Family Science | Science Buddies Blog (Page 18)

Strength of an Egg: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

April 17, 2014 9:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a materials science family experiment and science fair project that asks you to rethink what you know about eggs. Are they fragile? Or are they strong? If you've ever accidentally stuck your finger through one in the kitchen, you may think you know the answer! But the shape of an egg can support a surprising amount of mass. It is a shape, in fact, that can be found in architecture. How much mass can eggshells hold? Put it to the test with a… Read more

Family Egg Science

April 14, 2014 9:00 AM

Egg science comes over-easy this time of year. Whether you are boiling eggs, dyeing eggs, or both, there are easy questions you can ask with your kids to turn the activity into a hands-on science experiment that everyone will enjoy. In the past few years, the process of preparing colorful, hard-boiled eggs has taken on new and very scientific significance for me as a parent. In turning the seemingly simple act of egg dyeing into a hands-on… Read more

Floating Eggs: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

April 10, 2014 9:35 AM

In this week's spotlight: an ocean sciences family experiment and science fair project. Some things float in water and some do not. Knowing the density of the object and the density of the water helps explain what is going on, and you can observe and talk about the buoyancy of an object. But adding salt can change what happens. Why? In this hands-on science experiment, you set up a series of dilutions to see at what point an egg goes from sinking to floating in salt water. How Salty… Read more

Yeasty Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

April 3, 2014 10:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a microbiology-themed family science experiment and science fair project. What conditions cause yeasts to be most active during fermentation? You and your students can find out by growing yeasts in different conditions and then using balloons to trap the gas released by the yeasts during fermentation so that you can measure it. Yeasty Beasties (full Science Buddies Project Idea) Single-Celled Science: Yeasty Beasties (science activity at Scientific… Read more

Musical Straws: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

March 27, 2014 10:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a music-themed family science experiment and science fair project. With a set of ordinary drinking straws, you can create a group straw "oboes." Can you play them? Sure! By blowing air through them, similar to the way you play a reed instrument, you can produce musical notes. At the end of the activity, you should have a set of straws, each of which will play a different note on a musical scale. What is the secret to changing the note each one plays? In this music… Read more

Fun Science at Home: Give Spring Break a Science Boost

March 25, 2014 8:00 AM

Science Buddies has great ideas to keep your students engaged during spring break with cool science experiments they can do at home. Tweak our full science fair Project Ideas to challenge your kids to scientific spring break fun! Ready or not... Spring Break is here again! Whether you are able to take time to be hands-on with your kids during the days off of school or need ideas for keeping them busy and engaged, Science Buddies has great science kits and fun project ideas and science… Read more

Home Sweet Bug Microenvironments: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

March 20, 2014 9:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a zoology family science experiment and science fair project that encourages families and students to observe pillbugs or sowbugs up close by creating cozy but different microenvironments and seeing which the bugs prefer. Although they are frequently found in the soil, pillbugs and sowbugs are not insects; instead, these bugs are crustaceans and breathe with gills.Will this have an affect on which microenvironment they choose? Put it to the test in this easy… Read more

Colorful Family Science for St. Patrick's Day

March 13, 2014 11:00 AM

What causes the food coloring to move through the milk? In this week's spotlight: a family science experiment that lets you and your children make a rainbow in keeping with St. Patrick's Day! What happens when you put drops of food coloring in milk? What happens when you add a bit of dishwashing liquid? Put it to the test in this science activity for a fun, colorful look at the role of a surfactant and how it changes the surface tension of a liquid. Family science… Read more

Serving up Some Pi Pie for Pi Day

March 11, 2014 10:30 AM

March 14 is Pi Day, so grab a slice, and your best memorization skills. How much Pi can you remember—which is not quite the same as how much pie can you eat! Celebrating Pi Day with Pie A Google search or a Pi-focused look at Pinterest turns up all kinds of great Pi pie. The pie above, with the opening numbers of Pi cookie-cut and used as the top crust is a wonderful tribute to Pi! Image: Kat M.Pi. Pie. When it comes to students of a certain age, there is often a very fine line… Read more

Carnival Game Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

March 6, 2014 10:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a mechanical engineering experiment and family science activity that takes a scientific look at why a popular carnival game may look easy to win but may, in fact, be really difficult. How does the distribution of mass in the way milk bottles (or plastic bottles of colored water!) are stacked affect how hard or easy it is to knock the bottles over? Put the question to the test with your own home version of a classic carnival game! Knock Your Blocks Off: The… Read more

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