Hot in Herre!

(Insert Nelly's 2003 hit "Hot in Herre" to get you in the summer spirit).  Or if you're anywhere down south like me, it's so hot already, you don't need theme music to tell you what season it is!

Appropriately, both of my latest creations have to do with the sun, color, and heat absorption, as per my good friend Leslie's request!  Leslie, I hope this is something that suits your needs!  Please let me know if I need to make any changes or if you have trouble retrieving any of this!

Both experiments are very similar, with just a few differences so let me explain:

#1: Flava-Licious Science- Buy a box of Pop-Ice Popsicles and freeze them.  Show the class the different colors, and answer the "Before Experiment" questions (either together or independently, as desired).  One color at a time, set each color out under the sun on a white paper plate.  Use a stopwatch to time how long it takes each color to melt and record results on the bar graph.  Then answer the "After Experiment" questions.  Eat excess popsicles to celebrate the hard work :)

#2: "It's Gettin' Hot in Here"- Copy THIS cube net onto the different colored paper (as designated on the graph page).  Make each colored paper into a box.  As a class, find the outside temperature and record on the answer sheet.  Then, place a small thermometer in each box (if you don't have them in your classroom already, I think they're pretty cheap at the pet store- the small kind with the adhesive on the back for fish tanks).  Set the timer for ten minutes.  After the time is up, check each of the thermometers and record the temperature on the graph.  Answer the "After Experiment" questions together or independently and discuss results!