The first page of each unit lists the particular items you will need for that unit. 

General Stuff

• Two tables..  Water and computers do not mix, but you will be using them side by side.  Anticipate dripping and spilling water.  Have two separate but nearby work tables - one for computer and papers, and the other for wet things.
• Sink (if available), coolers and buckets. A sink with hot and cold running water is ideal.  But we know that many classrooms do not have such basic facilities.  You can still do the activities!  Use two small coolers for keeping hot and cold water; and a big plastic bucket to collect the water when you finish with it.
• Quick, the Mop!
  You are going to be mixing and pouring water a lot -- expect a few spills. A mop, a sponge, or a supply of paper towels will surely be handy. Work in the tray when this is convenient.
• Containers
  We have supplied a tray and some plastic and styrofoam cups. You might find it convenient to find some more like them, though what you have should be enough. You will also need a few small glass jars and metal cans (10 to 15 ounce size), so start collecting these.

Special Materials

For some activities you will need special materials, such as hot water, cold water, ice, or a sunny day. For best results, try to provide them as described here.

• Ice
  Ice straight from the freezer is too cold!   It will actually freeze more water onto itself.  This might be fun to study, but we have in mind ice that has been out of the freezer for ten or fifteen minutes -- it should look wet.
  The activities will work best if the ice is in small chunks. The school cafeteria ice machine probably makes what you want. Standard ice cubes will work, but may take a bit longer for some of the activities.
  If you have no freezer or ice machine at school, a bag of ice from home or the convenience store will work, and it will keep all day in even the cheapest cooler.
• Hot Water
  By "hot water" we mean 45 to 50 ^oC (110 to 120 ^oF). This is about as hot as you would want to put your hands in. For the same safety reasons, the hot water at your school should never be much above this, though household hot water sometimes is much hotter.
  If there is no hot water in your classroom, you may be able to get some from the restroom or the cafeteria.  Collect it there and store it in a small cooler.
  If you can't obtain water this hot, you could use an electric teakettle to warm it up.  To make a large batch of 50 ^oC water, first partially fill a cooler or large insulated container with tap water.  Then add enough hot water from the kettle to bring the mixture up to between 45 ^oC (110 ^oF) and 50 ^oC (120 ^oF).
  Remember though that boiling water from the kettle is hazardous.  We do not recommend that students use it.  It's only used to mix with a larger volume of cooler water to raise the temperature no hotter than 50 ^oC. 
  The thermometers in your kit only read up to 50 ^oC.  If you put them in hotter water they will possibly break - boiling water will definitely break them.  The red fluid (alcohol) expands and can build enough pressure to cause the glass tube to snap at the top.
• Warm Water
  This is water that is warm to the touch -- above 30 ^oC (85 ^oF). It doesn't matter much how warm it is.
• Tap Water or Cool Water
  This could be water straight out of the faucet, about 5 ^o C (40 ^oF) to to 15 ^oC (60 ^oF).
• Cold Water
  Use water than is between 0 ^oC (32 ^oF) and 5 ^oC (41 ^oF). Water from the water fountain is sometimes this cold; or you could mix ice and water. In this later case, be careful to strain out the ice in the part you use -- ice lumps will completely change the results, as we will see.   When we say "cold water" we mean cold but no ice.
• Ice Water
  We will use this phrase if we intend water with ice lumps in it. Small lumps are better than big cubes, but it doesn't matter much.  After you mix up ice and tap water, you should wait a few minutes to ensure that the water has cooled to 0 ^oC and there is still ice in the container (it's not all melted).
• Other stuff
  You will also need or find useful
  • Old towels, rags, or paper towels
  • A woolly sock (for the section on room temperature).
  • A jar with lid, tall enough to hold a thermometer (for the section on room temperature). You could substitute a tall glass and some plastic wrap to seal it, or a plastic bag.
  • Plastic wrap and plastic bags
  • Clear plastic tape ("Scotch" tape (TM) or its imitators).
  • Aluminum foil
  • Corrugated cardboard (from a cardboard box)
  • A permanent marking pen (any color)
  • Plastic gloves might be nice, especially for the activities involving food coloring (don't wear your best clothes for these, either!).