Our Common Cents Fundraising Round Table did an amazing job. They designed a fundraising campaign for Foster Kids Charity, and succeeded in raising over $900 dollars for this great cause. Thanks to all the Gooch Scholars who donated money, and to our fantastic student leaders. Pictured: Nicholas Flores with donations.

The Winter Holidays are coming, so try spending some time at home this break doing simple, fun and cheap science with your children.

Make A Static Powered Dancing Snowflake

Balloons create static electricity when you rub them against certain things, like hair.

You will need

• A piece of tissue paper
• A balloon
• Tools: Scissors; A head of hair
• Holiday Music (optional)

What to do

1. First cut out a snowflake shape in the tissue as shown about 1.5 inches (4 cm) long and add some eyes with a marker. If you are using 2-ply tissues, peel apart the 2 layers to get the tissue as thin as possible. Cut out a few snowflakes for more fun and place them on a flat surface. You might want to make some out of regular paper to compare. (Some people find slightly heavier snowflakes easier to control.)

2. Blow up the balloon and tie it. Then rub it really fast through your hair for about 10 seconds. This will add a static charge.

3. Slowly bring the balloon near the snowflake, and the snowflake will begin to rise toward the balloon. If the balloon is charged enough, the snowflake will rise and float right up to the balloon, even when it is several inches away. With a little practice, you can get the snowflake to rise, float, and even dance around.

TIP: The easiest way to make the snowflake rise without it sticking to the balloon is to tape the very tip of the bottom of the snowflake to a table. The snowflake will rise and move along with the balloon. With a good charge, the balloon can control the snowflake from several inches away.

The Science Behind It

When you rub the balloon through your hair, invisible electrons (with a negative charge) build up on the surface of the balloon. The electrons have the power to pull very light objects (with a positive charge) toward them – in this case, the tissue snowflake!

Try experimenting with rubbing the balloon on different surfaces, and using different types of paper for your snowflake.

SANTA’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC MILK

You will need

• Dawn Dish Soap

• Whole Milk

• Cotton Swabs {Q-tips}

• Food Coloring

• Tools: Shallow Bowl or Ramekins {dollar store plastic ones are great for lots of experiments}; Christmas Cookie Cutter {optional}

To set up for your Christmas magic milk science activity, I used a small salad plate and a cookie cutter. You can use a shallow dish or bowl of any kind.

What to do

1. Fill whatever you are going to use with whole milk.

2. Use your liquid food coloring to place drops of color all around the surface of the milk. Since we have a Christmas theme going, I opted for red and green colors. Use them all if you want!

3. Dip a cotton swab in dish soap. Touch the tip of the swab to the milk and watch! It’s like a little explosion. Or you could say it’s Magic Christmas Milk!

The Science Behind It

The soap breaks the surface tension of the milk, causing the color molecules to search out the fat molecules in the milk.

The Penguin Patch this year is bought to you by the Gooch PTSA. It is a pop up store that will be in the Conference Room at Gooch (opposite the Nurses room in the front hallway), and available for the scholars to buy gifts during lunch time for the week of the 11th-15th of December. The gifts range in price from 25 cents to 12 dollars, and there will be voluteers to help the scholars budget their money. This is a great opportunity for our scholars to practice independence and budgeting.