Through oceans of imagination, children explore science at SCRF

During the hands-on session, children constructed layers of the ocean using basic material that can be easily found at home

- Jamil Khan

SHARJAH

Blending science with aesthetics, children gained a deeper understanding of density and mass as they created their very own mini ocean inside a glass jar at the ‘Ocean Layers’ workshop held at the 12th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF).

“Here, children learn how the density of heavy substances have a stronger gravitational pull through an easy ocean experiment while learning the names of all the layers of the ocean,” said Sarah Mezher, who was facilitating the workshop.

“What is most interesting is that children are always surprised to learn that the ocean is actually made up of layers!” she added, laughing.

During the hands-on session, children constructed layers of the ocean using basic materials that can be easily found at home. Mixing dark blue food colouring with honey, they created the bottom-most layer, the ‘Trench Zone’. Dish soap is then poured on top to create the ‘Abyss Zone’ owing to its lighter density than honey.

Then, children move on to constructing the ocean’s ‘Midnight Zone’ by mixing water and a vibrant blue food colouring. For the ‘Twilight Zone,’ Mezher instructs the young participants to use oil, and it floats upon the surface of the water. Finally, to make ‘Sunlight Zone’, the topmost layer of the ocean, kids use rubbing alcohol – the lightest of the five substances in the jar.