Keep It Local: Maryland Science Center

One of the best things about living in D.C. is all the free access to wonderful museums. It doesn't matter if we pop in for 20 minutes and one of us loses it, forcing everyone to leave. It was $free.99. Mom dislikes the pressure visiting paid museums puts on all of us. So she was a little nervous about driving all the way up to Baltimore to visit the Maryland Science Center. She showed us some of the exhibits online and made sure that we thought we'd like it ("cause we're not leaving once we're in," may have been tossed our way). Then she remembered that we joined the Franklin Institute last year and got reciprocal admission to the Science Center. Phew.

Turns out she had nothing to worry about, because we stayed at the Science Center for almost 6 hours. 6 HOURS. And even then we didn't want to leave.

We did almost everything, but our top hits included:
- the Kids Room (for kids 0 - 8) -- featuring a large waterplay area, an underwater play scene, a giant pinscreen and a whole slate of things to tinker with;

- the Dinosaur Mysteries Exhibit -- displaying over a dozen full size dinos and a working field lab and dig pits; and

- Newton's Alley -- providing hands-on demonstrations of Sir Isaac's principles.

The best thing, about all of the exhibits really, was that each of them offered lots of hands-on opportunities to explore and discover. We know this isn't technically a "kids museum," but it sure was designed with kids in mind. There were also ongoing demonstrations throughout the day and that helped break up some of the monotony that can develop from going to exhibit after exhibit (although that wasn't really a problem here in the first place).

Mom finally dragged us out around 3:30 -- worried that we'd hit traffic if we waited much longer. Then Cam decided she wanted to geocache and we set out looking for a supposed "easy find" (if there is one thing you can suck mom into doing, it's geocaching). We didn't find the cache, but we did find the carousel next door and then we just HAD to have a ride on that.

We wish it was just a bit closer, but the Science Center has still moved to the top of our favorite local museums list -- we can't wait to go back for the new Mummies of the World exhibit, opening at the end of September!

You can check out the Maryland Science Center's hours right here. Don't forget to look at all of the great programming they have as well -- we missed "Gizmos, Gadgets, and Gears: A DIY Summer" during our visit because we didn't check the schedule ahead of time. It's there only until Labor Day so go while you can!

Miscellaneous Madness: Cloud Viewing and Classification (and a freebie)

Among the 50+ items on our Summer Bucket List is the activity "finding shapes in clouds." Seems simple enough, right? So obviously mom had to make it more complicated and turn it into a science lesson. First, she decided to make our very own cloud viewers. She'd seen a few floating around the web and designed up a handheld viewing window that includes photos of all the basic cloud shapes. With a chopstick handle, of course.

Once those were ready, Cam and mom hit up the library to check out a few books about clouds, including "Clouds," by Maryellen Gregoire (the simplest and a good one to start with); "Clouds," by Trudi Strain Trueit (the best of the batch -- for kids, but included enough detail to really cover all cloud types); and "the kids' book of Clouds & Sky," by Frank Staub (more detailed and probably for a slightly older age group of kids, but interesting nonetheless).

We packed up our viewers, a picnic and our books and headed over to our local Meridian Hill Park for some cloud viewing. It was hotter than H outside, but we still scored a spot in the shade with a good window through the tree branches for spotting clouds. There was really only one type of cloud gracing the sky that day: big puffy marshmallow cumulus clouds. So we ditched the viewers and took to finding shapes: dragons, butterflies, turtles, etc.

When the local squirrels started to form a posse for our pistachios, we decided it was time to pack up and check out the park's waterfalls. Mistake. Out of the shade it was about 110 degrees (seriously). Turns out cloud viewing is good for a hot day because you aren't moving. We should've stayed put, but didn't dare challenge those city squirrels.

Want to check out some clouds, too? You can make your own cloud viewing window! Mom uploaded our template to google docs (CLICK HERE), so all you have to do is print it on heavy cardstock, cut it out (don't forget to cut out the middle window!), and tape on whatever handle you wish. Mom also put a layer of packing tape over ours to make them a bit sturdier and waterproof. Much like the hidden murals, now that we're in the know, we can't stop looking for and classifying clouds. Come to think of it, we might need an extra travel cloud viewer.

In Home Entertainment: Mason Jar Science Experiments

Like most other kiddos and parents in the D.C. area, we've all been feeling a bit under the weather lately. And even though it's been warm outside for the past few days, at least one of us has been stuck inside cranky and not up to doing much of anything except complaining about not feeling so hot. But in those brief periods when fevers are broken and we feel up to it, we've been setting up and observing some cool science experiments in mason jars. 

We started on Friday by setting up the "bouncy egg" experiment and observed that all weekend long. And when it was raining outside, we decided to make it rain inside too -- inside a mason jar, that is. In between, to try to lighten everyone up, we made fireworks in a jar. All of these were easy and used up things we had at home, which is always a win win. Turns out, there are a TON of different science experiments you can do in a jar and, believe you me, we've added them to our list (check the links at the bottom of the post for some more ideas). 

Experiment #1: The Bouncy Egg

We thought we'd try the popular experiment of turning a raw egg into a bouncy "ball" by submerging it in household vinegar for 2 days. The acidic vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate egg shell to dissolve it. The membrane inside the egg remains intact and turns rubbery (that's a super scientific explanation).

Both Cam and I loved setting this one up because we got to pour the vinegar in ourselves. And we liked how disgusting it got over the next few days while the shell dissolved. When it was all finished, I played with mine and experimented dropping it from different heights to see how much bounce I got. I then decided to squeeze it. Gently. Then hard. Then it splattered all over my face. Vinegar in the eye, not so great. But I loved this experiment.

Here's the dealio -- you'll need: 

(1) a glass jar;

(2) a raw egg (the intent is to dissolve the shell, which is easier to see with a brown egg); 

(3) vinegar (we used apple cider and red wine vinegar, both of which worked well); and 

(4) patience -- it has to sit for 48 hours

Carefully place the egg into the glass jar and cover with vinegar. Record your observations if you want and then set it aside. After 24 hours, carefully change the vinegar. After 48 hours, carefully remove the egg and try to bounce it. 

My experiment notes:

- 1/11/2013: egg is floating; the egg is yellow because of the vinegar; it smells kind of sour; the egg is getting fizzy.

- 1/12/2013: egg is starting to feel bouncy (I pressed on it with a spoon).

- 1/13/2013: the egg feels like rubber; it is bouncy; it doesn't break when I roll it.

Experiment #2: Make it Rain (Inside a Jar)

It was raining outside, so we figured what the heck. We've talked a lot about what makes it rain generally -- how when clouds get so full of water, they let the water go and rain falls. This experiment shows how rain falls when warmer, moist air meets cold air, which causes the water in the warm air to condense and fall like rain.  

This experiment worked, but it wasn't all that spectacular. I liked eating the ice cubes though.

To make it rain, get yourself: 

(1) a glass jar; 

(2) hot water; 

(3) a plate; and 

(4) ice

Fill the glass jar 3/4 of the way with hot water. Cover it with the plate and let it sit for a few minutes and warm up the air inside. Then place ice cubes onto the plate and watch it cool the air inside and make condensation run down the sides of the jar.

My experiment notes: the jar feels hot; the plate feels hot; I can tell it's raining because I read your mind (I like my science served with a side of magic).

Experiment #3: Fireworks in a Jar

This mesmerizing experiment is a good one to demonstrate the scientific principle of density and is just plain pretty to watch. Oil mixed with droplets of food coloring floats on the top of water because it is less dense. The food coloring droplets are denser than the oil and they "drop down" into the water and, upon impact, burst into "fireworks." Just make sure to follow the directions, we did it a bit differently the first time and ended up with muddy water straightaway.

You will need:

(1) a glass jar; 

(2) a shallow plate;

(3) warm water; 

(4) 3 tablespoons cooking oil; and 

(5) food coloring (we used four colors). 

Fill the glass 3/4 of the way with warm water. ON A SHALLOW PLATE, pour the oil and then carefully drop drops of food coloring onto the oil. Mix GENTLY, but make sure the food coloring stays in droplet form -- you want to mix the food coloring droplets into the oil, not into each other. Pour the oil/food coloring into the water and watch the fireworks.

The first go-around we mixed the food coloring in a cup with the cooking oil -- it sank and started mixing together too much before we could pour it into the water jar. So, stick with the directions on this one.

My experiment notes: I was tired of taking notes. This science business is hard work.

More mason jar science ideas: 

*A real volcano (much more accurate than baking soda explosion)

* A floating water mystery 

* Tornado in a jar

* Make a submarine

* Get cooking with a few more involved "experiments" that will help you ferment, cold smoke and more

In Home Entertainment: Goo

This past weekend mom helped style a science birthday party for a friend's daughter and I got to help out, too. But I had a hard time understanding that I wasn't going to get to go to the party. So mom said we could try out some science experiments at home ourselves. First up was to make some colored goo. Only once mom went to retrieve the recipe from our post ages ago, she discovered our old blog wasn't being hosted by apple anymore and all those posts are gone :( No problem - this is an easy recipe, but so so much fun. So we thought we'd repost it.

All you need is cornstarch, water (about 2 cups per 16 oz. cornstarch) and food coloring (if you want to make it colored). We divided our cornstarch into two small storage containers so we could each have our own batch.  We each mixed in our choice of food coloring into about 1 cup of water.  Then mixed the colored water in with the cornstarch. That's it. You know you have the right consistency when you apply pressure to the mixture and it hardens, but will then turn into liquid when you ease up. You might need to play around with the measurements a bit, but it's all good fun.

We spent some time mixing and then making "ghost tracks" and drawing letters in it with chopsticks. And then I decided, and fortunately Cami agreed, that we could mix our two batches together to make purple (which is the only reason Cam agreed). We had blue and pink hands for a while, but then pretended we were wearing gloves and parlayed that into a game of "scary wedding," for which you had to be wearing gloves, obvi.

This is a good one to keep in mind in the upcoming cold winter months when you're stuck inside!

In Home Entertainment: Dry Ice + Water = Mad Science Fun

I'm super duper into Scooby Doo these days -- I ask mom to make up Scooby stories about a million times each day, but insist that Daphne "gets taken" in every one -- either by the Leland Brothers, "the drink stand man," the "Phantom Cowboy" or one of several iterations of a "ghost pirate."  And Cam has recently started requesting Scooby Doo/Dora mashup stories.  Seriously.  So when mom had to have Peapod do an unattended delivery of our groceries last night, she knew we'd throw hysterics over making our own fog with the dry ice they leave in some of the coolers.  It was the first thing we did when we woke up this morning -- who doesn't love a jammie-clad, pre-breakfast, mad science experiment?

There's really not much to it -- mom put a small piece of dry ice in the bottom of a tall clear tupperware (to help us resist the urge to touch the dry ice, which apparently doesn't feel so great).  Then we each took a cup of water and, slowly at first, poured water onto the dry ice to create fog.  We helped blow the fog all over the table and then took to "scooping and pouring" it with our cups.

Word is grocery stores, ice cream shops, and boating stores sometimes sell dry ice -- give it a try!