Mythology and folklore are used to explain many natural geographical featuresand/or events of nature.
Create a time-travel story, play, or dance, which reveals the "ancient" belief about a natural phenomenon, along with the related scientific theory or principle.
Some ideas for natural events include lightning, solar and lunar eclipses, and rainbows.
Make a miniature earth and its magnetic field by covering a bar magnet with some modeling clay, and then forming the clay into a sphere.
Keeping the magnet upright, place the clay-earth model on a table.
Cut a strip of cardboard to represent the equator, wrap it around the model, and tape the ends.
Sprinkle iron powder or filings on the model.
At what point do the lines build up?
Is there a pattern?
How do you think the filings would continue toward the southern pole?
Invite your friends to a "northern lights" party.
Give each person a pack of wintergreen-flavored round candies.
(Do not use the sugar-free kind.
) Go into a very dark room or outside at night.
Ask each person to bite down on two or three pieces of candy.
(Keep your mouth open as much as possible during this experiment.
) Does the candy appear to sparkle and glitter as you bite down on it?
Stress in sugar crystals is creating an electric field!
These fields are taking outer electrons from molecules, recombining them with electrons, and giving off light.
What colors can you see?
Does having braces on your teeth make a difference in the result?
The solar wind is always blowing.
Solar storms that make sun spots also give the solar wind more energy.
A stronger solar wind shifts the auroras from the Arctic to positions at lower latitudes, such as where most people in the United States live.
Watch for possible auroras where you live.
Do a library search of old newspapers to see if the aurora has ever been visible in your town.
When?
How often?