Eureka Calendar

Creation: Our focus for this years Eureka study

Doctrine and Covenants 128:23

23 Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers.

 

Hello to you all. The above scripture is our theme for Eureka this year. I would love for you to memorize it!  I will bring candy bars for those that do.  (Most of us are motivated by that highly addictive substance.  Dang.)

 

 In Eureka this year, we are going to study creation. It will allow us to hit different fields of science.  In the beginning I worried that it would not be in depth enough, but the fact is, you are all capable of so much, and so we will do much each month.  Our goal is to see God's hand; God's majesty in his creations.  I pray this year will be enlightening and joyful to us all.

 

October: Astronomy

God divided the light from the darkness.

 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.

 

November: Geology

God separated the water and land.   And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.

December: Merry Christmas!  Rejoice!  Christ is King.

January: Botany
And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit


 

February: Anatomy
And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl which may fly...


 

March: Human Anatomy
And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.
 

April: Psychology/Human Behavior
God rested for a season. 
We will rest.... on Sundays :)

Apprentice October

Apprentice October

Genesis 1:4

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Study/Learn
Read my little page called "Eureka Calendar" so you can get the vision of where we are going with Eureka :)


Learn about the life cycle of a star.  You can use any resource you wish, but here are a couple:  My first suggestion would be the  Jr. Non Fiction section at the library.  If I start there and get a foundation, understand vocabulary and basic concepts then I can easily move on to a deeper explanation and understanding. Also, watch this video: Life cycle of a star  Take notes or make a chart, or draw pictures. 

Memorize  6-10 constellations in the Autumn Northern Hemisphere. Read the story behind them. Go outside with your family and locate them.   Our family knows a few, and we have fun finding them when we're camping. 

Watch: Black Holes on Brain Pop
(This is a site where you need a subscription, but if you click "try Brain Pop", you can see the video for free.)

Study Fusion.  Read the following: What is Fusion?
Read the Time article about how close the world is to controlling fusion and using it as a limitless energy source: Fusion experiment

And just when you thought you had enough of Bill Nye, voila!  I have found yet another awesome vid of the guy.  Sorry people.  The guy is funny and I long to entertain you.  Yet another Bill Nye video

Know/Understand:
Do Both of These Things!
1.)Solidify your understanding of the life cycle of a star by creating a poster, drawing pictures, or any other method you choose.  Enjoy!  Be prepared to share it in class.

2.) I am sending a list of experiments to Vanguard with Summer and Adrianna.  Sign up for one as sibling groups that interests you. If you have no siblings in Vanguard, you are on your own.  There will be instructions.  You are to come to Vanguard ready to perform your experiment, so bring all of the supplies you will need.    Make sure you know your topic inside and out (you will need to research other sources.)  We want you to teach us.  Conduct your experiment a couple times before class so that yours doesn't have unexpected results, ie: your experiment didn't work!!

Here are the topics of experiments so you can be thinking which one you would like to do:
Why the Milky Way looks hazy, How size affects apparent brightness, How distance and size affects a star's apparent brightness, How to determine which star is closest to the earth, How a black hole might form, What causes shooting stars, Why stars twinkle, Demonstrate the movement of a spiral galaxy, How Earth is protected from solar winds, How a star's composition is determined, How to measure brightness of light, Why it looks like there is a "man in the moon", Determine how distance of stars can be compared.

Become/Serve

Think about the parallels we can draw from learning about the life cycle of a star.  What similarities do we see in our own lives?  Be creative here.  You can create your own "Mormon Ad" or "Mormon Message" or journal your thoughts.

OR

Watch the Mormon Message Patterns of Light.  How does listening to the Holy Ghost relate to having a decided heart?  Journal what you learned. 

Journeyman October

Do you remember the first time you knew there was a God and could feel His love? As a boy, I used to gaze into the starry sky and ponder and feel His presence. I thrilled to explore the magnificent beauties of God’s creations—from tiny insects to towering trees. As I recognized the beauty of this earth, I knew that Heavenly Father loved me. I knew that I was a literal spiritual offspring, that we are all sons and daughters of God. -Elder Robert D. Hales, from this past conference 2014



Study/Learn
Visit Hubble Telescope Site.  Browse around and find something that is interesting to you.  This will not be hard.  There is so much to this site, that you just need to go yourself :) There are tons of pictures, videos, etc.  Enjoy!


Read the life of Galileo info that Summer and Adrianna brought to Vanguard.


Study how telescopes work. Here is an introduction: How Telescopes Work.  Read pages 2, 3, 4, 5. (You will build  SIMPLE reflective and refractive telescope in class.)

Know/Understand
Did Galileo have a decided heart?  What about those around him?  What were their motives? Write a letter to Galileo as if you lived during his day. What would you encourage him to do? Say? What could have saved him?  Anything?


When you visit the Hubble site, prepare to share what you learned with us.  What were your discoveries?  What amazed you? 


Become:
Read the Ensign article Things Not Seen, by Don Lind.  As you read pay attention to scriptural examples of how the Lord invites us to apply the "scientific method" to Gospel topics. Then, choose an aspect of your life, (maybe a Gospel principle that your testimony isn't as strong in, or maybe a question you have been seeking an answer to) and apply the scientific method.  Record your results in your journal. How does this relate to having a decided heart?