Oobleck!

One of the most wonderful things about the subject of Visual Arts is that not only can it stand alone as a subject, but it can also have mash-ups with other subjects to enhance our understanding of the world around us. This is one of those lessons.

Introducing...

OOBLECK!

(To see the mock-movie lesson preview video, check out the post on 2/28/12.)

For this project, Ms. Hanson, our librarian began by reading "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" by Dr. Seuss.

Through the book discussion, we realized the importance of saying you're sorry when you make a mistake. An apology can cure many ills.

After discussing the book, we made some Oobleck of our own. The mixture is two parts cornstarch and one part water. Oobleck has an interesting consistency. Try to punch it, and it is hard like a brick wall; But just lightly place a finger on its surface, and your hand will sink right in. So, Is it a solid or a liquid, you ask?

...Well, Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid. Non-Newtonian fluids are a strange and perplexing group of fluids. When a force (ex. poking, rolling, stirring, punching) is applied to a non-Newtonian fluid, the viscosity (or, resistance to flow) of the fluid increases. In simple terms, any force you exert on a non-Newtonian fluid will make it behave more like a solid. The more force you exert, the harder the fluid becomes. Strange, but true! Other types of non-Newtonian fluids include quicksand, ketchup, and peanut butter.

So what happens when different types of force are applied to Oobleck? Will it resist all types of force? Which is more powerful against Oobleck: the force of gravity or the frequency of sound waves? These are all questions that needed answers.

Good thing our music teacher, Mr. Dodd, was there to help!When we applied sound waves to Oobleck, it began to rise and dance to the force of the frequencies! The sound waves must be more influential than gravity on Oobleck.

Interestingly, we discovered that lower frequencies (the sounds of an explosion or bass in a song) subjected the Oobleck to much more movement.

...Now, for Mrs. Kingsolver's favorite part!

COLOR!

Last semester, students Kindergarten-3rd grade made artwork using primary colors to create secondary colors. We had so much using our color mixing skills to make the Oobleck a work of art!

We started with primary colors...
Turned on the sound waves...We watched as Blue and Red danced together...

to become Purple!

Blue and Yellow mixed into Green!

And Yellow and Red became Orange!

By the time we were finished our Oobleck art in motion, we had created a beautiful color palette that looked strikingly similar to marbled paper.


We hope you enjoyed out Art/Music/Science/Language Arts project!!

Oobleck!

Just a Preview... More pictures and information coming soon!

1st Grade- Mixed Up Wild Things

We read and discussed the book “Where the Wild Things Are”, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

We learned that the three primary colors- Red, Yellow, and Blue- can be mixed together to make three new colors! So, using crayons, we did just that! The new colors- Orange, Green, and Violet- are called secondary colors.

Isn't it amazing how all we need are those three colors layered together to produce all the other colors of the color spectrum?!

Our Wild Things come in many shapes and sizes but they would never eat us up! They just like to have fun.

“Let the wild rumpus start!”

A.C.E. - Straw Blown Color Mixing

For this project, we learned about the primary and secondary colors in a fun way! 

 We dripped the primary color paint- red, blue, and yellow- on our papers and used straws to bloooooow the paint.  The paint ran together to make secondary colors- green, orange, and violet.

A.C.E. - Splatter Art

We learned about the artist Jackson Pollock and had fun being spontaneous with art.

We used the primary colors- red, blue, and yellow.  In some places they mix together to create secondary colors- orange, green, and violet.

4th Grade- Pointillism Portraits

We learned about the artist George Seurat and how he used many little dots of paint in a style called Pointillism.

We also learned that there is a mathematical way that everything lines up on our faces; this is called facial proportion.

We only used the three primary colors for our portraits. If you stand back and look at our portraits from a distance, the little dots will blend together to create the secondary colors.

Here is a very interesting video about some professional artists who were inspired by George Seurat and Pointillism. Like the 4th graders, they also only use yellow, red, and blue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxCeJUOfKmM

1st Grade- Oil Pastel Color Mixing

We learned that the three primary colors- Red, Yellow, and Blue- can be mixed together to make three new colors!

The new colors- Orange, Green, and Purple- are called secondary colors. We’ve made apattern with our rectangles. Can you see it?