Course Description

Science Research Program – Grades 9, 10, 11, 12


Full Year – Level H: Incoming freshman and sophomore students must apply for admission to this program in January of the prior academic year. Acceptance into the program will be based on a science teacher recommendation, a written essay, and excellent academic grades.


This is an ongoing program that is taken in conjunction with the student’s regular science course. There are several tiers to the program. During Year 1 students learn the components of scientific research including the scientific method and apply these concepts in various settings including designing and conducting an authentic science research project and communicating results by participation in at least one local science fair. Students also explore various applications of science topics through field trips, guest speakers and class projects. Advanced students (Years 2-4) select their science research topic, locate an out-of-school mentor (either in industry or at a local university) and compete in a variety of science fairs including the CT State Science Fair, Southern CT Invitational Science and Engineering Fair (SCSEF) and the CT Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (CT JSHS). Advanced students pursue their selected research in depth, perform statistical analysis and compete at a number of local and/or national science fairs and competitions. In Years 2, 3, and 4 students are grouped together in a non-traditional classroom setting and are required to meet individually outside of class with their Science Research Instructor biweekly to review individual goals and assess progress. All students participate in the culminating annual activity, Amity’s Science Symposium.


Monday, March 28, 2011

Making Stuff Public Event

Connecticut Making Stuff Outreach Coalition

Making Stuff is a nation-wide education outreach campaign about the materials that are transforming our world. We're proud to announce that CRISP is leading the ConnecticutMaking Stuff Outreach Coalition with the goal of providing informal public outreach events in materials science to the greater New Haven and Hartford communities. Coalition partners include Tilde Café, the Connecticut Science Center, Amity High School, Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science (CEMS) and Little Scientists. These events are made possible in part by a grant from NOVA, WGBH and the Materials Research Society (MRS) with major funding from the National Science Foundation. The events are scheduled in conjunction with the NOVA airing of the 4 part "Making Stuff" series with David Pogue.

CRISP and the CT Making Stuff Outreach Coalition offered a Family Science Event at Yale this past weekend for at for an exploration of stuff, including a public lecture ("visualizing the atomic world" at 10a) by Prof. Udo Schwarz, followed by hands-on materials science demonstrations by Amity Students.

Describe in detail what your role in the Making Stuff Outreach Coalition was. Use the guideline below:

a. How did you prepare for the Making Stuff Outreach Event? details
b. What Materials Science Related topic were you exploring and what new information did you learn?
c. What pre-activities did you (or are you about to) prepare for the website? post-activities?
d. Briefly describe what you and your partners will do for your Digital Story Telling Piece.
e. For those in attendance at the Public Event: Give feedback regarding the event overall (organization, interest, food, lecture, families that attended, script execution, Amity contribution). If you did not attend, please state what you did instead.
f. How can we improve a similar event in the future, if given an opportunity?

41 comments:

  1. My group (making orange batteries) largely prepared during class for our presentation. The classroom time and computer lab time gave us enough time to flesh out what we wanted to cover, write the script, and make our pre- and post-activities. The first thing we had to do was to test the capability of oranges to create electricity; in effect, figuring out the demonstration for ourselves first. Because only two out of our four group members had taken physics (and they hadn’t reached the electricity section yet) we had to familiarize ourselves with the equipment and standard procedure for making a circuit. I was the team leader and also the script writer. Luckily, I had some chemistry background with galvanic cells, and the principle was exactly the same with orange batteries. After getting any idea of how the orange batteries were going to work and what we needed to cover for younger children to understand what was going on, we began writing the script and making the activities
    These pre activities include a matching game with multiple pairs of cards. Each card had a picture of a term or material that was important to the demonstration. All cards were placed face down, and the children had to match all the card pairs together by memory; hopefully, such memorization would familiarize the children with important terms. With this visual component out of the way, we did a more word based activity for the next pre activity; a cross word with important terms. Post activities were more involving. We planned a musical chairs type activity, in which the children would act as electrons flowing in a closed circuit (the chairs). Those that couldn’t find a chair when the music ended would have to answer a question correctly to stay in the game.
    For the next component: the digital story-telling piece, we plan on taking some video and pictures of our preparations and of the event itself to create a multimedia video illustrating our work from beginning to end. Recreation of the actual presentation would be easy if we wanted to include a video of our actual project. I was thinking of a more documentary style piece, in which the vide would be supplemented with interviews from the group member themselves.
    I did not attend the actual event; I had a debate tournament that day. However, I can say that I wished for more preparation on the part of some group members (actually, only one). Prof. Broadbridge was right in noting that group participation wasn’t great in our group. Furthermore, it is always better to be able to see where we are working beforehand. It was hard planning the activities when we weren’t sure what resources we had to work with.

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  2. To Prepare for the event, my group (diffraction: scattering light) prepared a demo kit and activities for kids to learn about how and why light diffracts. The kit, background presentations, and activities were all made for this. I was exploring the field of light diffraction for this project, and I learned all about how different crystals can make different patterns, and how Fraunhour patterns work. I made activities for kids to learn about this field including a cross-word puzzle and word search, a background information powerpoint, and a post activity of questions. For the story, my partner and I made a timeline about how to do the demoworks project and what all of the different results mean. Overall, I enjoyed the event on saturday. It was well organized and gave people many different opportunities to learn about different material sciences. I also enjoyed the food and had a good time there. In the future, I would just get more public awareness out about the event because it seemed like there were not many people in attendance. But, everything else went over very well.

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  3. I prepared for the CRISP Making Stuff event during classroom time. Evan and I worked together during all the provided class time to prepare a well-rounded project that would entertain the children while still being educational. We worked in the area of diffraction and lasers. The pre-activities included a word search, a crosswords, and a presentation that teachers could present to the children. All of the pre-activities were aware of the audience, and helped the students understand what diffraction and lasers were all about. I learned about how lasers work, and how optical transform slides can make different patterns. Evan and I worked together to create a post-activity questionnaire to ask students about what tehy learned during the course of the presentation. In our Digital Story Piece we are going to dicuss what happened during our experiment and the implications of the results. I did not attend the event because I had to attend a mandatory tennis practice. If given an opportunity to do this again I would want to have everybody present instead of simply 6 people presenting.

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  4. a. For the event, our team redid our experiment at home, wrote our script, rehearsed it, and created several pre-activities as well. Unfortunately we weren't selected to present at the event due to logistical difficulties.

    b. Our DemoKit explored solubility rules. We heated water and supersaturated it with sugar so that when the water cooled, the excess sugar would precipitate out and form rock candy. It was a neat experiment even if we generally knew what would happen beforehand.

    c. Our group made a word search with key solubility terms and other vocab words relating to the experiment. We also planned a game with the kids similar to "duck, duck, goose."

    d. For our digital storytelling video, we will likely give a simulation of our experiment by adding sugar to a small bowl of (unheated) water. Simultaneously we will run through our script as well. Depending on the setting of the video, we may preform the pre-activities ourselves or have classmates do them.

    e. I did not attend the event. Instead, I worked on my Powerpoint for YES and started working on my Google science fair submission.

    -Zizi

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  5. Our group worked with ferrofluid--a smart material. Ferrofluid acts as a fluid but can behave like a solid in the presence of a magnetic field and be manipulated. We made our own ferrofluid by mixing oil and iron filings. In the process of preparing ferrofluid, we learned interesting facts of ferrofluid. For example, real ferrofluid consists of nanoscale ferromagnetic particles. Ferrofluid has many applications, including in car brakes. For pre activities, we had some crosswords and word searches with materials science and magnet related vocab. Some parents took the worksheets, although the kids were too interested in the actual ferrofluid to notice the worksheets.
    For the digital storytelling portion, we already have a montage with pictures of us making the ferrofluid. In the future, we may be able to take video clips of us making the ferrofluid and compile an instructional video. I thought the event was great. They had refreshments and drinks. The speaker, Dr. Schwartz, was very interesting. So were all of the demonstrations at the tables. A lot of families with children attended, and they seemed to enjoy it too. We did not really follow the script. We spoke the necessary information, but there wasnt time to go through every point in chronological information. Besides, the kids were having way too much fun with the materials. I really don't see how the event can be improved--it was great in every aspect

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  6. Our group worked with ferrofluid--a smart material. Ferrofluid acts as a fluid but can behave like a solid in the presence of a magnetic field and be manipulated. We made our own ferrofluid by mixing oil and iron filings. In the process of preparing ferrofluid, we learned interesting facts of ferrofluid. For example, real ferrofluid consists of nanoscale ferromagnetic particles. Ferrofluid has many applications, including in car brakes. For pre activities, we had some crosswords and word searches with materials science and magnet related vocab. Some parents took the worksheets, although the kids were too interested in the actual ferrofluid to notice the worksheets.
    For the digital storytelling portion, we already have a montage with pictures of us making the ferrofluid. In the future, we may be able to take video clips of us making the ferrofluid and compile an instructional video. I thought the event was great. They had refreshments and drinks. The speaker, Dr. Schwartz, was very interesting. So were all of the demonstrations at the tables. A lot of families with children attended, and they seemed to enjoy it too. We did not really follow the script. We spoke the necessary information, but there wasnt time to go through every point in chronological information. Besides, the kids were having way too much fun with the materials. I really don't see how the event can be improved--it was great in every aspect

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  7. Preparation: The preparation was simple. I rehearsed my lines and revived my overall knowledge of my DemoKit, Ferrofluids.

    Education: Our DemoKit explored ferromagnetism in ferrofluids, and the manipulability of ferrofluids. I also learned the various uses of ferrofluids.

    Pre-Activities: We did a crossword puzzle, a Powerpoint Presentation, and a word search.

    Story: We have a Photostory with "cool" music, featuring all of the crew.

    Event: Overall, the whole event was extremely well done. There were snacks and drinks provided, and the speaker was quite interesting. The kids were cooperative and very intelligent.

    Improvements: Honestly, the event was extremely well done. My only complaint is the fact that I was working on an empty stomach despite the snacks which I hoarded. There should be food served.

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  8. a. My group (Fun with Ferrofluids!) prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by rehearsing our script and practicing our demonstrations multiple times in class. We made 3 pre-activities: a word search, a word mix and match, and a powerpoint on magnets. We also had a photostory of how we made the ferrofluid. Furthermore, we bought candy for the kids for every time they answered a question correctly.
    b. My group explored the topic of magnetism and ferrofluid’s relationship to magnetism. From the demokit, I learned that in order to make real ferrofluid, you cannot use macro-scale iron filings because they are too big to be suspended in the oil. I learned that the iron filings will only be suspended if the iron filings are nano-scale.
    c. We prepared a wordsearch, a word mix and match, and a powerpoint for the website as pre-activities. For post-activities we plan on posting a series of questions whose answers should have been answered during the presentation.
    d. For the digital story telling piece, our group will create a photostory that shows the process in how the ferrofluid was made. We will also include comparisons between ferrofluid with macro and nano-scale iron filings.
    e. The event was very fun! It was very organized and the people were very helpful when you asked them a question. The keynote speaker was great as well and was related to the even t in general. The food was delicious and plentiful and put me in a great mood and cleared my mind. It was great teaching children and their families about material science. Both the kids and parents seemed very impressed with the demokits and often asked what about Science Research and Amity High School.
    f. To improve this event, it would be easier if the kids came around in organized group for a set amount of time. This way, we could do our entire presentation, and not just in bits and pieces, then start over whenever someone new comes along.
    -Helen

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  9. Edward Hochman

    a. I prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by working as Group Leader with Brian Liang and Jared Loewenthal on our diffusion kit. I created the assessment and helped in the creation of several other components of our presentation, such as the demonstration, the writing of the script, and the development of our procedure. I presented alongside my groupmates to Professor Broadbridge and the young woman who accompanied her.
    b. I was exploring diffusion, and I learned that material science is very disciplinary by nature, as chemistry, physics, and engineering principles all unite to create a very practical field.
    c. Jared, Brian, and I had a word splash, a perfume bottle activity, and other pre-acitivities and post-activities (such as the take-away assessment) that we plan on submitting to the website, if needed.
    d. Jared, Brian, and I have big plans for the Digital Story Telling piece. We collected footage of our demonstration during class a few weeks ago, and we also found several images and videos online that we plan to incorporate into our p;resentation. Jared , as our tech guru, is very skilled in the implementation of said software, and we plan to create a thoroughly educational and enjoyable miniature film.
    e. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the event because as captain of the tennis team, I need to help my coach run the first non-tryout practice of the season, and he required my attendance. Based upon my previous experiences at the Davies Auditorium, however, I can say with great confidence that my peers and their students must have had a fabulous time. I have enjoyed several Science Saturday lectures in the past, and I am sure that their enthusiasm for outreach only added to event’s greatness.
    f. Although I cannot say much about the execution of the event itself due to my inability to attend, I can still comment on the nature of our preparations for the event. I believe that our preparations were relatively thorough, and although a bit rushed at times, we certainly had the opportunity to accomplish a lot during class. Perhaps one additional day in the classroom to work on the kits would have been beneficial, but our group managed just fine. In any case, this outreach program was an incredible opportunity, and I regret being unable to attend the main event.

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  10. My group (T.J. and Eemon) were assigned testing tensile stregth and elasticity in silly putty. We mostly prepared in class. After reading over the introduction, we estblished our materials and our pre- activities. We then wrote up our script and ran through it several times. Our demo kit focused in on how different polymers affects tensile strength in different materials. I learned what tensile strength was and how adding different ingredients while making the silly putty can make the polymers react differently. As a result, the silly putty wouldn't act the same when applied pressure to. For pre-activities we have the kids play with play-doh and moonsand, and have them analyze their different tensile strengths. We then have them play a matching card game. There would be 16 cards face down with 2 cards having the same term, definition, or picture. As a post-activity, we would have the kids play freeze dance. If they are dancing while the music is still playing then they have to answer a question pertaining to our demo kit.
    The NOVA event was an interesting experience. A lot of kids seemed to be into the demonstrations. The only problem was that they were very young and barely understood them. Aside from that, it was fun and I learned a lot. The tour of the lab was the highlight of my day because I got to see a place where actual, important research is cunducted. Our tour guide explained the different devices and their uses. Overall, it was a great event!
    The only improvement I can think of is having a more structured schedule. If there was a certain set amount of time for each presentaion,then we could plan ahead and not have everything be so hectic. There were times where we didn't even finish our presentation. Overall, this was an incredible experience which has got me interested in material science and improved my oral presentation skills.
    -Izabela

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  11. I did the presentation Fun with Ferrofluids. Our group prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by rehearsing our script and practicing our demonstrations multiple times in class. I made 3 pre-activities which were a word search, a word to definition mix and match, and a powerpoint presentation on the basics about magnets. We also had a photostory of how we made the ferrofluid. However, it was not true ferrofluid because for it to be ferrofluid the magnetic particulates had to be on the nano scale, not the macro scale. As a post activity we had an oral quiz like game where we gave candy to the child who answered a question correctly. My group explored the topic of magnetism and how ferrofluids work with and without the presence of a magnet. The demokit taught me that in order to make real ferrofluid, you cannot use macro-scale iron filings because they are too big to be completely suspended in the oil. To create true ferro fluid they must be in the nano scale, like printer toner. However, it still had almost all of the same physical properties. For the digital story aspect of the presentation, we will create a photostory that shows the process in how the ferrofluid was made. The differences between our ferrofluid and true ferrofluid will also be made clear. While I was not able to attend the event due to prior engagements to the Connecticut All-State Debate Tournament, I am sure the even was a blast. I believe that our group was sufficiently prepared to be one of the most interesting presentations there. And while I did win third place at the tournament, I still regret not being able to attend the CRISP event.

    Elliad

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  12. I prepared for the Making Stuff event by working practicing my kit, which in the end paid off, as I was able to present. I also watched some of their videos online and invited some children I knew would be interested to the event. I explored the qualities and mechanics of polymers, how they are formed and how that affects their qualities. I learned that tensile strength, or the ability to resist force and elasticity are directly related and in order to build a stronger material they must be balanced properly, or else the material will become either too brittle or too flexible. I prepared the crossword puzzle and vocabulary list for pre-activities and will be in charge of the video elements of the project soon. For the digital story telling I will incorporate actual recordings of the experiment into the video.
    Overall I thought the event was a very good one. It was well organized, and the kids seemed very fascinated. The only regret I have is not being able to watch the other presenters from other areas demonstrate, they looked like they really had some neat stuff to show. One area that needed improvement was the lecture. While I understood much of it my family had a hard time understanding and connecting. As a family event this is certainly an issue.

    Thomas Meehan

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  13. A. To prepare for the Making Stuff Outreach Event, we wrote a script which contained most of our information. Then we made several pre-activities to get the kids interested in the topic. Then we tested if the orange batteries actually worked. After that we made a post activity to help the kids summarize what they learned.
    b. We were exploring the electrical properties of an orange and other fruits. I learned the reason why an orange gives off electricity is because of its acidity. The acid in the orange causes the flow of electrons and this flow of electrons produces the electricity.
    c. One of the pre-activity was a crossword puzzle with key words about electricity. There was a word search that also had key electricity words in them. We also had several questions to help the kids understand about electricity more. For our post activity, we had a game of musical chairs. This was to sum up what we had presented and make it interesting at the same time.
    d. Briefly describe what you and your partners will do for your Digital Story Telling Piece.
    For the Digital Story Telling Piece, we will be putting together a series of pictures describing the project. There will be narration to go along with the pictures to explain the details of the project. The narration will most likely be the script. Depending on circumstances, we might do some of the pre-activities.
    e. I think the event was great overall. The food was great and the demo kits both by Amity students and adults were interesting. The raffle prize was also fun. The kids there seemed genuinely interested in the projects there.
    f. How can we improve a similar event in the future, if given an opportunity?
    To improve the event in the future, we can do experiments that enable the kids to take home souvenirs.

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  14. The greatest task that our group had to do to prepare for the event was to actually try to make rock candy. As we explored sugar crystal nucleation, we dissolved sugar into water and waited for the sugar to re-crystallize. When we first tried the activity at school, we were unsuccessful. The only thing we ended up doing was melt the finish on a shelf so that the beakers were stuck on. I think that we did not put nearly as much sugar into the solution as we needed. The size of the beaker limited the amount of sugar that we could put in. So I went home and tried the activity again by myself. I found that there was almost an endless amount of sugar that I could put in. This time, I put in about three cups of sugar for one cup of water. After waiting a week, I found that I had made a decent piece of rock candy!
    The pre-activities that we had prepared were a word search with the vocabulary for the experiment with words such as solvent, solute, nucleation, etc. We also had games such as a version of “Duck Duck Goose” but replacing the word “duck” with “sugar” and “goose” with “nucleation.”
    For our digital story-telling piece, our group is planning on telling the story about the grain of sugar’s journey through nucleation. Through this story, we will detail exactly how (scientifically and creatively) our main character, the grain of sugar, goes through character development to become a crystal.
    Because I teach at a Korean school on Saturday mornings, I was unable to attend the Public event. However, I have heard very positive comments about the event and know that it was a success due to the efforts of our fellow peers. In terms of improvement, I think that the preparation for the event could have been better organized if the CRISP people had given us better guidelines on what we were doing.

    -Joanie

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  15. My group prepared a lot for the presentation at school. At school we tested the experiment, wrote the script, and made the pre ad after activities. We first used a volt meter to see how many volts the oranges made and we tried different metals to see the best ones. We were exploring the electricity part of material science. Our pre-activities were memory, a crossword, and a word search. Our post activity was musical chairs with the losers answering questions about the topic. We are going to make a photostory with a spoken caption to each picture. The event was great with lots of good food such as cereal bars and Sunny D. Some of the people said that they already knew about everything and were a little rude and just left. We could make the event better by having an entrance fee because at some points there were just too may people.

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  16. We prepared for the event by running through our experiment several different times, each time trying to change the way we did it slightly (due to rather unsatisfactory results from the first experiment). In the end, it turned out that it worked out much better when we used a larger container that could fit more sugar, and when we had access to a refrigerator to allow the water to cool faster. We explored the topic of sugar crystal nucleation, which happened when the hot water cools and cannot hold as much dissolved sugar anymore, causing the sugar to re-crystallize onto a string or popsicle stick. Although we all had a pretty decent background knowledge on the subject, we did learn more in-depth about why the sugar re-crystallizes the way it does (ours didn’t look like the traditional candy you would buy at the store). The main pre-activity we decided to use was a word search containing all the vocabulary relevant to the experiment. That way, if any of the participants had any questions about the meanings of the words, they would be able to ask before they got started. As for post-activities, we have a couple of games in mind that we would use if time allowed. For our digital story piece, our group is going to follow a grain of sugar on its journey through the dissolving and nucleation process to eventually become part of a crystal. Although our project presentation went very well, it was not considered safe/suitable for the young children at this specific event. I was not able to attend the event (my family needed to get passports for a possible trip to India in several weeks), but I feel that our group is much more prepared to demonstrate the experiment at the next event (hopefully to a group old enough to be around a hot plate!) because we have already made a lot of improvements since the beginning.
    -Danielle

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  17. 1) How did you prepare for the Making Stuff Outreach Event? Details
    - I didn’t really do anything other than create the script and pre activities.

    2) What Materials Science Related topic were you exploring and what new information did you learn?
    - we explored birefringence. We learned that when you put a calcite cristal over a word, the bean of light splits in to causing you to see two of what you’re looking at.

    3) What pre-activities did you (or are you about to) prepare for the website? Post-activities?


    - For our project we created a word search and game. We also printed out a buch of pictures with one thing in common, you see double.

    4) Briefly describe what you and your partners will do for your Digital Story Telling Piece.

    - We will create a scriopt which we will read out with dramatic music playing and created a story.

    5) For those in attendance at the Public Event: Give feedback regarding the event overall (organization, interest, food, lecture, families that attended, script execution, Amity contribution). If you did not attend, please state what you did instead.
    - I thought the overall event was a lot of fun. The lecture I found was very interesting and my father enjoyed being able to speak Swiss and German to the presenter. He was also very funny and that was greatly appreciated. The coffee was a little weak but that might just be my taste buds. I thought it was wonderful that so many children were there and really enjoyed presenting to them. I thought that having a script was more of a nuisance than a help. I think a bullet pointed list of important ideas would have sufficed. I think it was a lot of fun and amity was duly represented overall.

    6) How can we improve a similar event in the future, if given an opportunity?
    - I think a bigger space would have been appreciated but that’s about all.

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  18. My group mainly prepared for our presentation (making Silly Putty and GAK) in class. We felt it was important to first run through our experiment, in order to know whether there were any problems in the procedure. While making the GAK, we discovered that the amount of sodium borate the procedure called for was not sufficient. Thus through trial and error, we discovered that we needed to add 2 to 3 times the amount of sodium borate. The topic that my group was exploring was polymers. We needed to identify the properties that various polymers possessed and why. Through our presentation, I learned that sodium borate serves as a chemical-crosslinker for some materials, such as the mixture of Elmer’s glue and water (the two other materials needed to create GAK). My group prepared three pre-activities: one, we had a crossword puzzle containing key terms from our experiment (i.e. polymers, tensile strength, etc.) Two, we had a memory/ matching game with key terms, their definitions, and pictures of things such as Moonsand and Play-doh. By putting key terms on the memory card with their definitions we were able to guarantee that the children learned the meaning of every word. Our last pre-activity was to have the children play with the Moonsand and Play-doh. We asked them to think about whether the materials would have a high or low tensile strength and why. Izabela, T.J., and I already have a bit of video footage of us first making the silly putty. Thus, we plan on using this in our photo story presentation. I did not attend the public event; instead I attended a debate tournament (state finals).

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  19. I worked with Will and Jordan to prepare for the Making Stuff Outreach Event. Together we compiled comprehensive pre-activities, a script, and demonstrations to help get across the topic of our assigned kit. Specifically, my group worked on “Electromagnets: Temporary Attractions,” a kit in which we explored the relationship between magnetism and electricity by creating our own electromagnets from wire, batteries, nails, and electrical tape. Through this experience I learned a lot that I never knew about the properties of magnets and electromagnetism.
    To share our understanding of electromagnetism we created a word search, word scramble, and crossword puzzle of important terms related to our kit (e.g. domain, magnet, etc.). We plan to create an assessment, perhaps composed of matching, true and false, multiple choice, and a few short answer questions to use as an evaluation of what students take away from our demonstration. In terms of the Digital Story Telling Piece, our group plans to essentially show video components of our demonstration, while narrating the actions.
    As for the Making Stuff public event, I feel that the overall event was great. It seemed well organized and to keep the interest of the attendees. I felt like the lecture, like most all lectures was a tad bit long, but otherwise viewer friendly. Also, food was plentiful and had a lot of variety. All in all, I have to say that I was satisfied with my group’s preparation. Although we could not execute our script to its fullest extent because it was a bit long, we managed to improvise and condense the important information to keep kids interested. I feel that axing the script and improvising as you went along was a very common theme amongst all the Amity groups on Saturday. Nevertheless, I feel that the kids enjoyed all of our presentations.
    I think that in the future if we were to attend a similar event, we should create a really short thirty second synopsis of our demonstration. Also, I think we should have prepared our materials, so that we wouldn’t have to fiddle around with it during the presentations. I think that it would be useful for us to know the environment of the presentation. I never realized that we would be presenting in such tight quarters until the day of the presentation.

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  20. a. My group prepared for this event by creating a script and going over it many times to ensure everybody would participate equally bas well as for grammar mistakes. We also discussed what words and actions might keep the audience engaged and interested. For example, we discussed whether or not we should have an in depth explanation of what atoms are.
    b. The topic we were exploring was the diffusion of atoms. I learned that atoms move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration.
    c. The pre-activities we prepared was a crossword puzzle, a word splash, and the spraying of perfume. The post activity was an assessment consisting of 5 multiple choice questions.
    d. My partners and I were going to do a visual summary (aka movie) of what we were doing. The movie would have a voice accompanying it as well to provide supplemental facts and elaboration. The movie would consist mostly of atoms moving from areas of higher concentration of areas of lower concentration. The movie would also have a couple clips expressing the definitions of the words in the glossary, except for diffusion. The movie would also give a visual explanation of what atoms were.
    e. I did not attend the event. I instead went to the debate state tournament and provided moral support for my compatriots Elliad Dagan Andrew Shi and Eeman Abassi along with many others. In addition to providing moral support, I also participated myself. I had a great time competing with a mix of disrespectful, condescending, ignorant and respectful, intelligent, ad skillful opponents.
    f. Due to my inability to attend, I'm not able to supplement an eye witness critique of the event. But based on the complaints I have observed from my peers, the event could have been more organized ad less touch and go I other words, the event could be improved by having scheduled viewing times of each presentation so the presenters would not have to start over each time a new individual or group walked into the middle of the presentation. By scheduling viewing times, the presentations will me more effective.

    -Brian Liang

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  21. a. We worked on our Making Stuff Demokit (Fun with Ferrofluids) mostly in class. We split up the project into four separate parts and each person was assigned to a different task so we could be more efficient. We prepared 3 pre-activities, an informational script, and a post-activity with a candy reward. In the end, the preparations for the event paid off.

    b. We explored the science of ferromagnetism. Specifically, we focused on a fermomagetic fluid, ferrofluid, and applied magnets to each to see its effect. In its normal state, ferrofluids are liquid. When a magnet is applied, a ferrofluid turns to a solid. We created three different types of ferrofluid, one with corn oil, one with canola, and one with a mix. It was interesting to learn the characteristics of these magnetic fluids and which oil made a better fluid. I also learned more about the magnets we used and materials science in general.

    c. We had a total of 3 pre-activities: a word search, word match, and an informational powerpoint, all of which we plan to put onto the website. Our post activity consists of asking questions to the audience to determine how much they learned and for them to take away important points of the demonstration. Each answer that was correct would receive candy, but I’m not sure how we would do that for the website; perhaps virtual candy?

    d. Helen was our technical producer who created our digital story telling piece. It teaches the audience the steps we took to create our different ferrofluids. We hope to continue expanding on the piece and including more demonstrating how it works and including important facts.
    e. For those in attendance at the Public Event: Give feedback regarding the event overall (organization, interest, food, lecture, families that attended, script execution, Amity contribution). If you did not attend, please state what you did instead.

    f. Overall, the event was fun to attend. The food was good and the lecture was entertaining and interesting. It was a little different than how I had first imagined the event. We were never able to completely finish our script, constantly starting over again and again. We couldn’t talk about all of our facts, and it was difficult for all of our group members to participate each time. My favorite part was the raffle at the end of the event, I managed to win a little scientist lab coat!

    g. I don’t have any recommendations to make the event better; it was already really fun!

    - Jennifer Zhuang

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  22. My group members prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by working on how to explain the process of diffusion to younger-aged kids. The main project was to show how food coloring dye spread out through the water in a Petri dish. The food dye undergoes the process of diffusion and the molecules move from higher spaces of concentration to lower spaces of concentration. My group made three pre-activities which were a crossword puzzle, a word splash, and perfume spreading out through the air until the kids could smell it. For a post activity my group made a list on what questions to ask the kids to see what they learned. I learned new terms during this exploration such as what material science truly is and how it is affected by nature. For the digital story piece my group members and I are going to include animations, pictures, and video of the actual experiment. The digital story will give a good background to students who are willing to take part in performing the actual experiment. The actual event was very well organized and it was nice for Amity students to have their own section to present their demo kits to the younger kids. I attended the event but was not previously selected to present. I loved the lecture on atomic imaging and thought the presenter well-rehearsed. For improvements, there was not quite enough space for people to gather around and watch the mini-presentations. Overall, the Making Stuff Outreach Event was excellent.

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  23. My group (Polarizing Sugar-How Sweet it is) prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by writing and practicing a script so we would know what to say on Saturday. We also practiced our demo kit so we would know what would happen and what it would look like. We learned about polarizing sugar, birefringence (double refraction) and dispersion. For pre-activities, we made a word search and a crossword puzzle. For post-activities, we made a survey. For our digital story telling piece, we will show how our project works and why some of the unusual things happen. I think the public event went pretty well. It was well organized and very engaging. There was food so people didn’t get distracted by being hungry, the lecture was interesting, and the families were well-behaved. The kids and parents really enjoyed Amity’s contribution, and were entertained. If given an opportunity to improve a similar event, we could try to get more people’s projects involved. Also, it would be good if more people could come, and people who weren’t presenting could be given more specific jobs to do. However, overall, the event was pretty good.

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  24. Tanay Lathia:
    A) I prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event in multiple ways. First, I had to do research on my own topic, balloons, so that I knew what I was explaining. Next, I created a script, and adapted it so that younger kids could understand it. After going through the script, I realized that I needed to add more visuals, which included pictures and also adding analogies to make it easier to comprehend.
    B) The topic that I researched was balloons, but specifically stress in balloon inflation. I learned that a balloon acts differently when it is first inflated and how it acts later. It starts out really tough to inflate because it acts as an elastic. Later, it acts as a plastic, and it is really easy to inflate. Also, once the balloon is inflated then shrunk multiple times the balloon will plastically deform. This has to do with the polymer chains inside the balloons which stretch and then revert to their original state. I also learned a few other interesting facts about balloons that were not included in my demo. One is that if one pokes the balloon with a needle going through the long way it will not pop, however it the balloon is poked through the shorter side, it will pop. This is because there are more polymers so the material is thicker.
    C) The pre-activities that my partner and I created were quite interesting as well. First, we gave the kids a wordsearch with 9 terms relating to our topic. Then, we give the kids a crossword puzzle. The answers to the crossword puzzle are the same terms from the wordsearch. However, it is acceptable if the kids are unable to figure out the crossword, because all the information will be conveyed to them in the demo. For a post-activity we created a powerpoint. The powerpoint presentation goes through the basics of material science. Then, it asks some in depth questions regarding the content of the demo.
    D) The digital story telling aspect of mine and David’s project will be very interesting. We will convey all the information from the demo in an exciting manner. We hope to include many pictures and videos to help explain some of the abstract concepts of the demonstration. For example, we might show a slinky stretching and then reverting back to its original state to demonstrate how a polymer chain does the same thing.
    E) The event on Saturday at Yale was very fun!!! I enjoyed the breakfast food items they offered, because I was famished by the time I arrived at 9 o clock. They had the whole event very organized. After a few minutes to set up our projects, we went to go and watch a lecture. This lecture was very cool and interesting and I learned about a topic that I had never previously delved into. The presenter could have been slightly less monotone, but considering how early it was, he did a good job of entertaining the audience. All the presentations there were excellent. The Amity table was a hive of activity and all the other demonstrations were very cool as well. However, one thing that I was not expecting was the young age of the participants. Some of the children who came to my station were under 5 years old, and couldn’t even inflate a balloon! Even though I ended up explaining a lot to the parents, I still felt that it was a successful event.
    F) While the event ran smoothly there is one main area that could be improved. Targeting demos for certain demographics. The students from Amity, including myself, had no idea what to expect age-wise from the kids. The age of the students is important because it determines the type of activities that should be performed and the depth of the explanations. Also, maybe having another speaker could have made it better.

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  25. A. We spent a large amount of time preparing our demo, Paper Clip Fatigue. Even though we were not picked as one of the 6 groups chosen to present, we still had our demo completed. Had we presented, we would have split it into 3 parts: a pre-activity with crossword puzzle and word search, script, and then a PowerPoint presentation to wrap everything up and check for understanding.
    B. We were exploring the effects of fatigue and endurance on metal paperclips. It showed us how microscopic cracks form and eventually break something apart that wouldn’t break on a normal first try at bending.
    C. We have a PowerPoint slideshow presentation with fill in the blanks as well as a crossword and word search.
    D. Most likely, we will start our digital storytelling by showing us do the demo. After or possibly simultaneously, we will be reading our script.
    E. I did attend the event. I feel it was well organized. There should have been (more) advertizing as there weren’t as many people there as there could have been.
    F. As said above, a way to be able to get more children to come and learn about these things would be ideal.

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  26. a. In order to prepare for the Making Stuff Outreach Event I had to create and practice a script. Additionally, I had to do some further research in the topic to fully understand the material I presented.
    b. The topic of my “Making Stuff” demo was properties of balloons relating to stress and strain. I had always known that it was harder to inflate a balloon at first but I never really understood why. After exploring my topic I learned that this is because the elastomers act as a rubber but once some tension is applied the polymers, making up the elastomers, uncoil and align. At this point the balloon acts as a plastic.
    c. My partner and I prepared two pre-activities for the website. The first of these activities is a word search containing all important terms from my demo. The second pre-activity is a crossword puzzle that matches definitions with the important terms found in the word search. As a post activity a powerpoint was created in which tests students on important facts learned from the demo.
    d. For the Digital Story Telling piece my partner and I plan to make our demo appear to be much more interesting by including lots of photos and other examples that are easy to comprehend. Basically, it will have all the detail of our script but it will be more entertaining and the visuals will make it less difficult to picture.
    e. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the event. Instead I was partaking in a competition known as Odyssey of the Mind in Bristol, CT. This competition required my group and I to create several mouse trap powered cars to accomplish numerous tasks. We had been working on these cars for the majority of the school year and our work had paid off. We placed 4th place at the state final!!! Overall it was a very enjoyable experience.
    f.I was not at the event so it is difficult to answer this.
    -David Powers

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  27. a) First we tried the experiment for ourselves to see how the experiment works. After we tried it we researched the scientific explanation for what happened. We used our research to write our script. Then we made up the pre-activities and rehearsed our script.
    b) We were exploring polarizing sugar. I learned about polarization, birefringence, and dispersion of light.
    c) We did a crossword, a word search, and a PowerPoint. We did a survey for the post activity.
    d) We’re going to talk about what happened in our project.
    e) I didn’t attend because I had a mandatory softball tryout.
    f) I think that you should make the event take place later in the day so in doesn’t interfere with other events.

    Jen Maruna

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  28. ^^ Two posts above was me, Ben Staniewicz.

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  29. A. We spent a large amount of time preparing our demo, Paper Clip Fatigue. Even though we were not picked as one of the 6 groups chosen to present, we still had our demo completed. Had we presented, we would have split it into 3 parts: a pre-activity with crossword puzzle and word search, script, and then a PowerPoint presentation to wrap everything up and check for understanding.
    B. We were exploring the effects of fatigue and endurance on metal paperclips. It showed us how microscopic cracks form and eventually break something apart that wouldn’t break on a normal first try at bending.
    C. We have a PowerPoint slideshow presentation with fill in the blanks as well as a crossword and word search.
    D. Most likely, we will start our digital storytelling by showing us do the demo. After or possibly simultaneously, we will be reading our script.
    E. I did attend the event. I feel it was well organized. There should have been (more) advertizing as there weren’t as many people there as there could have been.
    F. As said above, a way to be able to get more children to come and learn about these things would be ideal.

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  30. A. We spent a large amount of time preparing our demo, Paper Clip Fatigue. Even though we were not picked as one of the 6 groups chosen to present, we still had our demo completed. Had we presented, we would have split it into 3 parts: a pre-activity with crossword puzzle and word search, script, and then a PowerPoint presentation to wrap everything up and check for understanding.
    B. We were exploring the effects of fatigue and endurance on metal paperclips. It showed us how microscopic cracks form and eventually break something apart that wouldn’t break on a normal first try at bending.
    C. We have a PowerPoint slideshow presentation with fill in the blanks as well as a crossword and word search.
    D. Most likely, we will start our digital storytelling by showing us do the demo. After or possibly simultaneously, we will be reading our script.
    E. I did attend the event. I feel it was well organized. There should have been (more) advertizing as there weren’t as many people there as there could have been.
    F. As said above, a way to be able to get more children to come and learn about these things would be ideal.

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  31. A. We spent a large amount of time preparing our demo, Paper Clip Fatigue. Even though we were not picked as one of the 6 groups chosen to present, we still had our demo completed. Had we presented, we would have split it into 3 parts: a pre-activity with crossword puzzle and word search, script, and then a PowerPoint presentation to wrap everything up and check for understanding.
    B. We were exploring the effects of fatigue and endurance on metal paperclips. It showed us how microscopic cracks form and eventually break something apart that wouldn’t break on a normal first try at bending.
    C. We have a PowerPoint slideshow presentation with fill in the blanks as well as a crossword and word search.
    D. Most likely, we will start our digital storytelling by showing us do the demo. After or possibly simultaneously, we will be reading our script.
    E. I did attend the event. I feel it was well organized. There should have been (more) advertizing as there weren’t as many people there as there could have been.
    F. As said above, a way to be able to get more children to come and learn about these things would be ideal.
    -Ben Staniewicz

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  32. a. a.How did you prepare for the Making Stuff Outreach Event? Details
    TO prepare for the making stuff outreach event we did a lot practicing for our presentation. Although we were not selected to present at the event we spent a lot of time memorizing our script. We also spent time researching why the things that happened in our demonstration actually happened.

    b. What Materials Science Related topic were you exploring and what new information did you learn?
    The topic that we were exploring was fatigue in metal. We tested this by bending paperclips at an angle until they failed. Something I learned from the experiment is that a microscopic fracture can occur the first time the paperclip is bent and then it gradually gets bigger until the failure point.
    c. What pre-activities did you (or are you about to) prepare for the website? post-activities?
    Our group did three pre-activities for our project. Our first was a word search with the important vocabulary from our project. The next was a fill in the blank using those same words so that it would act as a way to define the words. And lastly we had a power point with pictures and other important definitions and information.

    d. Briefly describe what you and your partners will do for your Digital Story Telling Piece.
    For our digital story telling piece we will include pictures of our group doing the experiment. We will also read off of our script during the digital story.
    e. For those in attendance at the Public Event: Give feedback regarding the event overall (organization, interest, food, lecture, families that attended, script execution, Amity contribution). If you did not attend, please state what you did instead.
    I could not attend because that day I had to take a trip to my dads house.

    f. How can we improve a similar event in the future, if given an opportunity?
    I think to improve a similar event in the future the time of the event should be changed so that it would be easier for more people to attend. A better time would be later in the day.
    -Ben Feola

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  33. Ciny Guo

    A. My group prepared for this event by experimenting with our demokit: Polarizing Sugar. We wrote and practiced our script so we would be ready when it was our time to present. Also, we made pre-activities and post activities.
    B. We explored the polarization of sugar. I learned about polarization, birefringence, and the dispersion of light For instance, before I experimented with this demo kit, I did not know what birefringence meant. Now I know that birefringence is the double refraction of light. I also saw how birefringence affected how the color of syrup grew lighter and darker as we rotated the polarized sheets. I now have more knowledge than before.
    C. We made a word search and a crossword puzzle as pre-activities. In addition, we made a survey as our post activity.
    D. For out photo story, we are going to show and talk about how our experiment works. We will include a video of how the sugar changes colors with light Karo syrup and with dark Karo syrup.
    E. The event was very successful. Everyone was enthusiastic when they presented their demo kits. I noticed that many of the little kids were interested in the little demo kits that we prepared for them. One of things that I thought really attracted kids was when they got to experiment themselves with the demo kits. However, I feel that most kids did not understand most of our scripts because the age group varied. Lastly, the snacks gave us a boost of energy.
    F. If we were to improve this event, I think one thing we can do is to simplify some of our scripts. I feel that most kids were not as interested in what we were saying because they did not understand what we were talking about.

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  34. I prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by researching and learning more about my area of study, as well as writing and memorizing the script for the presentation. The Materials Science Related topic that I was exploring was about coat hangers, steel, and work hardening. I learned more about work hardening and its crucial role today. Some pre-activities that I prepared were a powerpoint, a word scramble, and a vocab sheet. For the post-activities, I have a short assessment and evaluation. For the Digital Story Telling Piece, I plan to use pictures and/or video to explain my demo. I was unable to attend, but friends who did attend said the event went very well and was genuinely interesting. At this point, I do not think there are any necessary improvements; overall, the event was a success.
    -Pauline

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  35. For the Making Stuff Outreach Program, our group had to start from scratch. First we had to find the correct ratio of cornstarch-to-water to make the perfect oobleck. Then we had to set up our speaker rig, which would demonstrate the properties of oobleck. This entailed getting the speakers, cutting off the screen, covering it in plastic wrap and putting on two even surfaces. After the actual rig was done, we had to do our 3 pre-activities, and our script.
    Our group explored the topic of viscosity and Non-Newtonian fluids, as well as the effects of application of stress on Non-Newtonian fluids.
    For preactivities, our group made up a wordsearch, a word scramble and a crossword. However we didnt administer the preactivities because the people didnt really have the attention span to actually do them.
    Our storytelling piece is our script. I am telling Peter and Andrew about oobleck and by the end of the presentation, they understand it perfectly.
    The event was extremely well done overall. Our stations were already specified and we had all of our materials readily available. The staff was helpful in setting up our demonstrations and showed us where to go. The availability of food was amazing; the munchies were delicious, especially the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Rice Krisipie treats. I wish I had arrived earlier to get more Sunny D because by the time I got there it was all gone. To make the event better, I think that more food should be available only to demonstrators instead of the general public. They might consider feeding us too, if that is possible because then I would go every yea with enthusiasm. Overall I found this event to be very enjoyable, and the raffle at the end was also very entertaining.

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  36. A)Ehsan, Andrew, and I prepared vigorously for the Making Stuff Outreach Event. To prepare ourselves for the event, our group rehearsed our script, downloaded programs online, and made numerous pre and post activities to engage children in our oobleck study.

    B)Our group explored the many material uses the oobleck can be used for. For instance, oobleck can be used as armor such as a bullet proof vest because when a bullet hits the oobleck vest, the pressure and stress caused by the bullet would turn the oobleck to a solid. Also, oobleck could have been used to prevent the BP oil spill. When the oil continued to spill out across the numerous waterways, it destroyed the innocent wildlife that inhabited the waters. If oobleck were used, the oil would put pressure on the oobleck and the oobleck would solidify, thus preventing the spread of the oil.

    C)Our group developed many pre-activities and post-activities to engage children in our study. For example, we created a word search and word scramble to help children connect to our study before we started explaining the actual study for oobleck. The post activity was a crossword puzzle with clues in order to make children use their minds to find the answer to the clues in order to complete the crossword puzzle. If anyone completed the crossword puzzle, they would receive a HERSHEY chocolate for a reward. These chocolates were used as an incentive to allow children to use their knowledge to complete the crossword puzzle.

    D)For our Digital Story Telling Piece, our group plans on making a video that will attract teenagers and other young adults. Hopefully, our video will be educational and entertaining to help children learn about material science through a funny and entertaining method.

    E)The event was very successful. Each person was very enthusiastic to present their demokits and the children who were being presented to seemed to enjoy the demokits as well. The children really seemed to like being engaged “hands-on” in the demokits. The snacks were also very good. They helped the presenters by giving us a boost of energy and making us high-spirited to present out demokits.

    F)This event could have been improved if the children came to see the demokits in organized groups for a certain amount of time. The entire demokit presentation could have been completed in a specific amount of time and our group would not have to start over each time a new person came to view the demokits.

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  37. My group created electromagnets using a battery, wire, and nail. I helped my group prepare for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by creating and testing our first electromagnet. Once we were able to make one ourselves, we videotaped the making of another electromagnet for a future presentation. Another way I contributed was by writing part of the script for the outreach event, as well as practicing the sentences that I was supposed to speak. The final way I prepared for the event was by creating the pre-activity worksheets for the kids at the outreach event.
    The materials science topic I was exploring was electromagnets. I learned that you can use household items to create a fairly strong magnet. I also learned that connecting four batteries in series makes the wire so hot that it can melt the electrical tape holding them together. Electrical tape smokes a lot when it melts.
    I prepared a word search, word scramble, and crossword for the website. I made sure that the activities would not take too long. We are in the process of creating a quiz of some sort for a post activity. We would like to make it similar to the pre-activities to keep the interest of the kids or whoever is listening. We plan to stitch together videos of us making the electromagnets while we talk about what is going on. It will be an informational/procedure video.
    On Saturday I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On the Friday before I had campus day for the University of Michigan and I loved the school. We toured the campus, got more information about the school (and specific college we were attending), and talked to current students. Saturday was my birthday and we ate breakfast in Ann Arbor (at the University of Michigan). We walked around campus looking at where my parents’ dorms were and later we went to a Red Wings game in Detroit.
    Overall I had a lot of fun making the electromagnets. The only negative I can see about the project was the script writing. I feel like people were more inclined to be nervous and read off of papers when there was a specific script written. Presentations could have been better if only bullets or guidelines were the script. The speech would be more natural and people wouldn’t be reading off of anything.

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  38. The CRISP outreach program at Yale University was very fun and educational. I had a very interesting and exciting time. We spent a lot of time preparing for this event and I personally feel that it paid off. We prepared for the Making Stuff Outreach Event by writing a script that would explain everything that we did, as well as the different aspects and properties of Oobleck. We rehearsed this script multiple times to prepare ourselves for the Oobleck. Also, to demonstrate Oobleck’s unique viscosity properties, we downloaded a program online that played a tone of different hertz from 0-90 that would show how Oobleck was affected by stress. We also found a song that showed this effect too. Oobleck really demonstrates materials science in the way how something so simple and plain such as corn starch and water can create a material that is extremely unique and whose viscosity changes as different stress is applied to it. I also discovered various new uses for Oobleck, such as how Oobleck could have possibly been used to plug the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and how Oobleck could be used as a new lightweight armor that could revolutionize the military world. Some pre-activities that we prepared for the event were a word search as well as a word scramble, where children would have to find and unscramble words that are related to Oobleck and its properties. After the students watched our demonstration, we had a crossword puzzle as a post activity where the children would have to use what they learned in order to be able to fill out the crossword puzzle. For the digital story telling piece, we plan to use our script as well as add in multiple pictures to make our demo kit informative yet fun and comedic. Overall, the event was great! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, especially the snacks and presenting to the little kids. Almost all of the children enjoyed our presentation and I feel we had great feedback. I am really looking forward to presenting again at any similar events. The snacks were also great, and there were a lot of them. The environment was also nice. To improve this event, maybe next time there could be organized time slots for the kids to come and visit, so everyone could visit every station. Overall, I had a very enjoyable and memorable experience. I hope the people at CRISP keep up the good work!

    -Andrew Chen

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  39. Over the past weeks my group worked really hard to try to find a way to make electromagnets interesting and fun for kids of all ages. We worked diligently performing and practicing, making the presentation flawless. We started with first familiarizing ourselves with the kit. Then we worked hard to make a flawless script. Afterwords we made pre activities that the kids would be able to enjoy and understand. Then we worked with the supplies to prepare the kit for making stuff by making an electromagnet so the kids can see an example of and electromagnet. Lastly we prepared the skit so that the kids would be ready to make their own electromagnet and try it out on some paperclips. The topic we were exploring was magnets especially through current. I learned lots for example how to increase the magnetic field of and electromagnet and also how they work. I learned so much that when there was a whole page of it on the CAPT I quickly and efficiently answered the whole page. The pre activities we did were a word scramble, cross word puzzle and word search. We plan to create an assessment, composed of matching, true and false, multiple choice, and a few short answer questions to use as an evaluation of what students take away from our demonstration. Our group will create a digital story telling video, essentially showing video components of our demonstration, while narrating the actions. I attended the wonderful event at Yale called making stuff it was well organized and I thought it was a great event and all the kids looked like they were having a good time. Although it seemed that many kids were more interested in goop and music rather than our electromagnets. I felt as though Amity had a great contribution to this event and allowed for the kids to have fun while learning. The event was well organized. Although our script was good it was hard to follow as kids unlike the students we practiced with the kids at the event were more interested in using the electromagnet rather then making electromagnets themselves so throughout the event we altered the script to our needs and improvised when needed. One way to improve an event like this in the future is to first provide us with more space as it was hard to move around and let the kids see everything when all the groups were on top of each other. Also, to make this event better would be to give more time as I felt that the kids did not get a chance to experience everything they wanted to in the short time they had at the event.

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  40. Our group prepared extensively for the Making Stuff Outreach Event. Our topic was to make fruit batteries and explore electrochemistry. This pertains to material science because we tested out different fruits and how their acidity levels allowed more or less volts to pass through in the circuit. We prepared 3 pre-activities consisting of a word search about electrochemistry, a matching game with over 30 pictures, and a crossword puzzle. We also prepared a post-activity, which was a musical chairs game. The plan was that whoever did not manage to find a seat by the time the music ended would have to answer one of twelve questions about fruit batteries. However, since there were not enough chairs and because the place was rather crowded, we unfortunately could not play the musical chairs game. For our digital storytelling project, we will most likely create a video displaying pictures of us at work preparing for the event, during the event, and a tape of each of us saying what we learned from this experience.
    Overall, the public event was very successful. There was good food, lots of fun, a raffle, and many smiles on the children’s faces. Unfortunately I did not watch much of Professor Schwartz’s presentation because I was setting up the table with my group. Personally, I think Amity made a great contribution because the kids were really interested in our projects. The only improvement would be to have less of Amity members near the tables. I noticed that it was a little crowded, and at the end of the lecture, everybody from Amity rushed behind the tables, even if they weren’t presenting.

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  41. Ming said the above comment.

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