Continuing along in the categories of other things I have seen on youtube that I tried to reproduce in real life, I saw a video on youtube of a guy using lead from a pencil to create a gas lightbulb (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wucmSj7Z-dA). In the video it looked pretty cool, and so we decided to test this out. First of all, you need to figure out a good power source. We used eight D batteries all taped together with electrical tape, but it is not clear that the connecti

Have I mentioned lately how much I like bubbles? And also how much kids like bubbles? I didn’t think so. It turns out that it is relatively easy to make a super strong bubble solution, by using Dawn dish soap and warm-ish water and adding either sugar, glycerol, or lubricant to the bubble solution. All of these additives work by forming hydrogen bonds with the water, that reduces the surface tension and makes the bubbles less fragile. Once they are less fragile, what can you

One of my friends forwarded me a video she found online, which I am sure many of you have also seen. It involved taking a piece of coal, heating it up, and then covering it in peanut butter before freezing the entire mixture for a few days. Apparently if you then scrape away the peanut butter, carefully, you can create a crystal that looks like a diamond. “Is this true?” she wanted to know. “And if so, how does it work?” It turns out that it is pretty easy to test this experi

OK I decided it would be a good opportunity over the weekend to play with orbeez. Orbeez, for those people who may not be familiar, are also called ‘water beads,’ and refer to these tiny little beads that absorb several hundred times their weight in water and swell to the size of marbles. What is the orbeez, you might ask? Well it is a superabsorbent polymer, of course! It is related to the polymer that is found in disposable diapers, and allows the diapers to absorb lots and

Recently one of my children has been asking for bath bombs, which, until he asked for it, was not something I had ever bought. Bath time in our house tends to be less of the relaxing, soaking in a warm, fizzy bath moment and more of a ‘STOP SPLASHING OUT OF THE TUB!’ kind of adventure. But nonetheless, the bath bomb request came in, and the next time I was in the store, I went to look for bath bombs. FYI: those things are expensive. So, what is a scientist mother to do? The

Check out the first six parts of this series, or below to make some delicious rock candy! Yum! I love rock candy! You know who else loves rock candy? All kids everywhere, or at least all kids that I have met. Here is my own favorite recipe for rock candy: 1. Combine 2 cups of sugar, ½ cup of corn syrup, and ½ cup of water into a pot. 2. Place the pot on a burner on a low flame, and heat it until the sugar is fully dissolved. 3. Remove the pot from the heat and add the flavori