Grade 1 - Field Trip to the Science Museum

Today we went on a field trip to the Science Museum (科学技術館). We were able to see two experiments, and we were able to use the scientific method we have been discussing in class to think about the question, hypothesis, results, and conclusion. The first experiment was with air; after seeing how the smoke comes out as a ring, we wondered what it would look like if the hole was shaped differently. We tried different shaped holes like squares, hearts, x, and even put a "spider web" over the hole, but the smoke still came out as a ring! 

The other experiment we saw was using liquid nitrogen. Some of us had seen it being used to make ice cream, or we noticed it looked like dry ice. We also noticed that a scientist uses tools to stay safe, such as goggles and special gloves. The thermometer also showed that the temperature of the liquid nitrogen was -196 degrees Celcius! The beaker we touched after the liquid had evaporated was so cold! 

We also remembered to use our sense of touch, and felt the carnation petals before we put it in the liquid nitrogen. Some of our hypotheses were that the pink color might come off of the petals, or that the petals will fall off.The petals were frozen when we pulled it out, and it crumbled into tiny pieces so easily when crushed! 

We also thought about what would happen if we put a balloon in the liquid nitrogen. Some of us hypothesized that the balloon would pop/explode, or it will crumble into pieces like the flower did. We were so surprised to see that balloon shrunk when we put it in the liquid nitrogen, but then when we took it out, the balloon filled up with air again! We learned that different temperatures affect and change air. When we poured liquid nitrogen in a beaker and set a balloon over it, the liquid nitrogen boiled and let off air, blowing up the balloon. It was so fun to see the experiments and to make our hypotheses!