil samples using microscopes and
magnifying glasses. Weathering and erosion help to form soil.
ONION CELL LAB
Each fourth and fifth grade TOAST
student prepares a wet mount, onion cell slide.
As you can see, the onion
skin is stained red so that we can see the cell walls.
Each fourth and fifth grade TOAST
student prepares a wet mount, onion cell slide.
As you can see, the onion
skin is stained red so that we can see the cell walls.
There's a Walking Stick
in the House!!!
Mrs. Mangold found this awesome insect near her house and I was able to show it to my classes this week. The students loved it!
We will be returning it back to its home on Thursday.
Fossils
Last week our TOAST scholars learned about animals that lived in New York 300 million years ago!!! Looking at fossils collected from nearby Thatcher Park, we examined many different types of shelled creatures. These animals were extinct before there was any signs of dinosaurs on earth.
Dwarf Hamster
A dwarf hamster was donated to the Science Lab.
Teams of fourth and fifth grade scholars care for the hamster.
Plant Cell Lab
Fourth and Fifth Graders at TOAST make
there own onion cell wet mount slides
and examine them under
compound microscopes. Each student could identify (at least), cell walls.
Wooly Bear Caterpillar
Found by one of our third grade scholars. This caterpillar will morph into an Isabella Moth.
Paleontology
Devonian Period fossils found in nearby Thatcher Park NY. New York used to be under water!!!
The New York State Fossil
Students learned about extinction, geological time periods and the SEA SCORPION! The giant sea scorpion or euripterid is way
taller than a human! Yikes!!!
The Rock Cycle
TOAST Scholars learned about the Rock Cycle.
NY State Museum MASTODON
Museum Night at the NY State Museum was a
lot of fun!!! Did you get a chance to stop by?
I was at the mastodon table teaching about these
great mammals!
Mineral Streak Test
What mineral is this? We are identifying minerals using the Streak
Test. Can you see the brown streak? Mineral number three (not listed) is hematite. Pretty cool!!!
What mineral is this? We are identifying minerals using the Streak
Test. Can you see the brown streak? Mineral number three (not listed) is hematite. Pretty cool!!!