Test Your Reaction Time (a Motor Nerves Activity)

Never have I done an experiment that required less prep or fewer materials. Our reaction time test activity was both fun AND educational.

We talked about how the brain and nervous system work together to help you react quickly to a situation and how messages must travel from the brain's motor cortex to sensory nerves, telling muscles to move. 

To test our reaction time (i.e. the time it takes for messages to travel from our brain to our fingers), we grabbed a simple 12-inch ruler.

This two-person activity is simple.

One person pinches the end of the ruler that is marked 12 inches, holding it perpendicular to the floor (i.e. straight up and down). The second person holds their thumb and pointer finger out at the bottom of the ruler without touching it.

When person No. 1 releases the ruler and it drops toward the floor, it's person No. 2's job to pinch the ruler to catch it as quickly as possible. 

What was the distance the ruler fell before it was caught? Convert the distance into time using the info below.

SOURCE: Sports Science by Jim Wiese

This activity and conversions came from a brilliant book of activities called Sports Science by Jim Wiese. Containing 40 experiments and the science behind them, this book is a must-read (with many must-do activities) for sports enthusiasts, curious kids, and kinesthetic learners!

Mars Math: Out-of-this-World Word Problems

Space exploration is fascinating. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. If you don't believe me, read up on future manned missions to Mars. It will blow your mind!

To bring science and math together, I made my son a book of word problems that test his subtraction, coordinate mapping, decimals, and multiplication skills. All the problems are related to Mars and future space exploration there.

The problems are a companion to an incredible book by Pascal Lee. It's been awhile since our 9-year-old loved a non-fiction book this much. His eyes were popping and his jaw was dropping and I couldn't stop him from interrupting storytime with our youngest because the facts were simply mind-boggling. I'd HIGHLY recommend you get a copy of Mission: Mars for any space-loving kid!

The book contains 9 pages of word problems, some that truly challenged my son who struggled with multiplying decimals (where's that decimal point go, Mom?). He was determined, though, and despite using a calculator for a few, he was beyond excited to get confirmation that his answers were right.

Here are a few of the problems you'll find in this free download.

Because of low gravity, you can leap 2.6 times higher on Mars than on Earth. If you jumped 3 feet on Earth, how many inches would that be on Mars?

Using radio signals to communicate with Earth, crew members will have to get used to a time delay. If there is a 22-minute delay between each comment, how long would the following conversation take.

"Hello, son!"

"Hi, Mom!"

"How's Mars?"

"It's dusty here. I miss you and Dad."

"We miss you too, son."

"Take care. We'll talk to you again soon."

"Okay. Bye!"

Calculate the AREA (length x width) of Valles Marineris, the giant crack on Mars. It's 2,500 miles (4,000 km) long and 120 miles (200 km) wide.

Get the PDF from Google Drive here.

After School Linky (5-11)

Welcome to the party!

Ideas galore here, folks! Here are just a few of my favorites from last week's link-up.

 Blow up a Balloon with Alka Seltzer at Science Sparks

 Free Printable Math Worksheets for Kids- Counting Bees at JDaniel4's Mom

 Popsicle Stick Lizards Kids Craft at Mama to 5 Blessings

 Super Silly Books for Kids at Growing Book by Book

 Design and Build an Air-Powered Car at Planet Smarty Pants

How to Make Stop Motion Movies at Home at Mama Smiles

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks! 

Egg Drop Experiment (Newton's First Law of Motion)

It's been awhile since I've had my boys in utter and total awe. This experiment did it, though. 

We learned about Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion - the one that states a stationary object will stay stationary unless something puts it into motion and an object in motion will stay in motion until something stops it. 

This all sounds pretty abstract, right?

To show my boys what Newton was talking about, we grabbed the following supplies to conduct a quick experiment.

Tall drinking glass, 3/4 full of water
Metal pie plate
Empty cardboard toilet paper tube
Egg

I had my son's line up the objects, placing the pie plate on top of the water glass, the tube in the middle of it, and an egg resting on the top of the tube.

Now I asked, "What do you think will happen if I smack the side of this pie plate?"

Both of them looked at me like I was crazy. Their hypothesis was that I was going to break the glass, spill the water, and crack the egg because everything would fall over.

So I smacked it hard. And guess what? The pie plate and cardboard roll fell away and the egg dropped directly down into the glass of water; it didn't even crack!

Now they each took turns. The experiment still captured their attention and amazement after five times!

As Newton's Law tells us, the egg doesn't topple over because it isn't forced to move the way the pie plate and cardboard roll (which catches the edge of the pan as it's shoved out of the way) are. Instead of being pushed to the side, it merely drops straight down when forced to move by gravity.

Want to learn more about Isaac Newton? Check out these books!

This experiment came from Steve Spangler Science. Check it out!

After School Linky (5-4)

Welcome to the party!

May the 4th be with you, all you Star Wars fans (or moms of Star Wars fans, in my case).

Here are just a few of the phenomenal activities and ideas shared at last week's linky.

Kid Made Nesting Supply Station at Thriving STEM

N is for Newton's Laws - DIY Newton's Cradle at Rainy Day Mum

DIY Astronaut Gloves and How Do Astronauts Eat in Space? at Gift of Curiosity

Famous Painters Inspired Magazine Scraps Portraits at Frog in a Pocket

 How to Organize a Sensory Scavenger Hunt at Wonder Baby

Make Your Own Wind Anemometer at There's Just One Mommy       

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!