Family Science | Science Buddies Blog (Page 23)

Building Bristlebots: Basic Toothbrush Robotics

August 30, 2013 11:30 AM

As this mom discovered, with a bag of toothbrushes and some basic electronics supplies, you can give a group of kids a fun introductory robotics experience—no prior robotics expertise necessary! Since the BristleBots robotics project first appeared at Science Buddies, I have wanted to try these little toothbrush-head bots with my kids. The light-tracking robot project appeared shortly after the more ubiquitous brush bot. The light-tracking bot is more complicated, but I marked it,… Read more

Fizzy Chemical Reactions: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

August 29, 2013 6:09 AM

In this week's spotlight: a trio of chemistry science projects for fizzy, science fun. When you drop an Alka-Seltzer® tablet into water, a chemical reaction begins. What influences the rate of this reaction? Explore the role of temperature on the reaction with the student science Project Idea, a hands-on family science activity, or a classroom activity: Plop, Plop, Fizz Fast: The Effect of Temperature on Reaction Time (full Science Buddies Project Idea) Carbonation Countdown: The… Read more

Moon Size Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

August 22, 2013 9:00 AM

(Moon rise image credit: Thomas Fietzek, Wikimedia Commons) In this week's spotlight: a pair of human biology and health science projects to help students and families better understand the way our eyes perceive the full moon rising. If you have noticed that a full moon sometimes seems very big and then smaller as it rises, you have seen the full moon illusion in action. Learn more about Emmert's Law and experiment to find out why and how our perception of the moon's size changes based on… Read more

Family Math: M&M Color Statistics

August 19, 2013 2:56 PM

What can you do with hundreds and hundreds of M&M's? Family math! My family's lineup of summer hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math projects and activities included almost enough M&M's to bring Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to mind. Maybe not quite that many, but summer was busy, and when I added three bags of M&M's to the list with this project in mind, I had in my head that we needed big bags of M&M's. When we sat… Read more

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

August 8, 2013 1:00 PM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of astronomy science projects perfectly timed for this year's peak Perseids meteor shower activity. Most meteors that pass through the Earth's atmosphere burn up before they hit the ground. But what happens when a meteorite hits? In this pair of hands-on science activities, students and families experiment to find out how the size of a meteorite is related to the size of the resulting crater. Craters and Meteorites (full Science Buddies Project… Read more

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

August 1, 2013 5:27 AM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of science projects for buggy, backyard exploration. What does it mean for an area to be have a lot of biodiversity? Why is this important to the health of an ecosystem? How do scientists measure biodiversity? You can explore by doing a study of the biodiversity of insects in your own backyard using a homemade bug collector. This week's hands-on science project and activity guide either an independent project or a family investigation. How many types of… Read more

Playful Programming and Cool Code: From Tech User to Tech Creator

July 30, 2013 9:00 AM

A move is on in the worlds of tech and education, a push to show students that learning to code is important, fun, and maybe not as hard as they think! Exploring code is easier today than ever, and even students who may not be thinking yet about career paths stand to gain valuable thinking and reasoning skills from learning, practicing, and using fundamental programming skills. Getting Started with Scratch Interested in exploring what is means to create a computer program? Scratch makes… Read more

Fruit and Gelatin Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

July 25, 2013 6:20 AM

In this week's spotlight: a pair of science projects from the kitchen. Is a gelatin-based fruit salad in your recipe book of family favorites? What fruit do you add? Will any fruit work? Put it to the test with this week's hands-on science exploration and investigate what the enzymes in certain fruits have to do with whether or not a gelatin will solidify properly when a fruit is added. Which Fruits Can Ruin Your Gelatin Dessert? (full Science Buddies Project Idea) Solidifying… Read more

Student Science: Straw Suspension Bridge

July 18, 2013 6:05 AM

How does the Golden Gate Bridge or another suspension bridge work? Does the suspension design help it support more weight than other types of bridges? In the "Keeping You in Suspens(ion)" science project, students put these questions to the test. With ordinary materials—straws, tape, string, paper clips, and a small cup—students can quickly model a suspension bridge and test its weight-bearing capacity compared to a simple beam bridge made from the same materials. How many pennies… Read more

Basketball Science on the Court

July 15, 2013 7:45 AM

Have a sports-oriented kid? Playing basketball can engage muscle power and brain power! For summertime fun, hit the courts to explore the science behind shooting hoops. By Kim Mullin Better Basketball? Can science help you improve your skills on the court? It might! Sports science projects let you explore the science and physics behind a favorite pastime. Shoot some hoops; score some science points. Basketball season may be officially over, but it's a safe bet that lots of kids are… Read more

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