In middle school your child will be learning all about heat energy and temperature measurement, and will likely get to use a lab thermometer. This project will enable your child to construct a homemade thermometer that will compliment what he’s learning about this instrument in school.What You Need:❑ Tap water❑ Rubbing alcohol ❑ 11-ounce clear, […]

One of the most beautiful parts of every cathedral is the stained glass window above the entrance, called a Rose window. Your child can create his own work of beauty based on these century-old works of art. Instead of cutting glass, he can use tissue paper and repeated shapes and patterns for a similar glowing

Botany, the study of plants, is a very important field of science. Many of the medicines we use, as well as most of the foods we eat, come from plants. Botanists cannot go into the field to study every single kind of plant from all over the world, so they create an herbarium, which is

To supplement your eighth grader’s study of magnets in school, try this simple activity at home. Your child will create a homemade working compass using just a steel needle, magnet, jar and a few other supplies. As he builds his compass, he’ll experiment with magnetism and will get to “see” the Earth’s magnetic field as

Step aside Harry Potter; a new wizard is in town! Now your child can create his own wizard or witch puppet to send off on imagined adventures! This project blends many types of artistic elements, such as papier-mâché, painting, sewing and designing. Making the puppet is a detailed, multi-step process that can be completed over

Does the mere thought of bungee jumping make your palms sweat? How about DIY bungee jumping at home with your kids? Don’t worry; there won’t be any broken limbs involved…just broken shells. In place of your child, an egg will be doing all the jumping. The nylon pantyhose you’ll use for this experiment has a

To a child, a grandparent is a timeless figure. But your child’s grandparent had a childhood, youth and adulthood full of interesting and wonderful stories! Encouraging your child to learn about his grandparent’s past will not only strengthen family ties but also it can be a great writing exercise, history lesson, and gift, rolled into

Can you think of a way of cleaning dirty water using the sun? How about getting salt out of water using the sun? In this activity, you will be making a “solar still” that is able to do just that! Let’s get started!What You Need:❑ A wide plastic basin❑ A smaller jar or glass for

Do you remember Shrinky Dinks? They were sheets of plastic film you could draw on, cut out and bake into a shrunken solid piece of plastic. The original Shrinky Dink is no longer in the market, but now there’s something even better: Inkjet printable shrink plastic! Print your very own photos, snapshots or fine art

The discovery of soap was one of the most important aspects in human history. Just think about all the things we use soap for, from keeping clothes and dishes clean to sanitation in hospitals.Today we make some kinds of soap using lye (which is leached from ashes), oils and water, or we can buy ready-made

This autumn, embrace the back-to-school spirit by getting your child organized for the upcoming school year. Here’s a fun and easy activity to help: create a magnetic spice tin pencil holder! It will be easy for your teen to transform beautifully decorated spice tins and loose-leaf tea canisters into durable magnetic organizers that keep pens

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