STEM with Scouts

Originally Posted on 14 June 2017

The Buffalo March for Science joined the fun at the 2017 STEM Camporall on UB's North Campus on Saturday, June 10th. Hundreds of Boy, Girl, and Venture and Explorer Scouts and scout leaders from Western New York and the greater region came for a weekend filled with opportunities to learn about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

The Buffalo March for Science brought several hands on experiments to their tent in the Midway area, including a the kid pool filled with oobleck. Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid made of cornstarch and water that is great for teaching about properties of liquids, solids, force, and motion. The thickness of non-newtonian fluids change when force is applied. This allowed scouts to run across the pool as their feet created enough force for the oobleck to act as a solid. When they put their hands below the surface of the pool, they had to move slowly enough for the oobleck to exhibit liquid like properties and release them. One-hundred and fifty pounds of cornstarch were required to fill the pool.

Electrical engineer Ron Sanecki brought a game of his own design, the Game of 21. Thinking mathematically players could force their competitor, the computer, to reach the number 21. Scouts could also explore different strengths of arrangements of atoms in nanotechnology with origami paper, wind permitting.

Learn more about oobleck and making it at home here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f9lXN9ThoORso6GIvHAOyDUO8JcUKC-luk-dIu_8Ykc/edit?usp=sharing