science belt loop

[beth100 10]

I have been asked to plan the webelos den meetings relating to the scientist activity pin. I have downloaded the requirements for the belt loop, and I am a little confused. The first requirement says:

1. Explain the scientific method to your adult partner.

What scientific method? Can we just choose a method and an experiment that explains it? HELP!!!

[theysawyoucomin' 10]

For some reason I cannot copy and paste here.

 

 

Do a google search on "scientific method cub Scouts"

 

the method consists of something like

 

Question or problem(Given a twig of white Pine, ivy,or willow---will plants form their own roots when soaked in water?)

Hypothesis(willow , no -----pine , yes----ivy, yes)

Method:

get a clean peanut butter jar and fill half full of water. Using the three twigs that you den leader, Mrs. Rumpplestilskin gave you observe and record your findings for a month.

 

Cubs make one observation each saturday morning for 4 weeks and record what they see.

 

At the end of four weeks they see that Pine-no

ivy yes

willow yes

 

Holy smokes Johnny you were wrong about your guess concerning the willow. That's OK Johnny so many scientic discoveries are made when the scientist finds out that his preconceived ideas are wrong.

 

The boys then write up a conclusion. Please investigate on the web' 'cause I'm sure I left something out.

 

I did this plant experiment with my boys.

 

I saw On one site it listed somthing about electric motors as part of an expirement search scitoys.com or scitoys. There is the greatest little homemade motoer on there. Pay particular attention to the part about scraping the shellac insulation off the wire. It is a joy to see them build this.

Good luck.

 

[EagerLeader 9]

Check on Wikipedia for a full explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method

 

In a nutshell it's this:

Define the question

Gather information and resources

Form hypothesis

Perform experiment and collect data

Analyze data

Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypotheses

Publish results

(copied from Wikipedia)

 

It's nothing more than the process they go through to test an idea.

[Lisabob 13]

Oh this was one of my favorites belt loops! We had a great time doing this on several occasions. One time I did it at a pack meeting and we had the kids blow up balloons using a mix of baking powder and vinegar. They did it over and over and over and over and (well you get the picture!) Many of them wanted to see how/if things would work differently if they mixed different proportions or added something to the vinegar first (water mainly). If you add too much soda it will overflow and make a mess though so make sure you have clean up supplies handy.

 

You can find instructions if you google "balloon blow up" or something similar.

 

Here's how I laid out the Scientific Method for them.

 

__The Scientific Method___

 

 

1. Purpose: What do you want to know?

 

2. Hypothesis: What do you think will happen?

 

3. Materials and Procedures: What do you need and how will you test your hypothesis?

 

4. Data Collection: Observe and record information about what happens

 

5. Conclusions: Was your hypothesis correct?

 

[tcherven 10]

What they said before me. That's what I understand the Scientific method to be.

 

You may find that all the scouts know or have done this already. The Webelos in my den came from two schools (8 from 1, 1 from a different one). If the school hosts a Science fair or completes Science activities in their classrooms, your scouts may have already been introduced and have a good understanding of the Scientific Method.

 

I checked with the father of the scout from the other school, and they had done many of the same things. SO - the assistant den leader and I were able to spend the den meeting completing the rest of the Science Activity Badge.

 

The scouts had a great time - this was a fun one.