The primary objective of this post is to promote soil testing as an educational exercise, to advance the understanding of science as it relates to soil and soil nutrients and to promote useful educational activities related to soil testing such as family outings and class trips that help make learning science fun.

Life depends on soil, and soil is formed as a result of natural decomposition that happens over long periods of time. Five factors influence the formation of soil:

The material from which the soil is formed

The living organic matter that surrounds it

The climate in which the soil is found

The slope and typography of the land

The time over which the soil is created

The management of soil is critical and soil testing is an important step in conservation efforts. By using soil testing has an educational tool, students learn about environmentalist and discover job fields that lead to self-reliance.

pH level and lead testing is a great way to introduce students to soil testing.

Soil pH

Soil pH is the factor which determines whether or not plants are able to consume nutrients. If the pH is too high or too low, nutrients in the soil are unabsorbed by plants and the literally starve to death.

pH, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are the key elements in soil that establish the health of your plants. Soil pH is important because it affects the availability of nutrients to plants and the activity of microorganisms in the soil.

pH and Lead Testing Kits available here

pH Test Kits

Enough Materials for Five Groups Working Simultaneously

Students learn the importance of this factor in soil and the effect on plant growth and nutrition as they test either their own soil samples or those that come with the kit. Also comes with materials for each group to perform five tests (making a total of 25 tests per kit), a teacher’s manual with lesson plans, and reproducible student procedure/data sheets.wp-image-2232″ />

Range: pH 3.8–8.4.

Lead Contamination

High concentrations of lead is toxic to humans and other forms of life. There are two major sources of lead contamination: 1) lead-based paint where contamination may occur when paint chips from old buildings mix with the soil; and, 2) lead from auto emissions.

Studies show that the highest lead levels in soils are found around building foundations and within a few feet of busy streets. Although lead is not presently used in paint or gasoline, lead is still a major concern because it was once widely used and can persist for a long time. Therefore, lead contamination continues to be a problem.

Lead Soil Test Kits

Simply make a slurry with your soil sample using the included reagents, then dip the slurry, and read the results. The detection level is 0–400 ppm. The kit includes instructions and enough materials for five tests.

The Children’s Discovery Museum moved from downtown Augusta, Maine to 171 Capitol ST. next to Harvest Time Natural Foods in the Shaw’s Plaza.

The new location will provide better visibility, more parking space and one-floor accessibility; and it is close to other businesses in the plaza. Displays include a grocery store, a restaurant, a Maine campground, a tree house/nature center, and a theater. The museum also has an engineering/construction/transportation exhibit and a birthday party room.

Motivation to Develop Knowledge

Melissa Merfeld, president of the museum’s board, said a decline in donations and grants forced the museum to move. Merfeld said that the museum’s membership continues to grow, but the museum struggled to pay the rent. Rent is now a third what it would have cost the museum to stay in downtown Augusta.

Valencia Schubert, the Museum’s executive director recently released this announcement regarding the Children’s Discovery Museum Grand Opening:

After a month of very hard work, by so many wonderful people,
CDM is ready to re-open it’s doors. Our new location at 171 Capitol Street is ready to hear the laughter of children!

Members Only Day

Friday, November 6th from 10-5 we will host a members only day.
Please bring your valid membership card and
we will update it with an extension for your patience during our move.

Grand Re-Opening

Saturday, November 7th from 10-5 we will be
welcoming everyone to our new home.
Please join us for this very exciting day.

Indispensable Resource for Families

Be sure to check out the Museum’s November calendar for our fun special events.

For more information about the Children’s Discovery Museum email: info@childrensdiscoverymuseum.org

Creature Feature

Every week Mr. Christian requires his students to observe and report on the habits of a sea creature. The creatures dwell in a large reef aquarium located in the library and small aquarium housed in the school’s laboratory. Students are required to answer specific questions while they observe the natural behavior of the warm-water animals.

Interview with Matt Christian, science teacher from New York, who wants to get an interactive, cold water aquarium for his classroom, to promote interactive education to his students.

Nine Concepts Lead to Science Jobs

Improving Science Education in elementary schools through theses nine educational concepts leads to more Science Jobs.  When elementary schools design curricula that involve  these scientific concepts, many more students will develop competencies in science that lead to self-reliance and some may even find science jobs appealing after college.

Organization

Scientists make the study of science manageable by organizing and classifying natural phenomena. Primary grade children can be introduced to this concept by sorting objects like leaves, shells, or rocks according to their characteristics. Intermediate grade children can classify vegetables or fruits according to properties they observe in them, and then compare their own classification schemes to those used by scientists.

Cause and effect

Nature behaves in predictable ways. Searching for explanations is the major activity of science; effects cannot occur without causes. Primary children can learn about cause and effect by observing the effect that light, water, and warmth have on seeds and plants. Intermediate grade children can discover that good lubrication and streamlining the body of a pinewood derby car can make it run faster.

Systems

A system is a whole that is composed of parts arranged in an orderly manner according to some scheme or plan. Primary children can learn about systems by studying the notion of balance–for example, by observing the movements and interactions in an aquarium. Older children might gain an understanding of systems by studying the plumbing or heating systems in their homes.

Scale refers to quantity, both relative and absolute

Thermometers, rulers, and weighing devices help children see that objects and energy vary in quantity. It’s hard for children to understand that certain phenomena can exist only within fixed limits of size. Yet primary grade children can begin to understand scale if they are asked, for instance, to imagine a mouse the size of an elephant. Would the mouse still have the same proportions if it were that large? What changes would have to occur in the elephant-sized mouse for it to function? Intermediate grade children can be asked to describe the magnification of a microscope.

Models

We can create or design objects that represent other things. This is a hard concept for very young children. But primary grade children can gain experience with it by drawing a picture of a cell as they observe it through a microscope. Intermediate grade children can use a model of the earth’s crust to demonstrate the cause of earthquakes.

Change

The natural world continually changes, although some changes may be too slow to observe. Rates of change vary. Children can be asked to observe changes in the position and apparent shape of the moon. Parents and children can track the position of the moon at the same time each night and draw pictures of the moon’s changing shape to learn that change takes place during the lunar cycle. Children can also observe and describe changes in the properties of water when it boils, melts, evaporates, freezes, or condenses.

Structure and function

A relationship exists between the way organisms and objects look (feel, smell, sound, and taste) and the things they do. Children can learn that skunks let off a bad odor to protect themselves. Children also can learn to infer what a mammal eats by studying its teeth, or what a bird eats by studying the structure of its beak.

Variation

To understand the concept of organic evolution and the statistical nature of the world, students first need to understand that all organisms and objects have distinctive properties. Young children can learn about this concept by observing and arranging color tones. Older children can investigate the properties of a butterfly during its life cycle to discover qualities that stay the same as well as those that change.

Diversity

This is the most obvious characteristic of the natural world. Even preschoolers know that there are many types of objects and organisms. In elementary school, youngsters need to begin understanding that diversity in nature is essential for natural systems to survive. Children can explore and investigate a pond, for instance, to learn that different organisms feed on different things.

Touch Tanks goals include helping improve science education in elementary schools. Theses nine educational concepts that we learned from  a book tilted Getting Started in Science: A Blueprint for Elementary School Science Education helped us understand how to motivate our students to study an activity that leads to more Science Jobs.

Science Frontiers is a newsletter providing digests of reports that describe scientific anomalies; that is, those observations and facts that challenge prevailing scientific paradigms.

Science Frontiers is a newsletter providing digests of reports that describe scientific anomalies; that is, those observations and facts that challenge prevailing scientific paradigms.

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