The Imagination Lab

Happy Presidents Day! While Presidents Day was originally a day to honor and celebrate George Washington's birthday as a sign of respect, we honor all past presidents on this day. But did you know some of the STEM developments from past presidents? Swipe right! #QuakersImagine #TheMoreYouKnow

February is Black History Month, and a great time to recognize some profound STEM leaders! This list is by no means all-encompassing, but we wouldn't be where we are today without these HUGE contributions. #BlackHistoryMonth #QuakersImagine #STEMleaders

Happy Valentine's Day! Let's learn about some facts of the heart... the anatomical heart! It's also American Heart Month, so it's great for these to go hand-in-hand! #QuakersImagine #TheMoreYouKnow

Who is ready for summer? It may only be February, but we are gearing up to open registration for our Summer Odyssey Camps! Head to our website for more information on dates and when registration opens. We can't wait! #QuakersImagine

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY! Who wants six more weeks of winter? Who is ready for the sunshine and warmth again? #QuakersImagine

What does sunscreen really do? Let's learn about the effects of the sun and sunscreen by making some sunscreen art! Yes, even in the winter (as long as you have enough sun). Put sunscreen on dark colored construction paper (like your name, a handprint, etc.) and anchor the paper with clips or heavy rocks outside in the sun. Leave it outside for at least 3 hours, and see what happens. The ultraviolet light from the sun fades the pigment in the paper! (Learn more and view the original video on The Imagination Lab webpage! Go to "Menu", then "News", and look for the article "Imagination Igniter #4".) #QuakersImagine

Imagination Igniter #3, let's investigate chemical reactions! Do you know why a lot of older pennies look dull and dirty? Over a long period of time, the oxygen in the air reacts with the copper in the penny and can create a new substance called copper oxide. This substance coats many older pennies and prevents us from being able to see that shiny surface below. But how do we get rid of that to get back to the original color of the penny? Let's investigate! You'll need two dull pennies, lemon juice, a bowl, water, and a timer. Both pennies should be equally dull. We'll call one the control penny, this one we will not do anything to during the investigation. The other penny we'll investigate with! The juice from a lemon is acidic. In fact all citrus fruits have acidic juice, but the lemon is the most acidic. (That's why lemons taste so sour!) Squeeze or pour some lemon juice in a bowl and put the investigation penny into the lemon juice. Set a timer for 5 minutes and wait. After 5 minutes, rinse the penny with water, dry it off, and compare it to the control penny. Do they look different now? The lemon juice dissolved the copper oxide and made our old penny shiny again! Try it again with more dull pennis and some other variables! Try these substances: soap and water, vinegar, vinegar and salt, ketchup, lime juice, soda, etc. (Remember that we've learned that acidic substances can remove copper oxide, check out the ingredients in an item to see if it's acidic!) Also try different time variables: 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc. Remember to only change one variable at a time, and compare your results after you rinse off the investigation penny. Take pictures, send us your results and what you learned! (View the original video on The Imagination Lab webpage! Go to "Menu", then "News", and look for the article "Imagination Igniter #3".)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope everyone is enjoying their break, but we wanted to drop a little sneak peek at the 2023 year for students and our new e-skill! What does this mean? We'll talk more in-depth about this e-skill later. Enjoy break, and see you soon! #QuakersImagine

Time for Imagination Igniter #2! Do you like watching cartoons? Cartoons and other animation are made by putting together individual images where small changes are made from picture to picture. (Our second graders are learning about this in our "Persistence of Vision" Odyssey!) Animations can start with drawing pictures, taking the same images with slight changes and moving them faster. Try it for yourself! Create a series of images using index cards or paper stacked on top of each other. (We used 33 index cards to making a moving logo for The Imagination Lab!) Use a binder clip to hold them together and flip through them to see your drawing moving. Share with us your flipbook, and stay tuned for the next #ImaginationIgniter #QuakersImagine (View the original video on The Imagination Lab webpage! Go to "Menu", then "News", and look for the article "Imagination Igniter #2".)

Looking for a few indoor activities you can do over Winter Break that keeps your child's brain thinking? Stay tuned for some great Imagination Igniters to use throughout your winter break! Starting with... "Can you pick up an ice cube (with string) without tying a knot?" You'll need a string, ice cube, cup, water, and salt to start. Fill the cup with water and add an ice cube. Get the string wet with water and drape it over the ice cube. Does it stick together like this? Shake some salt on top of the ice cube and string, wait a few minutes, and wait a few minutes. What happened? Try this out by changing a variable to see what happens! Use sugar instead of salt, the ice cube on a plate instead of in water, etc. Let us know your results, and stay tuned for the next #ImaginationIgniter #QuakersImagine (View the original video on The Imagination Lab webpage! Go to "Menu", then "News", and look for the article "Igniting Imagination".)

It's officially WINTER BREAK! Volunteer sign-ups are live on our page, we look forward to seeing you again in 2023! #QuakersImagine

#ThrowbackThursday to the first year The Imagination Lab was open, 5th graders created QIRA! For those doing the math, these students would now be sophomores! Who remembers QIRA? #tbt #QuakersImagine

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from your friends here at The Imagination Lab! We hope that everyone is enjoying their day and break from school! In the spirit of always educating, here are a few fun random Thanksgiving facts! -Only male turkeys can gobble, female turkeys (hens) cackle. -Turkey was part of the first meal Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had when they were on the moon. -Ben Franklin would have chosen a turkey to be our national bird. He reportedly thought eagles had "bad moral character" and that turkeys were "a much more respectable bird". #TheMoreYouKnow #QuakersImagine

Heard about The Imagination Lab but want to know more? Join us for a night to discover our students' hands-on learning experience during an Odyssey to see if this is the volunteer opportunity for you! Community members, local businesses, parents and grandparents are all welcome!

With growing diversity in our schools, we have a need for volunteers to help bridge the gap in language barriers to provide the same learning experience to our multilingual students as our English-native students! Learn, create, and imagine alongside our students! If you speak any of the languages below OR you are interested in using provided resources to help a student during the Odyssey, please check out our Supporting Multilingual Learners sign-up page for the dates and times we will have these students! (Languages Needed: Chatino, French, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Lingala, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Yoruba) #QuakersImagine

Join us for a Night at the Lab, Thursday November 3rd! #QuakersImagine

We've had a great start to the year here at The Imagination Lab, big thanks to our volunteers for helping in our Odysseys! We even had the pleasure of watching caterpillars grow into butterflies! Here's a peek at one pre-chrysalis! #QuakersImagine

Thankful for 17 days of 2022 Summer Odysseys, MS & HS volunteers, IAs, and teachers. Cup stacking (great example of 4Cs in action) was popular with all ages even when we had outdoor recess! What have you been investigating with your Duke Energy Curiosity Kit? #QuakersImagine

Oh what fun we had on our first day of Summer Odysseys Camps! Favorite activity of the day might have been cup stacking, part of our indoor recess plan. Rain can't take our joy for learning! #QuakersImagine

Registration closes for Summer Odyssey Camps at 4 pm on Monday! If your child is already registered, you'll be getting a message on April 25 with camp details. We are looking forward to a busy summer of fun, hands-on learning at The Imagination Lab! @QuakersImagine