Messy Sticky And Slimy Chemistry

About the Teacher

Mr. Calderon is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelors degree in Psychology (Pre-Med) and a Masters degree in counseling from St. Edwards University. He has been a middle school teacher for Pflugerville I.S.D. at Westview Middle School for 7 years. He has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math and science. He has also been a cheerleading coach and a boys soccer coach for at Westview for 4 years. The Westview Middle School Cheerleading team achieved a National Championship in 2010 and a Regional Championship in 2012. The boys soccer team also recently won the district championship for P.I.S.D. in May of 2012. Mr. Calderon is also a GED instructor for Austin Community College where he has personally achieved over 120 graduates from program. Mr. Calderon’s philosophy in teaching and coaching is to create a positive, comfortable environment where students have the ability to learn and excel. He is an avid chess player and always enjoys a quick game to keep his students engaged. During his off time, Mr. Calderon enjoys spending time with his daughters (Victoria -15 and Isabella-7) bike riding, swimming and golfing. As an ongoing project of 6 years, Mr. Calderon has volunteered time to collect blankets and clothing for Austin’s homeless as well as donations for the Boys Scouts Club #2 in his home town of Chihuahua, Mexico. He is excited to join this wonderful organization and looks forward to spending time this summer with his new students.

A note from the teacher & some of the things the campers learned while in camp

Dear Parents,

This has been an exciting week for my students who are eager to learn about chemistry. First and foremost, I’d like to thank all the parents for giving me a chance to spend some time with these wonderful campers. I have seen some truly amazing ideas brought forward and I appreciate the chance to teach these eager minds what the world of chemistry is all about.

Though it took a couple of hours for some of my campers to come out their shells, I have been able to see how their personalities and interest come into play in the field of chemistry. I first saw hesitation from most of the students with the terminology involved, whether it was the term of graduated cylinder to 250 ml of water, they got accustomed to it and they excelled. I am proud to say that my campers got in depth exposure to college level terms and activities that few students ever see. At the end of the week, they were excited in mixing different materials and getting sticky and slimy to see the results of our experiments. Here is a breakdown of what we learned this week.

Day 1 – We learned about the basic measurements in chemistry from dealing with a beaker or a flask. The student used real glass chemistry equipment to measure liquid and solids the same way as it is done at UT, the students also got a chance to see the combinations of solid and liquid states and got to put their hands on the final product. Students used flour to see the differences in between solids and liquids.

Day 2– Students learned about the different densities in liquids. We took simple water with food coloring and we measured it to different liquid substances with different densities such as corn starch, hot sauce, cooking oil and water. Student then built their own lava lamps according to their favorite colors.

Day 3– Campers got a chance to see why “the sky is blue’. We mixed flour with water to represent the earth’s atmosphere and we experienced firsthand why the sky is blue and why sunsets are red and orange. As you probably already know this is due to the angle of refraction with the sun’s rays and the earth’s atmosphere. Each student had a chance to manufacture their own sunset and daylight in their own beaker.

Day 4– Young People had a chance to build a silicone polymer also known as silly putty. Campers took a mixture of white glue with liquid starch to make a sticky slimy substance that would not adhere to your fingers and became easy to play with. After a class demonstration, every student had a chance to manufacture their favorite colored putty to show off at home.

Day 5– Young People had a chance to mix solids, liquids and even gas to develop their magic potions. We experimented with liquid substances as well as sold and gas. Students used tonic water and club soda to make coca cola substitutes as well as different carbonated drinks. This week was a super sticky, messy and slimy.

Click here to download the 2013 YPW Camps Catalog