Abstract Art

Wassily Kandisky lived from 1866 to 1944 and  is known as the "Father of Abstract Art". He said that he heard music when he saw color, so we spent this lesson painting to classical music. Believing that art should have tones and expression, Kandisky experimented with lines and shapes. The Education Girlz followed Kandisky in his journey by first reducing their art to lines: straight, wavy, thick, thin, arching, branching, and zigzag. 

Experimenting with black lines.

Learning about the color wheel and mixing colors with Mrs. Henry.

Lauren begins to add color to her black lines for composition and balance.

Samantha adds color.

After a week, Samantha evaluates her piece and contemplates possible additions.

Kandisky slideshow set to music

Masterpieces!

Squid Dissection

The "before" picture

Today at the Arizona Science Center we dissected a squid. Squids live in the ocean and are related to cuttlefish and octopus. They swim backwards using jets of water and can attain speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. They have 8 short arms and 2 long tentacles which have suckers and teeth. They even have teeth on their tongues! They also have 3 hearts and blue blood. Their blood is blue because it contains copper instead of iron like humans. Squids use black ink to hide from predators like seals and large fish.


http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_mbari/mbari_video.aspx This stunning footage of deep-sea squids comes from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), where researchers use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to observe and record deep-sea animal behaviors.

Ready to dissect!

Notice how the 2 tentacles are longer than the 8 arms?

After the girls removed the beak from between the 8 arms, they used a microscope that projected the image onto the overhead computer screen to observe the tongue and its many rows of teeth.

Some of the squid parts:
eye, lens, beak, kidney, heart, sperm, brain, gill, funnel, ink sac.

Team work

S

The "after" picture




Watch a video here:

Giant squid dissection by a scientist

Bunny Love

Let us start!

This is the one.

Hip Hop is a new companion for The Education Girlz. Our friend will be a motivational classmate by providing us writing ideas and scientific observations. The Education Girlz went to the Humane Society to purchase a bunny. When we were there we learned a plethora of information about bunnies. The most educational fact we learned is when rabbits sleep. They are crepuscular which means they're most active in dawn and dusk. Welcome Hip Hop to our classroom.    

Petroglyphs at the White Tank Mountains

The Hohokam left  pictures carved in the granite when they disappeared over 600 hundred years ago but we are not sure what they mean. Today we hiked off-trail in the White Tank Mountains with a ranger in search of celestial petroglyphs from long ago. We observed stars, suns, moons, snakes, arrows, goats, waterfalls, and spirals. Some of these shapes are found as far away as China. We were walking on some of the oldest exposed rocks on the planet!

No problem hopping over boulders!

This "double sun" could be a depiction
of a super nova from the year 1046!

Interesting saguaro!

Our ranger describes these "tanks" of water
and how these mountains got their name.

Petroglyphs are made by chipping away the patina,
or "varnish", on granite one dot at a time.
This is a very time consuming job.

Most archaeologists think that the shape on the left represents
a star, but we think it looks like a sea star ready for dissection!
The arrow in the middle points to the north star. Most petroglyphs
are carved on east facing rocks.

We learned that the Teddy bear cholla has barbs to attach onto
 passing animals so the cactus can spread its seeds. 

Sea Star Dissection

"I do not have a backbone, therefore I am an invertebrate and am NOT a fish!"

Sea stars are echinoderms (spiny skin). Other echinoderms include sea cucumbers, sand dollars, and brittle stars.

Sea stars ready for dissection.

Sea stars have no heads and no circulatory system. They have eye spots on the tips of each of their arms. Sea stars live in temperate and topical waters, not fresh water. Some are bottom dwellers, while many live mostly in shallow marine environments. Sea stars come in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes and can live for 30 years. They can regenerate their arms if they lose one.

Our sea star has radial symmetry.

They eat scraps of food, algae mats, or even deceased organisms. Others are active predators that will attack clams, snails, sponges, and corals. Their stomach comes out of their body to eat and then the stomach retracts.

Notice the mouth at the center?

To dissect them, the girls first sliced it completely in half with scissors. They observed the sieve plate, tube feet, stomach, and mouth.

Notice the half of a leg on the plate!

Using tools to slice it in half.

Teamwork!

Ant Farm

Today we made an ant farm in school. It was difficult to assemble.

Our Ant Farm

                                         

Where are the ants?

Did you know that ants can eat bread, cake, fruit, crackers, meat, and leaves?  In our neighborhood  males usually work instead of females; however,  in the ant's  life females work instead of males! C'mon ants let us hear you talk or sniff. Ants can communicate by sniffing. We will watch our ants to see how they create their environment. 


                                                             

Discovering Animal Facts

Today we went to the Phoenix Zoo. One highlight was riding the camel, or dromedary to be precise. It was bumpy and a bit scary because the dromedary would sway back and forth while he walked.

The difference between a camel and a dromedary is that the
dromedary has only one hump. This hump is to store fat that
can be converted into energy so that the animal can go for
 long periods of time without food or water.

After the exciting dromedary ride, the girls touched cownosed stingrays. They felt slimy and "muscley".

These stingrays have had their stingers removed.
Don't they look like they are flying?

This is a piece of the sting ray's dental plate.

The Komodo dragon was huge! Did you know that he has over 200 bacteria in his saliva to paralyze his prey and send them into shock so he can eat them at his leisure? We observed baby and adult Komodo dragons.

This Komodo dragon weighs over 300 pounds
and can run up to 12 miles per hour.

This one is the friendliest!

Babies!

Harmony Farm was a place to pet goats and to try out tractors.

Do you have a license to drive this?

There were several different breeds of goats,
 some with floppy ears and some with small ears,
 but they all like to be scratched on the head.

We knew baby goats are called "kids" but did
 you know that a group of goats is a "trip"?