Summer "Bucket" List: Make Cloud Parfaits

Make whipped cream clouds floating on a berry blue Jello sky.

2 packages of Berry Blue Jello
2 cups of ice

2 pints of whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
1 tea. lemon juice
2 teas. vanilla extract
parfait glasses or any clear containers that you can see through

Make your whipped cream as per the instructions here, but continue whipping it until it forms super stiff peaks. You want to make sure that it is good and stiff so that if will hold it’s shape later in the jello. Keep chilled in fridge until needed.
Now it’s time to get your jello ready. Using both boxes of Jello, follow the directions on the back for Quick Set jello, doubling the amounts, of course. Stir the ice around in the bowl for about 5 minutes until the jello has thickened and remove any left over ice that didn’t melt. It should be jelled enough to scoop out on a spoon.
Start by placing a few spoonfuls of jello in the bottom of your parfait glass, then take your whipped cream from the fridge and drop in a spoonful or two and press it against the side of the glass. This is going to form your cloud in the sky.

Continue layering the jello and whipped cream, alternating where you place your clouds so that you get a staggered effect.

This idea comes from Huber Hof Academy, but the link no longer works, so I can't include one.

Originally posted Aug 3, 2011

Cloud Formation: Make Your Own Cloud! demonstration

One very fun and unexpected event happened while we were doing our What Combustion Needs demonstration and I thought that it merited a post of its own. To review what we did in the demonstrations, for the first one, we just lit a candle and then put the glass upside down over the candle so that it covers the candle completely.

As expected, the candle went out and we noticed that water vapor condensed on the inside of the glass. I expected this, but didn't make too much of it at the time as I planned to go over this when we next talked about the products of combustion.

Then we did the second demonstration in which we put the cup of vinegar into the bowl.

We then placed the candle in the candleholder into the bowl and lit the candle.

Next, we slowly sprinkled baking soda into the vinegar, all around the candle so that the bubbles surrounded the candleholder.

As we expected, the air that was in the bowl was pushed out by the carbon dioxide, and since combustion needs the oxygen in the air, the flame went out.

Lastly, we tried relighting the candle but when we moved the match towards the candle, the match went out. Even though the foaming of the vinegar and baking soda had stopped, the carbon dioxide stayed in the bowl for quite a while and continued to extinguish matches.

It took about five minutes before we were able to relight the candle.

 But, here is where the unexpected thing happened, which on retrospect, I feel I should have anticipated. Between when the first attempt to re-light the candle and the time in which the candle actually was able to re-light, I had let the boys try lighting the candle as many times as they wanted to, which for my boys was about once every five seconds (no, I am not exaggerating). It was pretty quick into this process that suddenly dense water vapors, or a cloud began to form.

  No, that isn't just smoke from the matches, although there is a little of it in the clouds because in order for clouds to form, there has to be particles in the air. Cloud formation is caused when water vapor, air pressure and something for the water droplets to condense on come together.

 The water vapor was around because it was a bi-product of the combustion from the candle and the matches. The smoke from the matches created a medium for the water droplets to condense and lastly, the change in air pressure was caused by the variance in the relative densities of the carbon dioxide from the vinegar-baking soda reaction with that of the ambient air.

 According to Wikipedia, at standard temperature and pressure, the density of carbon dioxide is around 1.98 kg/m3, about 1.67 times that of air, which is also why the carbon dioxide hung so low in the bowl for so long. A drop in air pressure was the third factor that was needed for the clouds to form.

Cloud in a Bottle demonstration

We have seen this sort of combination occur before when we did the Cloud in a Bottle demonstration, but this Combustion demonstration outdid the Cloud in a Bottle by far, with it's long lasting and dramatic clouds. Since I have not heard of anyone doing a cloud demonstration in this way, I am not sure whether there were other factors that came into play (such as the pressure of the air on that day, or the amount of moisture that was in the air that day) or whether this is a pretty reliable way of students observing cloud formation. 
I would be thrilled to hear if any of you try this demonstration what your results were.

Similar Posts:

• What Combustion Needs
• Cloud in a Bottle

Make Your Own 3-D Cloud Chart

 

  In 1803 a British pharmacist named Luke Howard devised a system for classifying clouds into three main forms or types: cirrus from the Latin word for a lock or wisp of hair; cumulus, meaning a pile or heap and stratus, from the Latin for layered or spread out. Later scientists added alto, meaning high and nimbus, Latin for dark rain cloud, to create a classification system of ten major cloud formations that is still in use today.

Be aware that if you paint the foam board, it will bow some as the paint dries. Another option, of course, is to buy colored foam board. We decided to paint ours because we already had white foam board. We dappled it for a sky look.

We decided to make a cloud chart using a foam board, some paint and cotton balls glued to the board. 

First we painted the foam board blue for the sky.
Then we divided the board into four columns across and three rows down.

We labeled the columns: Cirrus (wispy), Cumulus (puffy), Nimbus (shapeless) and Stratus ( layer, or "blanket"), for the basic cloud shapes.

We labeled the rows: Cirro ("wispy", icy, over 20,000 feet) , Alto ("higher" than usual, between 6-20,000 feet) and Strato low "layer", below 6,000 feet), for the altitudes of the clouds.

Now, we needed to add the clouds made from cotton balls and to shape them as closely as we could to the clouds for each block in the grid. Even though the name could be figured out by the chart, we labeled each cloud type to make it easy.

Some of the clouds include some dark rain clouds, so we added that with some  dabs of watered down paint. Some of the clouds are gray at the bottom and white at the top.

We attached a string for hanging, and now we have a cloud chart to display and use.

sources and inspiration:

• World War II Days; Discover the Past with Exciting Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes (American Kids in History Series), David C. King

Changes in England 1700-1850: The Industrial and Farming Revolutions, Plus a System for Classifying Cloud Types was Invented

We have been learning about the changes in England brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Using the instructions found here, (I first saw it at Journey Into Unschooling), we laid out two large sheets of paper (15 x 20 inches each)  and built towns in England as they progressed from 100 to 1850. I gave the older students the task of building a town of their own design, knowing in advance how many buildings they would need to build and of what type. The younger students, on the other hand, were given instructions on what to add according to the growth patterns of how the towns actually grew.

1700
This is a rural village. Three out of every four Englishmen lived in small villages like this one and were poor farmers. Home life and work life was closely integrated as most work was done in nearby fields, in the home or adjoining workshop. Villages were connected by a system of dirt roads Firewood and coal were the primary fuel. Nearly every English village had a coal mining operation.

1745
A couple of enterprising young capitalists, James and Quentin, decided to invest money in the construction of a canal. This reduced the cost of transportation -coal could now be transported from the mines to towns for half the price of horse and wagon transportation. Making a tidy profit, James and Quentin were able to buy nice homes.


1750
There is a population explosion due to the fact that the Bubonic Plague which for centuries has wiped out the villages, has been virtually eliminated.

1760
The people of the village need more food and goods to meet the needs on the new inhabitants.

Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
Jethro Tull's seed drill and the horse drawn cultivator has brought about a revolution in agricultural methods. Farmers can get more from their land by crop rotation, fertilizing and new livestock breeding techniques.
A area called the commons is reserved.

1773
Richard Arkwright invents a new machine, called the Water Frame, that can spin and weave cloth a hundred times faster than it could be done by hand. It is called a Water Frame because it is powered by water and therefore was built by the river.

1774
Workers are needed to work in this new factory, and people move to the village who are in need of jobs.

1780
Due to the success of the factory, more new factories are built, and the unemployed workers from surrounding areas flood into town looking for work. Housing is in such demand that a new kind of housing, called the Tenements, in which a dozens of families live under one roof, are built.

1781
The increase in population creates a need for places for people to eat, shop, drink and worship. Stores, pubs, churches and schools are built.

1782
Working from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm only makes people want to go by the pub after work for relaxation. Alcohol begins to be consumed throughout England in record amounts.


1783
The income between the workers and the factory owners widens. The nouveau riche factory owners begin to enjoy the comforts that only the aristocratic class of England had enjoyed previously. A management position now comes into being as the factory owners want to be more removed from the actual management of the factories and can afford to hire people to manage the factories. Trees are being removed to give enough space for houses for this new middle class.

1785
James Watt invents the steam engine and this replaces the Water Frame because it is more efficient. It allows the factory to be built away from the river as well. The factories emit smoke, however.

1800
Henry Cort invents the "puddling process," which makes coal the primary fuel in the new iron industry. A new iron bridge replaces the old wooden one.

1815
The demand for coal creates the need for more coal mines. Children between the ages of 8-14 work in the mines. Casualty rates go up and more hospitals are needed.

1820
The existing canals and dirt roads cannot accommodate the heavy traffic. The Steam Engine proves to be quite useful. The town builds a railroad that connects the coal mines and the factories.

Usborne Encyclopedia of World History

1827
This draws more people to the town. The factories hired women and children who accept lower wages. The men become depressed, angry and ashamed and begin to turn to crime and staying at the pub. Alcoholism reaches epidemic proportions.

Usborne Encyclopedia of World History

1840
Factory accidents are frequent. The potato famine in Ireland drives the Irish to England, who are hired to build more railroads. The middle class, which emerged from the management positions, begin to want a cultural life and begins to frequent museums, theater, the opera, restaurants and concerts. They also send their children to private schools.

1850
Pollution from the factories is finally taking its toll on the town. Everything is covered with a layer of soot. The river is now unfit for drinking, washing or laundry. Disease becomes rampant. This is the completed map of their town in England, 1850.

Meanwhile the older students have drawn their map, having the benefit of the ability to plan their town as they wished, came up with this plan. We noted that they separated their housing into different classes, with all the poor housing together and all the rich separated into their own neighborhood. We also noted that their housing was very close together, much like the townhouse subdivisions of today.

We put both maps, side by side so that we could compare them. For our time spent (a couple of hours), the boys learned more about the effects of the Industrial Revolution in a way I believe that they will never forget.

We also learned that in 1803 a British pharmacist named Luke Howard devised a system for classifying clouds into three main forms or types: cirrus from the Latin word for a lock or wisp of hair; cumulus, meaning a pile or heap and stratus, from the Latin for layered or spread out. Later scientists added alto, meaning high and nimbus, Latin for dark rain cloud, to create a classification system of ten major cloud formations that is still in use today. Click here to make your own Cloud Chart based on his system.