[jluetjen]

My eldest daughter just did her 3rd grade science fair project. Last year she and a friend measured the thermal conductivity of different house-hold materials by measuring how much mass an ice-cube lost via melting after sitting for 1 minute on each substance. They used such things as a ceramic bowl, a glass bowl, ( all with little conductivity), an aluminum pizza pan (lots of conductivity) and a steel pot (some, but less then the aluminum). They were selected from their grade and school to present at the town's science fair. My assistance was to let them use my parts scale, showing them how to use it and helping them to follow something resembling "scientific process". They had already learned something about that in class, but it was still a new idea for them.

This year they tried to see how well eggs floated in different liquids. Things like olive oil, water, milk and (at my wife's and my suggestion) salt water. In each case they measured the weight of the liquid, how far the level of the liquid increased when the egg (and salt) was put in, and if the egg floated or not. Being their second time around, they were much more familiar with the process.