Greensboro Science Center Announces Backyard Brews & Bubbles

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greensboro Science Center (GSC) was unable to host its annual Brews & Bubbles fundraiser, originally scheduled for April 17, 2020. In an effort to continue to connect with guests, raise needed funds to support the GSC during these difficult times, and continue supporting local breweries, the GSC has announced this popular event is going virtual via Backyard Brews & Bubbles on Friday, September 25, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Each $20 ticket purchase will provide critical support for animal care, education programs, and conservation. In addition, each ticket holder will receive a party pack that will include a souvenir sampling glass, snacks, GSC swag, and an exclusive ZOOM event invitation.

During the ZOOM event, participants will meet brewers from Four Saints, Foothills and Little Brother Brewing. Each attending brewery will provide information about a featured beer, which attendees are invited to purchase separately prior to the event. Participants will also receive virtual behind-the-scenes access to GSC exhibits, up-close animal experiences, and opportunities to play party games.

Lindsey Zarecky, Brews & Bubbles Event Organizer, says, “We hated canceling our spring event just as it was ramping up, but we knew that somehow, some way we were going to offer an engaging, craft beer themed experience for our participants. This socially safe yet entertaining concept will bring folks together in a digital way and help raise much needed funds for the GSC during these unprecedented times.”

Participants are encouraged to follow state and local guidelines for safe social distancing while attending this event from their own homes.

Tickets to Backyard Brews & Bubbles are on sale now online at www.greensboroscience.org/conservation/brews-and-bubbles/.

DIY Science: Desalination Experiment

Most of the water on earth (96.5%, in fact!) is saltwater, but so many plants and animals – including you and me – rely on freshwater for survival. We need to do our best to protect our sources of freshwater because it is energetically expensive to remove salt from water. See for yourself — give the experiment below a try!

Click here to watch a video of the experiment in action.

Materials:

• Bowl
• Spoon or whisk
• Large pot
• Salt
• Water
• Spoon
• Boil safe mug
• Tinfoil
• Ice
• Stovetop

Procedure:

• Mix salt into a bowl of warm water and stir until it is combined. Water will look cloudy.

• Pour the saltwater into the pot.
• Place a boil safe mug into the bottom of a large pot being careful to avoid getting any in the mug.

• Cover the pot with foil so the edges are sealed – but leave the top slack so it is a little concave.
• Place a handful of ice cubes in the concave park of the tin foil.

• Turn on the stove and bring the water to a boil.
• Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Do NOT let the water boil to the point the pot is dry!
• Turn off the heat and let it sit for 20-30 minutes.
• Using a paper towel, absorb the melting ice cube water.
• Carefully remove the tin foil.
• You will now find water in the mug. The water in the mug will have far less salt than the water in the pot.
• Here is how you test that water: Grab 4 clear containers, preferably tall skinny containers. Pour the water from the mug into one of the clear container and add red food coloring. Pour water from the pot into another clear container and add blue food coloring.

• In the third container add 1 inch of blue water and in the fourth container add 1 inch of the red water.
• Using a pipette (or just carefully and slowly), pour red water onto the blue water. Then pour blue water onto the red water.

Results:

Saltwater (Blue) is denser than freshwater (Red). When you add saltwater to freshwater, they mix. When you add freshwater to saltwater, they stay separated because the less dense freshwater sits on top of the saltwater.

Summary:

Why is it energetically expensive to convert saltwater to freshwater? Think about all the work you put into this experiment. You probably only ended up with somewhere around 5-10ml of freshwater, even after letting it boil for 15 minutes. It takes a lot of energy to turn the water into vapor and then cool that vapor into liquid and capture the liquid in the mug. Imagine that on an industrial scale!

The Rotary Club of Greensboro Carousel’s Public Opening Scheduled for August 26

The Greensboro Science Center (GSC) is excited to announce that The Rotary Club of Greensboro Carousel will open later this month. GSC members will be invited to visit the carousel on Monday, August 24 and Tuesday, August 25 before it opens to the public on Wednesday, August 26. The carousel will be open from 9am – 5pm daily. Ticket prices are as follows:

GSC Members: $1 per ride or $5 for 7 rides
Non-members: $2 per ride or $10 for 7 rides

The carousel features 56 figures ranging from horses and chariots to dinosaurs and tigers. Each figure was hand-carved and hand-painted by artists from The Carousel Works, Inc. The carousel is surrounded by 32 rounding boards that showcase Greensboro’s rich history.

As the crown jewel of the Battleground Parks District, The Rotary Club of Greensboro Carousel is expected to draw one million visitors annually.

Glenn Dobrogosz, CEO of the GSC, says, “This amazing gift from the Rotary Club of Greensboro to the citizens of our community is so very needed right now. Everyone is looking to the future and returning to some semblance of normal in our daily lives and in our aspirations to create new and inventive ways to improve quality of life for all. The beauty, sounds and nostalgia linked to a carousel just makes people feel good. I think all of us could use some of that today.”

The Rotary Club of Greensboro Carousel is a gift to Greensboro from The Rotary Club of Greensboro and will be operated by the Greensboro Science Center. Kathy Neff, the GSC’s Director of Development, says, “We are very thankful to the Rotary Club of Greensboro for giving us such a beautiful carousel and appreciate all of their donors for making the Rotarians’ dream come to life.”