Today’s Magical Moment is by Jenny Bischoff. Jenny and her husband, Paul, have three kids–Kate (Lower Middle School), Georgia (Primary), and Calvin (Jr. Kindergarten). This is their sixth year at SLOCA and Jenny is also the Wednesday NOL (Nice Office Lady).
This week in science both of my girls were learning about the salt content of the ocean, so we decided to make sea salt! We went to the Shell Beach tide pools on a beautiful afternoon, played around and explored the tide pools a bit, and then took home a bucket full of ocean water. (The ride home was a bit dicey, with my oldest precariously holding on to the bucket while trying to keep it from spilling.)
Once safely home, we strained the water through a sieve lined with a coffee filter to remove any sand or other particles. We ended up with about 8 cups of sea water, which we boiled for a few hours until almost all of the water had evaporated. (In the end I poured off the last little bit of water so that my pot didn’t boil dry.) And guess what was in the bottom of the pot? YES, real salt! Although we knew the ocean was full of salt, we were all still amazed to see the white crystals lying there as proof. I have to admit, I was too afraid to taste it. I mean yes, we boiled it, but… it’s from our beach and who knows what’s in it… The kids, however, had to try a small sample and they confirmed that it was indeed very salty. It was a great activity – give it a try!
What a fun way to actually “see” the salt in the ocean. Thanks for sharing, Jenny! Have you done any fun ocean-related activities lately? Please share!
