Assalamu-alaikum (peace be upon you) readers, writers, and arithmetic geniuses (yes we’re talking about you!),
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to witness the eruption of a volcano? On Friday evening our youth had a chance to witness such an event…albeit on a very safe, small (homemade) scale. Yes you are correct! IYG Crazy Science Experiments returned Friday evening as our mentors provided a cool science demonstration about how to make a homemade chemical volcano. With a few simple supplies (construction paper, water bottle, and tape) and tools (scissors primarily), you too can build your very own cool (or hot) erupting volcano. Working in teams of four, our young men helped their teammates construct neat designs for their volcanoes (there was even one that looked like a space shuttle!). Afterward, our mentors assisted each team with testing if their volcano could withstand the “lava” produced from a simple chemical reaction involving vinegar, water, baking soda, and dishwasher detergent (mix water, baking soda, and detergent together in a bottle -> add the vinegar -> watch the “lava” show which unfolds!).
As our IYGers worked on their mini-volcanoes, our mentors took a moment to discuss how to deal with feelings of anger. As our youth pointed out, people become angry for different reasons – they earn a bad grade at school, get into an argument with a family member, can’t figure out how to solve a homework problem, or get into a spirited verbal exchange during a sports activity. Anger is a normal human emotion…however dealing with anger in a positive and productive manner can ensure a tense situation doesn’t get worse. Taking a chapter from the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, (peace and blessings be upon him), our mentors mentioned tips our youth could use to deal with feelings of anger to make sure these feelings don’t lead to a volcanic eruption at home/school. Among the tips presented included:
- Sitting down when one starts to feel angry
- Lying down on one’s side if the feeling of anger doesn’t go away after sitting down (trick your body to think it is sleeping so your heart rate slows down!)
- Perform wudu or wash one’s face with cold water (cool down your body temperature!)
- Seek help from Allah by saying “auoodi billahi mina shaytan nir rajeem” (I seek refuge/help with Allah from the accursed shaytan/satan) because we forget that shaytan often tries to sow seeds of dislike between people
After our mini-discussion, our youth were off to the races to build and test their mini-volcanoes as you can see from the pictures below:
Muhammad and Abdullah look very angry…Nurideen and Mohamed try to cheer up their friends with gigantic smiles!
Who knows how we can deal with feelings of anger in a healthy way? Hands fly up in response! Why does Mujtaba look so upset?
These gentlemen, on the other hand, appear quite happy…
Danyal happily cuts out a shape for his volcano as Mujtaba willingly assists. Ahmed and Mohammed carefully inspect their teammates’ work to make sure there are no mistakes present.
“Come hither oh IYG brethren,” shouts Danyal on his new megaphone (er is that his volcano?)!
Baha and Abdullah lend their friend, Ali, a hand as he begins to cut out the shape of his volcano.
Hasan has made a teepee volcano!
Mujtaba’s volcano, meanwhile, has slowly shrunk to the size of a funnel…
Done! Mustafa is ready to test if his volcano can produce a seismic eruption!
A little math equation for y’all. What does 1 Abdelrahman + 1 Mohamed = …apparently an Oguz!
Until next week, we bid everyone farewell!
ISGL Youth 