Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary School at 605 Hill N Dale Drive, Lexington, KY 40503 US - Science Snapshot
Donations from our
Science Lab Wishlist are always appreciated!
8
th grade students work on Science ilabs
to improve their technical reading skills and core Science knowledge.
The Science Lab has 6 working computers thanks to the technical assistance of Mr. Cerise.
8
th Grade Students Use Slinkys to Model Earthquake Waves
7A Science Puts Worms to Work
With the help of Bluegrass Pride Educator, Blair Hecker students in 7A Science examined worms and then set up a vermicomposting bin in the Science Lab. The students will feed the worms organic materials such as apple cores, coffee grounds and leaves and watch the worms turn the food into rich compost. At the end of the school year the compost and worms will be put in the butterfly garden to nourish the plants over the summer.
8th Grade Igneous Rock Lab
The 8th grade students determined the texture, mineral composition and origin of igneous rocks, then used a rock identifcation chart to predict the identity of the rocks.
7th Grade investigates the effect of heat on the evaporation rate of water
Inquiry Week
7th and 8th grade students spent the week before Spring Break designing ways to answer a variety of Science questions. Working collaboratively with peers, they selected and used materials to carry out their investigations. Students made observations and measurements, and recorded their findings using charts and graphs. Next students analyzed their results to determine whether or not its supports their hypothesis. They looked critically at their experiment to identify possible sources of error and potential modifications or extensions. It was an interesting week of discovery about density, buoyancy, properties of water and chemical reactions!
7th Grade Human Body Investigations
A variety of technology based and hands-on activities have helped 7th grade students investigate and understand the human body including:
Exploring Taste Buds: 7th grade students predicted the taste category ( sweet, salty, bitter, sour) of a variety of foods, then sampled, described and identified the particular taste and located and charted its taste region on the tongue.
Response of Heart and Respiratory Rate to Exercise: Students learned to take their pulse and respiratory rate and observe how they varied according to activity level.
Heart, Respiratory and Digestive Sounds: Students learned how to use a stethoscope and their own heart beat (and relate the sounds to the blood flow through the heart), breathing and digestive sounds.
Skeletal System: Students deduced how the bones of the human body fit together at joints with a rubber skeleton model.
Muscular System: After learning the movements of the body’s major muscles they performed a number of exercises and discovered which muscles work together to perform sit-ups, push- ups and even pitch a baseball.
Kidney Model: Students used chalk, colored water and different sized filters to understand how the kidney removes waste from the body.
Mary Queen Welcomes the African Cichlids
MQ students haven’t just admired our new fish; they have identified their unique markings and behavior and given them names. They would like to introduce the All (tech) Star line up. The beautifully colored cichlids from Lake Malawi in Africa include:
- Astro – the oldest (15 months) and biggest with a yellow body and brilliant yellow stripe on his top fin
- Tommy – aggressive and easily recognized by his dolphin- like appearance
- Flash & Jagger – the older Flash already has his brilliant blue color; Jagger will develop it as he grows up
- Quincy & Melman – both have zebra stripes but Quincy distinguishes himself but his yellow tail markings
The cichlids have 3 interesting tank mates with cleanup duties. Fellow African fish from
Lake Tanganika are the synodontis catfish Zach and Tiger. The students enjoy discovering where these nocturnal fish are hiding during the school day. Some children have asked if they could come to school at night to observe the fish digging in the aquarium gravel eating leftover food and helping to circulate waste. Equally fascinating is the albino Pleco who hails from a river in Paraguay. Although he is more active at night, Gerry can sometimes be seen using his “whiskers” to detect the algae which he eats off the walls of the tank.
We are expecting 6 or 7 additional cichlids to join our tank. The fish are gradually added to mimic the conditions where crowding reduces the aggressive behavior of the fish.
With a lifespan of 10 years or more our fish are here to stay. This hungry gang eats twice a day!!
Please consider a donation to help feed our fish.
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