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We found this super strange looking rock in a creek on our property. It’s quite large and very hard. I hate to admit it, but I was stumped. I’m more of a lab rat than a rock hound. So like any good homeschoolers, we looked it up and found out that our large grey chunk was actually a piece of basalt! Basalt is an igneous rock that forms when molten rock is extruded out of the ground during a … [Read more...]
Ocean Waves {InstaScience}
There are very few things as peaceful as the sound of the ocean waves as they gently crest onto shore. It is a sound you can count on hearing every time you set foot in the beach. But what causes this to happen? Waves are the result of energy moving through the water. And there are two main causes for the waves we find on the beach. First as the wind moves over the surface of the water it … [Read more...]
Fossils {InstaScience}
We found this fossil of a shell a few years back as we were skipping stones in a local river. Luckily, our daughter turned her stone over and found the impression fossil. Now, the stone is a part of our ever-growing rock collection. Fossils are bits of plants or animals that have been preserved from the past. There are several different kinds of fossils based on how they are formed. The three … [Read more...]
Rain {InstaScience}
We have had a lot of rain so far this fall! Which is great for filling up the aquifers, but not so great for the colors of our leaves as I shared in last week’s InstaScience on fall leaves. Rain forms when warm, moist air rises and condenses to form a cloud of water vapor, the micro-droplets collect together to form bigger droplets which fall to the ground because of gravity. In other words, … [Read more...]
Bull Thistle {InstaScience}
Bull Thistle is one of those "weeds" that almost all of us are familiar with! Its characteristic purple flowers are easy to spot as they adorn the top of the stem. Plus, its spiky stem acts like a sentinel on the border of vacant fields and along trails. This weed definitely prefers wide, open, sunny areas! But did you know that the flowering stems you see are actually the second year … [Read more...]
Maple Copters {InstaScience}
These days, my kids are finding the ground littered with nature's helicopters - the maple seed! We always stop, pick up a few, let them go, and watch nature take flight. Maples produce these helicopter-like seeds in late summer or early fall. They vary in size, shape, and color based on the species of maple they come from. The seed pods have a wing that grows out from the ovary where the … [Read more...]