Check out some of the details from the 10 experiments that were completed as part of the Wonderground (formerly SEEDLING) pilot program! All information was collected directly from the students! 

Is gravity stronger underground? 

  • Collaboration name: Bob*
  • Grade: 4/5
  • Hypothesis: Gravity is stronger underground
  • What happened: It took about 10 milliseconds longer on average for the ball to hit the ground on surface. 

Will regular ice or ultra-pure water melt faster frozen?

  • Collaboration name: The ice gorberlers
  • Grade: 5/6
  • Hypothesis: The normal ice cube will melt faster
  • What happened: The regular water and ultra-pure water took the same amount of time to freeze. The regular water melted slower than the ultra-pure water by about 20 minutes. 

Do crystals grow differently underground?

  • Collaboration name: The Crystal Crew
  • Grade: 3/4
  • Hypothesis: We think it will grow quicker above ground
  • What happened: The SNOLAB crystals formed all over. Our crystals are more clear. Lots of liquid was left in the classroom crystal set-up. Both crystals glow green. 

Can plants grow better above ground or underground?

  • Collaboration name: Plant guys
  • Grade: 7
  • Hypothesis: The above ground plant will grow faster and bigger than the underground one. The air pressure might push the plants downwards.
  • What happened: From our graphing, the control plants seemed to grow more evenly (indicated by a straight line). This may be because we did not measure as often between day 8 and 17. 

Will a plant grow the same with ultrapure water?

  • Collaboration name: JUGTTG
  • Grade: 7
  • Hypothesis: The plant will take longer to sprout, and it will grow shorter. 
  • What happened: We grew sunflowers from tap water while SNOLAB grew them from ultrapure water. Sunflowers grow a lot faster than we expected! Ultrapure water can affect how a plant grows. 

How many pumps of air would a balloon take until it is inflated underground versus on surface?

  • Collaboration name: Balloon Tower Defense
  • Grade: 7
  • Hypothesis: The balloon will inflate underground first.
  • What happened: It was hard to pump the balloon to a 60cm circumference and was difficult to ensure it was consistent. We took turns between group members 

How do crystals form?

  • Collaboration: The Science Girly
  • Grade: 6
  • Hypothesis: The crystals form when different chemicals come together and it happens over time 
  • What happened: Each day the crystals grew in width and height mostly at the center. There was some crystal formation on the sides of the glass container. The final crystals are clear and defined. 

Does deep-underground air pressure squash the air bubbles inside a soft object?

  • Collaboration: The SNOLAB expert
  • Grade: 6
  • Hypothesis: Since SNOLAB is 2km underground where the air is heavier than surface, the soft object will shrivel up. 
  • What happened: When the air pressure increased from going underground, the marshmallows got smaller. As they came to surface they became slightly bigger than when they were underground.  

Which liquid cleans better than other liquids without corroding a penny?

  • Collaboration: Error 404
  • Grade: 8
  • Hypothesis: Ultrapure water will clean the best in both the short, medium, and long term. 
  • What happened: The most remarkable changes were with Coca-Cola and bleach. Coca-Cola and vinegar cleaned the pennies best; vinegar seemed to work faster, and Coca-Cola seemed to make it shinier in the long term. The bleach slightly disintegrated the coin, turning it black. 

How does a basketball bounce on surface compare to underground?

  • Collaboration: Will It Bounce (WIB)
  • Grade: 7
  • Hypothesis: We think the basketball will bounce lower underground 
  • What happened: During the experiment, the underground ball bounced less high than the surface ball on the first bounce. This could be due to the pump not inflating the same underground as it does on surface.