Not a Scientist...

The kids and I have started a new science unit on heat and energy.  Up until this point, we have done "safe" sciences for me....a unit on animal studies and then a unit on ecosystems.  Because I am following the state standards for what Maddie needs to be learning in science, we have moved on to a more difficult area for me...energy.  I am learning along with the kids, more than I ever cared to know about different types of energy.  

The kids and I have joked from the beginning that my experiments seem to often fail.  Maybe it is lack of patience or understanding. I'm not sure which, but knowing we have experiments with electricity and energy coming up, I am a little nervous!  

Yesterday we were learning about thermal energy and were measuring the temperature of several different areas.  The kids added a few that were not on the worksheet such as Josie's temperature and their own body temperature.  We had a nice pot of chicken noodle soup in the crock pot that smelled so good...I couldn't wait to eat it at dinner!  We had the great idea to measure the temperature of the soup.  So, in went a thermometer.  

Two seconds later, there was a bright red bubble that popped to the top of the soup.  The thermometer had exploded!  Yep...mercury all over my yummy chicken noodle soup.  Matt found this quite amusing when he got home!  

So...we had another failed experiment, but thankfully, my weaknesses lie in Matt's strengths.  He took over the study of thermal energy with a lesson for the kids and another experiment in the evening.  I think I'm going to be depending on him a lot in this unit!