Wednesday 13 July 2016

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The Collector's Syndrome


Last weekend we visited "Den Gamle By," an outdoor museum in Arhus, Denmark's second largest city, that showcases how city life was like in Denmark from the 1500 to 1974. At the ancient toy museum, I came across this exhibit of a toy collector's home. The commentary accompanying the glass exhibit reads:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt... For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19 & 21

"To collect is to possess. Nowadays there are no end to the list of collector's items. Private collections testify to the social status of their owners. Collecting requires both spare time and money. Therefore there is a difference between collecting classical gold coins and matchboxes, between Biedermeier paintings and promotional pens. The life of a private collector can be both a peaceful and a satisfying one, allowing him to watch the slow growth of his collection. It may also, however, turn into a frantic and competitive quest for the oldest, the rarest, the most beautiful or the most expensive of objects. Are collectors really happy people?"

The commentary ended with the question: "Are collectors happy?" 

I stood and reflected on the commentary. It spoke to me directly.

I do not think so. Collectors can't be that happy if they are in a constant quest "for the oldest, the rarest, the most beautiful or the most expensive of objects."

Although I am not a collector, my life can sometimes reflect the collector's characteristics. Although I am not out to look "for the oldest, the rarest, the most beautiful or the most expensive of objects," my relentless quests in other areas can be no different from the collector's. 

My "kiasu Tiger Mom" tendency towards preparing our children for academic performance and paper chase can in some ways be compared to the collector's pursuit of his collection. I ask myself: "Will our children be happy?" No.

It brought to mind what a Danish mom once said that she is not afraid that her kids would not learn, they will. What confidence!!! I don't have that. I put it at the central of our family life and above many other things else to plan and make sure that our kids learn. It is a timely reminder that if I am not careful, I can develop the "collector's syndrome." I need to seek God's wisdom to show restraint.

It also reminds me of an article that I read about the general Singapore parents.


Are Singaporeans happy? Singaporeans do not score very high on the happiness index. From a very poor country 50 years ago to become one of the richest, cleanest, most well-planned and well-run countries 50 years later. Despite its achievements, one thing remains - Singapore may not be truly feeling fulfilled and happy, but anxious as a country, with the constant need to compete and do better. 

What about you? Which aspects of you are a collector?

Tuesday 5 July 2016

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Homemade "Lava Lamp"

Idea from https://sciencebob.com/blobs-in-a-bottle-2/

Materials:

1. 1 500ml clear glass mineral bottle
2. 3/4 cup of water
3. 1 bottle cooking oil
4. Fizzing tablets such as Alka Seltzer (you can buy from a local pharmacy)
5. 8 drops of food coloring
6. 1 funnel (optional)

Directions from https://sciencebob.com/blobs-in-a-bottle-2/:

1. Pour some water into the bottle until it is roughly 20% full.

2. Slowly pour in the cooking oil into a bottle (using a funnel if you wish) until it is almost full.

3. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.

4. Add 8 drops of food coloring to the bottle.

5. You will notice that after a short while, the drops will pass through the oil and mix with the water below.

6. Drop in half a Alka Seltzer tablet and watch it fizzing up the bubble :-)

7. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle.

Additional Information:

The website explains it as follows:

"To begin, the oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than the water or, more specifically, less dense than water. The oil and water do not mix because of something called “intermolecular polarity.” That term is fun to bring up in dinner conversation. Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to magnets that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not allow them to bond together. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now you’ll at least look at that vinaigrette salad dressing in a whole new way.

When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom and started dissolving and creating a gas. As the gas bubbles rose, they took some of the colored water with them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water. Cool, huh? By the way, you can store your “Blobs In A Bottle” with the cap on, and then anytime you want to bring it back to life, just add another tablet piece."

To make further experiment, you can ask your child to try out:

Does the temperature of the water affect the reaction?
Does the size of the bottle affect how many blobs are produced?
Does the effect still work if the cap is put on the bottle?
Does the size of the tablet pieces affect the number of blobs created?

We tried this today, while Baby C was taking her nap. J was 7Y3M28D old. He enjoyed it very much :-)

References:

https://sciencebob.com/blobs-in-a-bottle-2/


1. Pour some water into the bottle until it is roughly 20% full.

4. Drop in half a Alka Seltzer tablet and watch it fizzing up the bubble :-)

5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle.


2. Slowly pour in the cooking oil into a bottle (using a funnel if you wish) until it is almost full (you may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.)


3. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.


4. Add 8 drops of food coloring to the bottle.


5. You will notice that after a short while, the drops will pass through the oil and mix with the water below.



6. Drop in half a Alka Seltzer tablet and watch it fizzing up the bubble :-)


6. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle. We haven't done so yet.



Updates: 17 July 2016














Sunday 3 July 2016

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Balloon Rocket


Materials:

1. 1 balloon (round ones will work, but the longer “airship” balloons work best)
2. 1 long piece of kite string (about 10-15 feet long)
3. 1 plastic straw
4. Tape

Directions from https://sciencebob.com/make-a-balloon-rocket/:

1. Tie one end of the string to a chair, door knob, or other support.

2. Put the other end of the string through the straw.

3. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room.

4. Blow up the balloon (but don’t tie it.) Tape  one end of the balloon to the straw as shown above.

5. Let go and watch the rocket fly!

Video Demonstration:




Additional Information:

We tried this today, while Baby C was taking her nap. J was 7Y3M28D old. He enjoyed it very much :-)

References:

https://sciencebob.com/make-a-balloon-rocket/


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