Restless Minds

Today is IWD, International Women's Day

2014-03-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

The International Women's Day (IWD) was originally called International Working Women's Day, this date is related with women strikes for equality at work and voting rights. Every year on the March 8 all women are remembered, specially those who perish fighting for what they thought was right.

Congratulation to all women.

Et voilá!
Enjoy!

Halloween hat craft

2013-10-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

This is a simple project, inexpensive and suitable for all ages

What we need:

2 sheets of black cardboard
sheet of felt (green, orange, purple, or red), you can use other materials like fake cobwebs, paper gloss, or anything your imagination wants,
white glue,
scissors,
tape,
ruler
compass.

How to:

Fold the cardboard in a cone shape, this cone has to be so tight as your head;
Fix the cone with tape;
Cut the free ends in the bottom of the cone with the scissors, this free end is the triangle that is formed on the base of the cone when you fold the paper, cut it, so that the base becomes a circle;
With the compass, draw a circle on the second card sheet with less 1in of radius then the opening of the hat, use a ruler to measure the diameter of the opening (the diameter is the distance between 2 points in the circle passing in the center of it). Now, divide this value by 2, you will get the radius;
Draw a second circle, concentric with the first but with more 2 to 3 in in radius then the first one, concentric circles have the same center;
Cut out the larger circle;
Cut out the inside of the smaller circle, This is where your head goes;
Place the cone centered on top of the circle;
Apply a layer of glue in this junction;
Let it dry;
Turn the hat up side down;
The small circle is slightly smaller than the opening of the hat, about 2in remember?, with small scissors make small cuts on this cardboard flap, at the end you must be able to flap it inside;
Apply glue inside the cone;
Bend the cardboard in;
Press;
Let it dry;
Cut some felt strips;
Wrap and glue them around the hat;
Use stencil-like images to decorate your hat.

Halloween colors:

Black, orange, purple, red and green.

You can use theses 5 stencils to decorate your hats:

Ghost

Bat:

Spider:

Pumpkin

Witch

Et Voila!
Bu!

Enjoy!

Spiders with plastic bottles

2013-10-01T16:26:00.000-04:00

This is a great and easy idea from decor e culinaria" blog. his project will keep your restless occupied for a few hours and will save you some money when the time to decorate Halloween comes. In addition is a project that recycles and reuses old plastic bottles.

What we need:

plastic bottles, any size will do,
craft knife,
scissors,
thin rope or twine,
electric driller, small,
black acrylic paint,
small brush,
fishing line,
sewing needle,
old newspaper, to protect the surface.

How to:
(this project requires adult supervision!)

Drill 2 small holes near the bottle opening;

Drill a 3th hole in the bottom;

With the craft knife cut the bottle in 2 parts, like the image- one will look like a funnel, the other like a cup;

Paint the 2 parts with the black paint;

Let it dry;

Paint the interior;

Let it dry;

Use the scissors to slice the cylindric half, like image 7, this will do a sider with more then 8 legs... it's a Halloween mutant;

Bend the plastic slices in two points, one near the spider body, and the other like a knee (halfway the end of the leg).

Follow the image 9 and 10 to cut and bend the other half of the bottle;

Remember the drilling job you did at steps 1 and 2? Use the holes, the fishing wire, and the needle- if you need it- to hang the spiders on the celling;

Et Voilá!
Everyone will love this black and huge spiders!

Enjoy!

Emulsion, oil/ water coloring droplets

2013-05-04T17:00:00.000-04:00

Cleaning the fryer back home is not exactly easy. Who usually does this knows that is a messy, sticky and dirty work. To minimize this greasy effect we usually fill the fryer with boiling water and add detergent on a very generous amount. In fact I usually pre wash all the dishes before putting them in the machine. Why? Because it allows the fat to dissolve in the water and not inside the machine or in my hands.

Why?
Because the detergent is an emulsifier, and as such promotes the formation of emulsions.
An emulsion is a system consisting of two immiscible liquid phases (oil and water). We may have emulsions of oil in water (O / W: external aqueous phase) and water in oil (W / O: oily external phase).
The emulsion stability is ensured with use of emulsifying agents such as detergent, surface-active substances generally.

We will need:

3 transparent cups, glass or plastic,
water, enough to fill two cups,
cooking oil,
food coloring,
pencils.

How to:

Fill one of the containers with water (2/3) and the other with the same amount of cooking oil;
Add 3-5 drops of food coloring to each, leave some space between the drops so that they do not touch each other;
What happens?
Fill the third container with water up to 2/3, add some oil, enough to form a layer on top of the water.
Add the food coloring the same way as in the previous point. Try to predict what will happen;
What happens?
With the sharp pencil touch a droplet of colorant of the third cup;

What happens?
When the food coloring is added to water, it blends completely with it. When you add the same food coloring to the oil, a small sphere is formed on oil surface.

Why?
Water molecules are polar, in other words they have a small positive charge at one end and a small negative charge at the other, for this reason they remain together, by forming hydrogen bridges. Unlike water molecules, the oil molecules are non-polar - have no charge-, for this reason, the molecules of oil also tend to stick together.

When we "force" an oil to mix with a water based solution (the food coloring) those form an emulsion.
A emulsifier it's a molecule with to different ends, one that loves water (hydrophilic) and a second that hates water (hydrophobic). Imagine a wood stick with two ends, one of them "sinks" in the oil- the hydrophobic end- the other in the water- hydrophilic end. This phenomena is responsible for the formation of small oil droplets -spheres- in the water. This is a stable structure and it's what we call emulsion, many things around us at home are emulsions like mayonnaise and face creams, for example.
If you try to mix the jar 3 emulsion you will verify that after a while the oil will came back to the top..

When you use food coloring (FC), what happens is that the FC droplets drag a small amount of oil with them as a "coat", that's why the FC stop in the oil. the oil acts as a life saver coat, preventing the droplets to drawn. When you punch the droplets with the sharp pencil, the "oil coat" is broken and the FC- a water based solution- blends, almost immediately, with the water bellow the oil.

Go further
If you want to go further change the variables, one at time and take notes.

Use different kitchen oil types;
Use vinegar or any other kitchen liquid instead of FC.

Et voilá!
Now you can avoid your daily bath: "Mom I'm hydrophobic!"

Enjoy!

The air takes space- water in the jar

2013-05-04T13:26:00.000-04:00

This is a very simple demonstration that proves the air takes space

We will need:

2 jars,
funnel,demonstração, experiência de física, pressão, propriedades do ar, água,
water,
modeling clay, a lot,
coloring, food coloring is the best,
pencil, or a pen, a wood stick, something good to punch the clay ...

How to:

Fill half of the jar with water;
Add a few food coloring to the water, 3 or 4 drops;
Place the funnel in the jar;
Seal the jar area around the funnel with the modeling clay, the air can't go in or out through the jar/funnel contact zone;
Now fill the funnel with some more water.

What happens?
A small quantity of water rolls through the funnel into the flask, but in a few seconds stops, despite the funnel is full of water.

Why?
There is no more space in the jar! The jar is half full of water and half full of air, we must to take the air out in order to get the water get in.

Use the pencil to open a hole in the clay.

What happens?
The water immediately falls into the jar.

Why?
The water "falls" and pushes the air out the jar, now the air can get out through the hole.

Et voilá!
Easy uh?

Enjoy!

Growing crystals at home

2013-05-04T11:31:00.001-04:00

What is a crystal?
Crystals are regular structures formed by a regular repeating pattern of atoms or molecules.

These structures grow by a process called nucleation. During nucleation, the atoms or molecules of what we want to transform in a crystal (solute) are dissolved in a solvent. The particles of the solute will tend to cluster together, forming subunits of atoms or molecules. These larger particles will also group with each other and eventually become large enough to "pop out" the solution (crystallize).

Other solute molecules will continue to adhere to the surface of the crystal, causing it to grow until equilibrium is achieved between the solute molecules in the crystal and the solution.

Growing crystals
Three factors that can influence the growth of "home" crystals:

A good/poor solution saturation- The first stage of home crystal growth is a saturated solute. In a saturated solution the probability of molecules colliding with each other in order to form a core for initiating nucleation is greatly increased.

Surface type-A rough surface tends to be more attractive for nucleation. It is more likely that a crystal is formed on a piece of rough rope than the in the smooth walls of a glass.

The presence of deposits in the bottom-This occurs when the solution is not scrambled or means that too much solute was added to saturate the solution. The presence of these deposits create areas for optimum crystal growth however prevents crystal formation in the "target."

Lets see how to grow sugar crystals, these crystals can be sucked and eaten like a lollipop. This demonstration may take up to 3 weeks.

We will need:

3 cups of sugar, we have to adjust this quantity, we want to saturated at 100% but no precipitate,
cup of water, to boil,
food coloring,
small jar,
small bowl,
wood stick, or rope,
kitchen paper or paper filter.

How to:

Boil the water, careful with burns!;
In the bowl, mix the boiling water with the sugar;
Stir the water until all the sugar is dissolved;
If you want to give sugar some color, now it's the time, add the food coloring;
Place this solution in the jar, attention! wash the jar really well to avoid nucleation in it's walls;
Avoid any amount of sugar precipitate in the jar- any not dissolved sugar-, this sugar will be a good nucleation "start point";
Suspend the stick or rope in the solution, do not wash those, we want this to be a suitable "start up" spot for nucleation;
Chose a nice and quiet spot to place your jar for at least 3 weeks;
Wait until the solution cool and cover it with a paper filter.

What happens?
After cooling the solution will use nucleation spots to form crystals.

NOTE: You must check the jar on daily basis, if you see any nucleation in jar walls, change the jar;

Wait about 3 weeks for excellent results.

Go further:

Follow the growing crystals with a graph;
Use salt and compare the growing velocity with the sugar;
Use 3 jars, in the first one use boiling water, in the second tepid water, and in the last one repeat the essay with cold water;
Try to dissolve the sugar/salt/other while the water is boiling;
I am sure you can remember other ways to change this demonstration into a experiment...

Source: about.com; squidoo.com; buzzle.com
Et Voilá!
Science you can eat!

Enjoy!

Princess Rashid- Art with science

2013-04-06T12:15:00.000-04:00

I found Princess Simpson Rashid while I was googling in Internet about the Periodic Table of chemical elements, her paintings just popped up when I asked google to see "images". My first thought was "wooo this is soberb, I have to post this". I found it so amazing that, for the first time in "Mentes Irrequietas/ Restless Minds Boosters" blog history, I felt I should write the artist before I post it, and so I did it, Princess Simpson Rashid answered me next day giving Restless Minds permission to post her work, thats why for the first time- of many more, I hope- the image has the "used with permission" statement.

Princess Simpson Rashid is a passionate with science. She is a Bachelor in Physics- Georgia State University-, and she studied printmaking and painting at the Escuela de Artes Plastica in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Science-Inspired Abstraction, Modern Sport-Fencing, and Expresssionistic Landscapes are the main themes she turns to in her work. Today we are going to see only a small part of her work, the Science-Inspired Abstraction.
If you like the images you are going to see next, I strongly advise you to check Rashid website, her work is "super restless" and full of color and good energy.
At this moment Rashid lives in Tampa, Florida, USA, and in her own words:

"My current body of work explores the relationship between abstract art and math, color and music, composition and perception. I use line and color to convey movement. My painting technique often involves dripping and pouring paint until I’m satisfied with the composition. My artistic goal is to capture the individual energy and essence of the subject matter by whatever means available to me. Color, texture, design and energy are the components that make up all of my work.." in http://www.foglefineart.com/artists/profile/rashid-princess/

In this paintings Princess Simpson Rashid is a true art scientist, or "sciencartist" if you want, she uses the elements of Periodic Table, the x's and y's from math and even Pi constant from geometry (the famous 3,14). Super Restless uh?

©Princess Simpson Rashid, "Periodic Table-2", Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 60 inches. www.princessrashid.com, Used with permission.

©Princess Simpson Rashid, "Periodic Circles 2", Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 36 inches. www.princessrashid.com, Used with permission.

©Princess Simpson Rashid, "Composition B", Acrylic on Canvas,48 x 24 inches. www.princessrashid.com, Used with permission.

©Princess Simpson Rashid, "Composition A", Acrylic on Canvas,48 x 24 inches. www.princessrashid.com, Used with permission.

©Princess Simpson Rashid, "Periodic Circles 1", Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 36 inches. www.princessrashid.com, Used with permission.

©Princess Simpson Rashid, "Pi-1", Acrylic on Panel, 24 x 24 inches. www.princessrashid.com, Used with permission.

For more informations please consult Rashid website, and her blog.

Sources:
http://www.foglefineart.com
http://princessrashid.com

Et voilá!
Science and art holding hands!

Enjoy!

Nature finds a way- light labyrinth

2013-04-06T12:02:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how the sentence "Nature finds a way" is incredibly correct, everyone knows at least one story about animals saving people or about animals doing thousands of km despite the unimaginable difficulties- like monarch butterflies or salmon going up the river.

Nature follows a small set of rules that allow ecosystems to function in equilibrium theoretically "ad eternum" if they are not disturbed by the "human hand".

Today I bring you a demonstration of how nature always finds a way to overcome the difficulties.
The test is very simple allows direct observation of the struggle for life.

We will need:

potato;
small plastic container/pot, like a cup,
soil,
shoe box,
wooden blocks, legos®, or other small obstacles.

How to:

Allow the potatoes a few weeks at room temperature, so they can germinate, this procedure should be done in dry conditions, with light and warm. This procedure can take up to 6 weeks;
Take the potatoes and place them in the container with the "little eyes" facing upwards;
Cover the potatoes with moist soil;
In the narrow side of the box make a round hole the size of a small coin;
Put the pot inside the box at the opposite end to the hole that opened in the box;
build small walls and obstacles using the legos®;
Place these obstacles inside the box, make sure that there is at least one free path to the hole, don't close the hole;
Close and seal the box, make sure no light can get in except from the hole;
Place the box somewhere with direct light with the hole facing the light source;
Wait 3 or 4 days and observe.

What happens?
After a while the potato will grow in light direction, sprouts will naturally go around obstacles in light direction

Why?Because the plant needs light to produce food, and thus growth will always be towards the light.

Go further:
Repeat this with other plants.
"Do all plants grow in the same way?"
you can use dry beans, onion.

Et Voilá!
Nature finds a way!

Enjoy!

Recycled lanterns, DIY project

2013-04-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

For Christmas, Halloween or any acasion, handmade lanters with cans! Its a great way o reuse and recycling metal can's thats would end in trash can..
I found this super restless idea here and i think the final result is great.
this project needs adult supervision and I fond it to be a bit more difficult o execute then it appear.

What we need:

cans, sausage cans, mushrooms, peas ... in short, those who we often have around in the kitchen,
hammer, careful with your fingers,
nail, it will look better if you use a thin nail,
water, enough to fill up the cans,
dishcloth,
freezer, ya the one in refrigerator,
candles, as many as the cans;
indelible marker.

How to:

Fill up the cans with water;
Place then in the freezer;
Wait about 24 hours;
With the indelible marker draw the form you want to illuminate in the can, you can draw it in a piece of paper and secure it with tape to the can;
Cover a table with a cloth, make sure the table is resistant;
With the nail and the hammer punch some holes along the drawing lines, those must be equally spaced;
Place the can in the sink, wait until you can remove the ice block;
Dry the can;
Now you can paint it like they did here;
Place the candle inside.

Et voilá!
Light effects!

Enjoy!

Paper clip hearts, so lovely, so simple

2013-04-01T17:42:00.001-04:00

Mother's day is almost here and today we will see how to bend a paper clip in a heart shape.
I saw it here for the first time and it was love at first sight.

You can bend your hearts using any size or paper clip color.

Et voilá!
Thank you Tais for this wonderful restless idea. Very simple and very restless

Enjoy!

1+1 sometimes is not 2

2013-04-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

This is one of the greatest math problems, side by side with the one that states that 0 is different than 0. But this demonstration is not about math, is about Archimedes' Principle.

Archimedes' Principle states:
" a body immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid"

In other words, when we place a body in a fluid, like water, the volume of the object equals the volume of displaced water.

The simplest example is a bath. If we fill the tub with water up to the top and we lay down inside it, the water will exit, and your bathroom will be a very wet place similar to a lake. The amount of water that came out equals your body volume. You can, with some time and work, calibrate the tub to find out your body volume, 1L=1dm3.
In this example 1+1=2, but sometimes 1+1= "not sure"

What we need :

glass container,
tape, one you can write on
pen,
sugar,
glass container with a scale,
paper towel,
straw,
spoon,
hot water.

How to:

Clean the container;
Apply a vertical strip of tape in the container;
Fill the scaled container with hot water (container A);
Pour the water in the other container (container B);
Use the pen on the tape to mark the water level in container B;

Fill the container A again and add the water to the container B
Use the pen again and mark the water level in container B;
Reject the water;
With the paper towel clean and dry container B;
Repeat step 3, 4 and 5;
Now fill up the container A with sugar;
Add the sugar to container B;
Use the spoon to mix the solution;
Use the pen to mark the level;

What happens?
1 volume of hot water + 1 volume of sugar it's different from 2 volumes of hot water.

Why?
Water molecules are organized like a net. This net is stable and cohesive due to hydrogen bridges. When this net is formed some hydrogen atoms link to neighbor water molecules by a "false" bond with the oxygen, those are called hydrogen bridges. When this happens some "blank spaces" are left between the molecules- in the net. This spaces are as big as the molecules are excited, thats why we used hot water- more empty space makes dissolution more efficient.

When we add the sugar the sugar molecules occupy the empty spaces between water molecules, thats why:

1 sugar unit+ 1 water unit doesn't equal 2 water units

This is a demonstration, but you can make it an experiment:
Go further:
Try with 1 unit of water+ 1 unit of sugar. Does that equals 2 units of sugar?
Try with cold and ice water, what happens?

Et Voilá!
Now you can teach some stuff to your math teacher

Enjoy!

Why eat seasonal fruit

2013-03-20T09:04:00.000-04:00

Eating strawberries or cherries in December is a small but expensive luxury brought to us by development. Nothing is better for the soul then smell the summer through the out of season fruit, it's like a beach walk in a hot day.
But nature is always right, and we don't have cherries in December for a reason.
We can eat cherries all year but there is a reason that cherries grow on spring/summer and not in December. Past generation lived in tune with season, knew all the natural cycles and ate what the land gave them, was unthinkable eating persimmons in August or figs in March. Many things were conserved in several ways, primarily by cold, to be available all year, but these were limited resources.

Today we have at our disposal all we want, when we want, like we want. I even think that satisfying pregnant women wishes with never ending trips is now a myth, all we need to do is going to the market.

But eating season fruit and vegetables bring advantages to the health, the planet and to economy.
Some of the products we eat are brought from the other side of the world, some of them are season products there but they are out of season here. As a result they are picked green so they can ripe during the trip. This fact makes the fruit and vegetables poor in nutrients, the formation of sugar is linked to the sun exposure, and the vitamins are very degradable in this conditions.

Scientists from Consumers Association of Austria confirmed that vegetables picked and frozen at the right season are richer in nutrients than the ones that were transported off-season! in http://bodyecology.com/articles/benefits_in_season.php

Of course we can not be extremists, not everyone has the opportunity to eat fruit "directly from the tree" or pick carrots "directly from the soil," it is clear that without the greenhouses we could not produce food for all inhabitants of the planet (even with them is hard).
Another important concept is food manipulation, this is just one more tool we can use to feed people, perhaps without it we would never be able to feed half of the people we are feeding now, in most of the cases most of us confuse manipulation with selection, both are valid, both are important, and both bring food to your table.
Some parts of the process we can't control, but we can try to assume control on the last bit of the process: What to buy, when to buy, and how to buy.

Eat only 2 to 3 fruit pieces a day, fruit is rich in fructose, fructose is sugar, more then 3 pieces will mean you are ingesting to many sugar. Eating seasonal fruit is more satisfying, the fruit is sweeter, fresh and the body asks for it. It's no accident that nature produces cherries on spring and persimmons on fall, there's always a reason, for example a evolutionary reason related with the nutritional necessities of the all animals during the different seasons.

The fruits/vegetables season table is different for each globe zone, the one here is for the US territory, other tables can be found all over the internet:

Making children eat fruit and not cake as a snack, even if the fruit is out of season looks like a good habit and strategy, with more benefits then losses.

Et voilá!
Eat your vegetables... on season! its cheaper and tasteful!

Enjoy!

Origami tsuru DIY

2013-03-20T07:40:00.000-04:00

The art of folding paper is called Origami.
Origami (etymological meaning: fold(ori) and paper(Kami)), is the art of folding paper without using instruments like scissors or glue. It´s possible to fold paper to form figures, some more complex then others, some using a single sheet some using more.

Origami was born in Japan, in middle age. This art was very formal, and was related with religious ceremonies.

The true is everyone knows how to do origami, the simple paper hat or the famous paper boat, are simple origami folding. Origami is a wonderful art that captivates everyone from 8 to 80.

In Japan every folded paper figure has a different and symbolic meaning. As an example:

Frog: symbolizes love and fertility;
Turtle: symbolizes longevity;
Tsuru (the bird that often symbolizes origami art), also known as grou or stork, symbolizes good luck, happiness and health.

About tsuru
Tsurus are big and beautiful birds, they are full of color and it's a sacred bird in Japan.

An hermit is a person who lives alone without any luxury. The story says that nn Japan some of this hermits lived in mountains with this birds as companions. It's said this hermits had extra human powers- they here capable to stop aging. For this reason the Tsuru is known as the "longevity bird".

Some believe that if you fold 1000 tsurus and at the same time wish something that wish will become true, other believe if you are ill you will get better as fast as the number of tsurus you fold.

Use the schema to fold your first tsuru, it's not hard just requires some skill.

Or try the movie:

Origami is recognized as an educational resource for over 100 years. The first square 15cm papers begun to appear in the third decade of the century XX (paper used nowadays to make origami).

Today, origami has been shown to be an important aid in teaching basic geometry and develop motor skills and individual creativity.

Resources: Núcleo de tecnologia educacional de Jaraguá do Sul; Mundo Nipo; Baú do Professor

Et voilá!

Keep going, 999 to go!

Enjoy!

Homemade glue

2013-02-26T10:09:00.001-05:00

This is a non toxic, easy and inexpensive way to do child craft glue.

This needs adult supervision, remember that the kitchen can be a dangerous place to play in.

What we need:

1/2 cup hot water,
1 tablespoon vinegar,
2 tablespoons of milk powder ,
1/2 tablespoon of baking soda,
water,
1 coffee filter,
1 funnel,
a plastic/ glass containner,
1 tablespoon,
plate.

How to:

Mix the hot water and the powder milk until dissolves;
Add the vinegar, the milk will form 2 distinct parts, the serum and the curds;
Keep mixing this mixture until curds and serum are well separated;
Place the filter in the funnel;
Place the funnel in the container;
Filter the previous mix;
If necessary raise a little bit the funnel so the air can flow, remember that air takes up space;
When the funnel is full "squeeze" the filter a bit, carefully;
Discard the serum;
In a small plate, using the spoon, break the serum layer into small pieces;
Add one hot water teaspoon and about 1/4 teaspoon baking soda;
Mix it all well until the adhesive becomes soft and more fluid;
If the mixture is too thick add a little more water, if it has lumps add more baking soda.
When not in use the adhesive covering it with transparent paper.

With time the glue becomes more transparent and liquid. Trash the glue when it starts to smell slightly spoiled milk.

Note:
If the milk does not curdle try:

add more vinegar;
heat the mixture;
use more hot water.

Et voilá!
you can almos eat it

Enjoy!

The air takes up space- ballon in a bottle

2013-02-26T09:34:00.000-05:00

The challenge is to blow a balloon inside a plastic bottle. A big bottle works better but you can use a small bottle if you want. But is it that easy? Lets see

What we need:

plastic bottle and stopper,
latex balloon,
water,
nail,
hammer.

How to:

Place the balloon inside the bottle, with the tip out;
Try to inflate the balloon, try again!;
Remove the balloon;
Fill the bottle with water and cap it tight;
With the nail punch a hole in the bottle bottom;
Remove the nail and uncap the bottle, what happens?,
Leave only a small amount of water in the bottle;
Place the balloon inside the bottle again, just like in step 1;
Try to inflate the balloon, what happens?;
When the balloon is full of air, use your finger to close the nail hole;
Stop blow, what happens?;
Now remove your finger, what happens?

What happens?
In step 2, you aren't able to inflate the balloon.
When you remove the nail and uncap the bottle- step 6- the water exits the bottle through the hole.
Step 9- you are successful.
While your finger is in the hole the balloon will remain full of air- Step 11.
If you remove the finger the balloon deflates.

Why?
Step2- The bottle is full of air, there is no room for anymore air.
when you punch the hole in the bottle the air can escape through it and and "make some space" to the air in the balloon , while you inflate the balloon it "pushes" the air and the water inside the bottle to the outside through the hole.
Same reason explains why the balloon remains inflated in step 11 and deflates in step 12, amazing humm?

Et Voilá!
It takes space

Enjoy!

Frame with rolled paper tubes

2013-02-25T18:00:00.003-05:00

This project can be done by everyone from 8 to 80. It's a recycling and inexpensive project and it's a lot of fun.

We are going to learn how to do a frame with a cardboard stencil.

Before we start you should read this 2 posts:

What we need:

rolled paper tubes,
rolled paper coils,
cereal box,
glue,
scissors,
craft knife,
old paper,
varnish, transparent,

white paint, or any other color you like best,
paint-brush.

How to:

Roll about 60 paper tubes;
Roll a few coils too, minimum 4 like the tutorial;
Use the scissors to "unmount" the cereal cardboard;
Keep the 2 larger pieces, one will be the frame back, the other will be the stencil;
Use one of the big pieces and draw your image, the one you want to appear in stencil, in this tutorial is a flower, draw always on the backside;
Cut it;
Paint the front side with the color you chose, we used white;
In the second big card piece, same size as the first one, glue the paper tubes, leaning against each other;
Leave about 0,5in at the top and at the bottom, just like the image;
Take you paper coils and glue them in the cardboard piece corner;
Wait to dry;
Cut the excess rolled paper;
Apply glue both in the coils and in the stencil base;
Glue the stencil to the base with the rolled tubes, just like the image;
Press and let it dry, we used small paper clamps;
Glue small pieces of paper around the edges of the frame.
Let it dry;
Varnish it;
Let it dry again;

Et voilá!
Paper all the way!

Enjoy!

Paper rolls and paper coils, recycling old paper

2013-02-25T11:09:00.001-05:00

This is a great idea and it's a wonderful way to reccycle and reuse old paper.
All the pictures are from Reloveddesigns.com.
This is a cheap and easy project that can be done by everyone from 8 to 80. It can be done in family and saved for later use.

This is a great project for several reasons:

Recycling;
Uses the bright colors, or just letters, from magazines and old newspapers;
It's cheap;
The final result is great;
it's a family project.

What we need:

old magazines,
white glue.

How to:

Cut the magazine paper in strips (with about 5 to 7 cm width), try to make them all the same size;;
Begin to roll the paper diagonally at one end, begin as "tight as possible" that way the roll will be skinny and long.;
When they are almost done apply the glue on paper and finish the roll.
Repeat the procedure for all paper strips.

Result:
A stack of paper rolls.

To do what?
You can use this paper rolls to do a lot of things, to make some photo frames for example.

But if you feel with courage you can roll the paper rolls.

It's very easy. Use a round stick and rolls the paper roll around it. You can use a broomstick, a chinese stick or a crochet needle....

The only thing you must control is that every time you go around with it the paper must overlap the previous turn. As a final result you will have a paper coil with a hole in the center. Apply a small amount of glue at the tip end.

If you have a lot of coils you can do something like those in the pictures, or use you imagination and do something completely different.

Et voilá!
Recycle and have fun!

Enjoy!

Newton discs, How do they work?

2013-02-21T22:20:00.000-05:00

Sunlight has no color, that's why it is known as white light. In fact the white light is a mix of different colors, these colors are visible only when light passes through a transparent object such as glass, and decomposes in all colors, this effect is commonly called rainbow and scientifically called spectrum.

The spectrum consists of seven colors:

red;
orange;
yellow;
green;
blue;
indigo;
violet.

Today we will do a "magic disc"- the Newton disc. We will learn that white light is made by mixing all these 7 colors.

What we need:

pencil,
scissors,
thick white card,
crayons, markers will do,
ruler,
compass,
protractor.

How to:

Cut the card in a circle, use a compass;
Use the protractor to divide it into 7 parts, like in the picture, sections of 55 º, 60 º and 35 º;
Paint each piece with a spectrum of colors, the figure shows the red, the orange, the yellow, the green, the blue, the indigo and the violet. Paint it as uniformly as possible and use the same intensity with all the colors;
Make a hole in the middle of the circle and pass the pencil through it, the center of the circle is where the "hole" of the compass is;
Spin the pencil quickly, like a top, look at the color wheel, adjust as necessary to rotate the set easily.

What happens?
The disc appears as a grayish white tone.

Why?
In fact if the conditions were optimized we would see a clean white circle, without the grayish tone.

The colors painted on the wheel are the main colors of the white light, like those that are present in the rainbow. When the wheel spins it creates a visual effect that makes your brain believe that they mingle and wheel appears white when in reality it´s multicolored.

This is a demonstration, turn the test in to an experiment, experiment with different color combinations. Here are two suggestions: red, blue and green, or red and green for example, what happens? Why?

Et Voila!
After all the white has a lot of color

Enjoy it!

Lava lamp DIY- Recycling materials

2013-02-21T16:27:00.001-05:00

A lava lamp is an object containing droplets of colored wax inside a closed glass container filled with clear liquid, the wax rises and falls due to changes in density caused by heating. This heating is due to the presence of an incandescent lamp.

Today we will build a lava lamp using plastic bottles.

What we need:

empty plastic bottle,
cooking oil,
funnel,
water,
food coloring,
tape or glue.

How to:

Wash the bottle, remove the label and any residues of glue that may have;
With the funnel fill the bottles to 3/4 with oil;
Fill a measuring cup of water;
Add water 3 or 4 drops of food coloring, the red gives it "that" look!;
Add the water to the bottle, use the funnel;
Cap and seal the bottle with glue, adhesive tape can also be used, but the glue is safer;

Your restless will love to see the bubbles go up and down, do not stir too intensely, always use smooth movements.

Plastic bottles are certainly a fantastic item to use on your crafts!

Et Voila!
A homemade lava lamp.

Enjoy!

Easter painting pages

2013-02-21T09:27:00.001-05:00

Painting pages just for you.
Print and color.
All of this images were found on the internet.

Et voilá!
Have fun!

Enjoy!

Valentine's Restless Ideas

2013-01-24T04:32:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Restless Ideas just for you

Et voilá!

Enjoy!

Super restless bottle animals

2013-01-21T12:49:00.003-05:00

I found his idea here in Banana Craft blog , and you can find the step by step here.

This craft recycle PET bottles, and the result is a lot of color and fun animals.

What we need:

PET bottles, The step by step instruction use 600ml bootles, but you can use any,
hot glue;
soft paper;
EVA;
felt;
googly eyes, or small buttons;
PET caps, yogurt or soda;
rice, you can use sand or beans;
paint, spray works best;

I think the step by step is very good, so I will leave you with the final result.

Et Voilá!
Fun fun fun!

Enjoy!

Frame with yogurt recicled caps

2013-01-21T12:36:00.001-05:00

This is fun, colorful, easy and pretty.

What we need:

yogurt caps, all of the same kind, we used 56,
thin wire,
pliers,
small drill, like a drummel, use glue if you prefer;
acrylic paint;
varnish
soft brush
swabs.

How to:

Wash the caps;
Let them dry;
Place the caps on the table and see the format you want to give to your frame;
Take 2 caps;
Use the drill to open a small hole on each cap side wall;
Use the pliers to cut the wire (about 6cm);
Fold the wire in half, like a clamp;
Pass one end through the holes, pull the clamp up and tighten down with pliers;
With your fingers push wire ends down, to the opposite direction, and then again with the pliers tight it;
Repeat the operation for all the caps;
You can do line by line, then link the several lines, or you can do it in spiral, like the picture shows;

Before using the drill mark the spot with a pen;
If you are using glue is much easier, just apply the glue and lean the caps.
When you are done clean all the surface with alcohol;
Let it dry;
Use your imagination to paint it, we made some silly faces;
Use varnish to finish the job;
Use the swab to paint the eyes;

Et Voilá!
Everyone can be an artist!

Enjoy!

Grow Stalactites with a string

2013-01-21T12:00:00.001-05:00

Mira d'Aire

Stalactite:
a cylindrical mass of calcium carbonate hanging from the roof of a limestone cave: formed by precipitation from continually dripping water

Alvado

Stalagmite
a cylindrical mass of calcium carbonate projecting upwards from the floor of a limestone cave: formed by precipitation from continually dripping water

in http://www.thefreedictionary.com

Let´s try to do our own stalactites and stalagmites, with water and salt.
At first sight may look simple and easy, but in fact is a lot difficult because it will depend on a lot of variables.

What we need:

Epsom salts,
water,
2 identical glasses,
string or paper towel,
2 paper-clips or weights,
spoon,
bowl or pot,
a good place to leave the glasses siting for a few days

How to:

Fill a glass twice with water and dump it in the pot,
Add 1 Epsom table spoon;
Mix;
Repeat again and again until the solution is saturated;
Heat the heat the pot on a stove, caution!
Add more salt and keep stirring, hot water can dissolve more salt, do not boil the water;
Split the water for the 2 glasses, try to be the more exact as you can;
Find the location where they will sit for the next few days...;
Leave a 3 or 4 inches between the glasses;
Cut a string big enough to cover the distance between the glasses and hang down to the bottom of both glass;
Tie the paper clips in both string ends;
Place each one on a glass;
Wait, observe ad take notes.

What happens?
After a few days we will notice a little stalactite on the string.
With a bit of luck you will be able to see a stalagmite too.

Why?
The water travels through the string and the salt goes with it. While the path is vertical the salt "plays along" with water, but when the path becomes vertical, the gravity wins and the saltwater is pulled down. The water trickle and leaves the salt behind on the string. With time the salt will form a stalactite.
If you are lucky and wait enough time you will be able to see the stalagmite formation, under the stalactite.

NOTE THIS:
This demonstration is not so easy as it seams.

You need a strong and concentrate solution of salt;
For better results immerse the string in the solution, before you place it between the glasses.
If the water is dripping very fast increase the distance between the cups, that will reduce the inclination angle.
Do not use a wood surface, it may damage the wood.

A step further:

Use different strings;
Use other salts;
Use different concentration solutions;

Important:

Change one thing at time;
Register everything

Sources:http://www.sciencekidsathome.com,
Dicionário de Mineralogia e geologia ilustrado

Et voilá!
Geology in the kitchen

Enjoy!

Build a Terrarium- Ecosystem inside a jar

2013-01-21T11:03:00.000-05:00

In National Geographic

A terrarium is a completely self-sustaining ecosystem in a container that is designed to house small animals and plants under controlled conditions.

The closed nature of a terrarium creates an environment easy to control, allowing the simulation of environments from desert to rain forest.
In general it is made in a clear naked container, but can also be constructed in wood, for example.

The top can be open or closed depending on the environment we want o recreate. When open it's protected with a net to prevent the "escape" and the entrance of living beings.

How does it works?

The plant resets the oxygen, the light is a source of energy, the water comes from moisture in the soil. As the dead leaves fall and decompose providing food for the soil.

We can build a Terrarium, that's today proposal.

What we need:

transparent glass container, with a wide opening,
small stones,
activated charcoal, you can buy it in a pet shop,
potting soil,
small sponge,
a net with a fine mesh
canvas
moss and/or plants.

How to:

Chose what plant you want to use, they must be small and slow growth;
Place the small stones in the container -terrarium;
Spread a small amount of activated charcoal on the top of stones;
Take a piece of canvas and make a small cut in the middle
Cover the charcoal with the canvas;
Place a sponge (with 3cm wide) in the canvas cut, this will take the moisture to the plants;
Cover the all hing with soil;
Place the plants. Just like you will do it in the garden;
Spray your plants with water;
You can add o your garden some action figures;
Close the Terrarium with the net;
Wait to see if it works.

At first the Terrarium will look fragile, but after a few days the ecosystem will start operating normally. It's normal if the first try fail, but don't give up, use different plants and different soil and try again.

Et Voilá!
Can you make it work?

Enjoy!