Science During the Summer

Unlock the secrets of your kitchen's potential as a science lab with your guide, Doc, a biochemist turned high school science teacher. In our latest adventure, we transform everyday household activities into scientific discoveries, perfect for keeping your teens' neurons firing over summer break. From concocting homemade soaps and shampoos to delving into the mechanics of robotics and model building, we're spicing up those lazy summer days with a dash of educational fun. With each experiment and craft, your teen will not only uncover the science behind daily products but might just spark a business idea or a lifelong passion.

Ever wondered how a stroll in the park could reveal the complexities of biodiversity? Join us as we venture into the great outdoors, equipping your teens with nothing more than a composition notebook and their curiosity to turn a casual walk into a mini biological expedition. We'll also serve up a taste of scientific inquiry at local festivals, like the Daddle Festival, where food, festivities, and science blend into an unforgettable learning experience. So, if you're ready to feed both mind and soul with knowledge and a touch of hot pepper, don't miss this episode where education meets real life in the most fascinating ways.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey there, and welcome to another episode of Teaching High School Science. Now, summer break is a time for relaxation and rejuvenation, but it's also an opportunity for continued learning and exploration, and, as parents and educators, we want to ensure that our teens stay curious and engaged in science. So in this episode, I'm going to share some activities to incorporate in your summer routine to help keep your teens curious and learning throughout the break. Welcome to Teaching High School Science. I'm your host, doc, a former biochemist turned high school science teacher and private tutor. Whether you're homeschooling your teen through high school science or teaching online, join me as I share tips and strategies I've learned over the years for at-home and online labs and activities, breaking down complex concepts and structuring learning in a way that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 0:52

Now let's dive into today's topics. First on the list is probably one of my favorites, and that is hands-on activities. I love to turn my kitchen into a laboratory, not just with chemistry, but with physics, with biology, with anything that we can just get our hands on spread out on a kitchen island, or make room on the floor, build experiment or whatever it is that's going to get us that hands-on exploration. One of the things that I enjoy doing is making soaps and shampoos, and just talking about the science behind that. There is so much that you can do with this, from scents to colors to different textures. They have to understand the correct ratios of different ingredients and how these different ingredients interact with each other to produce the product. And these are things that can spark other interests, such as selling them at the flea market or turning them into gifts that we can share with loved ones and friends. And for learners that prefer more of a robotics versus a chemistry type of thing, there are a lot of different kits that you can purchase, and that's even building models, whether they're planes, whether they're cars, or even Star Wars figurines or battleships. These are things that you can do to keep your teen engaged in creativity and scientific thinking, especially if they're diagramming the process or keeping track of the steps that they're following, maybe experimenting and changing a couple of things. This is what science is, and it actually helps to tie in some interest into the world of science.

Speaker 1: 2:35

The second tip is exploring nature. Now, my idea of getting out in nature may not be the same as everyone else's I am not hiking clear across the Grand Canyon but I do like to get out and walk through parks, national parks, visit a botanical garden or spend the day at a festival where I'm exploring different things. Nature offers endless opportunities for scientific exploration and one of the things that they really get to see in nature is biodiversity. We have biodiversity right in our backyard. Provide them with a notebook, a composition notebook, and have them keep track of the different things that they see, diagram what they see. You can provide them with apps to help them to identify different plants and insects and birds, or create a journal document what they find, including sketches or photographs or observations of what they see. This hands-on approach to biology will foster deeper appreciation for the natural world, make connections from their class to the real world and encourage them to really observe wildlife, collect specimen and ask questions.

Speaker 1: 3:43

This leads us right into field trips, even going on vacations or looking at local festivals in the area. For example, a festival that is held here every year is the Daddle Festival, and yes, I'm talking about the Daddle Pepper, a very spicy but sweet pepper, great flavor if you into spicy foods and you go to the festival. Lots of different foods. I'm a foodie at heart, so any festival dealing with food, food I'm going to be there and different restaurants will make different dishes using this pepper. Some are spicy and some are not quite as spicy, and this could just be dependent on the ingredients that's used. Some ingredients cool it, some ingredients kick up the spice level. In addition to this, there is a area of the festival that talks about different ways of growing the pepper, both in soil and without soil. So imagine the chemistry and biology that is just in that one festival. Taking the opportunity to bring out those different components and tying it into science really make those real world connections. Really make those real world connections.

Speaker 1: 4:50

The third tip is DIY projects Challenging your team to flex their engineering skills with DIY projects from designing a model bridge or helping to refurbish or build a car or fix a dishwasher Any of those tasks that you have on your summer list have your teen help, because these hands-on activities encourage critical thinking and problem solving. Plus, they will get a blast out of seeing that dishwasher they just helped you fix actually work. Another great tip are summer camps and courses. These can be online or in person. This can be anything from coding, where they learn an application or build a game with coding, or even pottery. One of my passions is ceramics. It was with my aunt that I fell in love with ceramics. I learned how to make ceramics from start to finish, even making decorations, tables, buying different accessories to go with it. But there is a science behind that. Okay, there are countless activities that you can find based on the interests of your teen. Now this leads me to my next tip, which are introductory courses.

Speaker 1: 6:02

If you know your teen is going into a subject area such as chemistry or AP Chem or physics and they're a little bit nervous, well, summer would be a great time to introduce them to that topic in a non-threatening, relaxed way. For example, I have summer camps. I have a chemistry summer camp and I'm putting together an AP chemistry prep that will prepare students for AP chemistry, because this is something that is often just causing anxiety just thinking about going to AP chem next year and we cover all of the topics that they need to remember from a whole year of chemistry that they've likely forgotten, but we talk about it in a way that's going to prepare them, give them that foundation to build upon when they hit AP Chemistry in the fall. If this is something that you would like more information on on my summer chems and summer prep courses. Just head on over to my website, which is linked in my show notes, where you'll find more details, the summer schedule and how to enroll.

Speaker 1: 7:05

So there are plenty of engaging science activities, projects and conversations to be had around just everyday things that you could be doing this summer that will promote critical thinking and by incorporating these experiences into your break, you're not only keep them intellectually stimulated but also prepare them for their upcoming school year and help them to make those connections. So remember, science is all around us, waiting to be discovered and explored, and if you have techniques and ideas that you've used to keep your team engaged in science over the summer, please share them. Let me know if you have any questions, ideas or other experiences that you'd like to share. Head on over to my podcast page, which you can access by visiting my website at thesciencementorcom. Then select podcast from the menu and subscribe now to the Teaching High School Science podcast for your regular dose of motivation and just-in-time science ideas, and together let's make high school science a journey of exploration and achievement. Until next time, remember, curiosity leads to endless possibilities.