Blogging From A to Z: Q is for Quicksand

It's Monday! And, it's also the fourth week of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme this year is 26 Super Fun Learning Activities You Can Do From Home. That's right, I'm conjuring up 26 "educational" ideas to keep you busy while you're safe at home. But don't get too hung up on the word "educational"—so far, they've all been fun activities. Don't believe me? Check out the link to my past posts below.

I kicked off the challenge with Art for the letter A. Next up was B was for Baking. My sister and I did some chemistry for the letter "C," and I rounded off the first week with a family dance off. "E" was for exercise (which was way more fun than you think) and "F" was all about family. We got our hands dirty with some gardening for "G," celebrated Poetry Month and the letter "H" by writing haikus. And of course, "I" was for Invention. Week two ended with juggling. We started week three of the challenge with knitting, on Tuesday we talked about learning a new language, and on Wednesday we did some fun math. It was fun, right? For "N" I linked to some nature activities and on Friday, we talked about Origami. On Saturday, I shared my grandma's famous "play dough" recipe—and some ways you can create with it.

We start this week with a tough one—but I did some, er, digging....

Q is for Quicksand

Have you read the Superman Duffy educational graphic novel Beneath The SOIL? It's definitely one of the "spookiest" in the series—you wouldn't believe some of the "creatures" that hide out in your soil! But it's also one of the most fascinating books to because, well...creatures in the soil. (Most of them are so tiny you wouldn't be able to see them with the naked eye.)

Anyway, that adventure starts off with "cartoon me" getting stuck in "quicksand." When I—er, he—sinks "beneath the soil," we learn a lot about what makes soil healthy, which is important for growing good crops.

But how does quicksand work?

I did some digging into it and found this short but effective video. (I love watching the doodles as the "pirate" is narrating the information!)

Obviously, I could write about what I have learned, but Mom found a science experiment we could try instead. Yep, we're going to make quicksand. Want to join along? Here are the steps:

1. Gather your ingredients. You will need sand, cornstarch, and yellow food colouring.

2. Mix about a cup of sand with about a cup of cornstarch. Add a few drops of yellow food colouring. (So far, so easy, right?)

3. Add water to the mixture a little at a time until the cornstarch mixture starts to form a liquid. You want to go slowly here though, because if you add too much liquid, it will remain a liquid. If that happens, just add a bit more cornstarch.

4. At this point, you can try squeezing the quicksand—it quickly forms into dough! But what happens when you open your hand?

The quicksand oozes out!

You can play with this stuff for hours—but it looks like we're in for another sunshine day. I plan to spend some time outdoors—but not before I give this a try! (Maybe I'll use one of my sister's action figure toys. Ha!)

Remember to ask your parents before giving this science experiment a go, and always dispose of your quicksand in the garbage, not the sink. It can make your pipes clog up...and that would not be good.

Gotta jet! Catch you tomorrow for a "riveting" "R" activity. <groan>

~ Chase Superman Duffy

P.S. If you want to read Beneath the SOIL, you can download it for free from the Alberta Canola Producers Commission website.