I’ve written before about how much of a science geek my Jacob truly is; he really is interested in all things science or history. It’s amazing how if you find the right activities, your kids just eat them up….though I think that mine tend to eat up the time spent with us more so than just the activities. Life has been so busy lately….originally I’d agreed to do a complete day outdoors full of nothing but science experiments. For the sake of honesty, I have to admit that we weren’t able to spend an entire day outdoors; it seems that circumstances have changed since….but it was even better because these activities were broken up over a few days, not just one. That gave my kids even more time really and more memories. My husband really got involved, as he’s where our Jacob gets his love of science from in the first place.
Ok, so we had three awesome science kits sent to us from Scientific Explorer. If you’re a fellow homeschool mom, you know how completely ecstatic and excited I was over this. Anything educational is right down our alley, especially if it’s F-U-N!
The first activity we did was the Ice Cream Activity Kit. This kit gives kids the chance to not only make their own ice cream but also to experiment along the way with ingredients, colors, tastes, and more. The kit comes with an instructional booklet that gives step-by-step directions. The nice thing about it is that you can do some of the experiments, or you can do all of them. Kids are able to write down their observations, as well. Jacob actually made strawberry ice cream, and Jaden made vanilla.
Then they both picked which colors they wanted, and both ended up a dark purplish blue, with sprinkles on top, of course. 
You might think we needed a machine or something to help freeze the ice cream….not so. Jacob and Dan took the ice cream, placed it in large zippered bags with ice and salt….then put it inside a pillowcase and shook it for 5 minutes. 
We let the ice cream set for about 15 minutes, the boys got showers, and when they got out, it was completely frozen.
The ice cream was made with normal household ingredients that we pretty much had on hand, besides ice and lime juice (for an experiment). Plus, we had plenty of things left over to make even more in the future. The Ice Cream Activity Kit is geared for ages 8 and up and would be great for a supplemental activity during the school year, as well….it’d be a great activity to do when kids are getting restless and need something different.
The next activity that Dan really got involved in was The Meteor Rocket, a rocket that is powered by baking soda and vinegar. Let me tell you, it definitely is powered….just wait for the video. First of all, the rocket was easy to put together, involving a soda bottle, balsa wood for the fins, chrome looking tape, a red plastic fuselage, the fin reinforcement plate, and the nose cone. 
To be honest, Jacob wasn’t that interested in putting it together; he was more interested in the end result, but Dan helped him more with that.
How does it work? You have to flip the rocket upside down, fill it with a cup of vinegar, and lay it on its side. Then you fill the baking soda tube up about halfway, and you slide it into the rocket without spilling it into the vinegar. 
It was a bit difficult to figure out how to seal the rocket; you have to make sure the stopper plug is pushed in as far as you can get it. You have to tighten the plug, and then you can flip the rocket upright on its fins, and you’re ready for launch. Dan shook the bottle up, set it down on a surface rather quickly, and it took off. It flew about 75 feet up in the air, much to the boys’ delight. The great thing about this rocket is that it’s not just a one-time rocket….you can use this rocket over and over again. The fins are a bit flimsy, but they’re balsa wood and can be replaced easily at a hobby shop. The Meteor Rocket is geared for ages 9 and up.
The last activity was My First Backyard Explorer Kit. This was a kit that was geared more toward Jaden’s age, 4 and up. Jaden’s not quite 4, but he is so interested in bugs and worms and all those creepy crawly creatures that live in the great outdoors. He was so into this; I caught him afterward poking around in one of our houseplants, trying to “dig for bugs.”:) This kit contains several items, including a 2-way microscope viewer which you can use to see things up close and personal. There is also a bug net to capture said bugs, as well as tweezers (which Jaden was using in my houseplant), rubber bands, popsicle sticks, collecting case, and more. With this kit, Jaden was able to dig around the garden for a few little bugs and collect them in his collecting case. Then he brought them inside to look at them through the microscope viewer. 
There are 7 different activities that can be done in the instructional booklet, things like making a sundial or studying things like worms, trees, rocks, seeds, etc. Jaden was most fascinated by our cat Harold (who wanted to eat the bugs) and by the ant nest that he found. He was very excited about the ants in their hole, ants which he tried to grab with his tweezers. 
One activity in the kit involves marking off an area with string and exploring that area; that’s how Jaden found the ants.
He was also able to collect dirt samples, roly-polies, roots, and so forth by the time he went back inside.
Whey do I love these kits? Because they foster that adventurous, exploring spirit within my kids. They are kits that you can use in so many different ways and not just one time; they can be used several times over and over. They teach, yet they are a blast to learn with. They’re hands-on learning that lets kids get creative and explore that creativity. Have you had a science day or even several science evenings anytime recently? Do you want a way to spend quality time with your kids? Be sure to check out Scientific Explorer’s Virtual Science Fair, as well, where you can create a video for a chance to win a great prize.
The great news is that Scientific Explorer is giving away one of the above kits to one MamaBuzz reader! You can enter to win by doing one or more of the following; just be sure to leave a separate comment for each way that you enter. I’ll draw the winner, via random.org, on Monday, August 1. This giveaway is open to U.S. only. Good luck, and have a wonderful day!
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(Disclosure: I received the above 3 kits, free of charge, from Scientific Explorer, for the purposes of this review. All views/opinions remain solely my own.)
