Investigate Health! | The Lab
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Visit The Lab to learn the science behind our health. Each day features a new Lab activity in which you'll learn the answers to such questions as:
The Lab Hours:
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ALSO IN THE LABJuly 15 - August 15 Tuesday – Saturday, 1:30 - 2:15 Super Cool Fun with Liquid Nitrogen
Shatter a flower, gummy bears, even racquet balls ... Hammer with a banana ... See balloons deflate and reinflate ... Watch an egg be pulled into a flask ... and more.
A special thanks to the Duke University Chemistry Department for donating the liquid nitrogen, as well as Dr. Kenneth Lyle for helping us organize the activities.
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Lab Activities: July 22 – August 9
The following experiments will take place from |
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| Sugary Snack Challenge | ||
| Tuesday July 22 |
Be a junior nutritionist and take the sugary snack challenge. Which has more sugar: 3 Oreo cookies or a granola bar? With the help of an electronic balance, determine how many teaspoons of sugar are in a can of soda. You may be surprised! |  |
| How Does an Antacid Work? |
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| Wednesday July 23 |
Do you believe the claims of stomach medicine commercials? Use a pH indicator to test antacid tablets, Milk of Magnesia, and baking soda to determine for yourself which of these is the fastest and most powerful. |  |
| Exploring Bone Structure |
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| Thursday July 24 |
What would our bodies be like if we didn’t have bones? What makes bones so hard but not brittle? After exploring some fake bones, become a doctor and create a cast for a broken “bone.” |  |
| Water Filters |
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| Friday July 25 |
How do Brita filters work? Learn how to make dirty, smelly water clean by running a mini water treatment plant using charcoal and sand. |  |
| Testing for Vitamin C |
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| Saturday July 26 |
Why are English sailors called Limeys? Why is it important to get the daily recommended dose of vitamin C? Find out while being a junior food chemist. Conduct a series of microtitrations to determine which fruit juice has the most vitamin C. |  |
| Air Pollution and You |
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| Tuesday July 29 |
Does Durham air look clean to you? Did you know that every time you take a shower you are putting pollutants in the air? Be an environmental scientist and find out what contributes to the air pollution of Durham. |  |
| Testing for Fat | ||
| Wednesday July 30 |
What foods contain fat? Are they all bad for you? Test olives, salami, potato chips, marshmallows, and more to find out. |  |
| Extracting Iron from Cereal |
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| Thursday July 31 |
General Mills helps us get the iron our bodies need by putting small pieces of metal in Total Cereal. Don’t believe us? Come to the Lab and extract it using magnets, water, and rolling pins! |  |
| The Stroop Effect |
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| Friday August 1 |
Be a junior neuroscientist and determine how the brain handles interference by playing a fun color reading game. Get a chance to test out your friends or family and determine how much control they have over their brains. |  |
| Testing for Starch | ||
| Saturday August 2 |
What are carbohydrates and why do some people go on low carb diets? Learn more by adding an iodine solution to various foods to determine which contain starch, a type of carbohydrate. |  |
| Extracting DNA |
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| Tuesday August 5 |
If you love crime shows, you have probably heard of DNA before, but what does it do? What does DNA look like? Take DNA out of your very own spit and find out! (Note: this Lab takes about 20 minutes to complete.) |  |
| Let's Hear It for the Ear! |
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| Wednesday August 6 |
Can you figure out what’s inside our mystery box just using your sense of hearing? Shake and find out! Then we’ll learn about how the ear works and what we can do to keep our ears healthy. |  |
| Nanoscience: Sticky, Shaky, Bumpy |
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| Thursday August 7 |
Are you ready for the nanometer challenge? Attempt to cut a piece of paper that is just one nanometer long and learn how small is really small. Then try out a computer simulation to feel what it would be like if you were a nanometer tall. |  |
| What's Your Type? |
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| Friday August 8 |
Being able to identify blood type helps both doctors and detectives, but how do they do it? Come and find out by testing and identifying the blood type of some simulated blood samples. No actual biological samples are used. |  |
| Testing the pH of Drinks |
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| Saturday August 9 |
Most people know that sugary drinks can cause cavities, but acidic drinks can also be bad for your teeth. Use pH paper to determine which drinks are the worst culprits. Be a junior dentist and recommend drinks to keep your teeth happy and healthy. | 
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Health at Home
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From making fertilizer and plastic to keeping your body healthy, acids and bases are important to a variety of areas of your life. If you are curious about what substances around your house are acids and bases, you can make an indicator from a red cabbage. |
| Milk Mystery Lab | |
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Something very cool happens when you mix milk, food coloring, and liquid detergent with a toothpick. Use the scientific method to explain your observations and solve the mystery. You might find that milk is more complicated than simply a liquid you put on your cereal! |
