Shapes in Nature

Out at Garden of the Gods yesterday, we spotted a couple of really cool shapes in the plants.  

NB spotted this cross in the pinecones.  It truly was really cool, and I'm glad that he not only spotted it, but that he pointed it out to the rest of us.  Sometimes we're too concerned with other aspects of a hike (like not falling) to notice these little tidbits.                  

K liked this cactus for its flowers, I liked it for its heart shape.  I told her we should print it off with a caption, "Home is Where the Heart Is."

Working Through Webelos

It's been a few days since we moved into my parents' house, so it's time to work on Webelos again, right?  Anyway, there are requirements that are just easier to accomplish in a house.  Like listing all the geologic materials you find in your house.  So we did some work on Earth Rocks!  Yesterday we visited Garden of the Gods to take a look at a great geologic site, and today we did an experiment taking us through the rock cycle.  

Balanced Rock.  We've been to a lot of really great geological sites, and inevitably there is a feature named balanced/balancing rock.  But I do so love to see the balancing rocks and how nature is just so amazing.          

K did a good job looking at the rocks and seeing their textures.  We watched some great videos on YouTube about geology.      

This is our simulated sedimentary rock.  We got this experiment from this video.  Who doesn't like working with Starburst?      

The melting process in its beginning stages.  Fortunately my mom has a hot plate, which is actually quite large, so all four of us got to melt ours at the same time.      

 

 

Three hours in, and I quit.  It was close enough, I felt, and I just didn't want to hover over it any longer.   Overall, we've enjoyed working on this elective adventure.  We've got more to do, but so far, so good!