Does your child know that salt water conducts electricity? In this science experiment, your child will build a mini circuit to find out if he has salt water or fresh water. It’s a simple experiment but it will show how saltwater acts as a conductor to electrical currents, while reinforcing important lessons about conductivity and […]
There is nothing worse than finding a mouldy piece of fruit in the bottom of a bag. Whoever thought that mouldy bread would lead to a the development of modern antibiotics? More cultures that you might know used mould to help prevent infection. Poultices of mouldy bread were used in ancient Egypt, ancient India, and
Looking for a fun and different way to help your teen personalize her room? Create a lamp shade decorated with her silhouette portrait for a one of a kind work of art. Popular in the 18th century, silhouette portraits are traditionally black against a light background, but here you’ll create a silhouette by punching holes
Charles Kaufman is an American cartoonist who began painting in 1990 and today he has art displayed in galleries across the United States and Europe. In his series Crushed Can Art, he takes old aluminium cans and flattens them, then paints them with an original design. Inspired by Charles Kaufman’s crushed cans, this activity lets
Developing a keen eye for observation is an essential skill for any scientist and a fundamental step of the scientific method. Help your middle schooler (and yourself!) improve his observation skills by playing this simple game.What You Need:❑ Duplicate set of common household items (coins or Legos work great, as long as there are at
As your young learner studies structures, he may hear that the strongest shape is the triangle. Put this architectural idea to the test by building two different newspaper towers with your child. He’ll test and observe the stability of each structure, trying his hand at engineering as he explores this important architectural concept. What You
Build Newspaper Towers and Test Their Stability! Read More »
Use this activity to combine two of your pre-teen’s interests – style and technology! Making a unique cyber bracelet doesn’t just appeal to her fashion sense, it gets her inside a defunct computer. As she works, she’ll learn which parts pose a hazard to the environment and how to handle them safely. What You Need:❑
Print-making is thought to have originated in China after the invention of paper in the 2nd century AD. This activity features a special kind of print-making called collagraphy, where flat materials are layered and glued onto a base, then painted and used to create a final finished print. Using this ancient art is a great
Eggshells make charming miniature planters for Easter. Creating these fragile planters can be a little tricky, calling for good fine motor skills and concentration, but the result is truly lovely. Junior botanists and gardeners will love planting flowers in these colourful pots. Place them on a windowsill or table for instant spring cheer.What You Need:❑
If your teen looks like he needs a break from homework, or something to work on during the commercials of her favourite show, help show her how to make a paper bead-in just 20 seconds! She can make a short necklace or bracelet in only one evening, or a longer necklace in two. Plus, reusing
Are you wondering how we know that air is there? Here’s a quick and easy experiment that proves that air may be thin, but it’s not too wimpy to block your shot! What You Need:❑ Empty 2-litre soft drink bottle❑ Tape❑ Piece of paper❑ Electric hand-held hair-dryerWhat You Do: Take an empty, 2-litre soft drink
In this activity, a metal “rod” can be made to roll back to you automatically when pushed away. What’s at work behind the phenomenon?Not only will this activity encourage critical thinking as your child tries to figure out what happened, but also it will serve to reinforce the Physics concept of stored energy! What You
Raising media-savvy kids is more important than ever in today’s information-overloaded world. Knowing just how a newspaper article differs from, say, a story in a book or a piece in a magazine will help equip your middle-schooler with the skills to think critically about the overwhelming number of ideas he or she is exposed to
Do you know that you can extract DNA from any living thing from the comfort of your family’s own kitchen? DNA is the genetic coding that determines that a human embryo will become a man, a bird embryo will become a robin, etc. Show your child how a quick whirl of spinach in the blender
Your teen may think he’s too grown up for cut-and-paste arts and crafts, but he’ll be delighted to create something useful and trendy. Lip balm made out of beeswax is one of the simplest do-it-yourself activities, and it’s fun to make! If you have a farmer’s market near by, make him shop there for the