Science is kind of gross sometimes, and that can be part of the process and part of the fun!  To celebrate the last week of spooky season, here's a roundup of some icky Halloween science that you can do at home.

Puking Pumpkin
Materials:
Carved Jack-o-Lantern
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Food Coloring
Large plastic jug or bucket
An outdoor space that can get messy

Directions:
1. Take your pumpkin outside and put it somewhere that's easy to hose off.
2. Take the top off of your pumpkin and add 1/2 cup of baking soda.  Pour slowly so the baking soda doesn't all fall out of the Jack-o-Lantern's mouth.
3. In the jug, mix 2 cups of vinegar with a few drops of food coloring.  
4. Slowly pour the vinegar over the baking soda and watch the chemical reaction erupt right out of the pumpkin's mouth!

The chemical reaction happening inside the pumpkin's mouth is
CH3COOH (l) + NaHCO3 (s) = CH3COONa (l) + CO2 (g) +H20 (l)
Vinegar has the chemical formula CH3COOH. Baking soda is a base also known as Sodium Bicarbonate and has the chemical formula NaHCO3. During this reaction the products are sodium acetate (NaC2H3O2), water (H2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide is the gas that causes the bubbling during the reaction.


Mummified Apples
Materials:
Apples
Recycled containers that can hold an apple and some salt
Large container of table salt, sea salt, Kosher salt, or rock salt
Baking soda
Epsom salts (optional)
Pumpkin carving tool (optional)
Kitchen scale (optional)

Directions:
1. Carve faces into your apples.
2. Create holes all over the apple so moisture can escape.  Core the apple to speed drying (optional).
3. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the apples and record their weights to keep track of how much water they lose.
4. Fill a container with enough salt to cover the apple.  Label it with the date, the apple’s starting weight and write “salt” or “NaCl” on the container. Put one of the apples in the container and cover it completely, packing salt into all of the holes. Close the container.
5. Fill another container with equal parts table salt and baking soda (and Epsom salt, if you have it).  Mix well, label the container, and cover the other apple with the mixture.  Close the container.
6. After a few days, remove the apples, scrape out the salt and weigh them. Record their weight and return them to the salt. Check them every few days and continue to dry them in salt until they are shriveled up. Replace the salt with dry salt if needed.

In Ancient Egypt, natron was used to preserve mummies.  Natron is a natural salt mixture containing the chemicals sodium carbonate, decahydrate (soda ash), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium chloride (table salt), and another salt called sodium sulfate.  These salts act as desiccants, which are chemicals that remove water from things.

Fake Blood (but make it science)
Materials:
Three small cups or glasses
Flour
Water
Corn syrup
Chocolate syrup
Red and blue liquid food coloring
Cutting board or plate, preferably white or light in color
Three small spoons
Sink or bowl with water to rinse cups and cutting board
​Towel

Directions:
1. Mix one tablespoon of flour in two tablespoons of water in one cup.
2. Measure three tablespoons of corn syrup into a second cup.
3. Measure three tablespoons of water into a third cup.
4. Add two drops of red food coloring to each cup, and watch how the food coloring disperses over the fluids.
5. Use small spoons to mix the red food coloring with the other ingredients in all three cups.
6. Use the small spoons to take approximately one-quarter teaspoon of red liquid from each cup and place the liquids as separate blobs in a row near the edge of a cutting board or plate. Lift the side with the blobs so the board is tilted and watch how the liquids run down.
7. Water runs way too fast to mimic blood well. Discard the contents of this cup. Rinse off the cutting board and wipe it dry.
8. Pour half of the contents from each of your other two cups into the now empty third cup.
9. Perform your test again, placing small amounts of the three liquids on top of the cutting board or plate, tilting the board and watching how the liquids run down.
10. Continue with the recipe that mimics blood the best, OR, if you did not find a reasonable match yet, proceed with using the third cup with the flour, corn syrup, water and food coloring. 
11. Human blood is always red. To get a realistic look, add a tiny bit of blue food coloring and/or a little chocolate syrup. (Blue food coloring is very strong. It is best to make a drop of blue food coloring on your cutting board or plate, dip the tip of your mixing spoon in it, and use this spoon to stir the tiny amount of liquid in your cup.) Add gradually.  A tiny bit of blue or brown will mimic the bright, oxygen-rich blood. Add a little more for the darker blood that is low in oxygen.
12. Place a blob on the top of your cutting board or plate, tilt the board, and watch it flow.  Add corn syrup, flour, water, food coloring (red or blue) or chocolate syrup, one at a time, to improve your fake blood. Check the results after each addition, and do not forget to keep track of what you added. You will need your final recipe to recreate your fake blood at any time.
13. As a last test, try your blood on your skin, teeth, a surface, or wherever you'd like to use it.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station like to get in the Halloween spirit.  Individually or as a group, they'll wear costumes (sometimes constructed from materials found aboard the space station).  Here are some photos of astronauts on Halloween for you to enjoy!  All images are from NASA.

Mental health is crucial for wellbeing and quality of life.  Good mental health is linked to better physical health, healthier relationships, better cognitive function, and supports overall growth and potential.  It also promotes resilience and helps us to cope with life's challenges, manage stress, maintain positive emotions.

Today, we are pleased to share an interview that we had with Ashly Leavitt.  Ashly has been our guest speaker at our Academy Camp mental health workshop for the last three years.  She is a great friend to STAR Camp, and we are delighted to have had this chance to tap into her expertise.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: My name and credentials in the non STAR world are Ashly Leavitt, ACMHC (associate clinical mental health counselor), but at STAR Camp my call sign is "Shakespeare". It was given to me by a student my second year presenting on mental health at Academy Camp.  I am a therapist in Davis County and long-time supporter of STAR Camp and it's missions.

Q: What is mental health and why is it important?
A: "Mental health" encompasses a variety of areas but what I have focused on at Academy Camp is knowing and connecting with who you are or want to be, and then increasing in strength, resilience, compassion, and congruence with that person. Feeling good about yourself, even on hard days. That's mental health. And it's important because we sometimes prioritize perfection over authenticity, which only leads to empty, unattainable expectations and feeling like we're alone. Fighting those falsehoods will always be important.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career as a mental health professional?
A: I experienced some great pain and trauma and as I came out of it I couldn't shake the thought, "I need to help the people who are still there." So I left my teaching career, jumped into grad school, and changed my life. 

Q: What do you specialize in and what sort of issues do you help people with?
A: I primarily specialize in helping women who have experienced trauma as a result of their partner's addiction. This is often called, "betrayal trauma." I am also a public speaker, divorce mediator, and divorce coach. 

Q: What normally happens in a counseling session with you?
A: Laughing, crying, welcoming of all the emotions, and some rekindling of a connection with your authentic self. 

Q: How can someone tell if they might benefit from seeing a counselor, and what are some signs that it's time to seek help?
A: If you are a flawed human or you grew up with flawed humans or you have to interact with flawed humans now, you might benefit from seeing a counselor. In other words-EVERYONE. I think we should have planned 6 month mental health check ups like we do for the dentist.  But, signs that you should seek help even more than just a check up: feeling alone, feeling like no one knows you, likes you, or wants you, regularly being attacked with thought gremlins that tell you you aren't enough, you aren't capable, or you should be _________ (skinnier, prettier, a better parent, more like them, etc.) then PLEASE talk to someone. 

Q: What is a myth or misunderstanding about mental health or mental health counseling that you would like to correct?
A: Thankfully, we're coming out of the stigma that people who see counselors are crazy or that we in the profession are quacks, but there is still an element of, "This isn't bad ENOUGH to need counseling," or "I'm strong enough I don't need it." Counseling isn't about being weak or strong, good or bad, it's simply about reconnecting and getting a second pair of eyes/ears on the things you're seeing/hearing.

Q: What sort of lessons have you learned in your career or personal journey that could help others?
A: Not all therapists/counselors are a good fit. Therapists are like t-shirts, just because we looked good online doesn't mean we'll fit. Try a few on and don't give up if the first one doesn't fit. 

Q: This time of year can be stressful, especially for people coping with family trauma.  What are some ways that people can deal with the stress that comes with the holidays?
A: Check out my video!

​(Please note: this video contains discussion of the creator's personal beliefs and faith.)

Happy spooky season!  You know how we like to celebrate here at Douglas Space and Science Foundation--with messy, mysterious, and ghostly science projects.  Here are three fun projects you can do at home to get in the spirit of things.

Oozing Monster Heads
Materials:
8 oz water bottles
Glue
Borax detergent
Baking soda
Vinegar

Directions:
1. Decorate your water bottles to look like monsters.
2. Take the lid off a bottle and add about 2 oz of water.
3. Add 1 tsp Borax and 5 tsp baking soda to the water. Put lid back on and shake well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp vinegar, 2 (generous) Tbsp glue and a few drops of food coloring.  Mix well.
5. Shake the bottle of Borax/baking soda again.  Set the bottle inside a large bowl.  Remove the lid from the bottle.
6. Pour the glue/vinegar solution into the bottle quickly and all at once.
7. When your monster's brain as stopped exploding, you can squeeze the rest of the slime out of the bottle and play with it in the bowl!

Vanishing ghosts
Materials:
Biodegradable packing peanuts
Black permanent marker
Small bowl
Water

Directions:
1. Use your marker to draw a ghost face on each packing peanut.
2. Fill the small bowl with room temperature water.
3. Place a ghost on top of the water.  Bubbles will start to appear, and the ghost will vanish before your eyes!
4. Try again with cold and warm water and see which method causes your ghosts to vanish the fastest.

Spooky Ghost Sounds
Materials:
Balloons
Hex nut
Marbles

Directions:
1. Squeeze the hex nut through the mouth of a balloon.  Make sure it falls all the way into the balloon.
2. Blow up your balloon.  Be sure not too blow it up too big or it may pop.
3. Tie off the balloon and draw a spooky ghost face on the side.
4. Hold the balloon in your palm with your fingers and thumb going down the sides.
5. Swirl the balloon in a circular motion until the hex nut begins to spin around the sides.
6. Once you get the hex nut spinning, use your other hand to hold the balloon still.  The hex nut should continue to spin for a few seconds, creating an eerie sound!
7. Repeat your experiment with a marble and see if it creates the same effect.