Science is everywhere @ home by ScienceSuitcase.org

Ideas for science experimentation at home with materials you already have.

Vitamin D research at home for your own health: You need it for for healthy bones (calcium absorption), muscle, and immune function. Where do you get it and how much are you getting now that you are sheltering at home? What factors influence your vitamin D level? This vitamin is unique in that our bodies make it when our skin is exposed to the sun’s UV rays. Too much sun can lower levels of folate and cause skin cancer, so clearly too much sun is also not healthy.

Figure out how much you get by estimating your sun exposure each day and dietary intake. D-Minder is a phone app (with free upgrade during pandemic) that can help you keep track (video). Check food labels and use this chart, and if you had blood work at your last medical check up, you may be able to find out what your Vitamin D levels were the day of the blood draw. Also, do some internet research to learn more. Write us if you want to add your data to our project about NYC student vitamin D levels during the pandemic!

SCIENCE OF SEEDS QUICK START: Save all fruit and vegetable seeds so you can use them to do experiments on how to make them sprout. (And in the long term you can grow food!)

Why do plants make fruit?
What are seeds for?
How are seedless limes grown?

Hands on experiments:

Can you figure out how to get the seeds to sprout? Keep track of what you do (try to get numbers, i.e. data) so write down how many seeds you have, and what you do to different groups. Maybe take photos too? Put seeds under a wet paper towel in a semi closed container. As long as it stays moist you don’t need to add more water all this time because the lid was on and only slightly ajar (open), so there was very little evaporation of water (drying out as the liquid water turns to gas). For example you might add more/less water or keep them in the light/dark. What other parameters (conditions) can you change to help figure out what is the best way to sprout seed x? Do you think all seeds will sprout in the same conditions, and why/why not?
What other seeds to you have at home? beans? almonds? cardemom pods? try those too! Check on your seeds at least every other day and within a week some should have sprouted. Once a seed has germinated (sprouted), it is time to plant it! These baby plants have already started making the green stuff (chlorophyll) which is what absorbs the sun’s energy for making food (photosynthesis) and will have a long white root growing, so you know it’s ready for soil and light!

If they don’t sprout, there are many interesting reasons why not. What possibilities can you think of?

You can use a recycled yogurt container or cut off the bottom of a paper or plastic milk carton… as for soil, we have some but maybe it’s time to start COMPOSTING in our window sill to make more!

Also, what about regrowing plants from just a part of it? This is asexual propagation.

Plant these in soil or under wet paper towels. They will sprout.

I’m going to try to get a lettuce heart to grow roots and keep growing! I am going to keep the bottom part dark for a while, because some plants only will root (make new roots) in the dark. Add enough water so the plant part (brownish lettuce base here) is partially submerged in the water, and put int he sun so it can start photosynthesis!

Track your Body Temperature and discover your Circadian Rhythm (24 hour cycle). All you need is a thermometer and then to log your temperature into a google spreadsheet and within a few days we'll show you a way to graph it-- but start collecting your data NOW!!!

Track your Body Temperature and discover your Circadian Rhythm (24 hour cycle). All you need is a thermometer and keep logging your temperature into a spreadsheet. Bookmark the spreadsheet and once you have over 20 data points we’ll email you your graph and data. Start collecting your data NOW!!!

We want to hear back from you. Please leave comments and questions (questions and sharing are core to science, so let’s do it together!) Having trouble getting images in comments to load automatically- but we are working on it.

Please email info@sciencesuitcase.org with subject “sign-up” if you’d like to subscribe to emails announcing lab hours where we’ll be do interactive (live) mini labs with all sorts of amazing science! These will have a combination of experiments that you can do at your home with what you already have, as well as ones where you get to tell us what to do with the materials we have!