Colorful Atoms

Professor Joy taught about atoms and molecules today.

First we made an atom model out of Play Doh, then she had us pretend to be water molecules in the living room.  When we were at "room temperature," we casually walked around the room.  Then our water started boiling, and we ran around the room like crazy, some of us even leaving the room as "steam."  Finally, our water cooled down until it froze, and we all solidified into a group hug.  It was fun.  I kind of wish I had taken pictures, but I was too busy staying in character.

To demonstrate heat's effect on actual water atoms, we simultaneously dropped red food coloring into hot water and blue food coloring into cold water.

Since the hot water molecules moved faster, they spread the food coloring around much more quickly.  It was an interesting demonstration, and the kids thought the little swirls of blue in the cold water were really beautiful.