Here we are, and it’s almost April school vacation week. Hopefully some people have information about what they are doing with their children next week, but for those of us who are of the more ‘scrambling at the last minute’ kinds of parents, what is there to do? Well first of all, you may be wondering if it is ever going to get warm around here. I am wondering this too. My best advice as a scientist is to tell you to consult a weather app. I can tell you that because of clim

Here is another cool experiment that actually works as well in real life as it does on YouTube videos: kinetic popsicle sticks. What does that even mean, you might ask? It is an experiment that uses a lot of popsicle sticks, and interweaves them in such a way that it creates a lot of strain and builds up a lot of potential energy. If you do it in the right way, then after you are done weaving a lot of popsicle sticks (the more you weave, the higher the potential energy gets),

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

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

Another fun activity to do as a demonstration in class (although not at home) (also it may require a fume hood) is to take a Coke can and put it in concentrated sulfuric acid. This acid dissolves the aluminum can fairly rapidly (and creates a lot of heat and smoke in the process). Interestingly, though, it does not dissolve the plastic liner, which is the only thing that remains after the acid digestion has been completed. This is interesting because the soda itself is usuall

I decided to learn to code using Python. Now, this may not be a big deal in the life of people who actually know how to code, or in the lives of people whose computer knowledge extends beyond shutting the computer down and starting it up again in the face of any challenges. HOWEVER, since I have never taken a computer science class in my life AND since I tend to resort to a forced shutdown of the computer whenever it makes me cranky enough, I decided it was time to learn. Als

Did you know there is a Thomas the Train exhibit currently underway at the Boston Museum of Science? 2/5 of the science family is planning to be there, because the other 3/5s of us are heading off to Florida for the National Scholastic Chess Tournament. Why go to Florida to play chess? I am not really sure, to be honest, but I am not the one playing chess. I am merely the chaperone for two highly competitive, fully engaged elementary school aged boys who are going to play che

So you are thinking you want to make a rocket…. or maybe not you, but you have an elementary-school aged child who has made rockets, or seen rockets, or dreamed about rockets….and you have no idea where to start. This was the story of my life about a month ago, when my almost 9-year-old child decided he needed to have rockets for his birthday party. He had done rockets at College Gate summer camp. I had seen rockets, and even been part of programs where rockets were made, but

So how do fireworks work anyway? I know this is very delayed from July 4th, when I first thought about writing a fireworks-related post, but bear with me. We are still in fireworks month. Basically, fireworks are controlled missiles, equipped with a variety of chemicals that emit colors when they are burned. There can be different compartments for different colors, and/or differently timed releases of various components, which combine to give a spectacularly exciting light sh

This weekend is the start of Free Fun Fridays, where now through the end of August, you can get access to a variety of locations around the Boston area for no money. Zero dollars. Check out the program website at: http://highlandstreet.org/programs/free-fun-Fridays, and be sure to book some free summer fun. The particular locations that offer free membership varies each week, and you can see the whole schedule of options on the website. What are some other exciting options fo