Things to Make - The Rubber Egg Experiment

Did you know that soaking an egg in vinegar for two days causes the shell to dissolve, leaving behind a rubbery (yet still breakable) egg? My kids find this the most fascinating thing ever, even when the yolk breaks on them. For two weeks we went through egg after egg as F kept repeating this experiment.

Oh well, it is sort of fascinating, especially since you can peak in and watch the shell dissolve over time.

What about everyone else? Try any EASY science experiments lately?

RUBBER EGG EXPERIMENT:

1. Place egg in a bowl and cover the entire egg with clear vinegar. Cover the bowl with a plate.

2. After 24 hours, rinse the egg and replace with fresh vinegar. Cover the bowl.

3. After about 12 more hours, check your egg. Is it rubbery yet?

Things to Make - Science Experiment Kits for Grade Schoolers

Over winter break, F's teacher sent home these "science kits" with each of her students. The kits include directions for 10 relatively simple experiments with succinct, understandable explanations (when people teach science to kids, I find that they often go for the "bang" over the explanatory, thus my children rarely understand the difference between magic and science). Nothing too messy. Nothing too complicated. Plus, Ms. C included all the necessary materials (toothpicks, marshmallows, etc.).

By the end of break, Dan had the flu and my foot remained broken, so our days weren't exactly fun-filled. Luckily, this kit kept T and F occupied for an entire afternoon. And they worked together (with F reading the directions and T putting the pieces together) which is a miracle in itself. A winter break miracle.

When I wrote Ms. C to thank her, she told me that the instructions for the kits (there are several) are available for download from this website. I think these would be awesome for birthday parties, either as favors or for the party itself. Or even just store the kits in the closet and have them ready for a rainy/snowy day.

Places to Go - The Best Museum Membership EVER

Over the years, we've purchased various museum memberships, most of which have been relatively good investments. But our Maryland Science Center membership has paid for itself at least 5x over. First of all, we love the MD Science Center (click here to read our review) and we try to make it there a few times a year. But, most importantly, the membership grants free access to all ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers) museums, of which there are HUNDREDS in the US alone (click here to see the full list). So whenever we plan a road trip or a vacation, I'll search the list for places to stretch our legs (and brains) for a few hours.

When we drive to Chicago, we often stop at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Center (the Children's museum is also included in the ASTC) and/or The Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland (the Cleveland Museum of Natural History is also free for ASTC members). Once we arrive in Chicago, six museums are now free to us (just in the city center alone). Admission at several of these museums is somewhat costly (for example, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry now costs $27 for an adult ticket and $18 for a child - that's over $100 for our whole family to spend one day at the museum). Luckily, a membership to MD Science Center only costs $150 for a family of five ($125 for a family of four). If you travel, this is the deal of a lifetime (sorry, this post is starting to sound really cheesy).

This summer, we decided to check out two new ASTC museums. On our way to Indianapolis, we stopped at the COSI Center in Columbus, OH (which was HUGE). And on our way to Smith Mountain Lake, we spent a few wonderful hours at Charleston, WV's Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. Plus, every summer we frequent the Science Museum of VA while visiting Dan's parent's in Richmond. Posted below are some of the highlights.



COSI CENTER (Columbus, OH) - This place was HUGE (Parents Magazine rates it as one of the "10 Best Science Centers", along with the MD Science Center). Upon arrival, a "petting zoo" of construction vehicles amused T to no end (there's nothing like "driving" a digger after a seven hour car ride). Once inside, the water exhibit rivaled anything that we've seen at Disney (with dark scenic lighting, eerie music, and huge Greek gods looming overhead). In the outdoor courtyard we used a lever to lift an old car. We also played with lasers, hung out in a (small) submarine, and sat on an astronaut's toilet. All before we hit up the kids' room. On the downside, many of the exhibits seemed (in my eyes) a little more flashy than educational, but whatever, we had fun.



Our favorite exhibit in the COSI center was, by far, "Progress." You begin by walking down a street set in the late 1800s. The kids checked out a carriage and the old post office, which was fun, but not that different from other "old days" streets we've toured before. BUT THEN, the next part of the exhibit shows the same street in 1962, complete with Spam window displays and an appliance store full of old tvs. My kids loved it. You can also hula hoop and/or "record" a TV broadcast.



THE CLAY CENTER (Charleston, WV) - Compared to Columbus's COSI Center, the Clay Center was much smaller in scale. But, in a way, I liked this better - the Clay Center was not quite as overwhelming and the experiments all did a wonderful job demonstrating key concepts without being too flashy. T and P had a great time manning the controls of a space shuttle, whereas F liked figuring out how to program a fountain. Plus, we all couldn't stop playing a Hollywood Squares interactive game about the human body (Funny Bone is pictured above) and learning how lengthy our large intestine really is (seriously, it goes forever). Plus the water area had all these funny props (old boots, a colander, etc.) for making fountains.



THE SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA (Richmond, VA) - This visit we only stayed for about an hour and a half, so we didn't have time to check out several of the exhibits. But we did learn how the museum teaches rats to play basketball (pretty cool). We also liked exploring our fitness levels in the museum's new Boost exhibit (where you can "test" your flexibility, memory, and strength). And, the kids always enjoy checking out the Imagination Playground Set and the giant bubble maker.

Things to Make - Goo

My daughters' preschool offers wonderful science classes once a month. The results of which are often quite interesting. For example, after one class my oldest daughter came home talking about a "wonderful machine" that can make feet bigger. And, "can we get one so I can have REALLY big feet all the time?" It took over a month for me to figure out she was talking about a magnifying glass (I now read the class's take-home summaries for parents much more closely). Further, once at a dinner party she explained gravity to everyone present (and did a much better job then I could ever do). But her favorite lesson of all was about the distinction between liquids and solids, when they made goo. For those who've never played with goo, it's sort of like play dough, but it can be poured like a liquid. Not only is goo fascinating to play with (for both children and adults) it is incredibly easy to make. Thus, goo has quickly become THE rainy day activity in our house, as pictured above (though we don't usually add paper towels into the mix). Warning, it is messy, but clean up is easy with soap and water.

Goo

1. empty some cornstarch into a bowl (about half a box)
2. SLOWLY add water. if you add too much water the goo turns completely into a liquid, which is not what you want. so keep adding a little bit of water at a time and slowly mix with a spoon or your hands until it becomes "gooey" (for lack of a better word)
3. add food coloring to make it more fun. this can also be a good opportunity to teach kids about the color wheel (yellow and blue make green, etc.)

So have fun!! What about everyone else? What's your favorite rainy day activity?

For more on the company that offers preschool science classes, click here - http://thescienceseed.webs.com/