Kira Hinkle’s second and third grade class have been exploring Newton’s laws of motion and have been testing saturation points of liquids. Kira writes about her presentation of Newton’s first law of motion in a classic science demonstration that was printed in Cincinnati Montessori Society’s Fall 2013 Newsletter.
- Balance a raw egg on top of a toilet paper tube.
- Set the tube on a pie pan.
- Place the pan above a glass of water.
- Knock the pie pan and tube out of the way.
With the support of the pie pan and the toilet paper tube removed, the egg drops into the glass of water as the force of gravity acts upon it.
It looks like a magic trick, but it’s not magic. It’s physics. Cosmic Education is fundamentally about presenting the world in a way that the child is in awe, enraptured, and mesmerized by her surroundings. The elementary child constantly asks, “Why?” Cosmic Education is about taking the elementary child’s desire to explore the bigger picture and running with it.
Perhaps it would be easier, cleaner and simpler if we limited our exploration of the physical sciences to demonstrations as opposed to hands-on experiments. However, a Montessori education is built on a foundation of “learning by doing.” Did we break any eggs in our first law of motion experiment? We went through seven in thirty minutes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
If our students merely watched a demonstration, the mystery in the experiment would have remained. It wouldn’t have felt real – like a rehearsed magic trick, not an example of the laws of nature. Our Montessori roots call us to let the child use hands and mind in tandem. We find that by trusting the child and letting him participate fully, we take away the smokescreen and allow him to discover our awesome universe for himself.
Is the egg falling into the glass magic? Of course it isn’t. However, the aftereffect of a child making connections between an experiment and our world can be a pretty magical thing!
The children were so excited to learn about the 3rd law of motion, that they asked if they could take it outdoors to continue working with the materials at recess.
Click play to see the video demonstrating the 3rd law of motion or click this link.
Click play below to see the video about saturating solutions or click this link.