Science Day

Go on a nature walk with your kids with a magnifying glass. Insects, flowers, leaves, spider webs, even tree bark will look more interesting. Notice details you never noticed before. Examine an ant or a caterpillar with and without the magnifying glass. See the difference. Note: Do not go away and leave glass on dry grass in hot sun.

Science Day: Cooking and Science

Science Day: Scientists keep learning. They fine tune what they are working on to discover what works best. You can do the same in the kitchen. As a kitchen scientist pick a chocolate cake recipe (or a box mix will do) and substitute the water needed for buttermilk. See how changing one simple ingredient can make all the difference. In this case the cake will be yummier. Seriously it will! The sourness of the buttermilk emphasizes the chocolate taste. You can also try this, substituent buttermilk with regular milk when it is asked for in a chocolate dessert you bake on a normal basis. Do you like this dessert better using buttermilk or not? If you are really up to the challenge you can bake two small cakes, using buttermilk in one and one with water or milk. Have your family decide which they like best.

Science Day- Why a Cut Swells

Why does a cut swell? The swelling is a reaction to the cut. When the cut occurs the surface of the skin gets inflamed (swells). What it's doing is telling the body to begin clotting and start the healing process. Some plants can help our skin. American Indians used healing plants in their everyday lives. Even today extracts from plants, like aloe vera, are touted in cosmetic products as beneficial.

If your child is NOT allergic to aloe vera you can do the following experiment. Buy a small aloe vera plant if you don’t have one. At a time when your child gets a tiny scrap try this: Wash the scrap with antibacterial soap and water. Cut off a leave of the aloe vera plant. Cut through, showing the soft middle. Put this exposed aloe on scrap. Aloe has a natural substance called salicylates which is why aloe is known to be anti-inflammatory and used as a pain relief treatment. Does your child think the aloe helped with the pain? Did the aloe aid in healing?

Science Day Food Project: See how rock salt can help make ice cream

Make Homemade Ice Cream
(This is a great Father’s Day Project).

What you need:
1- Plastic freezer strength zip lock bag, storage size.
2- Another plastic freezer strength zip lock bag, gallon size.
3- ¼ cup of sugar.
4- ¼ cup of whole milk.
5- 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream.
6- 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
7- Rock salt.
8- Ice.
9- Spoon and bowls.

What to do:
1- Have your child pour sugar, milk, whipping cream and vanilla in smaller zip lock bag.
2- Stir ingredients with spoon.
3- Make sure you seal this bag completely. This is important. Triple check if you must. You do not want rock salt to get into this bag!!!
4- Now pour about 3 ½ cups of ice into larger zip lock bag.
5- You the parent carefully sprinkle about ½ cup of rock salt over the ice.
6- Put smaller zip lock into larger zip lock bag.
7- If you have gloves, let your child put them on first.
8- Shake bag. Keep shaking for around twelve minutes. You might need to help shake bag, or two or more children can help shake.
9- After twelve minutes of shaking take smaller bag out of larger bag. Fully wipe the outside of smaller bag with paper towel before opening it. Throw away larger bag.
10- You can eat the ice cream now. Or put ice cream in new zip lock freezer bag, freeze, and eat later.

Science Day: Grow a tree from a pit

Science Day: Show your child how a pit can make a tree. Buy an avocado. After eating it save the pit. Wash pit and put toothpick in the middle of it. Put pit in a glass of water. After about a month when pit grows a root plant it in coffee tin filled with potted soil. Don't bother rising out tin. A little coffee in the soil is fine. Keep soil moist, but not soaking. When plant is too big for tin plant in backyard.

Science Day: Vitamin C Experiment

Science Day: So I don't know about you but I see antioxidants like vitamin C touted in creams. Why is this? Well tonight let's take a look at why this might be happening.

What your child needs for this experiment: Two paper plates. Two slices of cut apple, exposing the apple inside. A vitamin C pill crushed into fine powder. You can crush the vitamin C pill with a rock or paper weight on a different surface.

Put an apple slice on each plate. Sprinkle one slice with vitamin C covering entirely the exposed apple. Leave the other apple slice alone. Now normally with apple slices when you give them to kids, and they don't eat them right away, you might hear this, "Yuck! I don't want this! The slices are brown." The apple slices started turning brown because they were exposed to air. But when an apple slice is covered with vitamin C it will take much more time to turn brown. To see this in action have your child wait six hours and then look at the two plates. The apple without the vitamin C should be turning brown. Look again the next day. The apple slice without the vitamin C looks like it should be thrown out. If you want, wait another day and observe the condition of the cut up apples.

Science Day- Learn How to Make Homemade play dough

Science can be fun. Show your kids how to make homemade play dough by using products you already have in your kitchen.
Note: This play dough does not last as long as the store bought stuff.

What your child needs: Mixing bowl, big spoon, one cup of flour, 2/3 cup of water (you might need to add more), half a cup of salt, red, blue, yellow or green food coloring.
For more dough fun find cookie cutters, rolling pin, wax paper, cutting board to roll dough on, old cookie sheet, old spatula, art paint for kids.

To make homemade play dough: Have your child pour flour and salt into mixing bowl. Mix with spoon. Now decide what color you want the dough. Add five drops of this color to 2/3 cup of water. Stir. Now add this colored water, slowly, to salt and flour mixture. Mix. Mix. And mix some more. (If you don’t like the result add more salt.) Show your child how to kneed dough. When dough is of a firm consistency your child can play with it. When they are done playing with it put it in a freezer bag. Label and store in freezer until next time. (You are freezing dough to make it last longer. You will have to let dough thaw out fully before it can be played with again. You can also put dough in frig if your child plans to play with it the very next day, or sometime that same week.)

For cookie cutter fun: Put wax paper on cutting board. Put play dough on wax paper. Have your child roll dough flat with rolling pin. (You might need to dust rolling pin with flour so dough does not stick to pin.) After rolling, place cookie cutters in dough. Move aside extra dough and using spatula carefully place cookie shapes on old cookie sheet. Let shapes dry out in warm sun (48 hours depending). Remember warm metal can burn so keep away from cookie sheet while shapes are drying. Paint shapes when fully dry. DON’T EAT.

How to make a Delicious Smelling Coffee Scrub.

AHH, did you forget someone on your Christmas list? Don't sweat it if they like bath products. This is a fun holiday science experiment.
Learn how food products can be used for more than just eating. Make fast inexpensive salt scrubs at home with products you have in your own cupboard. Salt, coffee, vanilla extract, almond oil can be used in food preparation or to make salt scrubs.

Almond Salt Scrub-
Pour 26 ounces of salt in bowl. Then immediately add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for scent. Mix with spoon. Now add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix. Add almond oil (NOT more almond extract) to your liking. More oil will make scrub oily. If you like a drier feel add less oil. Feel to see what you like. When done scoop mixture into zip lock baggy. Roll up closed baggy in colored cellophane leaving room at ends. Tie ends with ribbon to look like a wrapped candy.

***For an amazing scent use coffee beans. Ground beans finely. Substitute coffee grounds for the almond extract. Do everything else the same. I'm not into coffee myself, but I made this scrub with a friend and hands down coffee was the best scent we made. What didn't work was cinnamon for a scent. When scrub was used the cinnamon left a residue on face which looked like a weird sunburn.

Science Day

Find out if just the weight of an object effects how fast it will fall to the ground. What you need: A shoe and a wood clothes pin. Or a penny and a half dollar. Have your child drop an item from each hand to the floor (carpet is best)from the same height. Do they land at the same time? They should.
Alternative: Drop a penny and a bag of pennies (with air pressed out of baggy) at the same time/same height.

Science Day

When we've tasted a particular food and then SEE it again we know what to expect taste wise. But what if we CAN'T see the food before we taste it? Can we still discern what it is? Experiment: See if blindfolded your child can figure out what you give them to eat.
What you'll need: Different foods, a spoon, and a blindfold. The blindfold can be a handkerchief, or make one by cutting up an old cotton shirt.
Blind fold your child. Make sure it does not cover their nose or mouth. Place a piece of food on their tongue using the spoon. Use only foods your child has had before and you know for sure they aren't allergic to. Try blah foods first: Carrot or celery cubes or lettuce… Try a small slice of onion, pickle, or a dab of mild mustard. Then try cheese, yogurt, chocolate, mashed potatoes or mashed grapes or strawberries. Have fun. When your child has had enough, they can try this experiment on you if you're game.

Science Day

Science Day: Have your child cut a clipping of a favorite rose bush or plant in your yard. Cut off any flowers. Put desired clipping in a cup filled with water. Leave in shade and make sure it always has water. After a month when the clipping has grown roots, plant in POT with good soil. Keep out of hot sun. When cutting gets bigger you can plant it in the ground. Clippings don't always grow well, depending on the plant. Try it with different greenery you have in your yard and see what works. I've had good luck with roses myself. You can call your local nursery and ask them what plant clippings work best in your area.

Science Day

Science Day: This is really a really cool simple experiment! Learn how density affects submerged objects.

What you will need: A bucket of water filled half way. Two cans of carbonated soda, same size and brand, but one regular, one diet.

Have your child drop the regular soda in the water first. Does it sink? Yes. Have your child now drop the diet soda in the pail of water. Does it sink? No! It pops back up and floats because the density of the diet soda is less than the regular one.

Science Day- Sunlight Experiment

Science Day: This is a simple science experiment to show what happens to plants or grass when they don't get sun. You need two small potted plants, one of which you don't mind if it dies. Put one potted plant in a place where it can receive sun. But not in a place where the sun will burn it. Put other potted plant on a shelf in a dark closet where it can't be knocked over. Keep plants in both places for five days. After five days observe plants. The plant that didn't get sunlight should be wilted and dying. The other plant which did get sun should be thriving.

Alternative: Put a Frisbee or an empty clay pot over a patch of green grass. If you have gardeners do it right after they mow the lawn. Don't move Freebie for seven days. On the eighth day lift up the Frisbee or pot. Notice how the grass underneath is brown and dying. It didn't get sun. Plants need sunlight. This is why it's hard to plant grass under large shady trees laden with leaves. The sun can't reach the grass blades. Even in the forest baby trees can die if the large trees next to them have wide branches. The branches block out the sunlight.

Science Experiment Day

Science Day: Use a cup you can throw away. Fill cup up with carbonated cola. Have your child put a penny in the soda. You can do the same with a nickel at the same time. Three days later, using a spoon, see how the penny looks (and nickel if you did it). Put penny back in soda to soak. Fifth day: See how penny looks. Day seven: Look at penny again. Can you see a difference in the coins corrosion rate due to being different metals? I did. I knew a science teacher who did this experiment with her class to bring it on home how drinking lots of soda is not a great thing to do. She told her class to pretend the penny was their teeth. Now of course you would not soak your teeth for seven days in soda, but she was trying to make a point about how drinking lots of soda can have an adverse affect on the enamel on your teeth.

2 in 1, Science Day and Household tip

Combination science experiment and household tip. I had a friend who hated to polish her silverware. (Which is something I'm not keen about doing either.) She tried different products that promised easy silver cleaning. None worked to her satisfaction. Due to this she was going to give away a silver tea set a friend gave her to a school rummage sale. Since she was just going to give it away I suggested she first try a polishing tip I heard about. With her child present we did this experiment. This experiment is for older children since it involves a pot of hot water. And use only silverware and silver cups that if ruined in any way, even slightly, you won't be upset. In other words don't try this first on your great-grandmother's silver coffee pot. Some people like this polishing technique, others do not, saying it's too harsh on silver. Due to oxidation tarnish appears on silver. Sometimes you can wipe it off with hard wiping with a soft cotton cloth. This baking soda technique helps take tarnish off without all the hard work, but wiping is safer for silverware you cherish. I take no responsibility for the outcome of your silver with this experiment. Thus, if you're worried about your silver, buy an old cheap silver plated spoon that you don't care about at a garage sale and try this experiment with it.

Put aluminum foil on the inside bottom of a two gallon pot. Fill with water. Heat to a boil. Mix a quarter cup of baking soda with the two gallons of water. Using a tong, you as the parent, ease in silver tea cup and saucer in the pot and any silver forks and knives that fit. Remember: Dip items down, fully. You will see the foil darken and the tarnish disappear on the cup, saucer and silverware. "It's like magic!" my friend's child exclaimed. Once tarnish is off (do not leave in pot too long) take items out with tongs and put in sink to wash. The silver will be hot so let cool before washing with dish soap.

Science Day

Science Day: It's spring. Time for planting. If you plan to plant hydrangeas or already have them with pink blooms try this experiment to get blue blooms. Bury nails in the hydrangeas soil. The metal will rust, leaving an iron deposit, making the flowers change color. In general, giving nutrients and minerals to your plants can make them healthier. I, personally, have saved a dying baby orange tree by turning its soil (letting oxygen in) and putting compost in its soil. For those of you who do not have hydrangeas or do not plan to plant them this Spring here is another Green Thumb experiment you can try.
Have your child eat an apple or orange, saving the seeds. Find a sunny spot to plant the seeds. Place seeds about two to three inches down in the ground. Mix soil with compost or potting soil. Water. Give seedlings nutrients. Watch grow.

Science Day

Science Day: See how your mind can get confused by a simple word test. I've done this activity with several kids and it is one of their favorites.
What you will need: Two white sheets of computer paper. Four crayons: Red, yellow, purple, and blue. Stop watch or the use of a nearby clock.

Parents on the first sheet of paper write the word red with the red crayon, the word yellow with the yellow crayon, the word purple with the purple crayon, and the word blue with the blue crayon. On the other sheet of paper write the word yellow with the red crayon, the word red with the purple crayon, the word blue with the red crayon, and the word purple with blue crayon. Show your child the second sheet of paper first. Time how fast your child says the color of the word. They will most likely get confused by the color drawn being different than word written out. Time them again using the first sheet. They should say the colors quicker this time because the name of the color corresponds with its actual color.

Science Day- Make a Rainbow

Science Day: Show your child how sunlight hitting a glass crystal can make a spectrum of colors. What you need: Glass crystal (from a chandler or if you buy one make sure it makes a rainbow first). Hang crystal on fishing line or string from a window rod. Best to place crystal where light comes in WELL. Sunlight will hit crystal and make pretty band of colors on your carpet or floor.

Science Day

Science Experiment: See how oxygen affects vegetables.
What you need: Zip lock baggy. Two lettuce leaves or two cut celery sticks.

Put one vegetable as is on plate on shelve in your refrigerator. Put one vegetable of the same kind in a plastic zip lock bag, making sure you smush out all the air (oxygen). But don't bruise vegetable! Put the bagged vegetable next to the one that isn't bagged. In a week see how the vegetable in the baggy looks compared to the one that's not in a baggy. Let vegetables stay in refrigerator another week. Now see how vegetables look. The vegetable in the baggy should look fresher.