August 13, 2009 | 4 Comments
I recently received a box full of fluorescent minerals to examine. Fluorescent minerals contain crystals that glow (fluoresce) when exposed to ultraviolet light. As you can see, the effect was beautiful. Minerals under regular light Minerals under our Ultraviolet (blacklight) Try This: A blacklight is a great item to have in your science collection. Here […]
July 29, 2009 | 5 Comments
Kim Fogarty is the parent of an 8 year old science enthusiast, and when it came time for her daughter’s birthday party, there was no questions as to what the theme was going to be. The party was billed as an event with, “cool chemical reactions, wacky experiments and explosive fun.” Kim writes: I used […]
July 23, 2009 | 11 Comments
7 year old Sarah of Tennessee wondered if all bubble gum was created equal and which of the many brands of bubble gum in the candy aisle would giver her the largest bubble? All this wondering led to a science fair entry that won first place. Sarah made great use of The Scientific Method to […]
July 3, 2009 | 4 Comments
Lara runs a homeschooling blog from her home in Arkansas. One day, she gathered her kids and all the materials to make slime but she did not tell them what they would be creating. Using a familiar recipe, the boys were soon measuring, mixing, stretching, and yes, even learning about types of matter and polymers. […]
June 7, 2009 | 0 Comments
This is a clip from a show that highlighted some of Ben Franklin’s science experiments. The host is actor/comedian Kevin Pollak. Here we are demonstrating one of Franklin’s favorite gadgets called a Leyden jar. It was invented in 1745 by Pieter van Musschenbroek and it became an important invention for studying electricity. A Leyden jar is […]
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What would the science world be without vinegar & baking soda? It would be a little less exciting at the Community School of West Seattle. Michelle Taylor teaches a K-2 program there and she decided to add a little science excitement to her classroom. With a little vinegar, baking soda, a bottle and a […]
June 5, 2009 | 0 Comments
We wanted to know if time travel was possible, so we decided to go to the one man who would know better than anyone… world renowned physics expert, Albert Einstein. Okay, it’s not actually Albert Einstein, (he died in 1955) it’s Marc Spiegel, an amazing actor and storyteller who becomes Einstein as he travels the […]
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Color mixing is not just about art, it is science too. Melissa Beckman runs a blog called “Chasing Cheerios” in which she chronicles the homeschooling of her young daughter. Science is alive and well at the Beckman home, and Melissa is not afraid to post when experiments work…and when they don’t. She recently […]
May 29, 2009 | 4 Comments
Ian Stewart, a teacher at the St. Andrews School in Hamilton, New Zealand was looking for a way to make learning about density a hands-on experience. Then he stumbled across our Blobs In a Bottle lava lamp experiment (link below) at sciencebob.com. The students got to work creating their own blobs in bottles as they […]
May 28, 2009 | 5 Comments
Students at the Blanford St. Mary’s School in the UK put the Scientific Method to work. A morning with balloons flying across your room is always a great way to start the day. This is why year 2 students at the Blanford St. Mary’s School in The United Kingdom were challenged by their teachers Rosemary […]
May 27, 2009 | 5 Comments
Ellen Kahue, a teacher in South Carolina cleverly used our Floating Paperclip experiment (link below) to teach how water strider insects are able to move across the surface of water without sinking. Understanding surface tension can be a bit tricky, but once you see a paperclip “float” on water, the concept begins to make […]