The Case of the Barfy Birthday (7 page)
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very good scientist needs a laboratory. It’s quite simple, really. All you need is a work space, like a desk or a card table. Add a lamp, stir in some supplies, stick a pencil behind your ear, and presto! Here are some tips for creating your own lab:
1. Start out by collecting some odds and ends, such as glass bottles, jars, string, balloons, a magnifying glass, or rubber bands. You never know when these might come in handy. Safety glasses are a must for any well-stocked lab.
2. Of course, every good scientist keeps a lab notebook. A spiral notebook is perfect. Record everything, such as: hypothesis, procedure, observations, results, and conclusions. (Don’t forget to record your mistakes, too!)
3. No top-notch scientist would feel quite right without a lab coat. Make your own lab coat by using an old button-down shirt. (Ask first!) Write your name on it with a permanent marker.
4. Keep masking tape and a marker handy for labeling. All good scientists label what they are working on so they won’t mix things up.
5. Sometimes real scientists are exposed to dangerous chemicals or harmful bacteria. Good scientists can reduce the risk of exposure by wearing protective gear and by washing their hands frequently. What does this mean for you? Wear safety glasses or gloves if required. Wash your hands and clean up your work space when you are finished with an experiment. Never put your hands near your eyes or mouth until after you have washed them with soap and water. If you’re unsure about anything, ask an adult.
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cientists from all over the world talk with one another. They hold conferences and publish their findings in scientific journals. In a way, no matter what country they’re from, scientists speak the same language. They all use the scientific method.
Drake and Nell do, too. (Frisco doesn’t.) Drake and Nell observe carefully, and jot their observations in their lab notebooks. (Frisco, however, doesn’t even own a lab notebook. Or a sharpened pencil.) Based upon their observations, Drake and Nell then develop a hypothesis, as they did in
Chapter Three
. A hypothesis is a scientist’s best guess as to what is happening and why. (Frisco, on the other hand, plugs his ears and hums loudly whenever anyone mentions a hypothesis.)
The barfy birthday hypothesis might have sounded something like this:
Based upon our observations, we believe something at the birthday party made people barf.
Like all good scientists, Drake and Nell tested their hypothesis. In this case, they called everyone who’d attended the party and asked questions about what they did, what they ate, etc.
Did you know?
In 1976, over 200 people became mysteriously ill while attending an American Legion Convention in a Philadelphia hotel. Epidemiologists sprang into action. They investigated everything: the food, the rest rooms, the water, you name it. The culprit? The water in the air-conditioning system was loaded with deadly bacteria. People became sick just by breathing the cooled air. The new disease was named
Legionnaires’ disease.
I
magine it. Mossy Lake. Present day. Everything is peachy until, suddenly,
choke! gasp! barf! . .
half the town becomes sick. And not just sick, but
sick
sick.
Enter the bacteria busters. Known in the scientific world as epidemiologists. (Rather like ghost busters, except they walk around in lab coats, carry clipboards, and ask lots of questions.)
Their job? To find out what is making some people sick but not others. In other words, to find the common factor, or source, and then to take steps to keep the sickness from spreading. Drake and Nell found the common factor in the Case of the Barfy Birthday. It was the chicken salad.
Here’s part of their master chart:
Enter you—Bacteria Buster. Your mission is to bend your brain around the following questions. Grab a clipboard, paper, and pencil. Copy down the chart. Scratch your head. Jot down notes. Whatever you do, don’t give up. The town depends upon you. For each question, start over again using the original chart:
1. Suppose that:
(1) Chloe, Lilly, Nell, and Baloney are sick, and
(2) Zoe, Mrs. Jackson, and Drake are not sick.
What is the common factor?
2. Suppose that:
(1) Zoe, Mrs. Jackson, Lilly, and Baloney are sick, and
(2) Chloe, Drake, and Nell are not sick.
Now what is the common factor?
3. What if:
(1) Zoe, Chloe, and Baloney are sick, and
(2) Mrs. Jackson, Lilly, Drake, and Nell are not sick
(3) Everyone ate cake.
(4) Everyone swung at the piñata.
(5) No one ate chicken salad.
(6) Everyone took a dip in the pool.
(7) Everyone drank punch.
(8) Everyone ate a hamburger except Nell, because she’s a vegetarian.
Now what is the common factor?
L
ike many wild animals, birds are losing their wild habitats at a fast pace. You can learn more about birds and even help them by becoming a bird buddy. Here are some tips:
1. What kinds of birds live where you do?
• Check out a bird-identification book from your local library or use one of these online bird books:
•
www.enature.com
(Complete with birdsongs!)
•
http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/bird_id/species_index.aspx
• You’ll need a pair of binoculars, a lab notebook, and colored pencils. Make a table of your bird sightings. It could look something like this:
