This week we will be learning about the power of hydraulics! Hydraulics have been used in the Western New York area since 1882. Check out the Youtube video below and see how engineers used the power of Niagara Falls to light up millions of homes.

You can even see hydraulics used in real time at our Kiddieland park! Our helicopter ride uses hydraulic lifts to get you off the ground and cruising the sky!
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In the late 1700s hydraulic power was engineered by British engineer Joseph Brama. Hydraulic systems use pressurized fluid to create power. Hydraulics are based off of Pascals principle which in short is that pressure exerted on a fluid is distributed equally throughout the fluid. This creates a mechanical energy which can create enough power to be able to move massive pieces of equipment.

To recreate this project at home it is totally possible you just need some materials...
- Two syringes 
- Clear tubing/ piping
- Water
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You can create your own hydraulic system by filling one syringe with water, connecting the piping to the tip of the syringe and then connecting a second syringe (not filled with water) to the other end. At home you can use this hydraulic system  to do  activities such as creating a hydraulic lift (kind of like a car jack) or you can even play with someone else and have a thumb war! Whose ever syringe is able to fully get rid of the water wins!

We will be practicing with hydraulics in the children's gallery of the museum on Saturday, September 19th from 10am-3pm! We hope to see you there!

This project is an eggcellent one.Do you miss going to ride the bumper cars at kiddielands? Us too! We decided to make our own sort of bumper cars out of...eggs! Eggs are eggxactly the right household item that we can make squishy and fun. We will be making a typical egg (uncooked) into a raw bouncing ball. For this experiment you will need the following...
- An egg
- A glass 
- Vinegar (white vinegar preferred)
- TIME
All you have to do to complete this experiment is place an egg in a glass and fill it with enough vinegar to cover the egg. The egg then needs to sit in the vinegar for upwards of two days. Check on it each night and see how different it looks! Take note of the differences the longer it sits. How does it feel? How does it look? After a while the shell of the egg will disintegrate leaving the egg completely raw. It may even be larger than when you started because some of the vinegar will absorb into the membrane and enlarge the egg. After the egg has sat in the vinegar for long enough you will be able to actually bounce it on the ground HOWEVER, do not drop it from too high up because the egg does have limits and it will eventually break!

Read on to learn more about the science behind this experiment! Also check out our photos to see how our experiment turned out. 

Week 8 is an electrifying one! We will be learning about the ins and outs of electric currents using  Squishy Circuits! Squishy circuits is a fun and hands on way to create various types of circuits. Using conductive dough we will demonstrate different ways to operate an actual circuit. This is a difficult project to recreate at home but if you would like to you can read below on how to make your very conductive dough!
Check out the squishy circuits website to see how these circuits operate
https://squishycircuits.com
Happy STEMing!

Conductive Dough Recipe:
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INGREDIENTS:
1 CUP WATER
1 1/2 CUPS FLOUR
1/4 CUP SALT
3 TBSP CREAM OF TARTAR
1 TBSP VEGETABLE OIL
FOOD COLORING (OPTIONAL)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Mix water, flour, salt, cream of tartar, and vegetable oil in a medium sized pot
• Cook together over medium heat and stir continuously
• The mixture will boil and eventually get lumpy
• Keep stirring until the mixture forms a ball in the pot
• Once the ball forms place the ball on a lightly floured surface, be careful it's very hot!
• Knead the ball with the remaining flour until you've reached the desired consistency, if the mixture seems too sticky add more flour. Add your food coloring to the dough and continue kneading until desired color has been reached.
• Ouila! Your dough is ready for use. Store it in an airtight container.

​This week’s STEM activity is a LONG one. In length I mean, not time! This week is a challenge to see how long of a paper chain you are able to make out of a single piece of paper. While this sounds simple it is actually can be a bit harder than you expect. Challenge a sibling, a friend, a parent (or all of the above). You don’t even have to be in the same room as the other person just make sure they are using the same size piece of paper. If you measure each of your paper trails you can compare numbers virtually! 
 
Here are the rules and regulations of this challenge:

1. Everyone must use the same size piece of paper (it doesn’t matter what kind of paper
2. Everyone must use the same type of adhesive (glue, tape, stapler, etc…)
3. You can cut and maneuver the paper in any way you want but make sure you think through your process before you start cutting. You only get ONE sheet of paper and once its cut there is no going back!
4. You may not use anything else besides the paper and your choice of adhesive when creating your paper chain. 

 
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This month we are reading Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Brigette Barrager. Below is the information on how to tune in to our story time (available on the museum Facebook page) as well as a D.I.Y craft to make your own Unicorn horn at home! We hope to see you there!

To ride our 1916 carrousel there are not many rules however you do have to hold on with two hands! So today we are going to be making our own robotic hands and our goal is to be able to hold onto a carousel pole!  This craft is pretty simple to make and only requires a couple household items including...

- Paper
- A pencil
- Scissors
- A few plastic straws (cut into thirds)
- Tape
- String

STEP ONE: Trace your hand on construction paper and cut it out. If you have really small hands you can just  free hand!
STEP TWO:Cut up approximately 5 straws into 3 pieces. These represent our knuckles so they should be representative of them in terms of size and flexibility.
STEP THREE: Tape the straw pieces to the hand, probably about three pieces per finger and feed an individual piece of string through each “knuckle" (You will want to make sure there is a knot at one end so the string stays put)
STEP FOUR:Try and make a loop at the end of each piece of string so it’s easier to pull each finger. By pulling on a single piece of string you should be able to see one finger move.

This week we have a real challenge on our hands! Rapunzel is stuck inside her tower and needs your help to get out! Unfortunately, we only have so many materials at our disposal. Our project this week is to get Rapunzel down from her tower using only the secret materials in the bags provided in our children's gallery. You can work solo or as part of a team of 2 (wearing your masks, of course!). You will only have 30 minutes to complete this task and will be timed by our STEM facilitator.

This weekends project is primarily gaged for guests from the ages of about 5 and up. As always we will have our STEM cart available and interactive exhibits for our younger guests as well!

STEM weekend will be held in the Children's Gallery from 10am to 3pm and is included with museum admission. We hope to see you there!  

Read below if you would like to recreate this project at home!

Our next upcoming STEM project is one that will keep you on your toes to be sure. We will be making a cross weaving pattern with popsicle sticks in order to create an explosive result. The cross weaving pattern allows the popsicle sticks to use their own weight as counter leverage, once released from the weight of your hand the chain reaction results in a whirl wind of popsicle stick fun!

 The museum will be offering this STEM weekend project on August 22nd during the museums operational hours of 10am-3pm. STEM weekends take place in person in our Children's Gallery. If you cannot make it in to the museum this weekend you can try recreating this experiment at home. All you need is popsicle sticks and a little bit of patience! Follow the instructions below and make sure if you decide to post about your at home projects you tag us by using the hashtag #HCFM on social media.

​INSTRUCTIONS FOR AT HOME CREATIONS:
1. Lay down two sticks, one laying vertically leaning slightly to the left (Stick A) and the second placed horizontally across the bottom (stick B) of stick A with a sliver of stick A still visible
2. Lay a third stick (stick C) over stick B , laying parallel to stick A
3. Lay a fourth stick (stick D) through the two parallel sticks under stick A but over stick C. Stick D should meet with stick B and form an angle. 
4. Continue on the over and under pattern as you go. You may notice you have to continually move the sticks closer together.
5. Use your hand to add pressure to the sticks and keep them from prematurely exploding but once you have laid all of the sticks down you can move your hand and create a popsicle stick explosion

If you are more of visual learner you might want to try this Cobra Weave Popsicle Stick Chain Reaction instructional Youtube video linked below. 

We look forward to seeing all of your creations!!

September is the time for new beginnings. Students are heading back to school (both remotely and in person) , the trees are starting to shed their leaves showing their first signs of fall and everything is made of apples and pumpkins again. This might just be my favorite time of the year (spoiler alert I love all the times of the year)! But to get the fall started off right lets read a story of acceptance, love and the power of imagination.

This month we are reading Uni the Unicorn written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Brigette Barrager. This is a beautiful story about a little girl who is mocked for her belief in unicorns and a similar story of a unicorn who is mocked for her belief in little girls. Uni the Unicorn is an uplifting story to remind people of all ages to never stop believing in their dreams.

Story time will be held both in person at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum as well as via Facebook live! This months craft is a DIY Unicorn horn! Check down below for step by step instructions to make your own horn at home!

Hope to see you all there!
Xx Miss Lauren