We put the Boom! into our Fizz Boom Read Summer Reading Program this morning. Our junior scientists learned about the geysers in Yellowstone National Park courtesy of Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, who provided us with the learning materials and experiment equipment.

After learning the three key components needed to make a geyser we went outside and made some geyser-like activity of our own. We shot film canisters waaaaay up int he air using nothing more than a little water and some Alka-Seltzer tablets. Next, we used Mentos mints and diet cola to make three beautiful geysers similar to the video shown below.

Next Week: Screaming Balloons!

On Monday we had thirty plus kids show up for our first week of Fizz Boom Read. Our topic for that day was the weather. We talked about what makes a snowstorm turn into a blizzard. We discussed how to stay safe in a blizzard as well. We also discussed how many inches of liquid water is in one foot of snow – approximately 2 inches.

After that, we made some weather of our own by making a cloud inside of a bottle as well as cutting out paper snow
flakes.

Prizes were discussed and assignment folders were handed out to our junior scientists.

This week we will be exploring the topic of volcanology, taking a look at what makes a geyser. Things may get a little explosive as we try to create a geyser of our own.