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Activities

Here's some sciencey activities that will add to the glamour of the evening….and give the ladies something to take home with them.

Lip Gloss

http://www.planet-science.com/sciteach/
experiment/parents.html

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for two minutes or until the mixture just begins to boil.
  2. (If you don't have a microwave, place the bowl on top of a pan of water on a stovetop and then boil the water. This will take longer and you have to be careful not to let the water boil over into the mixture. If you are doing it this way you should get an adult to supervise you.)
  3. Stir well and gently crush the berries.
  4. Cool mixture for five minutes.
  5. Strain through a fine sieve or tea strainer to remove all the fruit pieces.
  6. Stir again and set aside to cool completely.
  7. When cool, transfer into your container.
  8. Apply a small amount onto your lips and remember to smile!
  9. (If you're making this as a gift, decorate your container with stickers and put in a gift box lined with tissue paper.)

What’s happening?

The miracle ingredient in this lipgloss recipe is the honey. It acts as an antioxidant, moisturizer and gloss. Antioxidants like Vitamin C or green tea extract are key ingredients in many expensive skincare products. They are not absorbed into your skin, but they might protect your skin on the outside from damage by sunlight and pollution.

Scientists think the antioxidants in honey are probably the molecules called flavinoids, which give honey its great taste.

Honey is also hygroscopic, which means it absorbs water from the air, so it helps to maintain the natural balance of water in the cells in your lips. The almond oil forms a protective layer to stop the water evaporating.

Together, the honey and the oil fill in all the crevices in your lips and make them look smooth and glossy. The berries add natural colour and flavour. Add all this together for lips that look, smell and taste gorgeous!

Glitter Bath Bombs

You will need:

Note:

Citric acid can irritate your eyes and skin, and also the lining of your lungs if you inhale it. Wash your hands carefully after you have used it. If you get any in your eyes rinse well with cold water.

What to do:

  1. Pour a few drops of sweet almond oil onto the greaseproof paper. Use this paper to grease the sides and bases of the fairy cake tray.
  2. Sift the citric acid and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl (add the body glitter at this stage if you want a shimmery look). Mix together well.
  3. Take 1/2 cup of this base mixture and put it into another bowl, setting it aside.
  4. Mix together 6 drops of lavender oil. 4.5 teaspoons of sweet almond oil and about 10 drops of your favorite food colouring in the jar.
  5. Gradually pour the liquid form the jar into the mixture you put aside and mix quickly. Work the mixture in the palm of your hands until it sticks together in a ball.
  6. Pop the ball into a cake mould and press down with a spoon. Repeat steps 3 to 6 until you’ve used up your base mixture. Leave the bombs to set overnight.
  7. The next day, carefully turn the bombs out onto a flat surface. Now all you have to do is simply run a bath, and drop in a bomb. Watch it fizz!

What’s happening?

The citric acid reacts with the bicarbonate of soda producing thousands of bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.
http://www.planet-science.com/outthere/sugar/index.html

Face pack (over 12’s only)

http://www.planet-science.com/sciteach/
experiment/parents.html

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mash into a paste using a fork.
  2. Apply the face pack to your face and wash your hands well.
  3. Leave the face pack on for 10 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove with clean water and gently dry your skin your skin with a soft towel
  5. Go out and receive compliments from all your friends on your radiant complexion!

Note: There is a risk of salmonella from uncooked eggs. Eggs stamped with the lion symbol might be less likely to be infected as the hens that laid the eggs have been vaccinated against salmonella.

What’s happening?

The ingredients in this face pack are good for dry skin because they have a high lipid content.

A lipid is a naturally occurring fat or oil, and all lipids have something in common - they are either completely or partly hydrophobic (they hate water). This aversion to water means that lipid molecules have a tendency to stick together in waterproof clumps or layers.

Our skin should have a protective barrier of lipids anyway, stopping water from getting out and nasty 'foreign' substances from getting in. But the top layer of our skin often gets damaged, and ends up feeling dry and flaky. Cold weather, hot weather, wind, air conditioning and central heating are some of the culprits.

When you smear the food over your face, the lipid molecules in the goo create a temporary waterproof layer over your face. This gives your face an opportunity to rebuild the moisture levels both in the skin cells and between them. So after this tasty treat your face should feel a lot softer.

Use yoghurt as a home made face mask.

Yoghurt is used in many eastern countries as a face mask. It contains a form of lactic acid which is a natural exfoliant, similar to the AHAs used in some commercial products. Test it somewhere else on your body first though.

Hair conditioner (for dry hair)

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and heat until just boiling.
  2. Allow the contents to cool for 20 minutes and then transfer to a 1-pint/ 570 ml plastic spray bottle.
  3. Spray some of the conditioner onto your hair and rub in thoroughly. Wrap your head in a warm, damp towel and leave for one hour.
  4. Shampoo to remove the conditioner and wash hair as usual.

Honey is a natural humectant and emollient which means it keeps moisture in and makes the hair shaft supple. This makes it ideal as a good moisturiser and conditioner for your hair.

Using Diluted Cider Vinegar as a final rinse for your hair will make it shine beautifully.

Cider vinegar has acidic properties and therefore balances out excess alkalinity from shampoos and conditioners. It also helps to restore the cuticle, stabilize the hair colour and impart shine. It restores damaged keratin (what the hair is made of) fibres which all helps you to shine girl shine!

That is all well and good but what about if you are having a bad hair day?  Why does hair go curly when the air is damp? Humidity makes hair big i.e. your hairs actually get bigger and fatter. The outer layer of hair is made of scales. This outer layer is called the cuticle. The average person has 100,000 hairs on her or his head. You lose between 50 and 100 hairs every day! To show why hair gets curlier when it is damp try the following activity:

The Wrapper Wriggle

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Stand the straw up on the table and push the paper wrapper down around the straw until it's as short as it can be.
  2. Lay the compressed wrapper on the table.
  3. Use your straw to put just 1 drop of fizzy drink (or water) on the wrapper.

What’s happening?

The tight folds of paper absorb the water and get fatter. That makes the wrapper twist and bend. Every time you put another drop on the wrapper it twists and bends until it can't hold any more water. The same thing happens to each one of your hairs. Your hair absorbs water from damp air. It twists and bends, too. This is not really getting curly. It's getting frizzy.From
http://www.beakman.com/beakman/haircurl/haircurl.html

Hair gel

How do you choose which hair gel to use? The shelves of supermarkets are heaving under the weight of all the different products. Every type of hair seems to be catered for – long, short, dry, greasy, curly, straight – so you’ll never be without a product designed especially for you.

Really? Can all these products be that different?

Ingredients

Take a look at the label on the side of your favourite hair gel. The first ingredient listed is aqua - or as we call it, water. The other ingredients are a mixture of polymers (plastics), plasticisers, glossening agents, perfumes and colours - all dissolved in the water.

Out of all the ingredients, it is the polymers that do the hard work of holding your gravity defying hairdo in place. Once the gel is applied, the water evaporates leaving a thin film of the polymers surrounding the hairs and creating the hold.

Formulations

So what makes all the different brands of hair gel, well, different? The answer lies with the many combinations of polymers and plasticisers that are possible.

The plasticisers are used to modify the elasticity, flexibility, hardness and moisture resistance of the polymer film surrounding the hairs. So different hair gels containing different formulations of polymers and plasticisers have different properties.

Of course, various combinations of colour, smell and glossiness also make a brand individual and allow you to choose a product that suits you.

Minty-lime foot soak and scrub

Soak Recipe

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Combine all the ingredients and add to a basin filled with warm water.

Scrub Recipe

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Cut limes into quarters.
  2. In a food processor, pulse pieces to a chunky pulp.
  3. Mix limes and remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
  4. Soak each foot 5 minutes; apply scrub with your hands, using circular movements around the foot, ankle, and calf.
  5. Remove the scrub with a warm, damp towel; apply a minty moisturizer.

The average human generates a new layer of skin every two to four weeks. Sugar acts as an exfolliant sloughing the dead skin cells away from the surface of the skin leaving newer, brighter skin. Lime is astringent which refreshes the feet and livens tired muscles. Lime oil is antiseptic and anti-bacterial so it is ideal in foot treatments. Mint is used to relax tired, aching feet.

Using your senses

Where’s my teddy?

From http://www.party411.com/birthday-slumbergames.html

Everyone should bring a cuddly toy. Throw all the toys in a pile on the floor in a darkened room. Now see who can find their toy by touch only.

Alternative: Spray your toy with your favourite perfume. Who can find their toy by scent only?

What’s that smell?

We can recognize a wide variety of smells. Some smells can stir up memories. To demonstrate the sense of smell (olfaction), collect several items that have distinctive smells such as:

Keep the items separated and enclosed in plastic containers so that the odours do not mix. Put a blindfold on a student (or punch holes in the top of the containers to eliminate the need of a blindfold) and ask the guest to:

  1. Identify the item by smell.
  2. Rate the odour (strong, pleasant, neutral, etc.)
  3. Tell about any memories associated with the smells.

From
http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com

People can distinguish between 3,000 and 10,000 different odours. Of course, some odours are easier to detect than others. For example, people are very sensitive to the smell of green bell pepper - people can detect this smell when it is mixed with air at only 0.5 parts per trillion!

Smells are detected by olfactory receptors. In humans, there are about 40 million olfactory receptors; in the German Shepherd dog, there are about 2 billion olfactory receptors!

No one knows what actually causes olfactory receptors to react - it could be a chemical molecule's shape or size or electrical charge. The olfactory tract transmits the signals to brain areas which are part of the limbic system. The limbic system is involved with emotional behaviour and memory. That's why when you smell something; it often brings back memories associated with the object.

As you probably know, when you have a cold and your nose is stuffed up, you cannot smell very well. This is because the molecules that carry smell cannot reach the olfactory receptors.

To find out more about your sense of smell
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nosek.html

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chsmell.html

Swirly whirly mixtures

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Pour water into the bottle until it is about 1/3 full.
  2. Add a few drops of food colouring.
  3. Add vegetable oil so that a thick layer is formed.
  4. Put the lid on the bottle.
  5. Move the liquids about and watch the patterns. 
  6. Shake it up and watch it settle back out.

What’s happening?

Oil and water do not mix. They are immiscible. This is because they are not alike.  Water is a polar liquid and oil is a nonpolar liquid. This means that a water molecule has a slight charge i.e. it has a positively charged end and a negatively charged end. Oil does not have a separation of charge and so they have no attraction for each other. When they are shaken up together the oil forms small droplets in the water and initially they look as if they have mixed together.  However, they soon separate as the oil is lighter than water and rises to the surface to form a large oil slick. We can force them to mix together by adding a detergent like washing up liquid.  The detergent molecule has a ‘water loving’ (hydrophilic) end and an ‘oil loving’ (oleophilic) end.  So it acts as a link between the two.

Science in the Dark

The great thing about a slumber party, especially one in the winter months, is the amount of darkness you have to play with. If you can provide the luminosity, we can explain it for you!

Glowsticks

Glow sticks work by a chemical reaction called “chemiluminescence”. Luminescence is emission of light not caused by a rise in temperature. The light is released by atoms returning from "excited" (charged) state to normal "ground" state.  Glow sticks must first absorb energy to get into an excited state and then release energy as light to return to the ground state of energy.

The energy can be supplied in many ways but in this case the energy is supplied by a chemical reaction. This consists of a hydrogen peroxide solution (which is called the "activator"), a solution of phenyl oxalate ester and a fluorescent dye (which makes the colour). The activator is stored in a thin glass capsule. When the glass capsule is broken by flexing a glow stick the activator is released, and mixing the components (shaking the glow stick) initiates the reaction. Depending on components used, the chemical reaction can last (glow sticks can glow) from a few minutes to many hours.

From
http://glowsticksshop.com/how_glow_sticks_work.htm

Glow-in-the-dark stars

The eerie green glow of luminous glow stars is due to phosphorescence. Substances called phosphors absorb energy from light and then slowly release it again over a period of time.

There are many different types of phosphors but zinc sulphide and strontium aluminate are the ones most commonly used for glow-in-the-dark toys and stickers.

Electrons surround the nucleus of an atom in a series of separate energy levels. An electron has to have a particular amount of energy to be in a particular energy level.

When a phosphor absorbs some radiant energy such as visible light or UV rays, the energy makes some of the electrons jump up to a higher energy level. While the electrons are in this higher energy level, the phosphor is storing the energy.

The electrons cannot hold onto their extra energy for ever and eventually fall back down to their original energy levels, releasing the stored energy as visible light. However, it is only when the energy source is removed, eg you turn off your bedroom light, that you can see the light that is being emitted.

This release of visible light can continue for minutes, hours or even days depending on the chemical structure of the phosophor.

http://www.sterlinghill.org/warren/aboutfluorescence.htm

Vids

Obvious candidates would be something young, romantic, slushy and containing Heath Ledger or ……………….(fill in movie hunk of choice).

But never let it be said that we leave any stone unturned to spanner in a science angle, here are some science (oh ok, sci-fi then) based alternative suggestions:

Texting

Everybody’s doing it! The Short Messaging Service (aka ‘texting’) has taken the world by storm since its introduction in 1995.

The number of SMS messages sent by mobile users in Britain rose from 50 million in October 1999 to an amazing 900 million in April 2001. Statistics in 2003 showed that:

What do you know about emoticons?

These are the little symbols placed at the end of text to imply emotions (look at them sideways and they should make more sense!) Like happy :-)  or how about evil, crazed laughter >8-D  Want to know more? Try The joy of text
http://www.bbc.co.uk/joyoftext/facts/emoticons.shtml

Well over one million messages are sent every hour in Britain, and at least 29 million messages are sent a day.

So is it a good thing? How about a debate?

The PROS:

The CONS

And to give thanks to the technology that has made all this possible – take a look at: How mobile phones work
http://www.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone.htm

and speaking of things we couldn’t do without at a sleepover……

How plasma screen TVs work
http://www.howstuffworks.com/plasma-display.htm

How DVDs work
http://www.planet-science.com/outthere/sugar/index.html 

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