This page is the central resource for all Concordia Students interested in helping with the Science Academy Program. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to contact Dr Wyllie

We are always interested in new activities for the Science Academy, new demos or experiments so if you have seen a cool demo you think we might be interested in let us know.

Want to write for the Science Academy website?
We are looking for students to write up descriptions of kits for either Concordia Students or our elementary attendees, cool articles about Science for the students or anything else you think would fit on the website. If so, contact Dr Wyllie and if we like the article, we will add it to the webpage.

Click Here to return to the main Science Academy page

Volunteering information:

 Links to the lists of Chemistry, Biology and Physics kits are given below. You do not have to work with the same kit in previous years so feel free to change if you wish.  Several of the kits are set aside for the Science Education majors, only sign up for these kits if you are part of this team.

Kits will be filled on a first come first served basis, you should specify on the sign-up forms your first, second and third choices. Kits marked FULL require no additional volunteers. Numbers in parentheses are how many students each kit will accommodate. If you sign up for the wrong kit or cannot do the Academy, contact Dr Wyllie as early as possible. (wyllie@cord.edu) I will update the kits regularly so do not worry if the kits do not immediately add your name...

We will be running two waves of buses leaving Concordia at ~ 1.45 pm and 2:35 pm and should be returning by 5:30 pm at the latest. A list of all demonstration kits is given and to sign up, simply fill in the form below. By signing up, you are not necessarily committing yourself to having to man that station throughout the event and should we have sufficient volunteers, we encourage our students to move around periodically. In addition to the stations listed, we are looking for a few volunteers to be part of a floating team, circulating between the various stations throughout the event.

If you are interested in helping but do not wish to sign-up for a specific kit, sign up as part of Team Science Academy. You will be assigned as either part of the roving team who help support each station or to specific kits as necessary.

List of Biology Kits

List of Chemistry Kits

List of Math Kits

List of Physics Kits

List of Psychology Kits

Kit 000 - Team Science Academy [Andrew Christianson, Liz Blair, ]
Be part of the glue that holds science academy together, circulating between the stations and ensuring supplies at the stations are maintained, helping with safety and in general keeping the whole thing running.

List of Biology Demonstration kits: (Samantha Krause, Rachel Vosberg)

1.  Kit B1 - Pigs! [Elliot Gielen]
Students will explore the inner workings of a preserved fetal pig, get to know different organs and systems, and learn how remarkably similar they are to their own bodies.
Items: 2-3 fetal pigs, x-small nitrile gloves, dissecting trays, string, scissors, dissecting tools, garbage bag.

Kit B2 - Nervous System! (3-4 students) [Steph Siewert, Hannah Bailey]
Students will construct a neuron made from marshmallows and licorice as well as learn the main parts and functions of a neuron. Students will also explore brain, spinal cord, eye and ear models, and try their hand (or brain) at various visual perception puzzles.
Items: brain, spinal cord, eye, ear models; Twizzler licorice, rope licorice, large marshmallows, paper plates, Ziplock bags; perception puzzle handouts.

Kit B3 - Hearts! [WE HAVE HEARTS!!!]
Students will explore a real deer heart hands-on and compare to human heart models. Students will also take home a coloring sheet showing the blood flow through the heart.
Items: deer heart, ice buckets, ice, heart models, human torso, x-small nitrile gloves, heart coloring sheets.

Kit B4 – Cells! (3-4 students) []
Students will observe various cells under the microscope and make their own wet mounts of onion, Elodea, cheek cells and/or pond water critters to view under the compound light microscope. They will visual 3-D blow-up models of plant and animal cells, learn about how cells can be used in the lab (Discover video).
Items: Two dissecting scopes, blow up cell models, chart of plant and animal cell, Discovery Kids’ Video, two light microscopes, extension cord, power strip, slides, coverslips, droppers, forceps, water, Elodea, onion, toothpicks, methylene blue, insects, flowers or other objects for dissecting scope, two trays, garbage bag or box.

Kit B5 - Meet the animals! (4-5 students or faculty) [Emily Hutchins, ]
Students will view, touch and learn about various insects, arthropods, small mammals and/or reptiles by interacting with some of our live critters. Concordia students must have had prior training with the animals to work this station.
Items: large cart, select critters, hide boxes, blankets, transportation tubs, (scrapbook or pictures of the animals).

Kit B6 – Find a Fossil! (3-4 students) []
Students will sift for fossils in dirt and ore matrix to uncover seven to 20 million-year-old shark’s teeth, dugong bones, assorted mammal teeth, gastropods, mammal bones, and more. They will get background information and student ID sheets to log their findings and try to identify bones!.
Items: 3 large bins with sand/ore matrix, fossils, pictures of dinosaurs found on digs, dinosaur poster, digging tools and sifters, student ID sheets, Polaroid images of fossils (for students to keep).

Kit B7 – I’m a Doctor! [Emily Lane]
Students will assemble a floor puzzle of the human skeleton, learn the parts of the body by assembling a life-sized human torso, and learn the names and shapes of different bones in their bodies. There will be hands on activities to demonstrate blood pressure and heart beats, examine X-rays, etc. Items: Life-sized hanging articulated skeleton, disarticulated skeletons, eye charts, floor skeleton puzzle, large black sheet, skeleton coloring pages, skeleton poster with bones identified, light box, X-rays, teaching stethoscopes, teaching sphygmomanometers, student lab coats.

List of Chemistry Demonstration kits:

Note: Several new kits are added at the end. Not all kits will end up being demonstrated but all are listed for completeness. If you have any questions or wish further details, talk to Dr Wyllie

Kit 001 - Event Photographer []
Just need one person to wander the event taking photos of each of the stations

Kit C1 - Slime (as many students as possible) [Samantha Kraft, Dana Schroeder, Danielle Jondal, Emily Donovan, Nick Olson, Peter Bergquist JD Laskey, Steven Dotzler]
Without a doubt, our most popular station, a simple polymerization reaction between borax and glue filling bag after bag after bag with brightly colored slime, messy and fun. Wear older clothing recommended though it does wash out

Kit C2 - Fingerprints (3 students) [Michelle Hiebert]
Have the kids smear their greasy little paws on a suitable surface and then lift the fingerprint and transfer to a card - wear old clothes!

Kit C3: Ooblek - a non-Newtonian fluid (2 students) [Molly Ostroot, Karlee Mccoy]
Is it a liquid or a solid, corn-starch and water makes ooblek, a thick and messy fluid that acts as a solid when struck rapidly. Look at the effects of striking the mass - this is messy so if you are doing this station, dress in old clothing.

Kit C4 - Soapy Bubbles (1-2 student) [Allie Klug, Jim Allen, Erick Fraudienst, Jason Hsieh, Nicole Lindor]
Propane bubbled through a solution of soap and water can be ignited to make it look as if the very water is on fire.(now with added clouds of flame)

Kit C5 - Chromatography(2 students) [Molly Haugen, Andrea Uglem]
Coffee filters, sharpies and color spreading out across the paper - simple and fun

Kit C6- Van de Graaff (2-3 students) [Emily Lichte (of course)]
Student will learn about electrostatics using a Van de Graaff generator. They will participate in various experiments including hair raising + An electromagnet launches metal rings in the air

Kit C7 - Alka Seltzer Rockets (1-2 students) [Spencer Knutson, Mark Schlotterback]
A little water, half an Alka Seltzer tablet and the film can rocket launches skyward. A definite crowd favorite.

Kit C8 - Liquid Nitrogen (2-3 students) [Patrick Schmitz, Christian Halos, Emily Frosaker]
Freezing a variety of objects such as flowers, racquet balls and pennies yields them brittle and even more susceptible to the power of the hammer.

Kit C9 - The Silver Penny (2 students) [Kevin Luk, Jonah Pearson]
Electroplating a copper penny with a thin sheen of zinc makes it appear to turn silver, the same penny turns a golden color when heated in a flame.

Kit C10 - Building a Rainbow (2 students)[Katie Brendemuhl, Shannon Burton]
Layer different colored solutions to make a rainbow in a graduated cylinder - needs a steady hand. - now with neon colors

Kit C11 - Airzooka (1 students) [Marc Pritchard]
Knock over a stack of cans with the cannon using only the power of wind.

Kit C12- Whoosh Jug (1-2 student) [Erika Sutor, Max Otto]
A wee drop of methanol, a quick shake and a spark makes an awesome noise

Kit C13- Lava Lamps (2 students) [Megan Pignato, Laura Mathiason]
Oil, water and alka seltzer to make a home made lava lamp. Messy but fun.

Kit C14 - Wandering Demos (2 students) [ ]
These are a series of little kits that don't require a table i.e. poppers, suction pull cups etc. Idea is team walk around and entertain kids waiting in line etc, distract bored looking kids etc

Kit C15- Bed of Nails (2-3 students) [Teresa vernig, Mike Starke, ]
Demonstrate the principle of weight distribution using the bed of nails - will need 2 strong guys as part of team for moving it about

Chemistry kits will be available  the week before the event for practice, contact Dr Wyllie  if you need assistance with this. If there is a demonstration missing from the above list you would like to perform or a new demonstration you would like to suggest, contact Dr Wyllie to discuss this.

List of Mathematics Demonstration kits: (1 or two students each kit)

Team Math (kits to be assigned) []

Kit M1 - Möbius strips
Build Möbius strips from paper and discover that they only have one side.  Cut a Möbius strip and see what happens!  (Pre-cut strips of paper, tape, crayons, scissors)

Kit M2 - Tessellations
Discover which shapes tessellate the plane or other surfaces.  What if we use more than one shape?  (Shapes)

Kit M3 - Combinatorial Games
Try to make a loop around the Bridges of Konigsberg, using each bridge exactly once.  Be the last one to remove a stick in Nim.  (Maps, crayons, sticks)

Kit M4 - Cryptography
Decode short messages using simple math techniques.  (Encoded messages, writing utensils)

Kit M5 - Catenary Arches
Build a catenary arch from blocks and discover catenary properties.

Kit M6 - Bubble Math
Assemble 3-dimensional polyhedra and then submerge them in bubbles.  Explore minimizing surfaces, and create interesting bubble shapes.  (Bubble solution, Zometool bubble shape kit)

List of Physics  Demonstration kits:  []
(no numbers per station, most are 1-2 persons but rotating is encouraged, list your preferences and we will allocate soon) You can also sign up for Team Science Academy to help around the hall.

Kit P1: Momentum transfer []
Demonstrate the transfer momentum from a basketball to a ping-pong ball.

Kit P2: Bernoulli [Jordan Lutz, Courtney Backen, Katherine Wilson, Jesse Bonwald, Brian Kang ]
Suspend ping pong balls, beach balls and unroll toilet paper with a stream of air.

Kit P3: Angular Momentum []
Using the rotating platforms, spin the children to demonstrate angular momentum.

Kit P4: Hovercraft [Justin Rodeberg, ]
Run the homemade hovercraft, a Science Academy Favorite.

Kit P5: Motion detectors [Molly Lackmann, Olivia Decker, ]
Use the computer and motion detectors to have the children trace a path.

Kit P6: Rattlebacks, tops and gyros
Demonstrate properties of angular momentum.

Kit P8: Sound [Suzee Abraham, Ryan Melkert, Kurt Fahlen]
Demonstrate some of the interesting aspects of sound

Kit P9: Electrostatics
Demonstrate the concept of electrostatic repulsion.

Kit P11 - Fading buzzer []
Students will learn that sound requires a medium to propagate. An electric buzzer contained in a jar will fade as the jar is evacuated.

Kit P12 - Magnets + Mini Gauss Gun [Joni Kyllo, Alison Hall, Turi Anderson, ]
Magnets lined up on a ruler can be used to launch a steel ball from the other end.

Kit P13- Color Filters (2-4) students []
Write on paper in different sharpies - what colors won't show up when looked at through different color fileters. Also a red laser is shone through blue or red jello cubes - what happens?

List of Psychology Kits

Kit Psych01 - Team Psychology [WesLeAnn Leninger]
Inversion Goggles and other cool psych stuff