Implosions and Improvisations

Well…I’m not going to say my last class with the Muons was a failure because 1. anytime the kids end up trying to figure out new ways to make something work and laughing has got to be called some kind of success and 2. any time an old hippie homeschooling parent like me gets to use incense in the project, it has to be good.
We started class in the kitchen where we attempted to implode cans using this tutorial:
https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/incredible-can-crusher/
It worked great…at home. We ended up making more fumes than anything else at Co-op. I guess that industrial stove is just way hotter than my home stove.

We abondoned the kitchen and headed downstairs where we filled a “smoke cannon” with incense smoke so we could see a vortex in action.
https://www.rookieparenting.com/air-canon-smoke-ring/
Unfortunately during class,I wasn’t able to access the descriptions to explain the science that made these air pressure projects work.Thankfully lighting incense and trying to come up with ways to make their own smoke cannons with the supplies at Co-op was enough to keep them interested.
This week I will bring printed science explanations. This old incense burning hippie can’t rely on technology(or my understanding of science). Ha!