The first time I developed the water beads at night, and surprised the kids in the morning with them. This second time though, I thought it would be fun to include the kids and make an experiment out of it.
![The Water Bead Experiment The Water Bead Experiment](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5EhJMg9vN2E/T3JB6Zqs4KI/AAAAAAAAFS4/QyZMu9smi4o/The-Water-Bead-Experiment_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
Each of the kids chose a color to work with. I had light and dark blue, purple, black, red, and pink. Other than the water beads, the only other supplies you need are a couple of glass bowls with water, and we used a couple of magnifying glasses for fun too.
![DSC09967 DSC09967](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kMGdNJbJ_sg/T3JB8Nu0YFI/AAAAAAAAFTI/RNimzLV4hq0/DSC09967_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
(On a side note: the purple and red had a lot of dye with them and stained our fingers for a couple of days. I won’t be buying those colors again!)
![DSC09969 DSC09969](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QGMdCn37r1c/T3JB-IFVXrI/AAAAAAAAFTY/OHlXJb8tCy0/DSC09969_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
Do you want to be a Scientist for the day?
First we reviewed what a Scientist was.
Isaac remembered that a Scientist makes a hypothesis and then tries to prove it is true.
I gave each of the kids their bowl of water beads and asked them what they thought would happen if we put water on them? What would happen if we let them sit in water for an hour.
Two hours? Three hours?
![DSC09970 DSC09970](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NM8_K4yiLnY/T3JB_pgwskI/AAAAAAAAFTo/eVDiolzCfRI/DSC09970_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
They took a look at the beads while they were dry, and wrote or colored their observations down on a worksheet.
![DSC09971 DSC09971](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-D-vxM1KDMTQ/T3JCBuceazI/AAAAAAAAFT4/bPkgZFgGNAA/DSC09971_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC09972 DSC09972](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fPvolGei1Cw/T3JCDvLizxI/AAAAAAAAFUI/z356OuKv7dU/DSC09972_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC09973 DSC09973](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-EcJdJZHaedI/T3JCE7m8N0I/AAAAAAAAFUY/sYsWvxF-wFA/DSC09973_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
We let the beads bloom in water for about 10 minutes, and then made observations about how they had changed. I asked questions to prompt their thoughts: How have they changed? What do they feel like now? What do they look like now? Has their size or color changed? How?
![DSC09976 DSC09976](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2J1GknPEq48/T3JCGRdZ37I/AAAAAAAAFUo/LP5Bky1twvk/DSC09976_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC09978 DSC09978](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-EhCjI_M2nfM/T3JCHkSVLaI/AAAAAAAAFU4/k60N8wnmpe0/DSC09978_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC09980 DSC09980](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qZvc17179Ug/T3JCJKz-FgI/AAAAAAAAFVI/aqGIhsKq0kU/DSC09980_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
After 10 minutes, the water beads grew to the size of a pea. They softened, and were bumpy on the surface.
![DSC09981 DSC09981](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-phyY4dexJOs/T3JCLDVepZI/AAAAAAAAFVY/oH_Sm8HQEeQ/DSC09981_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
I asked the kids why they thought the changes were occuring, and then instructed them to write down their predictions about what would happen next. I was careful not to interject my opinion, but listened to and commented on each of their ideas.
![DSC09982 DSC09982](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RqleVipm8J4/T3JCMecnvaI/AAAAAAAAFVo/LHpnXWgEZos/DSC09982_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC09983 DSC09983](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-t-4WQS6zm2I/T3JCNXQkiDI/AAAAAAAAFV4/_7R7IX_bcrk/DSC09983_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
Nate describing his theory on why the water beads are changing. He proposed that the water was making the beads break into smaller pieces, which is why they were bumpy and there appeared to be more of them.
![DSC09987 DSC09987](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-06quAV2MX2Y/T3JCPErqRtI/AAAAAAAAFWI/72ptm9w_BpA/DSC09987_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
We let the beads bloom for another hour before checking them again. The changes were amazing! They had grown to the size of a blueberry, were lighter in color, and much softer feeling.
![DSC09988 DSC09988](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lBvlZNNp4BU/T3JCQUdPgrI/AAAAAAAAFWY/bjHjW0kLWcQ/DSC09988_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
Here is Elaina’s drawing of her observations.
![DSC09989 DSC09989](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wBAkNPioMzY/T3JCR3etiWI/AAAAAAAAFWo/bMnVoqVUcWI/DSC09989_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC09993 DSC09993](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LOHkIERH2zs/T3JCS6Zoa2I/AAAAAAAAFW4/hpwq4zrN62o/DSC09993_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC09990 DSC09990](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fGWH2urM5l0/T3JCUgbd3vI/AAAAAAAAFXI/RNXzobz0lq0/DSC09990_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
This was about the time when Olivia had to join in and see what was going on. I gave her a magnifying glass and a plate with a bead on it to look at. She loves being included!
![DSC09996 DSC09996](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lL8xalKRJVI/T3JCWPxk8DI/AAAAAAAAFXY/v92Gn9NYVeo/DSC09996_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
Here are the beads at 10 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours. You can see how they have grown and smoothed out. They’ve gotten a little lighter in color too.
![DSC09999 DSC09999](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-lNGVCstifa0/T3JCXtBRR0I/AAAAAAAAFXo/uMkcC9_9Qww/DSC09999_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
The kids continued writing down their notes and drawing their observations. I was so impressed with Nate’s notes – he filled the entire page!
“Water beads are an extraordinary experiment. Apparently they are able to grow and morph into squishy balls.” Not bad for a first grader!
![DSC00002 DSC00002](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-g1yu5sZLCDs/T3JCZFPxdfI/AAAAAAAAFX4/vHesGdC1hRY/DSC00002_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC00003 DSC00003](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-lR5NO3HRp-Y/T3JCaaCQcsI/AAAAAAAAFYI/vmKe0brn6T4/DSC00003_thumb8.jpg?imgmax=800)
![DSC00013 DSC00013](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SzJEtPllvxQ/T3JCb96vwfI/AAAAAAAAFYY/vwaEaHCqJQ0/DSC00013_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
Here is the whole line up of the water beads: 10 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, and 4 hours.
When we were through, I explained that the water beads grew because they absorbed the water. They did not break into smaller pieces as they had guessed.
I'm so proud of my little Scientists!
![DSC00008 DSC00008](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-yUCqHGKSuhM/T3JCd5sy9YI/AAAAAAAAFYo/U9Bw5AGRwvk/DSC00008_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
We poured them into a bin for some great sensory play!
What a great experiment, and I love your son's observation!
ReplyDelete