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balloon trees by danna smith read aloud - Google Search

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Audible Product Details ; Listening Length. 2 minutes ; Author. Danna Smith ; Narrator. Katharine Hall ; Audible release date. November 11, 2015 ; Language. English.

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Author Guest Post: “Encouraging Kids’ Curiosity” by Sarah Albee, Author of Bounce! A Scientific History of Rubber – Unleashing Readers

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By Amy Cowen on September 21, 2021 8:00 AM
Making learning fun is sometimes half the battle! With the right activities, educators can ensure learning about science and engineering involves hands-on fun for students of all ages. Build in some stretchy science fun with STEM experiments that use rubber bands!
Stretchy STEM Science!

Rubber bands are fun to stretch. What happens when you let them go? They might fly! Can you use the stretchiness of a rubber band to send other things flying or create sound waves? Can you learn about energy from rubber bands? Yes!

Students can learn a lot about potential and kinetic energy-and the law of conservation of energy-from simple rubber bands. In this week's Educator's Corner, we've highlighted an assortment of exciting maker-inspired builds and experiments that use rubber bands. From launchers and a rubber band-powered car to noisemaking fun with a rubber band guitar or craft stick harmonica, these are STEM-based activities your students will love.

Let's hear it for stretchy rubber band science!

Our Educator's Corner series features high-interest STEM activities that work well with students in both formal and informal settings-in the classroom or at home. These activities are grouped in fun themes that make it easy for educators to pick and choose just-right activities for special days or special units. Each collection is hand-curated for fun, ease-of-use, simple materials, accessibility, and interest factor. To help educators bundle activities with additional classroom or out-of-class activities and reflection, we've included discussion questions, career connections. We've also included book suggestions to help educators tie science and engineering to English Language Arts.

EXPERIMENT: STEM Experiments with Rubber Bands

The science: The launcher stores elastic potential energy that is converted to kinetic energy that propels the cotton ball when the rubber band is released.

The science: When the propeller is wound, it stores elastic potential energy that is converted to kinetic energy when released.

The science: The stretched rubber band stores potential energy that will be converted to kinetic energy to propel the plane forward when the rubber band is released. Designing a device that can stand up to repeated use will take trial and error, troubleshooting, and problem solving!

The science: When the launching stick is pushed down, it has potential energy, just as a rubber band does when it is stretched. When the stick is released, the energy is converted to kinetic energy which is transferred to the object being launched.

The science: When the axle is wound, potential energy is stored. When the axle is released, the energy is converted to kinetic energy that propels the car forward.

WATCH: Videos

ASK: Questions

Use these questions with students to prompt conversation and reflection about the science behind these Rubber Band STEM activities:

Does an unstretched rubber band have energy?

What type of energy are you creating when you stretch a rubber band?

What happens when you release a stretched rubber band in terms of its energy?

What are other examples of potential energy?

What is the law of conservation of energy?

DIG DEEPER: More Lessons and Activities

For additional lessons and activities related to potential energy, elastic energy, and types of energy, see these curated Teaching Science Units collections:

CHOICE BOARD: Differentiated Learning

Choice boards offer a flexible learning tool educators can use to supplement classroom instruction. You might try a choice board as part of weekly homework, for extra credit, or for asynchronous and remote learning.

EXPLORE: STEM Careers

After trying Rubber Band STEM experiments, students may be inspired to learn more about these science and engineering careers:

Pair picture and story books like these with Rubber Band STEM explorations.

You Might Also Enjoy These Related Posts:

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6 Rubber Band Experiments for Science Class! | Science Buddies Blog

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By Amy Cowen on September 21, 2021 8:00 AM Making learning fun is sometimes half the battle! With the right activities, educators can ensure learning about science and engineering involves hands-on fun for students of all ages. Build in some stretchy science fun with STEM experiments that use rubber bands!

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Cool Science Experiments for Kids- Making a Rubber Egg

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This cool experiment for kids looks at how to make rubber eggs. This experiment is the fourth in a series of five cool egg themed science experiments.

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Rubber Band Potential Energy Science Experiment - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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Kids will love launching rubber bands in this fun potential energy science experiment! Does more stretch affect the distance traveled?

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Postal Bands for Bulk Mail | Made in USA

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Postal Bands sold to the USPS by Alliance Rubber are also available to the public. Guaranteed to meet or exceed all postal requirements.

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Engage kids in a fun and educational STEM activity designing their a rubber band car to learn about simple machines & problem solving.

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Image Gallery

Facts About Rubber: A Vital WWII Commodity

In 1922, scientists seeking to develop better automobile antifreeze accidentally produce the first synthetic rubber-called Thiokol. It is put into commercial production in 1930.

In 1923, scientists at DuPont, led by Father (and professor of organic chemistry) Julius Nieuwland of Notre Dame, developed neoprene, an elastic substance derived from divinyl acetylene and sulfur dichloride. Both neoprene and Thiokol are resistant to oil, unlike natural rubber.

Neoprene goes into full commercial production in 1934 after the Dayton Rubber manufacturing Co., in Dayton, OH, successfully tests neoprene tires.

In Germany, Hitler spurs German industry to produce a synthetic rubber that will help Germany attain self-sufficiency. From this effort, oil-resistant Buna rubber is developed in the mid-1930s.

An explosion at DuPont's neoprene factory halts all neoprene production. Thiokol is found to be an unworkable alternative for tires. U.S. tire manufacturers begin using German Buna rubber.

Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, working with the German firm of I.G. Farben, reformulates Buna rubber into Butyl rubber, which holds air 13 times better than natural rubber, and resists aging, weathering, chemicals, moisture, and tearing.

In 1940, Franklin Roosevelt, calling rubber a "strategic and critical material," creates the Rubber Reserve Company (RRC), to stockpile natural rubber and regulate synthetic rubber production. Firestone, B.P. Goodrich, Goodyear, and U.S. Rubber agree to work together to solve the nation's wartime rubber needs.

As Japan moves to conquer Southeast Asia, 90% of the world's natural rubber suddenly becomes unavailable to the United States.

During the war, Americans are encouraged by the government to conserve rubber, contribute to scrap rubber drives, and abide by rationing regulations for tires, shoes, and other rubber products.

In 1940, only .4% of the rubber used by American companies was synthetic. Production of one type of synthetic rubber increased in the U.S. during the war from 3,721 tons in 1942 to 756,042 tons by 1945. By 1950, the use of synthetic rubber outpaced natural rubber. Today more than 70% of rubber production utilizes synthetic rubber.

Download a printable version of this At A Glance Back to WWII at a Glance

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The National WWII Museum | New Orleans: Learn: For Students: WWII at a Glance: Rubber in WWII

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During WWII, Japan conquered Southeast Asia and nearly all rubber was unavailable in the United States.

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The world's largest rubber band ball #history #science #interestingfacts

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The Birth of Synthetic Rubber: A WWII Story

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The Accidental Invention of Vulcanized Rubber: A Bouncing Breakthrough!

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The Discovery of Rubber #shorts #trending #viral

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Interesting Fact About Trees | How Is Rubber Made

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Harvey Potter's Ballon Farm Book Read Aloud

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Rationing for the War Effort

Ask anyone who remembers life on the Home Front during World War II about their strongest memories and chances are they will tell you about rationing. You see, the war caused shortages of all sorts of things: rubber, metal, clothing, etc. But it was the shortages of various types of food that affected just about everyone on a daily basis.

Food was in short supply for a variety of reasons: much of the processed and canned foods was reserved for shipping overseas to our military and our Allies; transportation of fresh foods was limited due to gasoline and tire rationing and the priority of transporting soldiers and war supplies instead of food; imported foods, like coffee and sugar, was limited due to restrictions on importing.

Because of these shortages, the US government's Office of Price Administration established a system of rationing that would more fairly distribute foods that were in short supply. Every American was issued a series of ration books during the war. The ration books contained removable stamps good for certain rationed items, like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. A person could not buy a rationed item without also giving the grocer the right ration stamp. Once a person's ration stamps were used up for a month, she couldn't buy any more of that type of food. This meant planning meals carefully, being creative with menus, and not wasting food. More than 8,000 ration boards across the country administered the program.

Let's take a closer look at some WWII Ration Books. You'll notice that they change slightly throughout the war. The first two images explain how ration books were to be used. It could get a bit complicated. As a matter of fact, when a Gallup Poll on March 5, 1943, asked Americans, Do you understand how the food point rationing system works?, only 53% of men answered "Yes"; 76% of women answered "Yes" (why do you think that was?).

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Ration Books | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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Ask anyone who remembers life on the Home Front during World War II about their strongest memories and chances are they will tell you about rationing. You see, the war caused shortages of all sorts of things: rubber, metal, clothing, etc.