We're in the final countdown to Peanut's birthday. This girl starts counting as soon as she hears the first Christmas carol so by the time the day arrives the buildup is quite intense. Peanut is prone to histrionics anyway so the extra dose for her birthday makes life almost unbearable for her: it's either too, too good to take in or too, too awful to face. Lord help us when she gets to middle school and the real drama begins.
Peanut chose a science theme for her party this year so Stan and I are hosting a gaggle of junior scientists. We'll be doing some of the standard vinegar/baking soda stuff in the kitchen, as well as playing with an electronics kit and making microscope slides. Each scientist will have a kit including test tube, eye dropper, magnifying glass, etc. I had a great time this afternoon testing some of the possible experiments and generally playing with my kids' toys. [When was the last time you roasted marshmallows in the microwave? Do you remember what to do with resistors?]
There are so many good experiments to do but at the same time, most of my resources have the same small bunch of ideas. Stan and I would love to break open their little minds to new questions. There are lots of smart folks out there in the wide, wide, web so my question to you, dear friends, is this: what is your favorite kid-friendly (2nd grade) science activity?
You could try something with fingerprinting.... I got a fingerprinting kit for a Toys for Tots drive once and I think the age was listed as seven. You could have them match up footprints or fibers, too. Broken feathers under the microscope could work, in the same vein.
ReplyDeleteI remember making green slime from borax once (http://bit.ly/L5fOn). Playing with cornstarch as a Newtonian fluid is also fun (http://bit.ly/F4b6U and
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amfjWWMg9c0).
Acid and sugar is fun but kind of dangerous.
In addition to whiz-bang demos to get their attention, it's important to teach kids to OBSERVE their surroundings as scientists. I love the Richard Feynman story about how his dad encouraged him to observe how birds behave, rather than just to learn the names of birds and check them off.
Thanks for the suggestions. The party went really well. The kids asked great questions, made observations and debated causes. The ones that I know well are all very excited about science now, which is a huge victory.
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