Science Rocks!

Join us at 2 p.m. Mondays starting from June 10-Aug. 12 for our Science Rocks! Series. Thomas deHaas, a science teacher at Danbury Schools, is the instructor most weeks. This weekly program is geared for children ages 6-12. Sessions are at the Pavilion West Deck, unless noted. There is no cost to participate. Some sessions require pre-registration. REGISTER NOW!

SCHEDULE

June 10 & Aug. 5 — “Alien Invasion?! What are Invasive Species?”
Is Lake Erie facing an alien invasion? What do each of us need to do in order to protect our Great Lake? Participants will learn about what an invasive species is, why they’re important to study and how a few invasive species have had significant impacts on our local water ecosystems. At the conclusion of the first half of this activity, participants will be able to go down onto the Lakeside Dock where they will be able to fish and catch Round Goby (an incredibly populous invasive species in this part of Lake Erie).

June 17 & July 1 — “Oobleck & Ice Cream: Playing with States of Matter”
Do you like playing with gooey substances? Do you like eating ice cream? If you answered yes to either of these questions, “Oobleck & Ice Cream: Playing with States of Matter” is just the activity for you. During this event, participants will be able to experience Oobleck and make ice cream as we examine the various characteristics and properties of each state of matter.

June 24 — “How Well Do You Know the Great Lakes?”
Many people, including a large portion of those who live close to the Great Lakes, do not have a basic understanding of the individual characteristics of and the differences between the lakes. Since it’s difficult to understand many of the Great Lakes’ issues, such as global climate change, pollution and water use without a basic understanding of the lakes, this activity is designed to help participants visualize the differences in volume, shoreline length, human population distribution and fish populations of the Great Lakes.

July 8 — “How to Set Up a Telescope”
Kelly Sommers, District STEAM Instructional Coach for Sandusky City Schools, will do an unboxing of a small telescope. He would discuss how a telescope works, the science involved and how to set it up. Sommers will have an ultraviolet filter for the scope and, weather permitting, participants would do some solar viewing. If you have any solar eclipse glasses left over from April 8, that will help incorporate the usage of those as people wait for their turn at the telescope. REGISTER NOW!

July 15 — “Basic Rocketry” (Pavilion Upper Room)
Kelly Sommers will discuss how rockets work. Attendees will build/assemble a basic Estes rocket. Sommers will discuss the safety codes needed for launching model rockets. Due to lack of a large enough open space, launching rockets will NOT be a part of the program. Attendees will get to take their rocket home. Class is limited to 20 students. REGISTER NOW!

July 22 — “Summer Constellations” (Fountain Inn Aigler Room)
Discuss summer constellations and what stars to look for in the night sky. Kelly Sommers will tell the Greek myth stories of some of the summer constellations and have activity sheets for those in attendance that we will work on during the presentation.

July 29 — “It Snowed! Celebrating Christmas in July”
What a better way to enjoy Christmas in July than with a little snow? Participants will have the opportunity to make their own snow using Insta-Snow and be amazed by this scientific transformation.

Aug. 12 — “Water Quality Monitoring using the Hydrolab”
Participants will learn about different data points such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll and turbidity to better understand the quality of local water sources. A Hydrolab will be used as a part of the Sea Grant and EPA loaner program which will allow participants to take actual water samples from Lake Erie in order to study the above-mentioned data points. We will also discuss and facilitate the usage of a Sekki disk as another tool/method used for studying current water quality. Participants will even be able to make their own miniature Sekki disk to take home with them at the end of the session.

For announcements, check the ‘Event Changes’ button on Lakeside’s homepage.