As fast as the summer has flown by, my kids seem SO ready for school. All of the camps and amusements we arranged for them in June and July seem old hat in August. In my search for fresh ideas -- and ways to kick start the kids' neurons before classes start -- I came across a kitchen science blog by Edina mom Liz Heinecke.
Want to create a fireproof water balloon with your kids? Make homemade black snakes? A truly "EZ" bake oven powered by the sun? Heinecke's blog has the instructions. A former medical researcher with an MA in bacteriology, Heinecke said she created the blog to make science more accessible and fun for families.
"If parents realize it's not hard to do science, they're much more likely to do it," she said. "People are afraid of it. They think they have to buy a really expensive kit … But doing a science project is probably easier than baking cookies."Heinecke's goal of expanding children's interests in science seems particularly well-timed, considering the latest news that Minnesota kids are lagging in science knowledge. One way to counteract that is to foster scientific interests during the preschool years, Heinecke said.Many of her experiments are easy for young children, though some require adult supervision. Tie-dye milk and corn starch goo are popular examples. Kids of all ages love an experiment using a soda bottle, balloon, vinegar and baking soda that inflates the balloon using a chemical reaction."Even 10 year olds will sit and do that for a half an hour, over and over again," she said. Heinecke's ideas come from a PBS web site, scientific organizations and her dad, a physicist, she said.Next up: Heinecke is creating an app for iPhones that will feature all her experiments and also give users the ability to search for experiments based on the ingredients they have in their homes.This is the fifth in an occasional Stuff To Do series on local, off-beat activities for kids and families:
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