Experiments for ‘God With No Hands’
EXPERIMENT 1: Three States of Matter
Materials: small tray, 3 small identical clear glasses (ice, water, air), small thermos with ice cubes
Procedure: Hold up the glasses or place them forward one at a time, beginning with the ice. Identify each state: solid, liquid, gas.
Purpose: Show the three states of matter.
EXPERIMENT 2: Forces of Attraction
Materials: large tray, large clear bowl half filled with water, smaller bowl with hole-punches
Procedure: slowly drop the punches one at a time, working first around the outside then into the middle; end when they start to come together.
Purpose: Show the attraction of objects; the coming together of particles.
EXPERIMENT 3: Model of a Liquid
Materials: small tray, one small clear glass ¼ filled with be-bes or iron shot
Procedure: hold the glass up and tilt it slowly from side to side
Purpose: Show how particles of liquid will roll over each other.
EXPERIMENT 4: State of Matter and Heat
Materials: heat-proof pad, a heat source (i.e. hot plate, sterno-stove, Bunsen burner), pie plate with 3 smaller identical heat-proof (metal) cups each containing a solid (non-descript piece of iron, lead solder, wax or paraffin – as identical in appearance as possible), glass stirring rod on a small tray, hot pads just in case
Procedure: Place pie plate with contents on the heat-source and apply the heat evenly. Use the stirring rod and hot pads as needed to demonstrate changes or lack thereof and for emergencies. First turn the heat to the highest setting. When the wax has completely melted, turn the heat halfway down.
Purpose: Show how different substances respond to heat.
EXPERIMENT 5: Liquids Settle According to Their Weight
Materials: test tube rack, 3 test tubes, water (1/3 full), cooking/vegetable oil (1/2 inch), molasses (inch or so deep)
Procedure: Lift up the tube of water. Pour the molasses into the water, as much in the middle as possible so doesn’t stick to the side – watch for its action; repeat with the oil and watch its action.
Purpose: Demonstrate the separation and settling of liquids and other substances by density.
EXPERIMENT 6: Volcano
Materials: decent-sized volcano of neutral dark color (i.e. chicken wire and paper-mache; reasonably light, likely hollow underneath for ease of movement), the mouth made of a heat-proof material (i.e. insert a metal cup during the construction, about an inch deep (fill in with sand before adding chemical if needed), glossy paint makes cleaning up easier; ammonium dichromate (filling the mouth about half-full, covered with a PINCH of sulfur, with another thin layer of ammonium dichromate); long match (fireplace match)
Procedure: Light the match and ignite the chemicals.
Purpose: Demonstrate how heated particles burst out of the earth.
NOTE: The ash is slightly poisonous (absorbed through the skin): wear rubber gloves when cleaning up and dispose with hazardous waste. The children will use vinegar and baking soda in their own work.
Notes on The Creation Story
God with No Hands is a slightly modified version of Mario Montessori’s publication in Communications in 1958, originally told by Maria Montessori. The story is not meant to give just one idea of how creation came about; it’s meant to contain some tidbits of factual information in a story format. One important aspect to think about is the language of the story. The language should not be the same as used in day-to-day speech. The descriptive language should be more dramatic, a bit more extraordinary. The tone of the story should arouse more than just the children’s interest but also his admiration and wonder if the idea of the universe has been presented properly to the children. The story can be told in one’s own words and the guide must be comfortable with the version of the story told; the children are sensitive to hypocrisy.
The guide must love the story that is told; make the story the guide’s own; much practice allows for comfort in the telling.
The story can be either told or read as the guide needs, but the tone needs to maintain enthusiasm and other aspects noted above. In the environment with children, the guide can return to the story and recount specific sections, or fill in forgotten pieces.
Important points to keep in mind in learning, re-wording, and telling:
- The idea of the immensity of the universe, in which the earth is set, incorporated in the story through appeals to the imagination.
Up to this point, the child has been the center of the world, but now the elementary child is turning outwards and is ready to use his imagination. “The light from the nearest star takes 4 light-years to reach us.” “In the galaxy in which we are situated, it takes 100 million years for the light from outside the galaxy to get to us.”
- Analogies should have particular meaning to the children: i.e. European children will not readily understand the size of Alabama and this detail may be adjusted according to the children’s experiences.
- Everything we know started as tiny little particles; this matter has been constant throughout time: present at the beginning of time and rearranged but still present today and into the future. Leave out scientific terms such as protons, electrons, etc. for now.
- Each little particle is given a set of laws to obey; every particle has to follow these laws: attraction to other particles, states of matter and their basic properties. The earth came together in its manner because of these laws. “In the beginning everything was very, very hot, but as things began to cool, particles came together according to their likes and dislikes and formed different substances. Some of those substances took on the solid state, others the liquid states, and still others became gases.” These laws must be in the story.[1]
- Even without the word God, the idea of everything having its own nature must be included. The nature of each substance is inherent in its being.
When and How to Tell the Story The story sets the framework for all of their work in the elementary, so the children should ideally hear it on the
very first day of school. All the children need to know how to do is to sit and listen; they do not need to read and write or know their math facts. New elementary guides with limited experience may want a day or two to get to know the children a little bit before telling the story, allowing for learning their individual personalities (who needs to sit next to the guide, rather than in the back causing problems).
The story should be
announced ahead of time, as with all the Great Lessons and some particular lessons, in order to build anticipation within the children. In the environment, the announcement should be made in such a way that the new children know they are expected to be there (they have no choice in the matter) and the older children are invited but have an option.
The entire story should be
told at one time, with all of the charts and the demonstrations. The guide herself must feel a sense of wonder in order to pass this sense of wonder onto the children.
[2] The story should not be told on a day the guide is not feeling well; distractions and illness create a more intensely accident-prone environment. Best to wait until the guide is feeling better.
Follow-ups to The Creation Story
What not to do:
- If the primary purpose is to stir up interest and rouse their awe and wonder, then the children should not be asked to write the story in their own words.
- The guide should also not ask the children to copy the charts or to do the experiments.
What to do:
- If the guide has stirred them up, you want to leave them stirred up, giving them time to think and reflect.
- Generally when a story such as this one is told, the children are invited to return to their work or choose some work to do, and tell them that another day there will be another story.
The children may ask you or an older child to re-tell the story or a part of the story. The guide can then pick up on the story or that part of the story, filling it in with more details. Focus on the aspects that seem to more greatly interest the child(ren) involved.
Another possibility is to tell the entire story again, but thinking of it as a review of the important points listed above. Different words can be used, as well as different amounts of information in different places. Sometimes the children do not ask for another telling, so the guide must take the initiative.
[3] In either case, discussion can be entered into with the children on various pieces of interest.
Additional demonstrations can be formed – remember that all of the following are just impressions brought in to take the children a little bit further:
- the concept of “colder than ice”[4]
- comparison of the sun to the earth.[5]
- how long it takes light from the sun to reach us;
- how far away is the sun;
- are there are other planets in the universe (chart 2a)?
- All the planets go around the sun (piece of heavy metal on a string, stretching it to various lengths as spinning it overhead)
- Centripetal force (between sun/planets and planets/moons): the pull on the string
- Why don’t the planets fall into the sun? (crumbled up paper; the planets have momentum of their own, as well as rotation, preventing them from succumbing the sun’s gravity in such a manner) – personal motion and centrifugal force
- Continue to add others as interests of the children lead.
Potential Resources:
- My First Book of Space, developed in conjunction with NASA: 0671602624
- Other Creation stories for 9-12[6],[7]
[1] Adults tend to think of laws as prohibitions and limits, however, true laws give order to the world, to the universe, and positively define a creation’s identity, purpose and proper end.
[2] Get up to see the sunrise; go out to watch the stars. Rachel Carlson’s book,
A Sense of Wonder, is an excellent tool to heighten one’s sense of nature and the world around.
[3] Most particularly in new environments without older ones to lead the younger ones, the guide must be more initiating with recalling the stories to the children.
[4] 2 glasses, both with crushed ice. Take their temperatures; add salt to one; retake temperatures. Which one is colder?
[5] Let the children mention the wooden hierarchical material.
[6] It is appropriate for 9-12 to hear other creation stories – the 6-9 year olds need just one so that they can focus on the scientific concepts at hand
[7] Among many others:
In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton (Native American)
