Think: When you are outside, you often need to do precise actions with your fingers, like twirling the combination on your bicycle lock. Is it easier to do those things in summer or winter?

Predict: How would being in the Arctic affect how your muscles work? How does cold affect your ability to do a simple task?

You’ll Need:

• straw
• scrap paper
• pencil
• paper towels
• clock or watch with a second-hand
• bowl of ice water, deep enough to cover your hand

1. Write your name on a sheet of paper. Keep this sheet of paper as a record of is how you are normally able to write.
2. Plunge your writing hand into a bowl of ice water.
3. Try to keep your whole hand in the water for at least thirty seconds, but not more than sixty seconds (one minute). Remember: it's cold! Take your hand out of the water after sixty seconds.
4. Take out your hand and dry it quickly with a paper towel.
5. Write your name again. Compare your writing to that in step 1.

1. How did your writing compare before and after you placed your hand in cold water?
2. Why do you think that the writing looked different when your hand was cold?
3. What challenges might an Arctic explorer face while working outside?

Think: What is the shape of a parachute?

Predict: Predict: How would changing the shape of a parachute affect the way it falls through the air?

You'll Need:

Procedure:

1. Tie a knot in the middle of one handkerchief.
2. Fold a second handkerchief in half. It should now be a triangle.
3. Leave a third handkerchief as it is.
4. Take the knotted handkerchief and tie a piece of string to each corner. Take the loose ends of the string and tie them together in a knot. Clip the clothespin over the knotted string.
5. Repeat Step 4 with the other two handkerchiefs.
6. Raise each handkerchief 1 meter (4 feet) from the ground.
7. Drop each handkerchief one at a time and time each one's fall.

Conclusions:

1. Which handkerchief fell the fastest?
2. Which handkerchief fell the slowest?
3. How does the shape of a parachute affect its fall?

Think: Why is it important to brush your teeth?

Predict: Predict: Bacteria in your mouth can cause cavities. Does using mouthwash after brushing your teeth kill more bacteria than just brushing your teeth?

You'll Need:

Procedure:

1. Wash your hands.
2. Use the fork to put one potato slice in each bag. Try not to touch the potato with your fingers.
3. Zip the bags closed.
4. Wipe one cotton ball or swab across the bottom teeth of the right side of your mouth.
5. Wipe this swab twice across the surface of one potato slice. Take it out and quickly zip the bag closed again. Label this bag "before brushing."
6. Brush your teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Rinse your mouth.
7. Wipe a second cotton swab across the bottom teeth of the left side of your mouth. Repeat Step 5 with a new bag and potato slice. Label this bag "after brushing."
8. Pour mouthwash into a cup and rinse your mouth with it.
9. Wipe a third cotton swab across the top teeth of the right side of your mouth. Repeat Step 5 with a new bag and potato slice. Label this bag "after mouthwash."
10. Do not touch your mouth with the last cotton swab. Wipe the last swab twice across the last potato slice and quickly close the bag. Label this bag "control."
11. Place all four bags in a dark location, like a shoebox or a closet. Check them once a day for four days. Record your observations.

Conclusions:

1. How did each of the potato slices look after 4 days? Which was the most disgusting?
2. Many types of bacteria can cause decay and cavities in your teeth. Can brushing your teeth with toothpaste help kill bacteria?
3. Does using mouthwash kill more bacteria than only brushing?

Think: How much sunlight reaches the ground in a thick forest?

Predict: Predict: Wildfire can burn away plants and trees that shade a forest floor. After a fire, plants on the ground may receive more sunlight. How does the amount of sunlight that reaches a plant affect its growth?

You'll Need:

Procedure:

1. Label one paper cup "Full Light." Label another cup "Some Light." Label a third cup "No Light."
2. Fill each of the cups about halfway with potting soil.
3. In each cup, poke three fingers into the soil (down to your first finger joint) to make three shallow holes.
4. Place one lima bean in each of the holes in the soil.
5. Pour an equal amount of water into each cup to make the soil moist.
6. Place an empty cup upside down over the top of the "No Light" cup. The rims should line up so that light does not enter the "No Light" cup.
7. With a pencil, poke a hole in the side of the remaining empty paper cup. The hole should be about 3 centimeters (1 inch) across.
8. Place the cup with the hole in it upside down over the top of the "Some Light" cup.
9. Place each of the cups near a sunny window.
10. Check and water the cups every day for two weeks. Record your observations.

Conclusions:

1. Which beans sprouted through the soil first?
2. How did the amount of sunlight affect the sprouting and growth of the bean plants?
3. Which cup is like a seed growing before a forest fire? Which cup is like a seed growing after a forest fire?

Illustration by Claire Robertson