Comstock Park — First-grader Ellie Groendyke proudly showed off the blue and red “tattoo” on her left hand.
“It’s a butterfly kite!” she exclaimed. Her STEM partner, Penepole Knapp, added that it was intended as a butterfly.
But during their science, technology, engineering and math experiment as they poured water over whiteboard marker designs, the butterfly broke into pieces.
It still made for a cool design, Ellie said afterward.
Last week, Olivia Bender’s first-graders watched as she drew a design on a glass plate, then asked them what they thought would happen when she poured water on the design.
“At this level, we want them to be able to make a prediction,” Bender said. “Most of the students will say the drawing will disappear if you pour water on it.”
Instead, they were amazed when the drawing rose in the water, she said, because of the chemical makeup of whiteboard marker ink. Bender said she talked to the students about how images drawn by a whiteboard marker can be erased from a whiteboard, but not from a permanent marker.
“The students get so excited about seeing the experiment that they always want to do it themselves,” she said.
Students worked in pairs to share a clean glass plate on which they drew designs. Bender said sharing helps them learn to collaborate. When told, they poured water onto the plate. Most designs lifted and floated immediately. Students helped others to rise by blowing on the water through straws.
If they chose, first-graders could dip their hands in the water to try to transfer the designs onto their skin.
Read more from Comstock Park:
• This parapro went back to school to be a teacher at 40
• Marshmallows & math make for a sweet multiplication lesson
