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After a week off, our after school science program returns with more hands-on science fun! This week, our young scientists were geologists. We made observations about our rock specimens and learned how to identify the type of rock it was. We'll be using what we learned this week and applying it to next week's exploration. This week, our vocabulary words were: GEOLOGY IGNEOUS (lava rock) METAMORPHIC (morphing) SEDIMENTARY (sediments) Below is what some of the rocks in Ms. Carmen's collection look like under the digital microscope: 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. It's the moment our young scientists have been waiting for! Our first Black Swallowtail butterfly has emerged! Found throughout most of eastern North America, and highly attracted to the Lab garden, Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail) is the state butterfly of Oklahoma and New Jersey. It's been about two weeks since we noticed the first chrysalis in the front garden planter, and this morning we were pleasantly surprised to find that the first butterfly had emerged.
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