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Previous years



2021-2022's in Daniel Ellis-Green's 6th-grade classes, Mondays and Wednesdays.


Why is the sky blue?
Why does the sky change colors in the evening?
How do we breath, why do we have to breath with air. Where does air come from.
What would happen if you left a bottle in your car and you're at the mountains?
How do trees give oxygen and air?
If you fill a balloon with water and another balloon with water, which one will drop faster?
Doese space ever end. How big is space
Do we know how much the Earth weighs if we don't have a scale big enough to weigh it.
When people from NASA go to space, why doesn't the ship turn to fire?
Who was the first person to discover science or start it
Why does an explosain happen when a atom is split?
Do you know what KPOP is? Why is Korean pop called kpop but everywhere else on the planet it is called pop
Why is it that covid is alive, how was it formed and can we learn more about sickness please my older sister is going to be a nurse I want there to be at least one way I can help her
Why does time only go in one direction?
When you die how long does it take for you to decompose?
Why doesn't magma come out or erupt out of the earth
Why does water boil
How was rain created
How do genetics work
How do bees make honey; How do bees get a new queen
How does blood heal a cut
How do pandas only eat bamboo
How did life evolve from non-living matter
Where did water in comets come from
Is there human oxygen on other planets
How do trees give oxygen and air
Is light a ray or a particle

How big is the Universe
How was the world made
What happens when a black hole swallows a star
How are black holes made
Are stars other planets
Does time on Mars go by faster than time on earth
Can earth be pulled out of orbit (by a star bigger than the Sun)

Calendar:
27,29 Sep. Introduction
04,06 Oct. Air
11,13 Oct. COVID-19
18,20 Oct. Nuclear energy, the Sun
25,27 Oct. Why are ants so strong
01,03 Nov. Why is the sky blue?
13,15 Dec. Why are ants so strong?
04,05 Jan. JWST, Static electricity
10,12 Jan. How big is the Universe
18,xx Jan. Fibonacci numbers (1&2)
31 --- Jan. Sound
07 --- Feb. Seasons, eclipses
14,16 Feb. DNA
--- 23 Feb. Sound
28,02 Feb,Mar. Plate tectonics, volcanos
--- 10 Mar. Sound
21,23 Mar. Climate change
28,30 Mar. Global warming
--- 20 Apr. Tornado
25,27 Apr. Tornado / LN2
02,04 May. Waves of light
16,18 May. Water rockets





2020-2021. Well, we had to skip that year.




2019-2020's in Terri's 6th-grade class, Tuesday mornings.
Previous years


Are nails bones
How do you grow? Why do you become shorter when you get older
Why does hair dye fade
Why do we make hair
What are fingernails made of
What happens inside your body when you grow
How do nails grow
How do people get facial hair

How do our eyes know to shrink when they adjust to light
Why do some people have better eyes than others

How are we alive
Is man still evolving
How does your body make noises like popping your knuckles or snapping or clapping
What causes paper cuts to hurt so much

How was the earth created
When is the next supernova
Why are scientists saying that the world is going to end but it has not
What is a black hole made of
When will our sun's supernova happen
Is there extraterrestrial life

How do flies know every movement near them
How do birds fly
How do drones recalibrate when a gust of wind blows them off set
How many types of fungus are there
Why is the sky blue
Will global warming destroy the world in the future
How do skunks form the smelly spray
How do bacteria and viruses make you sick
Caves, stuff in caves, underwater caves
How does the Sun work
Who invented the car
Why do ant bites hurt

Also still to be done:
- Speed of sound (outside)
- Water rockets (outside)
- Simple machines (at the Children's Museum)
- ...

Calendar:
20 Aug - Intro, hair, ant pheremones
26 Aug - How does the eye work
03 Sep - How does the ear work
17 Sep - gravity and black holes
24 Sep - Why is the sky blue
01 Oct - How do birds fly
08 Oct - Airplanes etc.
15 Oct - How do viruses, bacteria make you sick
22 Oct - Static electricity with the vdGraaff
29 Oct - The end of the world
11 Nov - Transit of Mercury
19 Nov - Fibonacci numbers
26 Nov - Caves
03 Dec - Light, colors, waves
07 Jan - Fun with liquid nitrogen
14 Jan - DNA
21 Jan - Volcanos, plate tectonics etc.
28 Jan - Why are ants so strong
04 Feb - Global warming etc.
18 Feb - Who invented the car
25 Feb - Why do ant bites hurt
03 Mar - How is electricity made
10 Mar - Total internal reflection
17 Mar - Spring break, after which everything came to a halt
----------------------- no more school -----------------------
24 Mar -
31 Mar - (Measuring the speed of sound)
28 Apr -
05 May - (Water rockets)
20 May - (Last day of school)




2018-2019's in Terri's 6th-grade class, Thursday mornings.


How do our eyes know to shrink when they adjust to light
Why so people have different length eyelashes
Thunderstorms
Can we learn about the beginning of the world
Would the ocean ever... and the world would be 100% water
Will the earth ever end
Astronomy
Black holes
Space
Are wormholes possible and how do they work
Could a creature other than us adapt to global warming
Superbugs and phages
Speed of sound
Is it possible to suck all the oxygen out of the room and not be able to hear anything
More about the human body
Can we learn about human genes
Can we make nitrogen ice cream
Can each of us make our own ice cream
We should do experiments with dry ice
How do whirlpools work
How do fish gills work - fresh/salt water
How long would it take to run around the world
Can we do more experiments in class
Can we do a lesson on dry ice
.. can you get DNA from dinosaur eggs
when will the next asteroid hit the earth
why do we test on mice and why are they accurate for testing
How does DNA work
Why haven't we found aliens yet
What are hamster years
How many atoms are there in a single cell

Also still to be done:
- Water rockets (outside) - we ran out of time

Calendar:
30 Aug - DNA, genetics, evolution
06 Sep - How does the eye work
13 Sep - Tornados and hurricanes
20 Sep - The size of everything
27 Sep - beginning and end of the world
11 Oct - earthquakes and volcanos
18 Oct - Why are ants so strong
25 Oct - Flight
12 Nov - Gravity and black holes
29 Nov - Fun with liquid nitrogen
03 Jan - Static electricity
10 Jan - Sound and sound recording
31 Jan - Blue sky
07 Feb - Human body I
14 Feb - Human body II
21 Feb - Fossils
28 Feb - Aliens, hamster years, atoms in a cell
07 Mar - The zodiac and why we have seasons
Spring break, 18-22 Mar
28 Mar - Plastic
01 Apr - Levers and pulleys
09 May - Speed of sound



2016-2017: Just one class this year, Terri's. My experience last year is that with three classes (same subjects in each class), you get to do effectively one subject per month. With all the must-do favorites, that leaves almost no room for original questions.

Here are the questions I got:

How many universes do scientists think there are
What is the multiverse and how can we get there
Parallel universes
Are aliens real
What do aliens look like - are they green
How old are stars
How do they get robots into space

How are gems made
Mitochondria
Are there any parts of the Amazon that have not been explored
How were dogs domesticated
Photosynthesis
How are clouds formed
What are solar cells
What can you see with an electron microscope
How does flight work
Inertia
Vertebrates and invertebrates
How do sea cucumbers live?
What happens when the Sun dies
Rocks and minerals
Sinkholes
Sea animals and creatures
Who invented the laser - how do they work
Aurora borealis - Northern lights
How do 3-D printers work
What is E=mc2 (Jan 2018:)
How do phones work, telephone history
How does a supermoon exist
How do airplanes work
Metal contamination
How do black holes work
What is the smallest planet vs. the largest in our universe
How do you make plastic
What was the first electronics and how was it made
How are cells passed down
How do solids melt into liquids
How to make dark matter
Is water wet
Can we go to a different universe

Calendar of what we did:
16 Aug - Pre-eclipse sun observing
23 Aug - How does the eye work
30 Aug - Aliens! and The size of everything
07 Sep - DNA
14 Sep - Domestication of animals and plants
21 Sep - Inertia, mass, gravity and black holes
28 Sep - Energy (fossil, nuclear, renewables...)
04 Oct - How are clouds formed
11 Oct - Plate tectonics, plus the bio history of the earth
18 Oct - Volcanos
25 Oct - Neutron star merger GW170817, and the life of stars
01 Nov - Electricity with the vandeGraaff generator
08 Nov - Sea animals and creatures, seacucumbers, (in)vertebrates
16 Nov - Ocean acidification
30 Nov - Wavy light - the wave nature of light
07 Dec - Northern lights
14 Dec - Why is the sky blue
04 Jan - Sound and sound recording
11 Jan - History of telephones and electronics
18 Jan - 3D printers, E=mc2, can you make dark matter
01 Feb - Tornados
08 Feb - Fun with liquid Nitrogen
01 Mar - Rocks and minerals, crystals
08 Mar - Plastic
15 Mar - How does flight work
12 Apr - Why are ants so strong?
19 Apr - Measuring the speed of sound (if the weather is nice)
27 Apr - Photosynthesis
03 May - The perception of color
10 May - What do you for a living?
17 May - Water rockets


2016-2017: I'm rotating through the three 6th-grade classes (Susan Webster, Terri Blackman's)

How do you make a tornado
Why does vinegar and baking soda react and fizz
Could you make a solid surface out of liquid chemicals
Can we make magnets float over metal with liquid nitrogen
Can fire blankets protect you from lightning
Where do you work
Will we work with liquid nitrogen
How do you make cool chemical reactions with different chemicals..
Why do we yawn
How does an orange grow out of the flower or tree and
form the skin and inside When a star explodes does it turn into a black hole
Sound of the bloop
How fast does lightening hit the ground
If everyone has a different fingerprint then aren't there more than 4 types

Is it possible to bring the dinosaurs back
Is it possible for an alternate reality of our world to exist
Hybrid animals - how
Aliens - do they exist
How do scientists name each one of the elements
What is the quark-gluon plasma used for
The newly discovered planet
What chemicals do you use to make foamy stuff
When you cut an atom will it explode
Why does the earth orbit the sun and why doesn't the sun orbit the earth
What happens when you put plutonium under pressure
Why do we yawn
How do electronic circuits work to form an image on a screen
When will the sun explode
How did germs stay alive on a planet for 2 years
Is greek mythology real (like the gods or Thor)
Have we ever made contact with aliens
Is the Bermuda triangle really bad luck
Hybrid animals
How do they breed fruits or plants
When the sun reaches its maximum diameter, will it transform into a white dwarf or a red giant? When it does this, won't its pull on the earth change? Will the earth plunge in?


Calendar:
  • Aug 26: SW intro, lightening, evaporation ⇆ condensation
  • Sep 02: SW2 intro, atoms, quarks and gluons, the Netherlands
  • Sep 09: (at BNL)
  • Sep 16: SW3 intro, lunar, solar eclipses
  • Sep 23, 30, Oct 7: Van de Graaff generator
  • Oct 14, Nov 4, Nov 11: Liquid nitrogen
  • Oct 21: (parent-teacher conferences)
  • Oct 28: (New Iberia)
  • Nov 18, Dec 2, Dec 9: Global warming
  • Nov 25: (thanksgiving break)
  • Dec 16, Jan 13,20: Aliens!
  • Dec 23: (winter break)
  • Jan 06: snow day!
  • Jan 27, Feb 24, Mar 3: Tornados
  • Feb 3, Feb 10: Quark Matter 2017
  • Feb 17: Parent-Teacher conferences
  • Mar 03: Tornados
  • Mar 10, 17, 31: Planets and geology
  • Mar 24: Spring break
  • Apr 07, 21, 28: Speed of sound
  • Apr 14: Mid Semester Break (good Friday)
  • May 05,18: Water rockets
  • May 12: (fermilab)
  • May 24: Last day of school (Wed)


2015-2016, in both of Terri Blackman's science classes:


how much of the brain is actually used
polar ice caps
what happens when you yawn - why is it contageous
dreaming - brain - sleep
future of human evolution - what's happening now
how does the survival rate of infants with previously life-threatening conditions affect evolution
antibiotics - making species weaker
other worlds that support life?

Calendar:

  • Sep 11, Sep 18: DNA
  • Sep 11: Birth and death of stars and planets
  • Sep 25, Oct 2: [in Japan]
  • Oct 9: Birth and death of stars and planets
  • Oct 16, Oct 23: Van de Graaff generator
  • Oct 30, Nov 6: Blue sky
  • Nov 13, Oct 20: Phases of the moon, eclipses
  • Dec 4,11: The size of everything
  • Dec 18, Jan 14: Global warming
  • Jan 8 (workshop Berkeley)
  • Jan 22 ??
  • Jan 29 (BNL EIC R&D)
  • Feb 5 (BNL shift)
  • Feb 12,19: sound, and how do you record it
  • Feb 26, Mar 4: measuring the speed of sound
  • Mar 11 (PC shift 8-22)
  • Mar 18 P-T conferences
  • Mar 25, Apr 1: spring break
  • Apr 8,15 Fun with liquid nitrogen
  • Apr 22,29 Tornadoes
  • May 6,12 Water rockets
  • May 9: Watching the transit of Mercury
  • May 19: (last day of school)





2014-2015 in Terri Blackman's and Natalie Gallegos' classes:

Questions received (and addressed (X)):

Aug 29:   My 3-year old brother has a laser that changes its pattern when you turn the tip. How does that work?
  How does iron, gold, copper, diamonds, rubys and other ores get into the earth?
  What early animal evolved into turkeys, deer, and other wild animals?
  Why is low sound (like 166 psi) harmful to you?
  How does total internal reflection work?
  I was wondering how a telescope works?
  How does a twister twist?
  What is outside the universe?
  How does a mirror work and how does it reflect light?
  Why is the sky blue?
  How does the lyrebird imitate sounds around it, from natural sound to those manmade?
Sep 12   How are storms formed, such as thunderstorms and snowstorms
  What are the effects of zero gravity on the human body? [same] g force [same]?
  Why do we cry when we feel emotion
  What would happen if there were no air or water inside us
  Why is it when we close our eyes for a long time then open them we see brighter or darker or normal or fuzzy or clear
  Do insects see from different perspectives then us
  Why does a teabag fly when lit on fire
  How do matches strike on a box but not on other rough surfaces
  Do aliens exist
  why do lasers hurt people's eyes
  How poweful is it when you split a Uranium, Plutonium, Hydrogen atom
  Why is the sky blue
  How is there life on earth
  Why do humand need oxygen
  Why does water cover most ofthe earth
  Where are you from; When did you start science
  Why do spiders not like the small of citrus
  How do you find out bout the speed of light
  What does Helium and Hyrogen feel like
  What is space-time continuum
  Why can we smell the difference between things and not just the same smell
  Can you do something with marshmellows
  Can you do something with jello
  Black holes (and why are they two-dimensional)
  Do people see different colors depending on what time they were born
  Evolution
  How did different things develop if we were originally one cell
  Can you do something with marshmellows
Done::
  • 29 Aug: Intro
  • 12 Sep: Total internal reflection
  • 19 Sep: (I forget)
  • 03 Oct: Measuring the speed of sound
  • 17 Oct: Why is the sky blue
  • 31 Oct: Fun with marshmellows
  • 14 Nov: [testing, testing...]
  • 05 Dec: Formation of galaxies, stars, planets
  • 19 Dec: vandeGraaff generator
  • 09 Jan: Global warming
  • 23 Jan: The eye, vision etc.
  • 06 Feb: How do twisters twist
  • 20 Feb: The history of the universe in one year
  • 06 Mar: Evolution
  • 20 Mar: Gravity and black holes
  • 03 Apr: Spring Break
  • 17 Apr
  • 01 May: [On the nightshift]
  • 15 May: [water rockets]
  • 21 May: last day of school




2013-2014 in Terri Blackman's and Natalie Gallegos' classes:
Questions received (and addressed (X)):

aug : can you study blood cells aug :(X) is it true that if you push an object in space it will keep going forever. What might stop it? aug : how do cells work aug : why are we alive aug : in the cellworld are they always in liquid aug : how does sand turn into glass? sep 13 :(X) why can't certain molecules bind with others in the DNA and RNA codes? sep 13 :(X) What are the different kinds of matter sep 13 : Is it possible to split atoms sep 13 : Where do people get rubber sep 13 :(X) why is the sky blue sep 13 :(X) is there dna in rocks (done) sep 13 :(X) Why does the world spin sep 13 :(X) Could we ever live on Mars if we could create an atmosphere and grow trees sep 16 :(X) why does a rainbow fade away? sep 16 : can you split a cell sep 16 : can we live on Saturn's moon (blue) sep 16 : if they found a living organism without cells will this change everything? (blue) 30 sep :(x) why is the world round oct 15 : why are we the shape we are? oct 15 :(X) why is the equator hot oct 15 : how is each part of he world made oct 15 : is mount everest a volcano or a mountain oct 15 :(X) how does the core tolerate the heat of the magma oct 15 : how do we grow fingernails oct 15 :(X) Why is the sun on fire - what kind is it - does it use oxygen oct 15 : why do trees produce oxygen / carbon dioxide oct 15 : what causes radiation oct 15 :(X) could someone live on jupiter nov how did the big bang happen dec 10 (X) why do we have (perceive) colors dec 10 how did the first animal come into being dec 10 why does gravity keep us down dec 10 (X) why do we have skin on the outside of our body jan 06 is there an end to the universe jan 06 how old people come to be jan 06 how come a solar eclipse would blind you if you looked at it jan 06 where is the ozone layer jan 21 (X) why do we have skin color jan 21 why can't some animals see in color jan 21 what could humans do if they used their whole brain capacity jan 21 what does chemistry have to do with atoms --- DONE: --- 26 aug: scaling (ants) (T) cells: <<< mass, no inertia 03 sep: gravity (T) 10 sep: DNA new: show thread rolled up, epigenetics 16 sep: blue sky add: show rainbow with grating 23 sep (FVTX meeting in Atlanta) 30 sep: states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma, QGP) 15 oct: why is the earth round - (gravity, liquid interior, plate tectonics) 29 oct: rainbows (add water glass wth bubbles, add failed demos) 12 nov: planets (solar system, dwarf planets, sun, look at sunspots outside) 26 Nov: earth: mantle convection->plate tectonics, core conv->mag field 09 Dec: Tornadoes! 06 Jan: Why do we see colors? (and all other senses, parts of all 'spectra' that we do/do not see) 21 jan: The ozone layer 04 feb: The functions of the skin 25 feb: Liquid Nitrogen 11 mar: Greenhouse effect / Global warming 25 mar: How does your eye work 01 apr: How do lenses work - simple optics 15 apr: (on travel) 29 apr: 13 may: water rockets

2009-2013 in Terri Blackman's and Susan Yanda's classes:
(no notes)
2008-2009 in Terri Blackman's 6th grade class:
  • What is the speed of sound? here ->
  • How do eyes work? here ->
  • How do glasses help your eyes? here ->
  • Why is the sky blue? here ->
  • Why does liquid nitrogen freeze things? here ->
  • All about sound here ->
  • DNA here ->
  • Why does the moon move the ocean tide? here ->
  • How does light affect colors?
  • Will one of the planets one day look like Earth?
  • Could you put trash in a black hole?
  • Could a person go into a black hole?
  • Could something traverse a black hole without being destroyed?
  • Why does [Helium/SF6] make your voice go up/down?
  • How can you measure the speed of light?
  • What is blood made out of?
  • On TV
  • How do plants grow from sunlight?
  • Can we mix Nitrogen and peroxide?
  • What happens if you shoot a water gun in space_will the water just keep going?
  • What are you going to do with the ring (LHC) when you're done with it?
  • Would civilization on Mars not work because of the particle showers?
  • Where does theblack hole come out? Is that a white hole?
  • Are stars all as big as our sun?
  • What is 'alive'?
  • Are black holes alive in the sense that they can feel things?
  • How do teeth work?
  • How can some things be both liquid and solid?
  • Why does water flow?

2007-2008 in ms. Yanda's 6th grade class:
  • Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio here ->
  • The size of everything here ->
  • How far is San Diego from Santa Fe? here ->
  • How big is the earth and the universe? here ->
  • What are quarks here ->
  • Will neptune an pluto ever collide here ->
  • Measuring the speed of sound here ->
  • Phases of the moon here ->
  • Evolution, DNA, and genetics here ->
  • Telescopes, and how lenses work here ->
  • What is a quark here ->
  • Why do we have leap years (~days, ~months, ~seconds) here ->
  • Fun with liquid nitrogen here ->
  • The Periodic Table of the Elements here ->
  • How do computers work? here ->
  • Hunting the Higgs here ->
  • Are scientists actually making black holes in Sweden here ->
  • Where do plants release oxygen?
  • what caused the ice age and can it happen again
  • what killed the dinosaurs and in what time
  • why does helium change your voice

  • How far is Saturn from Earth? How come it has rings? How many rings?
  • Is there such a thing as a white hole?
  • About how many planets are there in the universe?
  • What would happen if you reached the end of the universe?
  • How many times does the equator circle the year in one day?
  • How far away is every planet from the earth?
  • How many galaxies are out in space, and how many stars and planets are in each?
  • What are radio and sound waves
  • why does Uranus orbit on it's side



2006-2007 in Patrick O'Dell's 6th grade class:
  • can we grow bacteria
  • what is science
  • how did we find out that Pluto wasn't a planet
  • is there other life out there
  • how did einstein come up with E=mc**2
  • how do we know there is a 10th planet
  • how do we know there are other universes and galaxies
  • does star wars relate to science
  • why don't we find another planet with lots of co2 and put plants on there and live there when the sun expands
  • what is a spider wasp
  • if you go directly into a black hole, why does it look like you're always entering
  • diseases
  • will our sun ever go into the center a black hole
  • can we do experiments with gases that blow up? or just with gases?
  • why does your hair grow back after you cut it?
  • what color is blood when it's inside you. is it blue?
  • why is your funny bone called that when it is not funny
  • how can weather people tell what the weather is going to be
  • why can't teeth just stay perfect, so you don't have to have braces
  • are all the planets stars
  • how do we know atoms are real
  • I want to know about chemistry
  • how much does it cost to ride the vomit comet
  • what is m80
  • what is a solar neighborhood
  • how is a nebula formed and what are the gases that make them
  • I want to know about arachnids


2005-2006 in Lisa Comer's 6th grade class:

  • What happens after things go into a black hole
  • How are starts made
  • how many milky ways are there
  • how do people get cancer
  • about how many years until we can live on Venus
  • can atoms be separated and then put together in a different place: teleportation
  • what is a marine biologists job what do they study what experiments do they do
  • why do norwhales have horns
  • how come the giant squid is huge? are there other big animals? what is the biggest squid
  • what causes hurricanes and will New Orleans ever be livable again
  • how do hurricanes form. why do they always form next to africa
  • why does the south pole not get tons of snow
  • how much snow does yellowknife get each year? what are the temperatures and climate
  • were there any big droughts in New Mexico long ago?
  • are you guys building machines to go to different planets and look for life forms
  • why are there so many moons around some planets and around others there are none
  • how do you spella word wrong/right in Dutch
  • how does the very large array work
  • how can lightning be hotter than the sun
  • why does hair stick to black
  • how come wheen you wear black you get hotter, when you wear white you stay cooler
  • how did animals come to earth
  • what does dna stand for
  • in what kind of climate does the amur leopard live
  • does your work help toward nuclear bobms or studies
  • why do peoples hair get grey and does black or brown hair dry slower than blonde
  • .... and more...


2004-2005 in Susan Yanda's 6th grade class:
  • What causes the phases of the Moon? --> here
  • How much does the Earth weigh? --> here
  • How come when a bug is in your car it doesn't splat against the back window? --> here
  • The truck with birds in it crossing a bridge --> here
  • Are molecules in humans?
  • What is Nitrogen, what is a molecule?
  • How do you clone sheep and what are they made of?
  • What's made the Big Bang?
  • Can light go through time?
  • Is the whole Universe a magnet?
  • Truth about string theory
  • why is the sky blue? here
  • Is the midnight sky black or blue? here
  • What is outside our Universe?
  • Can black holes lead to another destination? here
  • Can the Earth go out of orbit?
  • Why does Helium make your voice sound weird? here
  • Why are humans so dense? What are ghosts made of? Why can ghosts walk throughs walls?
  • Is it true there is a lithosphere and an asthenosphere?
  • How is gravity made? here
  • What is the [earth's?] magnetic field do and why is it weakening?
  • What causes el nino and el nina?
  • Can you tell us about all the Elements that you know?
  • Does the Earth weigh more with houses and humans and life on it?
  • What made the Big Bang?
  • What is in Area 51?
  • What causes Sulphur to small bad?
  • Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio here
  • Why do stars twinkle? here
  • Black death
  • Progeria (accelerated aging diease)


2003-2004 in Clint Towle's 6th grade:
  • How do fish survive if a river freezes over
  • Why does it not thunder when it rains in winter
  • Why is the sky blue
  • Why do wheels seem to go backward (in movies) --> here
  • How does the eye work --> here
  • Clouds --> here
  • What makes the colors on an oil slick? --> here
  • about gravity --> here
  • Are there more grains of sand on the beach than there are stars? --> here
  • What makes a rainbow? --> here
  • How does the sun shine? --> here
  • Why is our skin not bright purple?
  • How come we can't see in the UV?
  • why does the sun change colors when it is in a different part of the sky>
  • have they figured out how to stop pollution?
  • how do they play dvd's How do they get all of that informnation onto something that small
  • what planet has the most gravity
  • why do only jupiter and saturn have rings
  • why does the earth have more gravity than the moon
  • is pluto a planet
  • why does the earth spin
  • how do sharks smell food so far away
  • how does lightning work
  • why do snowflakes have perfect shapes
  • why are clouds white
  • whay are rocks so hard
  • why does the rainforest get so much rain
  • why is grass green
  • why don't people get goosebumps on their faces
  • how come flags flap
  • how do they make paper out of trees
  • why are clouds only at a certain height in the sky
  • why does the universe never end
  • why do sea animals have gills
  • can water turn colors
  • how do rocket ships go to outer space


Back in Kurt Waechter's class for the 2002-2003 year, here are the questions so far:
  • How are tornados formed into their shape? --> here
  • Why don't suspension bridges swing? --> here
  • How does concrete set up under water? --> here
  • How do they build bridge supports under water? --> here
  • Why are arches so strong? --> here
  • How much do you think it costs to get all the materials to make a bridge? --> here
  • If you have water with color in it, will it evaporate that color? --> here
  • How long can a fish hold its breath out of the water? why can't it breathe out of the water?
  • What makes the popping sound in a fire?
  • How do they make tunnels under water without it collapsing?
  • What would happen if human DNA were mixed with animal?
  • Why doesn't frost get on a car windshields parked under a roof that has no walls?
  • Is the sky blue because it is a reflection of the ocean? --> here
  • How does land form?
  • Do different chemicals separate and if they do, how and why do they separate?
  • Why is grass green?
  • Why do you use so many muscles when you smile or frown?
  • Why is the earth tilted at an angle?
  • About how fast do clouds travel and what makes them keep the shape?
  • Why do the clouds turn different colors when the sun sets and rises?
  • How come water evaporates?
  • How does rain form into its shape when it's falling?
  • What makes bug repellant and most sprayable stuff flammable?
  • What makes gunpowder explode?
  • How is plastic made, and what is it made of?
  • How come plastic melts?
  • How and why do pearls form in oysters?
  • Why does the sun help plants grow?
  • How is a circle a polygon?
  • Why can't animals talk?
  • How can we see the color of something?
  • How many strands of DNA can be found in a nucleus? The most amount? The least amounts?
  • How long would it take to travel from here to Africa?
  • If another organism is living in a galaxy (spiral galaxy) like our own, would it look somewhat like us?
  • How is memory stored in a computer chip?
  • Could you ever revive a person that is already dead?
  • What happens when you put a magnet on a computer screen and why?
  • Why does nutrition make you grow?





These are questions I got in Mr. Waechter's 5th/6th-grade class (1999-2000), and that have not been answered yet:
  • How long does it take for a cloud to form?
  • How was the galaxy made?
  • How come when the wind is blowing away from shore, the waves still come into the shore?
  • How come when we touch something our finger does not go through?
  • How do people speak, make sound and noises?
  • How do they measure the layers of the earth?
  • How do salmon know where to return when they spawn?
  • How come we can't feel the earth turn?
  • You said a dollar bill weighed 1 gram; would a $20 bill, $10 bill, $5 bill all weigh the same?
  • If there was a planet with life on it, but a sun as a red giant or a blue dwarf instead of a yellow star, would the sky still be blue?
  • What causes an earthquake?
  • You can go to the moon, but why can't you go to Mars or Jupiter, pluto or any other planet?
  • Can a star or planet blow up after a long time?
  • How long does it take to get to the end of the galaxy?
  • Is light traveling faster on earth or in space or are they both traveling the same?
  • In all the galaxies are we the only people living I don't believe that
  • How do stereograms make a picture look 3-D?
  • Do animals get big tummies when they're going to have a baby?
  • Why do the clouds change to a different color whan it rains?
  • Why do we get itches on our bodies and skins?
  • Why is it that right before you die of frostbite you get very warm?
  • How do scientists know how we evolved from slime and how we came from a big star?
  • Why do gyroscopes act weird?
  • How do clouds form? What are clouds made of? Why is there sometimes lots of clouds and sometimes none?
  • How do remote controls send the radio waves to a remote control car?
  • Why can you boil water with pressure and heat? How does this work?
  • When you push a bottle with liquid in it, why does it go half a centimeter or so higher than the top of the bottle?
  • How many sides does a circle have?
  • Who inventer color?
  • Why does Helium float, and when it's in a balloon after a while why doesn't it float?
What we have done so far this year: the blue sky -- gravity -- how things float -- how much does air weigh -- why do we see mirages -- what happens when you come to the end of the universe -- how does the human eye work? -- why do people have different eye colors -- sunspots -- aurora's -- why are leaves green, and why do they change color -- watching the planet Mecury -- why do you cry when you're sad? -- Y2K -- insects -- batteries and generators -- colors in soap bubbles and holograms -- slippery ice -- what animals will outlive humans -- how long does it take for a car going 75 mph to stop? -- how do pendulums work --
and much much more.




At Philos Learning Center (grades 4th-8th) I got this collection:
  • solve x**n+y**n=z**n
  • how does a pendulum work?
  • how fast can an atomic bomb spread?
  • why does the earth rotate around the sun?
  • are ufo's really out there
  • does space have an end? if it does, what comes after it?
  • why does the earth revolve around the sun and the moon around the earth?
  • how did the earth become the earth?
  • why do we see colors?
  • why/how did life form on earth?
  • is black all colors or the absence of color? and white?
  • if there is no air in space what is in it's place?
  • if red, blue and yellow make up all colors and yet you can not get black or white from them, but you can color things black or white, how can this be?
  • how come if blue light rays are in the sky and fewer reach earth than reds and yellows there are equal amounts of red yellow and blue?
  • do we all see the same colors?
  • why is the sky blue?
  • why are fires blue, red, orange and yellow?
  • why is the grass green
  • why do birds fly and people not?
  • why are people's eyes different colors?
  • how long have scientists been able to keep people diagnosed with leukemia or aids alive?
  • if matter can be transformed into energy and if this is the process for creating nuclear energy, why is there waste?
  • does the universe ever end?
  • how was earth created?
  • how do you think people began?
  • if we evolved from apes, what happened to the rest of them?
  • what is the smallest mammel?
  • how were words created?
  • how does the internet work?
  • is the reanimation of dead tissue actually possible?
  • what's the difference between fake sugar and regular sugar?
  • why do you get a shock from electricity?
  • how did 'boys' and 'girls' evolve into 'boys' and 'girls', why not just one kind?
  • why are mammels born from their mother and not an egg?
  • why do rubber bands stretch?
  • is there unlimited water on the earth?
  • why can't scientists make gold even if they know the chemical makeup?
  • is deja vue something you dream the night before?
  • how do the leaves get their color?
  • how did the sattelite blow up (the Mars Polar Explorer)
  • how does a motor work?
  • what is the meaning of life?
  • why was I born?
  • why is the grass green?
  • what is the hottest kind of fire there is?
  • why do birds fly?



These are questions that I got from Ms. Irving's 6-grade class in the 1998-99 school year, and that we never got around to...
  • How many waves are there in the ocean?
    This is like the question 'How long is the coast of England', familiar to mathematicians, as an intro to fractals.
  • How big is the world?
    This one is easy of course, but I'm tempted to actually do the measurement with the kids, using Alexander of Thales' (?) method of 3000 years ago.
  • Does the vacuum of space float?
  • Why don't chickens, emus, and ostriches fly?
    should be another day on evolution
  • How come adults stop growing?
    more evolution
  • What is gravity?
  • What is slime, and can we make it?
    I believe this refers to a specific toy/product
  • How does the brain work to tell you how things feel, small, taste and look?
    nerves and signals, and/or the question of conciousness.
  • What kind of gas is in space?
  • What's with girls?
    Ms. Irving said she would handle that one.
  • What would happen if the Earth was thrown out of orbit?
  • If our moon was not a moon would it be considered an asteroid?
  • How can you detect asteroids?
  • If people are mostly made up of empty space between molecules, how come I can't put my finger through my hand?
    Good one, eh?
  • If we keep using the same amount of water, when will we run out?
  • What happens when people get cremated?
  • How would you die first? If you didn't have water or you didn't have food?
  • Why are toenails important?
  • I have had no questions about electricity...
  • we need to do one on waves and interference (holograms, beating notes, colors in soap films, fading radio stations etc.) I saw someone make a good-quality hologram in about 15 minutes, using a laser pointer, and in a semi-darkened lecture room. Gotta do this one!
  • Make a cloud chamber to look at cosmic rays.





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