"Sea" the beauty in all things with GSK Science in the Summer

For the 29th year, Philadelphia area elementary students have the opportunity to participate in GSK Science in the Summer™, a national program committed to enriching young minds through free summer science education. Through the program, approximately 125,000 second through sixth grade Philadelphia area students have put on their science hats (and goggles!) to discover the joys of science through fun, hands-on experiments.

The program is sponsored by GSK [LSE/NYSE: GSK] and administered by The Franklin Institute in partnership with local libraries, where classes are taught by certified science educators. Through simple, hands-on experiments, GSK Science in the Summer students “grow into science” and gain first-hand knowledge of complex concepts in one of five course areas: Bioscience, Simple Machines, Chemistry, Oceanography and Physical Science/Electricity.

To spread the joy of science, GSK Science in the Summer is sharing an experiment from its Oceanography curriculum – an experiment you can do in your very own home! Please note: For optimum safety, an adult should be present during all experiments, and children should wear safety glasses when conducting experiments at home and at school.

Oceanography Experiment: Mollusk Mobile

What is oceanography? Oceanography is the study of the physical and biological characteristics of the ocean.

What is a mollusk? Picture walking down a beach – you pass many beautiful shells, right? These shells come from various mollusks! “Mollusk” is a term used to describe animals that have a soft body, a muscular foot and a hard mantle, or shell. Some examples of mollusks are clams, snails and mussels. Mollusks can be univalves, meaning they have one shell (like a snail) or bivalves, meaning they have two shells (like a clam). As you can see from their shells, mollusks can be very beautiful!

In this exercise, you will get to show the world how beautiful mollusks are by creating a mobile with cut-outs of unusually-shaped seashells.

Materials: An adult helper, crayons or markers, pencil, clothes hanger, scissors, patterns of shells (provided above), thread/string.

Instructions:

1. Color the fronts and backs of all the shells.
2. Carefully cut out each of the paper shells.
3. Use the point of your pencil to carefully poke a hole near the top of each shell.
4. Cut six (6) pieces of thread. Be sure to vary the lengths of the threads, keeping them within six (6) inches and two (2) feet long.
5. Tie one (1) piece of thread to each shell.
6. Hang the clothes hanger over a door handle. Using the attached string, tie each of the shells to the hanger. Arrange them across the hanger to look pretty.
7. Hang the mobile somewhere special!
8. (Optional) If you are interested in learning more about shells, visit the library and take out a book about shells and mollusks. You can then add to your mobile by drawing, coloring and cutting out your own shells.

About The Franklin Institute – Located in the heart of Philadelphia, The Franklin Institute is a renowned and innovative leader in the field of science and technology learning, as well as a dynamic center of activity. Pennsylvania’s most visited museum, it is dedicated to creating a passion for learning about science by offering access to hands-on science education. For more information, visit www.fi.edu.

GSK – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information, go to us.gsk.com., follow us on twitter.com/GSKUS., or visit our blog (www.morethanmedicine.us.gsk.com/blog/.).

For more information on GSK’s global STEM education program, visit gskscienceeducation.com.