Schools

SLIDESHOW: 8th Grade Science Lessons Filled with Vanilla Ice Cream, Eggs and Slime

With the help of Boston Cares and almost two dozen volunteers from Sunovion, based in Marlborough, the entire eighth grade class participated in five science stations.

Eighth grade students at Fuller Middle School ate ice cream, dropped eggs and mixed orange juice with milk during class last week.

The students also created a simple lava lamp in a test tube and played with Silly Putty-like substances, they created themselves as part of the Second Annual 8th Grade Science Fair.

Fuller Middle School science teacher Michelle Gallagher created the event last spring so students could see science standards in a "hands-on, exciting way."

With the help of Boston Cares and almost two dozen volunteers from Sunovion, based in Marlborough, the entire eighth grade class participated in five science stations.

Students learned how to create ice cream in a bag. The reviews on taste were mixed.

Students learned about hydroponic and hydrophobic molecules while building a lava lamp in a test tube.

At another station students created, what I remember as "Silly Putty." The popular toy was created by accident in 1943, when an engineer accidentally dropped boric acid into silicone oil. The chemical reactions Friday at Fuller were no accident. Students had fun stretching and stretching their new creation.

A fourth station had students testing PH levels of many items found in every one's kitchen including, milk, orange juice, vinegar, etc.

The final station had students creating a safe environment for an egg to travel several feet from a top a ladder safely to the ground. using pipe cleaners, Chex cereal, cotton balls, tape, plastic bags, etc students needed to create a way for the egg to survive its drop. A couple of eggs did survive.

Gallagher said all of the experiments fit into the grade 8 science curriculum and will be discussed and re-discussed in class; but the hands-on lesson creates excitement about the scientific units.

"I have worked closely with Boston Cares for the past two years and I am fortunate enough to have been given this opportunity to have this relationship and to bring this opportunity to our students," said Gallagher.

Editor's Note: Originally posted at 8 p.m. Oct. 7. Updated with new photos.


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