Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria and Nitrogen Fertilizers
Plants need nitrogen to build proteins and nucleic acids to grow healthy stems and leaves. Though the Earth's atmosphere is made up of 79% nitrogen, the form of nitrogen found in the atmosphere cannot be used by plants. In this...
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Science Buddies: It's Crowded in Here! A Study of Plant Population Density
Like humans, plants can be negatively affected by overcrowding. Unlike humans, plants cannot get up and move to a new environment or explore how to utilize new resources. This experiment will explore the effects of crowding (population...
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Science Buddies: Gone With the Wind: An Experiment on Seed and Fruit Dispersal
If you have ever made a wish and blown the fluff of a dandelion, you have witnessed how some plants are adapted to spreading their seeds using the wind. The tiny, furry parachute allows the seeds to be picked up by the wind and to be...
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Science Buddies: Plants Are on the Move! A Study of Gravitropism
As we humans zip from place to place, we often forget to stop and smell the roses. Compared to our fast-paced lifestyle, plants seem rooted to the spot. Don't be deceived by appearances however, plants are on the move. This experiment...
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Science Buddies: How Much Worm Is a Worm?
Worms are slimy, wiggly, and gross. But did you know that they have many unique abilities? One of the neatest things that worms can do is regenerate, or re-grow, parts of their body. After a piece of a worm is cut off, it can grow back...
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Science Buddies: Estimation and Population Size
Have you ever wanted to take a short cut? How about when doing your math homework? In this experiment you can learn how estimation can save you time doing math calculations. But beware, some estimations are better than others. Can you...
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Science Buddies: Bones and Calcium
Why is your grandmother always wondering if you are drinking enough milk? Our bones are made out of calcium, a mineral found in milk, and drinking milk can lead to strong healthy bones. What about other animals? What are their bones made...
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Science Buddies: Who Has the Biggest Genome?
Humans are complex creatures, but do we have the biggest genome? All living things, from humans to worms to bacteria have genomes. In this experiment you will compare the genome sizes of different organisms to find out who has the...
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Science Buddies: Measuring Up
Measurements are very important for scientists. It is especially important that the measurements be accurate. Think about how important accuracy is when you want to know if you are taller than a friend of yours, every inch counts. In...
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Science Buddies: Changing Constellations
Do you like to look up into the night sky? There are so many stars, it can be mind boggling. Some ancient people marked time by the changes in star patterns. We still use changes in constellation patterns to mark astronomical time. This...
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Science Buddies: Leaves and Light
Leaves use sunlight to make food for the plant. Sunlight contains all of the colors of the rainbow, but are all of those colors used by the leaf? Can you find out if some colors of light are more important than others?
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Science Buddies: Do Potatoes Regulate the Formation of New Roots?
Propagate potatoes by giving it the right environment for the eyes to sprout.
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Science Buddies: Shoots: How Do Mint Plants Branch to Form New Stems?
Do you like to climb trees? The branches of trees are what make them so fun to climb. Each branch starts out as a tiny shoot that grows out from a stem. How is the growth of shoots along a stem regulated?
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Science Buddies: Measuring the Moon
Sometimes a full moon can be so bright, you can walk around in the dark without a flashlight. How much brighter is a full moon than the other phases of the moon? How is the brightness of the moon measured?
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Science Buddies: How Many Seeds Do Different Types of Fruit Produce?
Do you like your strawberry jelly with or without the seeds? Are you glad to have a seed-free watermelon, or do you enjoy spitting the seeds into the garden? You might not like to find seeds in your fruit, but fruit is nature's way of...
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Science Buddies: A Matter of Time
Do you wake up at the crack of dawn, or do you need an alarm clock to wake you up each morning? It may surprise you that the two are not always in synch. Nowadays, we use Standard Time to set our watches instead of Solar Time. Which...
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Science Buddies: Pick a Card, Any Card
No matter what your favorite card game is, we all wish we could use psychic powers to draw the card we want on our turn. You may not have psychic powers, but you might have the power of probability on your side. Do this experiment and...
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Science Buddies: Finding Phyla
Animals come in all shapes and sizes, each a small part of the amazing diversity of life. These differences can also help us to classify animals into different groups. Which group do you belong to? Do this experiment to investigate the...
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Science Buddies: Play Doh Math
One piece of Play-Doh can make many different shapes. Even though you can change the shape by squishing or stretching the Play-Doh, it is still the same size unless you add or take away some of the dough. Try this experiment to test how...
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Science Buddies: Juice Box Geometry
Juice boxes are so convenient, just poke the straw in and sip away. It might surprise you how much thought goes into the design and manufacturing of a juice box. Each manufacturer has carefully calculated how big each side should be to...
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Science Buddies: M&m Geometry
Geometry is the study of how to use math to describe and investigate different points, lines and shapes. The way that a shape is described in geometry is with a formula, which is simply a mathematical way to calculate different...
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Science Buddies: How Does a Hovercraft Work?
Riding on a hovercraft is like gliding on a cushion of air. Make your own mini hovercraft in this experiment to test how hovercrafts work.
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Science Buddies: Rubbing Up Against Static Electricity
A tried and true balloon activity is to rub a balloon on your head to make your hair stand up. Learn how the rubbing builds up static electricity using this experiment to see if the number of rubs makes a difference.
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Science Buddies: How Do Different Materials React to Static Electricity?
Polyester clothing was generally accepted as a popular trend in fashion at one point in history. Now everybody wears cotton, which doesn't get static cling nearly as much. Why are some materials more susceptible to static cling than...