For the past week, we have been exploring changes in matter. We completed A Race For Change lab. Students had to predict what the quickest way to melt an ice cube would be only using themselves. Students then tested their theory and timed the results. Students discovered that applying heat and breaking the ice into smaller pieces melted the fastest. 
We also made lava lamps! Here are the instructions to make a lava lamp at home:
1. Fill a bottle 3/4 of the way full with vegetable oil (the cheaper, the better).
2. Fill the bottle the rest of the way full with water.
3. Add ten drops of food coloring.
4. Drop half of an Alka-Seltzer tablet into the bottle and watch it bubble!
In a previous lab, students explored liquids to conclude that water is more dense than oil, causing the water to sink to the bottom and oil to rise to the top. The food coloring mixed with the water, making it easier to view the bubbling when the Alka-Seltzer tablet was placed in the liquid. When the tablet (solid) was placed in the liquid mixture, it caused the solid to change to a gas (carbon dioxide) causing the bubbles to rise and become a "lava lamp."
Jack really enjoyed this science lab. Thank you for making their science instruction so meaningful and so enjoyable at the same time.
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