Camp Fire afterschool camp features science projects

Camp Fire Kids have been working on science projects this week at After School Camp. Students created Oobleck (Quicksand Goo) in which a cornstarch and water mixture acts like a solid sometimes and a liquid at other times. This concoction is an example of a suspension - a mixture of two substances, one of which is finely divided and dispersed in the other. In the case of the cornstarch quicksand, it's a solid dispersed in a liquid.

The second experiment was creating a bouncy ball using, glue, water, borax and cornstarch. The bouncing ball in this activity is made from a polymer. Polymers are molecules made up of repeating chemical units. Glue contains the polymer polyvinyl acetate (PVA), which cross-links to itself when reacted with borax.

“Kids are learning and experimenting at Camp Fire Walla Walla,” said Peggy Needham, Camp Fire communications coordinator.