Happy Leap Year Day!! This year, February has 29 days, making it a leap year. But why??

Normally, the month of February has 28 days. Every four years, however, we add an extra day to the calendar, which is today. To better understand this answer, we need some background information about our calendar.

The calendar we use is actually pretty ancient. It was designed to document the Earth's annual trip around the sun through the changing seasons. Over the course of approximately 365 days, the Earth makes one full trip around the sun. The calendar we use today reflects that and is based on observations made by scientists going back to the 11th century in Persia.

Ancient astronomers quickly realized that the Earth doesn't take exactly 365 days to make a full trip around the sun. If one wanted to be more precise, there's an extra six hours to make it official. But what do you do with six hours over a long period of time? Scientists applied math to this problem and came up with the leap year. This is why, every four years, when twenty-fours hours have accumulated, we add an extra day in the month of February.

When you look at a leaf, what do you see? 

Here at the Kiddie Science Lab, and in our partner schools, we've dived into a hands-on exploration of leaves, trees, and plants. Our goal is to guide young scientists into looking at the trees and plants in their community differently. We want them to appreciate how amazing plants/trees are, and to look at them with scientific eyes. To reach this goal, we have spent the last six weeks exploring the anatomy of leaves, observing pine cones from near and far, learning basic leaf/tree identification, and providing direct care to plants.

With autumn upon us, it's a perfect time for leaf exploration! Some ideas you can try with your young scientist:

Collect Leaves
Go on a nature walk and collect leaves! Back at home, categorize them according to color, shape, size, ect. This simple activity helps young scientists compare and contrast observable features of leaves. Older scientists may wish to learn more about the trees in their community by learning how to identify the leaves collected. Common NYC trees include oak, maple, gingko, and ash. You can learn more about the trees in your neighborhood through the NYC Street Tree Map.

Leaf Rubbings
Combine science and art with a simple leaf rubbing. A leaf rubbing allows you to still explore leaf anatomy while not having to keep the leaves around for very long. We suggest finding a dry leaf that is fully intact and using regular copy paper (card stock paper is too thick). For younger scientists, the paper can be folded in half and the leaf placed inside. If you have a clipboard, you can clip the leaf's petiole with the paper on top. We recommend placing the leaf 'face down' so the rubbing is done from the underside of the leaf.

Leaves in the Supermarket
Once you start learning about leaves, you seem to find them everywhere! At the supermarket, take a close look at what foods are leaves. Here's a clue: it's much more than lettuce! See how many leaf products you can find.


Below is a snapshot of some of what we've been up to at the Lab-

Our planet is amazing and alive! As we transition from summer to fall,  we made observations about our changing planet.

As the Earth spins and rotates around the sun, the days become shorter or longer, depending on the planet's tilt. When the North Pole tilts toward the Sun, it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Alternately, when the South Pole tilts toward the Sun, it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This axial tilt of Earth is the cause of seasons. As we move from summer to fall, one observable (and measurable) change is the decrease in daylight hours. The days are getting shorter!

Here in Brooklyn, on July 1st, the sun rose at 5:28am and set at 8:30pm, giving us roughly 15 hours of daylight time. Six weeks later, on August 12th, the sun rose at 6:03am and set at 7:57pm, giving us thirteen hours and fifty-four minutes of daytime time. At the time this post was written, 8/25, the sun rose at 6:15am and set at 7:39pm, roughly thirteen hours and twenty minutes of daylight time. And the days get even shorter!

September 3rd
Sunrise: 6:24am  Sunset: 7:25pm
13 hours of daylight time


September 25th
Sunrise: 6:46am  Sunset: 6:48pm
12 hours of daylight time


October 18th
Sunrise: 7:09am  Sunset: 6:11pm
11 hours of daylight time


October 31st
Sunrise: 7:24am  Sunset: 5:53pm
10.5 hours of daylight time

By early November, we'll be changing our clocks back to account for the diminished daylight hours as winter approaches.

After several very hot days, we got way too much rain before settling into a comfortable stretch leading up to another warm-up. Our garden plants have required a lot of love and attention, which our young scientists gladly provided. Their dedicated care has paid off in the form of a delicious harvest. Although very few tomatoes have been ready, we've enjoyed munching on freshly picked cucumbers during our workshops. Scientists of all ages have given the Lab cucumbers the thumbs up! We've also harvested Lab herbs to use in plant sprays against flying and crawling garden insects. As of 7/22/19, we have harvested a little over 8 pounds of cucumbers and almost 3 pounds of tomatoes. Kid-grown food, right here in Brooklyn.

We've also harvested several thousand dill seeds, and a few hundred green pepper seeds to be used in next year's garden.