May 20: Weight and Measure Day

image from easyloss.net

According to Answers.com an international treaty was signed on this day in 1875 to establish the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. It was founded on international territory at Sèvres, France. Here are potential activities to celebrate the day:

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Weighing and Measuring Activities

Materials:

• Rulers
• Tape measures
• Yardsticks
• Scales
• Strong stick
• String
• Cups
• Books on animals’ lengths and weights
• Containers and cups of varying size

Directions:

1. Provide various rulers and scales to let kids do their own weighing and measuring. Kids can guess items’ weight or length.
2. Make a scale with a strong stick, some string, and cups. Tie a string from each end of the stick and attach a cup to the other side. Balance the stick and load materials in the cups.
3. Find books that tell how long different animals are and how much they weigh. How many kids would equal an elephant’s weight? A whale? How many kids would equal a giraffe’s height?
4. Have kids measure off various distances by walking toe-to-toe. They can then measure their feet and figure out how long that means the distance is that they walked.
5. Provide cups and containers of various sizes along with measuring spoons and cups. Let kids compare how same amount of liquid looks different in different-sized containers.

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s book 100 Science Activities for Kids (activities F1-F10).

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Check out the full May calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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