Science Club! on Labyrinth Gardens

Clark Dill

October 26, 2016 12:17 PM

Science Club! by Clark Dill

Being Quidditch Captain was kind of cool - only in Aladren could 'total nerd' and 'sports captain' be synonymous, and of course being a prefect and library monitor meant the staff trusted him, but his favorite leadership position at Sonora was easily running the Science Club.

Not only did it let him share his passions with his fellow classmates, but it gave him a good excuse to work with many of the professors as well. This year, after going through the orientation and planning meeting, to see what topics were of interest to the science club members, he planned to work with the astronomy professor for a planetarium type of meeting one day, the new muggle studies professor for setting up some muggle style chemistry experiments, Professor Xavier for some space in his greenhouse for some herbological thesis testing, and Professor O'Malley to dig deep into seeing how altering ingredient dosages affects potion potency.

But none of that was why they had gathered today near the pond in the gardens. It wasn't a huge pond, this being a desert and all, but it got to about six feet deep in places and had sufficient surface area for his purpose, being just a little smaller than a standard ice rink.

Walk on water! the posters on each common room board as well as the ones near the Cascade Hall and the Charms room had advertised. Join the science club Sunday afternoon to learn about surface tension and some charms that can help you walk on water like a water strider! Follow the signs in the Gardens to find your way to the Labyrinth Pond, for our meeting there at 2:30 pm. All are welcome! Snacks provided!

Clark wasn't sure if the pond had an official name, or if he'd guessed it correctly if it did, but he figured most of the people who had discovered it before would know the one he was talking about if he called it that. He had debated suggesting that people bring a change of clothing, just in case, but then he remembered he was a wizard who knew both drying charms and cleaning charms, and decided it wasn't necessary.

"Hello, grab some cookies and a cup of water, then take a seat," he invited as people began to arrive. There were no chairs, but he'd laid out some beach towels in the grass near the pond shore. "Lecture first, then water walking." He was glad the unseasonably warm weather they'd been having when he planned this topic earlier in the week had held out and even if someone took a dunking, it might even prove pleasant rather than frigid. It was still autumn, of course, so he doubted anyone would jump in on purpose, but drying charms should be able to handle any chills without resorting to actual warming charms.

Once it seemed like the rate of arrivals had dribbled to an end he clapped his hands together and grinned at the assembled group. "Welcome to Science club to anyone new, and welcome back to everyone else! As most of you know, I'm Clark Dill. First things first, does anyone need a water cup refill? Raise your hand if your cup is empty or need a cookie." Once anybody with an empty cup got a refill, he returned to the front of the group holding his own cup and a cracker.

"Water molecules are drawn together by cohesion, which is particularly strong in water due to hydrogen bonds. I have a handout about hydrogen bonds over on the snack table, if you didn't see it when you came in. These bonds create an effect called surface tension. Hydrogen bonds are pretty strong an if you sprinkle a few crumbs into your cup, chances are they'll sit on the top, not so much floating, which is when something less dense stays at the top of the liquid, but rather just sitting there, not even getting into the liquid in the first place." He crumbled his cookie over his cup of water. Some larger chunks immediately sunk, showing that the cookie was, in fact, denser than the water, but some smaller bits stayed on the top.

"The easiest way to note the difference between surface tension and just floating is that the surface of the water kind of divots under something resting on the tension while something floating has the water either even with it or actually rising up along its side where the two surfaces meet. We do have some striders out on the pond today, so come close to the edge to see how they are skimming over the surface and it kind of dips under them, just a little bit."

Once everyone who wanted to look at the striders did so, he continued, "Now, we as people are way too big and heavy to be held up by surface tension. It still affects us, though, as anyone who has ever done a belly flop or seen the a super-speed hero run across a lake can attest. Anyone here seen The Incredibles?" he looked around to see if anybody was with him on this. "On that, a kid was running on water so fast that the tension didn't have time to break under his weight before he moved on, but as soon as he stopped running, he sank."

"As witches and wizards, we probably can't run quite that fast, but what we can do is strengthen those bonds while spreading out our weight over a greater area. What this charm does it put out a thin magical skin over the water surface that reinforces the hydrogen bonds and distributes out weight evenly over a few square feet - this size varies depending on how big you are. The spell is called 'Gerridae' which is the latin name for the water striders, and a long sweeping wand motion like this." He demonstrated, sweeping his wand outward from his chest and giving it a slight upward curl at the end of it. "So altogether it goes like this, Gerridae," he cast the spell and then walked out onto the surface of the pond. There was a distinct bowing of the surface beneath him, going out a good four feet in each direction, but it held him. "Now all of you can try, too. Remember to walk slowly and carefully so as not to break through your surface, severing the bonds holding you up. Also don't get too close to each other, or there will be too much weight on one spot and you'll both go down. But feel free to experiment to see how close you can get before sinking, if you don't mind getting drenched."

He moved out closer to the middle of the pond so he could keep an eye on everyone as they spread out along the shores, taking careful steps like he was walking on a rickety and none too stable bridge.

Subthreads:

Testing Boundaries by Kellen Mormont

Testing the water. by Farrah Welsh

Finally here by Kit Reid

1 Clark Dill Science Club! 277 Clark Dill 1 5

Kellen Mormont

October 28, 2016 12:39 PM

Testing Boundaries by Kellen Mormont

Kellen hadn't signed up for science club last year. He hadn't participated in any of the clubs actually, and he'd regretted it a little. Making friends wasn't the easiest for him, as his middle name may as well have been Awkward, but he figured that being around people with similar interests was a good place to start. Just look at him and Farrah. Thankfully, his middle name was Gregory, and it was a new year, with new opportunities. He was definitely going to participate in book club, that was a given considering how much he read. The second year hadn't really considered any of the others announced so far though, that was until a new club flyer piqued his interest.

Maybe ‘struck fear into his heart’ was a more appropriate phrase. ”Walk on water!” That. Sounded. Horrible. He was going to just give up on whatever club this was right then, but then he read the part about it being science club, and that there was actually a method to the madness that the flyer proposed. Kellen signed and wrote down the time and place the meeting was to occur. He'd need to do some serious thinking on whether or not to go, but regardless, he had absolutely no plans to walk on water. Not a chance. Zero. Zilch.

Science club couldn't be all about water though, right? Surface tension aside, there were lots of other sciencey things to learn that didn't include possibly drowning. Just thinking about it felt like someone had set a huge block of ice on his chest. Plus, these clubs generally weren't hosted by an adult of any kind, so that was risky too.

Then again, he could just watch, nothing was likely to happen if he remained on the shore. What if someone did fall in though? The second year had no notion of how deep the pond was, and watching someone else drown wasn't likely going to be any more pleasant than drowning himself. And who knew what actually lived in there? That was a horror in it's own right.

But on the other hand…

Kellen wasn't the type to turn down a learning opportunity. He was a true, blue Aladren. He'd made a deal with Farrah that he'd ice skate with her in the water room on a pond like one near her home once he'd conquered his fear. He'd given himself a year to do it though, and yet here was Science club, rubbing it right in his face. It would be a step in the right direction though, if he could manage to convince himself to go.

The morning of the science club meeting, Kellen had skipped breakfast. He considered skipping lunch too, as his stomach was literally a bundle of knots, but he needed to eat something. If he didn't, he'd be anxious and hypoglycemic. Not a good combo. He had a light lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon pacing in his room. If he was going to go, he'd need to leave soon. Kellen ran a hand through his dark hair and decided. ”Screw it, go. You can always decide to leave.” He sighed, and grabbed a heavy hoodie from his trunk. He slipped it over his thin frame, feeling instantly better about things, and headed for the gardens.

The fear didn't really sink in at first. He was able to get a cookie and some water (kind of an odd combo, he thought) and settle himself on one of the towels near Farrah. He wasn't terribly surprised to see her, being a fellow nerd, but her mere presence helped, and he was thankful for that.

Soon Clark started the lecture, which explained why he'd chosen water as a beverage. Kellen crumbled some of the cookie into his water as instructed, and it was just as Clark said it would be. The second year wasn’t quite prepared for the actual pond demonstration though, and as the older boy stepped out onto the water, he felt all the blood rush from his face. He vaguely registered the spell, and just watched, eyes wide with fear. He obviously wasn't doing a great job of hiding the fact that he was terrified as he found his hand entwined with Farrah's.

That did not compute. How was he holding Farrah's hand? Did he grab her hand out of fear? Did she take his? He was suddenly very aware of how clammy and shaky he was, despite wearing a hoodie, though maybe he was sweating because of the hoodie? It was one of the weird things that comforted him when he was feeling anxious. It wasn’t tight by any means, but the weight of the fabric made him feel like he was being hugged almost. Maybe Farrah was trying to comfort him as well, and while it worked (and definitely kept him from up and running away all together), it woke a whole new set of feelings. Was his hand as cold and sweaty as he was feeling? He hoped not, no one wanted to hold a hand that was both cold AND sweaty. He’d never held a girl’s hand before, and this wasn’t how he had imagined it.

Kellen felt as if his chest was squeezing in on itself. He couldn’t tell if it was anxiety or adrenaline, but his heart was racing, and he was struggling to keep it together. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing, that always seemed to help. ”Breathe in for four seconds. Hold for seven. Out for eight.” He did this a few times, and when he opened his grey blue eyes to find that Clark was fine, and very much not drowning, he felt somewhat relieved. “Farrah, you can go and try it, if you want.” Kellen said with a smile that probably came off as more of a grimace. “I’m ok. I’ll just be right here, but I’m ok.” He added, more for himself than for her benefit. “Thank you…” He gave her hand a quick, yet gentle squeeze before letting go of it. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them as he watched others attempt the Gerridae spell. Each new attempt became easier and easier to watch. Maybe one day, he’d be able to try it, but it wasn’t today.

((ooc: Farrah used with permission from the author.))

5 Kellen Mormont Testing Boundaries 341 Kellen Mormont 0 5

Farrah Welsh

October 29, 2016 11:01 PM

Testing the water. by Farrah Welsh

Science club was probably the closest thing to actual science class that Farrah was going to get while at Sonora. Unless Muggle Studies provided those kinds of lessons, but since she was not old enough just yet to take it, she would have no way of really knowing. Her parents were getting her a tutor for her summers though so that she didn’t fall behind on her regular lessons in the Non-Magical world (she was not happy about having to study during her summers, but also happy that she would still understand things that her friends would be learning). She had really enjoyed all the lessons that Clark had provided to them last year, so Science club was definitely something she was looking forward to this term and his first poster of his club did not disappoint her.

Farrah went down early and followed along some others who she recognized from last year’s meet ups until they were at the pond. She grabbed a cup of water and a cookie before finding a free towel to sit on. She was so excited to try to walk on water (although she had no idea what a water strider was and wondered if perhaps she ought to research that before she came, but she didn’t). As she waited, Farrah was surprised to see that Kellen was joining the club, especially for a lesson like today, but she smiled happily at him as he took a seat on the towel next to her.

She listened intently as Clark started the meeting and the lecture. Farrah, like a good little Aladren that she was, had her notebook and pen with her and took notes while Clark explained the science behind it. She raised her hand when he mentioned The Incredibles (honestly, who didn’t like Pixar films?) and grinned to herself when she knew the exact scene that he was talking about. She realized that the water strider was the bug she always say in the pond during the summer, so she didn’t move from her spot when he called people up to have a look. Once the actual lecture part of it was done and she had written the spell and the wand movement, Farrah looked up to see Clark walk out onto the water. She turned a smile towards Kellen but the smile vanished at the sight of his face.

On instinct, Farrah reached out and took his hand as a sign of support and comfort. She didn’t even think twice about it. It was the same to her as hugging him and since she thought hugging him would draw way too much attention that he probably didn’t want, holding his hand was the next best thing. It was clear that this meeting was just bringing up his fear again and she felt so terrible for him. She wanted him to enjoy the club but she also didn’t want him to put himself in an uncomfortable position either.

Her attention returned to Clark as he called everyone up to start trying the spell. She wanted to go up and try it because it seemed like such a fun thing to do, but she didn’t want to leave Kellen alone when he was clearly having a hard time dealing with the lesson. Kellen told her to go but she shook her head at him. When he reassured her again, Farrah looked uncertain. “Are you sure?” She asked. He gave her hand a squeeze before dropping it. Farrah hesitated for another moment before standing up an walking over to the pond with everyone else. She gave another look to Kellen before turning to the pond and giving it a go. She did the spell as instructed and tentatively put her foot out onto the water. She didn’t mind getting wet, but she also didn’t want to mess up her spell work. Her foot sank into the water. Not completely, as she couldn’t feel the ground, but much further than it should have and her sneaker became damp with water. She frowned. This was not going to be as easy as she hoped it would be.

OOC: Discussion regarding the interaction between Farrah and Kellen happened with Kellen’s author

6 Farrah Welsh Testing the water. 344 Farrah Welsh 0 5

Kit Reid

November 07, 2016 10:20 PM

Finally here by Kit Reid

Kit was excited by the advertisement that had been on the poster. Who wouldn’t want to try walking on water? And that is how she found herself Sunday afternoon at the Labyrinth Pond. She wasn’t sure who would all show up, but she was hoping that she wouldn’t be the only younger year to join. She took one of the offered snacks. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to weigh a ton with each club seemingly offering snacks.

Taking a seat on the towel, Kit folded her legs under her. She nibbled on her cookie while listening to Clark speak. She followed him all the way up to where he started talking about the Incredibles. She had no idea what that was. But thankfully, it didn’t seem that she needed to since he continued on to the main point of why it was brought up. The entire idea sounded cool. Someone going so fast that they didn’t break the surface of the water. She wondered if anything could actually do that. Most muggles didn’t know of wizards, so there could be things out there that wizards didn’t know about. Or maybe they did and she just hadn’t learned about what creatures could.

And she was lost again at the mention of hydrogen bonds and the like. She hadn’t had courses for anything advanced in science. She had only the basic courses offered through tutoring. But she followed the idea of basically some sort of thin magical skin supporting the weight. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to perform the spell or not. It might have been above her level, but she was excited to try anyhow. It wasn’t as though she would get hurt if she ended up in the water. Merely, her hair would get ruined.

Taking off her jewelry so that it didn’t get lost, she slipped it into her bag and pulled her hair up into a bun. She didn’t want to have to deal with a bunch of tangles if she did fall in the water. After doing so, she went out towards the water. Pulling out her wand, she said the spell. Tentatively, she placed a foot out only to…”Oh, it’s wet!” It was an entirely stupid statement given that if her foot went into the water, it was going to obviously be wet. With a sad smile, she looked at her wet shoe. Oh, well. Spells were always a risk.

0 Kit Reid Finally here 363 Kit Reid 0 5