Science
Let’s discover science! Educators conduct science experiments and teach lessons about animals, plants, five senses, water, weather, force and motion.
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HOW ANIMALS LEARN
Jess Nystrom from the Memphis Zoo explains how animals learn through training. This helps them to thrive in their zoo habitats and enables some of them to serve as animal ambassadors.
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A RED CABBAGE TEST
What color will red cabbage water turn when mixed with fruit juice? Cassondra Easterling and her children conduct an experiment to explore if a lemon, apple, and tomato are more acidic or basic.
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HOW ANIMALS MOVE
Devon Ritter from the Memphis Zoo explores how animals move by running, slithering, flying, and hopping.
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HOW ANIMALS USE WATER
Graceson Lawrence from the Memphis Zoo explores the ways animals use fresh water and salt water.
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WHERE ANIMALS LIVE
Devon Ritter from the Memphis Zoo explores animal habitats. She explains how the natural resources of the savannah, wetlands, rainforest, desert, tundra, and ocean provide food and shelter for different animals.
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CHANGING LIQUID TO SOLID AND GAS
Elisa Oviedo and her niece change water from liquid to solid using a freezer.. Then they heat water up on the stove until it turns into gas.
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ANIMAL SENSES
Devon Ritter from the Memphis Zoo explores how animals use their senses of touch, hearing, sight, and smell to survive in different environments.
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BABY ANIMALS
Jo Olson from the Memphis Zoo talks about baby animals. She explains that some babies hatch from eggs, like snakes. Other animals give birth to live babies, like kangaroos. She points out that many baby animals depend on the help of their parents to survive.
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ANIMALS AND LIGHT
Devon Ritter from the Memphis Zoo explores the relationship animals have to light. She explains how nocturnal animals – like a porcupine – depend on senses other than sight to navigate in the dark. She discusses how animals absorb sunlight for energy, and how sunlight helps create the food animals eat. Devon also introduces bioluminescent animals, like fireflies, that make their own light.
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MAKING BREAD
Cassondra Easterling and her children show how to combine ingredients to make bread dough. After the dough rises, they knead it, bake, and taste the finished loaf.
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PAPER BRIDGES
Cassondra Easterling and her children use different approaches to the make paper bridges that can hold pennies. She compares results on a chart.
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CARS ON RAMPS
Cassondra Easterling and her children use toy cars on cookie sheet ramps at different heights to explore the impact on vehicle speed. She adds fabric to the ramps, creating friction that slows the vehicles, and compares results.
