Grandson Asher called one evening to ask a science
question. He wanted to know what holds up column of water in a glass of water inverted
in a basin of water?
I knew the answer would be less than
satisfying to Asher. He’s 10 years old and doesn’t know the kinetic theory of
gases that ‘explains’ what supports the column of water in the glass. To tell
him that one atmosphere of pressure equal to 14 pounds per square inch is
pressing on him and the surface of the water in the basin would probably
confuse him because he can’t ‘feel’ this pressure. To him, such an explanation would sound like a
‘ghost story’ because I’m asking him to believe in something that he can’t see.
I’ve written two posts about the ‘ghosts’ kids are asked to believe in when studying science. Here are the links.
I changed the subject and told Asher about the hummingbird feeder I
recently purchased at Target (Perky-Pet Copper Glass Tube Hummingbird Feeder – $14)
that uses the inverted-glass-in-a-fluid principle.
The
feeder is constructed from quality materials and will last as long as I don’t
break the glass nectar tube. The feeder comes with a package of nectar (sugar
water) packed inside the glass tube (see picture)
You
do not need to buy the red-colored hummingbird nectar (sugar water) as it’s an
unnecessary expense. Besides, the kids will enjoy making the sugar water for the
bird to drink. Here’s the recipe for
enough sugar water to fill the glass tube in the feeder.
Recipe
1 ½ cups water
½ cup sugar
Stir the sugar into the water and heat until it begins to boil. Let cool.
Do not add red food coloring as the red dye is harmful to the birds.
We hung
the feeder on the patio and within a day or two we were thrilled to see a
hummingbird drinking at the feeder.
For
several days we were convinced that the same bird was visiting the feeder. The
bird would never sit on the circular perch that surrounds the feeding stations.
It would hover about six inches from the feeder, dart in for a quick drink,
hover, dart in, hover, dart in, until it had its fill. Until one day we observed a
hummingbird perched at a drinking station drinking its fill. We knew at least two birds were visiting the feeder.
We thought we could use coloration to identify specific birds but so far there isn’t enough variation in color to distinguish between the birds.
Hummingbirds
are not very social. As we observed the two birds, the hovering bird and the
perching bird, we saw that they would not drink together. They would fuss over which one was going to drink.
Once you and the kids begin to routinely observe hummingbirds drinking at
the feeder, it’s natural to want to learn about the habits and behaviors of the birds.
A knowledgeable and trustworthy place
to start is the Smithsonian National Zoo web site. Here’s the link.
I learned
on this web site that hummingbirds migrate. I was wondering how the birds would feed naturally during
the winter months. Now, I will look for their departure and note the date we begin to notice their absence,
Observation
is perhaps the least practiced of the science
process skills. Encourage kids to regularly observe the feeder and to keep a Log
of their observations. They could record the Date, Time, Weather, and an Observation.
The
Observation could include,
coloration, size, and behavior such as the bird's ability to fly backwards.
They could
run a strip of masking tape along the long axis of the glass tube, calibrate
the glass tube in milliliters, and track the amount of sugar water the birds
drink over a day, a week, a month.
We have had much more than $14 worth of pleasure watching the hummingbirds. You can even sit in a chair within a few feet of the feeder and the birds will drink as long as you remain still.
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