salt!
Today was the first day of the first arc of the new year: Salt! Each band began their exploration of this curious mineral in different ways: tasting it, looking at it, feeling it, testing its effects on things we eat.Gever started the morning with an introduction of salt by pouring canister after canister into a drawer and talking about the incredible places people find salt (in our bodies, in the earth, in water), its value in the ancient (and not-so-ancient) world, and how two poisonous substances (chloride and sodium) combine to create this non-toxic, essential ingredient for life.
Then the bands broke up and the exploration began.The Rubber Band started by examining how salt impacts potatoes.
Lili told the Sand Leopards all about the ancient world of Mesopotamia, for which salt was a huge part of trade and lifestyles, and the band experimented with creating their own forms of cuneiform. They did taste tests to see if they could tell the difference between three types of salt.
Chane led her band in an exploration of how salt impacts the body's nervous system by experimenting with reaction time.
The Coyotes used their senses to explore how salt looks, feels, and tastes.
Ellen's salt museum:
More salt to come.