Eggsperiments!

Last night, at 7:30 p.m., I remembered the girls "optional" science project was due this morning. I hadn't planned on doing anything this year because there was just no time, but that decision didn't come easy. There is something about letting a project opportunity go by without participating that just twists me all up inside. I don't know what it is...guilt? No, these aren't mandatory projects. Is it the fact that I am still a teacher at heart and can't deny my children of those classic "teaching moments"? Perhaps. Could it be the over-achiever inside of me? That I can see. Or is it just the plain old joy of watching my children be recognized and validated for their achievements? That might usually be the case, but not necessarily with the science fair. Only the 5th and 6th graders' projects are judged. They are the only ones eligible to move on to district level. All the other entries from the other grades/families get recognized with a certificate and a bag of "goodies" for each participant. That's it! The prize full of Oriental Trading Company trinkets and candy. Wow! Am I easy to please, or what? What? The bags aren't for me? I don't get one? Only the students? But I did all the work...the research, the writing, the typing, the cutting, the organization, the pasting. Ya, the girls helped with the actual experiment part...the fun part. Oh yes, they also documented all their findings on the tables/charts. And they sat by my side and listened and interacted as we did our research, read background information, talked about cool science facts, formulated questions, and came up with hypothesis. They were genuinely interested in our topic and, though it was rushed, agreed to "experiment" with me.

We studied eggs. The main question/title of our project was..."How does a chick breathe inside its shell?" Fascinated little minds wanted to know. So, we did research (I already knew the general answer). We talked about the "anatomy" of a chicken egg: the shell, the yolk, the albumin (egg whites), the inner and outer membranes, and the air cell. We found that a chicken's eggshell has over 7,000 tiny pores all over and that in the little air cell, oxygen collects and carbon dioxide goes out. We wanted to know if substances (good air/bad air) pass through the porous shell, in and out. To determine this, we numbered and weighed several raw eggs before boiling and weighed them again after they were hard-boiled. We noticed hundreds of tiny air bubbles forming on each shell while they were cooking, as well as, streams of bubbles coming from the egg and escaping to the surface. Not of the eggs were cracked. After weighing them again, we discovered that most of the eggs were heavier after they were cooked. We discussed why. We know water is heavier than air. Could it be because water got into them displacing the air inside? How did the water go in and the air come out? Did it happen through the pores/the tiny openings in the shell? Did air escape through the bubbles? Wow! How fun was that! After the girls recorded all of their findings on the data table, it was past their bedtime, so off to bed they went and I got typing. I typed, and typed, and typed. Edited, printed, cropped, and organized all the parts for the display board. I didn't ever pick up a board in the office, so I had Darin create a "make-shift" (smaller) one out of mat board. It turned out great. I went to bed just before 3 a.m.

This morning, the girls woke up and were so excited to see the finished product. We read through it all and discussed it some more before breakfast. What was for breakfast, you ask? Hard-boiled eggs. Each of the girls cracked their eggshells with care (having a little history behind it). It was so cute when the Brooklyn said, "Mom, I found the air cell! ... and now I'm peeling off the thin membrane!" Makenna was excited to discover the "air pocket" in her egg, too. I don't think they will ever see an egg the same way. And I won't either. We learned a lot. And, I realized this morning that this is why I do it. Nothing can replace those "a-ha" moments that I can SHARE with my kids. I miss being a part of that with my students in my kindergarten classroom. But now, even better, I get to be a part of it with my own little ones. I am excited to go this afternoon to the school to attend the science fair with Brooklyn and Makenna, to not only validate them for their small efforts, but to also celebrate our shared accomplishment and learn even more together as we view other science displays. (Maybe, one of them will share a piece of prize-candy with me.)

Below are photos that I took last night of our finished project.


P.S. For all you other inquiring minds...I learned in our research that a baby bird uses the oxygen that passes through the pores and membranes during the whole growing process. It only uses the oxygen from the air cell just before it hatches. As the baby bird grows, it gets too big for the oxygen to circulate, so it's head/beak (which ALWAYS forms facing the air cell) punctures the inner membrane to get to the oxygen in the air cell. He then has six hours of air to breath. After that, it is up to the bird to find more air or it will die. It inherently knows to poke a hole through the shell, to allow oxygen to enter more quickly and to give it the energy it needs to finish hatching. Add that to your, "GEE WIZ" collection.