Family Science | Science Buddies Blog (Page 21)

November 25, 2013 11:00 AM

Potatoes make a great side dish, but they also make great subjects for hands-on science! Food chemistry, plant biology, and even basic electronics are all on the menu when you experiment with potatoes. By Kim Mullin What is your favorite food on the Thanksgiving table? Turkey with cool cranberry sauce? Pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream? For me, it is creamy, smooth mashed potatoes, piping hot and dripping with extra butter! A South American Treasure South American cultures… Read more

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

November 21, 2013 9:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a food science project or family activity that adds a dash of salt to questions about health and nutrition. The salt in your family's table shaker may be iodized because iodine is an important micronutrient that not everyone gets naturally in the foods they eat. To help prevent iodine deficiency, many salts contain added iodine (in the form of iodide). Not all salts are iodized, however. In this pair of projects, families experiment to see which salts contain… Read more

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

November 15, 2013 9:00 AM

How fast do you walk a certain distance? How is your height related? In this week's spotlight: a sports science project that invites students and families to examine the relationship between walking pace and height. Do you have to walk faster or slower to keep up with a friend or family member? How is that related to how tall each of you is, and why? Can you estimate how tall someone is by how many steps they take to cover a certain distance? Put… Read more

Exciting Girls about Science and Engineering

November 8, 2013 9:00 AM

With its broad spectrum of free scientist-authored projects for K-12 students, Science Buddies wants ALL students to have a great science project experience—girls and boys. For teachers and parents looking for ways to engage girls in science, Science Buddies has plenty of suggestions. Finding a great project that taps an area of interest is one of the most important things to keep in mind when helping students select projects. Girls and STEM: Better Understanding the 'Leaky… Read more

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

November 7, 2013 10:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of zoology science projects that let students and families explore how some animals use camouflage so they can better blend in with their surroundings. Does camouflage really make a difference when it comes to the relationship between predators and their prey? Give it a try in fun hands-on science activity using M&M® and Skittles® candies. If you are a hungry predator trying to grab a specific color of M&M, how hard will it be to find your… Read more

This Experiment is Totally Sweet

November 5, 2013 11:22 AM

November is a great time to experiment with a kitchen science project. A cheesecake smackdown explores how subtle variations in cooking methods can create very different results! By Kim Mullin Make Cheesecake a Scienctific Part of Your Next Family Gathering! Volunteer to make dessert for your next family event, and you can combine making a tasty contribution for after dinner with a kitchen science exploration! (Image: Wikipedia)When is a cake not a cake? When it is a cheesecake! … Read more

Spilling Candy: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

October 31, 2013 9:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of physics science projects that invite students and families to explore the granularity of materials. Can you pour candy in a way that is similar to pouring water? What determines whether or not a material can "flow" in this way? Which variables affect how smoothly the material flows? With your Halloween candy bag at hand, you can put it to the test with your own "candy waterfall" in these hands-on science project and family science… Read more

Slime, Catapults, and Halloween Science

October 30, 2013 10:30 AM

Inspire hands-on learning by getting creative. You can easily turn chemistry and physics science experiments into Halloween-inspired activities that your students will enjoy! Halloween is tomorrow. Hopefully you've found, stitched, glued, or otherwise assembled all necessary gear for the big night of knocking door to door for fun treats. To keep you in the mood, we've got two more hands-on science suggestions, both of which are fun ways to tie science into the festivities, even after the… Read more

Time for Spooky Halloween Science

October 28, 2013 9:00 AM

As trick-or-treat night approaches, we have plenty of suggestions for hands-on science you can fit in with Halloween festivities and discussions! Meet your kids where they are—in the Halloween mindset! Science Buddies has great ideas for giving Halloween a boost of hands-on science.Every year we highlight projects at Science Buddies that, when carved or backlit this way or that, can easily be adapted for Halloween and trick-or-treat fun with students in the classroom or at home. If… Read more

Electronics and Play Dough: Fun, Tactile Family Science

October 25, 2013 10:00 AM

With a new group of electronics Project Ideas and a cool kit from the Science Buddies Store, you can turn ordinary play dough modeling into a great hands-on electronics activity with your kids. Since the trio of electric play dough projects launched at Science Buddies, I have wanted to give these hands-on science projects a try as a weekend science activity with my kids. The idea of rigging up an electronics-friendly batch of dough to some LEDs has… Read more

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