Pendulums are AWESOME!!

I geek out with introducing science to young children.  When I was in second grade we were given a science worksheet to do and asked to answer the bonus problems and then walk up to the teacher and show her our answer to see if we'd gotten it correct. ( I believe that we were offered a new eraser if we got it right.)   I took my time and was near the end of the line and heard a steady stream of nope, nope, nope, nope.... and then it was my turn to show my answer and she glanced and went no... YES!! She proceeded to have me teach the problem to the rest of the class.  It is the first time I remember being the best at something among my peers.  And to say that it encouraged me to love science is an understatement.  

To me Science was the most fun class because you got to throw things, play with water, grow bacteria, dissect and figure things out why things work the way they do.  

So naturally, when I saw a post that showed kids painting with pendulums I thought it was super cool and had to make one for the kids to play experiment with.  

This one is the frame of an art easel, a string tied on the top and then hug between the 2 bars, so it would be in the very middle, and a water bottle with a hole in the lid.  I made the hole using a drill bit with my hand.  

The paint needs to be thinned, but not too watery or it doesn't make the pattern correctly.  It worked out to about 1/3 paint to 2/3's water for me.

I also figured out that it worked out better to put the paintings on the drying rack shelves and then move the whole shelf to the rack.  This kept the pictures closer to how they looked when the children were finished.  

I've talked about the importance of multiple experiences to build connections between the 2 hemispheres of the brain and encourage brain synapses.  Miles enjoyed the second time with the pendulum even more than his first and really got into creating patterns.  

I introduced a variety of vocabulary to the children including pendulum, concentric circles, pattern, patience, eclipse, etc.  

One of the first few children to paint asked if they could put it on the water table and so when we were done with the paint we put it on the water table.  With astonishing results.  

I was able to use the vocabulary that was introduced with the paint, but also add ripple, force, and a few other things that aren't coming to mind.  Because it is up on the water table it was easier for the children to put the water in the cup and didn't need my assistance.    

This was a hot center today, and so I put a sign up sheet and a timer and everyone got a 5 minute turn and then they were aloud to play for as long as they liked after everyone had a turn.  Making a list allowed there to be less fighting and now that they've had a taste of the experience they are able to really explore the area.  

I found that a lot of the children just wanted to watch the water make ripples in the tub and were holding it still while the other person really wanted to have it swing, so I added a second top of a plastic bottle with a single small hole in the lid.  

The neat thing about working with a pendulum is that it requires the children to have patience to see the affect.  They have to watch and see what happens.  

The reflection of the lights from the ceiling intensified the visibility of the ripple.  Maybe we can hang some colored lights from the top bar and see how that changes the experience.