Not Quite a Bust

Well, today is the big day... the solar eclipse.  I had been hoping to take my grandson out to see the spectacle, making a full science day out of it.  I'd hoped to show him how to cook nachos in a solar oven, teach him how to burn stuff with a magnifying glass, and a few other science activities.  Unfortunately, mother nature isn't cooperating in my neck of the woods.  It's been raining most of the morning, and the sky is overcast to the point that we can't see the sun.  The closest we will come to experiencing the eclipse is that it will become quite dark outside.

It hasn't been a total loss though.  Being a Marine, I adapted, improvised and overcame, and we've spent the entire morning doing indoor science experiments.  Here's what we did...

-We did the vinegar and baking soda experiment.  I added a little personal flare by mixing some food coloring in with the vinegar.

-We made magic mud with cornstarch and water.  We had a lot of fun with this one.

-We made a mason jar ocean by filling the mason jar about halfway with blue-dyed water, and then topping it off with vegetable oil.  He said this was his favorite... probably because he gets to keep it as a souvenir.

-We shined up tarnished pennies by putting them in a glass with vinegar.

-We put part of a bar of Ivory soap into the microwave and watched it expand like a marshmallow.

-We did some tie-dye art on paper.  We started with milk in a large casserole dish.   We added some dish soap, and then added food coloring.  We then placed a couple of pieces of paper on top of the solution.  The result (which is still drying) is tie-dyed sheets of paper.

-We put a raw egg into vinegar, and are watching the vinegar dissolve the egg shell.

We had a lot of fun doing science stuff.  Definitely a day well spent.  It was nowhere near the bust it could have been.