My granddaughter weeks ago told me she was going to make a “bouncing egg” for her 4th grade science project. She has entered the science fair at her school since 1st grade. She has placed in her age group since she started to take interest in it. The project of course has to be completed by the child with very minimal assistance from an adult. From the beginning, she told me, “I can do it, Nana, pretty much by myself and if I need help, I’ll ask you.” “Fair, enough,” I responded.
As she worked on it relentlessly the day before it was due, she finally came to ask me for help. She had her poster board ready to go and asked me to print out some information she found on the internet for her to post on the board. As we were reading it together, she asked me to explain the process of “osmosis” since this was the major point of her presentation.
I tried to bring it down to her level, so I could understand it as well. As we went through the basic definition, she still needed clarification so she could explain it at her school presentation. Simply, we went with “osmosis is a process where liquid will pass through a thin piece of a solid object.” In her project this was the egg shell on her egg and the liquid was the vinegar. When the egg is placed in the vinegar for abut 12-24 hours the acetic acid in the vinegar begins to react with the calcium in the egg shell and it slowly disintegrates.
The egg at the end of the timeframe is a bit bigger than it was minus the egg shell. This happens because the vinegar has moved through the membranes to the inside of the egg. The egg becomes strong enough to bounce; it has literally changed. This is osmosis in action. My granddaughter understood the concept and was ready to go.
As I thought about this I “saw” this as a “share time” example. I told her, “I have heard people say that ‘we influence each other by osmosis, or that skills are gained by osmosis’, and what they mean is that the influence and skills are done day by day and without a lot of effort. We really don’t think about it and it just happens. The egg shell was influenced by the vinegar and it totally changed. That’s why it is so important we carefully choose who and what influences us” I told her, “the vinegar, bitter as it is, changed the egg. Our heart and way of thinking and being can also be changed gradually.” She looked at me and said, “good or bad, right?” “Yes, I responded “good or bad and we choose.”
The Apostle Paul wrote, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20 God certainly made the natural processes and ideal designs; let’s not forget that.
ritasalomon 