Science and posters

Volunteer driving this morning so I had 30 minutes or so waiting in Hospital. I used these to look through the science for children books and to generate a list for the science afternoon at Zone Plus next week. Lots of ideas - I think I have enough. I’ve tried a few out. Yesterday we went to Maplin in Aylesbury for some crocodile clips. I made up some cables today for use with a lemon battery. Two different coins (or two different metals) in a lemon (or other acid) will generate electricity. I tried this with a 2p piece, a 10p piece and an eggcup of vinegar. Not enough to drive anything significant but the meter definitely moved! With 3 lemons the voltage should be measurable and may light up a LED. I’ve also tried out the balloon on bottle experiment to show that air expands and contracts. Half-inflate a balloon and fix it on the top of a plastic bottle. Run the hot tap onto the bottle and the balloon expands. Dip the bottle in iced water and it contracts. Richard has made some heavier weights for the Foucault pendulum so I’ll have to try these out soon.

The lady on the hospital run was a very sprightly 86-year-old so I took advantage of driving past Stoke Mandeville Church to drop off a poster for the Gospel Readings. We diverted a little to Ellesborough for another poster. I think my passenger enjoyed the round trip. I don’t think this aligns with any of the LLLL actions but I feel it’s very much in the spirit!

I also managed to ‘buy something that’s in season in a local shop’ today - potatoes, apples and some wonderful Cornish goat’s cheese. The potatoes are locals, the cheese isn’t from too far away but think the apples were from France - they had ‘le crunch’ stickers.