#ExploreElul 4: Remember

Today’s topic is Remember.

Daniel Kahneman, nobel prize winner and pioneering researcher in behavioral economics, talks about the difference between experience and remembering. Experience is when you are doing something in the moment and remembering is the memory of that experience in that moment.

Your experience in the moment can dictate the memories that you have. For example, You might be having the best summer ever at camp. You love your bunkmates and are invested in your activities. But, if you get sick in the last few days and have to miss the closing campfire, you may remember your whole summer just by those few days you spend in the health center. That said, you can flip this seemingly negative experience into a positive one. Even though you might have gotten sick at the end of camp, your bunkmates brought “get well” cards to you. The health center staff brought in your favorite flavor of electrolyte drink, and your counselors checked in each night before bedtime. In this circumstance, you will remember the love you felt from your friends at camp and how much they all care about you, making it the best summer of all in your experience and memory.  
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Today we will be doing our first experiment of #ExploreElul. In this experiment, we will be making a water lens that distorts images behind it. Depending on where the lens is in relation to the image, and where we are in relation to both we will experience and remember a different effect of the water lens.

Making a Water Lens

A water lens is a way of creating a reflection of an image through the distortion of the water in a glass.

Materials Need:

• Empty, clear Glass or Cup
• Paper
• Sharpie
• Full Glass of water

Procedure:

1. On the paper draw an asymmetric shape (arrow, triangle), word, or drawing
2. Prop the paper up and place the empty glass in front of it and observe your drawing through the glass. Does it look different?
3. Pour the water into the empty glass and see what your image does. How does it change? If you move the glass back and forth does the image change then?
4. Repeat the process with another drawing
5. Share your results on Facebook or Instagram and tag #ExploreElul and @JEdSTEM