March 16, 2018
Time to introduce neuroscience to our students! How does our brain process the constant information that our senses of touch, smell and taste send? How do we use our sense of touch to guess an object without seeing it? Kids closed their eyes and tried to pull an object out a box—hid among other similar objects—relying on sensing object’s size, texture, and firmness. How do we use our sense of smell? Kids closed their eyes and tried to guess an object in front of their nose: whether it be a rose perfume, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder, vanilla, or caraway seeds. How do we use our sense of taste? Kids tried small pieces of apples of various varieties (Gala, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, and Fuji) to see if they could taste the difference. As a bonus, they had a nutritious snack!
We will continue to explore the human senses on March 30 by studying hearing and seeing. Stay tuned!
Play: Trick your brain in determining the temperature of water in this experiment.
Learn: Learn Braille alphabet.
Play: Go outside. Ask the child to describe all the smells (s)he senses. Buy or collect a bouquet. Crush the aromatic flowers in a mortar mixed with a bit of water, then drain the liquid into a container. Add a drop of vanilla if you’d like. You’ve made your own perfume!
Photo credit: Anya Bosina