FAMILY SCIENCE FESTIVAL

It was a fun day at the Girl Scouts Family Science Festival today. Held in Pasadena, the girls were in for a day full of learning and science experiments.

We started off grabbing a bite to eat off of one of the designer Food Trucks.

We all had grilled cheese sandwiches, rice crispy treats and a nice cold drink.

Then, it was time to get busy with all the Science Booths that were waiting for us.

Friendship bracelets were first on the list. They were made with different colors that each represented different molecules that made up water.

The girls got a demo on the cycle of water before they got their bracelets.

Trinity had to show this piece of machinery. She said it reminded her of the Saints and they reminded her of Jesse, who sadly couldn't make it today.

The girls learned about what effects the distance, different objects, would travel if shot out of a home made launcher.

They were shown how the angle of the launcher would make the item go further and faster. So would the weight of the object being shot.

We also got the directions to make our own launchers.

We learned about bugs and the girls even got their own set of antennas. Believe it or not, they actually wore these the rest of the day. I thought for sure they would all want to take them off about a minute after they put them on.

Going through the Mad Scientist maze was super hot. Though it was filled with body parts, crazy experiments taking place and even the Mad Scientist himself.

Nikki was intrigued with the body parts. OK, so they weren't real but, they were still a bit creepy looking.

They got to pick out their own pictures to make an experiment of spinning two photos fast enough so it looked like one. The speed of the spinning pictures tricks the eyes into seeing the two pictures combined into one.

We found the solar energy panels very interesting. Turning the sun into energy rather then using electricity was hard to understand at first.

So, we were shown, how using the power from the sun could make a blender work. Getting a smoothie drink out of this was just a little extra treat.



The girls learned how to turn glue into silly putty. They even learned the biggest molecule in glue was polymer.

They each got to pick what color they wanted to make their putty.

Since it was super hot out we decided to cool off by watching a movie inside the theater.

The movie was very interesting. It taught us about the different planets and how they differ from Earth.

After the movie, we went back outside again and made kaleidoscopes.

Who knew a bit of paper, tape and a few colorful items could be turned into a world of different shapes and forms.

Each girl got a small pine tree to take home and plant. In about 40 years they will be full grown and be huge pine trees.

Planting trees helps give us oxygen, provides wild life with places to live and helps with the green house effect.

The next stop was to make a key chain that looked like a twisted strand of DNA. Each color of bead represented a different item on the strand.

This took a long time to finish. So, they just started on this and then decided to take a handful of beads home and finish it at home.

After watching the movie and seeing the Rover that was used on Mars, the girls couldn't wait to have a Rover walk over them.

They learned how the Rover had several wheels that would move in different ways.

This allowed the Rover to move over rocks, hills and valleys, that are on Mars, without tipping over.

It must be fun pretending to be the surface of Mars. All the kids waited in lines to do this. They all had big smiles on their faces as the Rover rolled over them.



They even made their own rocks! It taught them what different rocks were made out of. Soil, water and many, many different items.

They learned that some rocks are big, yet are very light weight when you pick them up. This is because of all the air holes. They saw how some rocks are hollow inside but are growing beautiful crystals. Rocks can be different colors and even come in stripes because of years and years of different type of items being mixed in with the soil.

Some rocks have precious items in them, such as diamonds, gold and other gems. When you polish rocks they all look pretty.

We all learned several new things, were reminded about some things we forgot about and a few things we already knew the answers to. It was a super fun day and everyone said they had a great time.

The girls agreed they would like to go again some day as they all love science.

I was very happy we went because not only did we have fun and learn but we also worked on getting another patch!

It is great to know that even while we are having fun, we can still be learning valuable lessons.