Muscle Boot Camp!

There was a lot of exercise going on in the STEM Lab at Goodpasture last week!  Our students continued our study of Human Biology with a lesson on the muscular system. Our Bible infusion was Joshua 1:19 -- Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord, your God will be with you wherever you go.

 
The objective of the Muscle Boot Camp lab was to challenge the students to learn the importance of muscles in our bodies.  Students were taught the three main muscle types, with an emphasis on ten groups of skeletal muscles.  Knowledge about our bodies leads to respecting our bodies; respecting our bodies helps us to take better care of them. 

Students learned that the human body has over 600 muscles.  Students participated in activities to strengthen muscles from head to toe!  They lifted medicine balls, jumped rope, did push-ups, sit-ups and wall-sits, and used 16-oz. canned vegetables as weights!  Muscles/groups covered were:  Deltoids, Pecs, Biceps, Triceps, Abs, Obliques, Gluteus Maximus, Quads, Hamstrings and Gastrocnemius.  The students did an outstanding job trying all of the exercises, and they all really learned a lot!  Mrs. Sweet got 19 workouts in three days with all of the classes!  It was great boot camp!

Daniel working on his triceps

These wall-sits aren't THAT bad!

Carissa and India strengthening those arms!

Lydia working out her calves by jumping rope!

Go, Elizabeth!

Lanie and Gracie working hard!

Wow!  This is hard to do!

Hunter tries the medicine ball!

Bryson gives wall-sits a "thumbs-up"!

This is pretty cool!

This is heavy!

First graders working the pecs with push-ups!

Maddie's working those quads!

Audrey fell down into a pile of giggles!

Working lots of muscles in this cool relay game!

6th Graders working those triceps!

6th Graders rock!

Working those pecs!

Luke's got the deltoids under control!

Bones ROCK!

This week, we completed our study of bones.  The students enjoyed seeing the finished results of the bone models, and they proudly showed them to their homeroom teachers. We discussed the importance of our spine and the make-up of its bone structure.  We looked at x-rays of teeth and spines, noting how the images are made with radiological technology.  We studied an x-ray of a spine with scoliosis, noting how the curve bows the spine outward.  Students were reminded of the importance of good posture in helping our spine to grow correctly.  Younger students made a model of a backbone, noting the importance of flexibility and movement within the spine.

Students made observations from our chicken bone experiment.  Bones were no longer hard and strong.  They were extremely flexible, rubbery and bendable.  Our hypothesis that vinegar would take the calcium out of the bones held true, and we were able to draw the conclusion that calcium helps promote strong, hard, healthy bones.  Older students completed a lab sheet comparing and contrasting the bone used in our chicken bone experiment BEFORE and AFTER being placed in the vinegar solution. 

The students enjoyed this "Schoolhouse Rock" video about bones:

http://www.schooltube.com/video/0f3e5949652984f8d0ca/

Thanks to Molley White and Jesse Jones for bringing in x-rays to study.  Thanks to Mary Grace Lovell for bringing in a really cool spider.  Mrs. Lovell and Mrs. Sweet THOUGHT the spider was deceased.  Much to our surprise, it was not!

Next week we will embark on the study of the muscle system with our very own MUSCLE BOOTCAMP!  

Michal works on creating a backbone from a pipe cleaner and drinking straw.

Morgan is quite pleased with her backbone!

3rd grade lab group work on colorful skeleton worksheet.

Piper knows her bones!

Makenzi carefully detailing her backbone model!

Mary Grace's spider -- "Wolfie"

Zack and Coleman can't believe our plants are growing BIG!

Reece examining the chicken bone from our experiment!

Skylar threading the vertebrates onto the column.

Tyler loves STEM Lab!

Landon is hard at work!

Daniel likes to work on his knees!

Lab group conferring about the Chicken Bone Experiment.

The bone was really soft and bendable AFTER the vinegar.

Enjoying one of the cool STEM books in a very rare "free exploration" time during lab.

Without calcium, this chicken bone is DISGUSTING!!

Lanie demonstrates the need for flexibility in our spines!

Boys carefully cutting the bone pieces for their spine model!

Build-A-Bone Workshop

In Lab #4, students began a study of Human Biology with an emphasis on the skeletal system.  Our Bible infusion for this week comes from I Corinthians 13:16 -- Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?  With an emphasis on taking care of our bodies, students learned the importance of calcium and exercise for their bones.

Students learned some interesting bone facts, too!  Did you know an adult has 206 bones and over 80% of those bones are located in our feet and hands??  Calcium can be found in many delicious foods, including almonds!  If a bone breaks and pops through the skin, it is called an open fracture!  Our largest bone is our femur, located in our thigh, and it is as strong as concrete!  Wow!

In our chicken bone experiment, we examined a freshly cleaned chicken bone.  We placed the hard bone into a solution of vinegar.  We formed a hypothesis that the acid in the vinegar will remove the calcium from the bone, leaving only collagen behind.  We expect to find these bones greatly changed at our next lab.

Students enjoyed the "Build-A-Bone Workshop".  They used paper rolls, yarn, netting, burlap, straws and dough to create a model bone.  Bone components such as blood vessels, bone marrow, spongy bone, compact bone and periosteum were represented in the models.  Dough will harden by next lab, and students will be able to take the models back to the classroom. 

It was hard to tell if we were having a lot of fun and learning a little, or if we were learning a lot, while having a little fun!  Either way, the Bone Lab was a hit!

Lab teams compete to pound the periosteum flat!

It took some engineering to get the blood vessels into the red bone marrow

This group of 4th graders confer to come up with a plan to thread the blood vessels into the marrow.

In the "What Happened to Bob?" game, students learned the importance of a calcium rich diet.

Evie checks to see if the blood vessels are coming through!

Houston uses a lot of effort to pound the periosteum! 

Middle school students learned the scientific names of the bones.

A model from the Build-A-Bone Workshop!

Pounding the periosteum flat!

Cooper tries to put Bob back together!

Abbie carefully folds the spongy bone for the model.

These 6th grade girls work together on the blood vessels.

This class is looking sharp!  STEM Lab fell on picture day!

These girls are working hard to knead the dough for the model!

Sasha and Michal carefully layer the compact bone for the model.

Bailey rolls the dough carefully! 

Sadie trying to help Bob find his shape again!

These girls stir salt, flour and water to make a pasty dough for the workshop.

Our chicken bone experiment will show students the importance of calcium in our bones!

Making dough is hard work!