Why We Love Science

Susan Wells
April 7, 2011

I've never thought of myself as a scientist or an analytical person. I'm more creative, visual and colorful. But science has always been a part of my life. My dad was a chemist. Beakers, test tubes and science kits were as much a part of our house as couches and chairs.   

As an adult, science is still a large part of my life. I work for an educational science toy company. My girls are now growing up with science. They come home from school and ask, "Can we do some science?"

Science education today is not my father's chemistry class. It's more than test tubes and formulas. It's hands-on learning, exploring and discovering. 

Science is fun. Science is learning. And science is loved in our home.

The best part about science is you don't have to go far to find it. Experiment materials live in your kitchen, your garden, and even in your local fast food restaurant.

Color Chemistry

Teach your preschooler about color science and a little chemistry by taking out the milk (whole or 2% works best due to fat content) and pouring just enough to cover the bottom of a dinner plate. Add one drop of each color of food coloring (blue, red, yellow and green) in the milk. Squirt a little dishwashing soap on the end of a cotton swab and dip the swab tip into the milk. Don't stir or mix, just dip the tip into the milk. It will be an explosion of color as the bipolar characteristics of the soap weaken the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats together in the milk. You just did a little chemistry lesson and had fun at the same time. My favorite part of this experiment is the "oohs," "ahhs" and "do it agains!" that resound after the first dip of the cotton swab.

Garden Science

Next, head outside to look for roly-polies. Roly-polies or pill bugs are every child's carefree pet. They don't make a mess, are easy to take care of and can withstand little fingers picking them up. Make a roly-poly house in a tub of dirt. Add some organic elements like lettuce, leaves and cedar chips. The little bugs are actually crustaceans that have gills and lung-like adaptations. They need moisture to survive but cannot live in water. Roly-polies are decomposers, meaning they digest material from dead plants or animals and waste products and return essential nutrients back to the soil. They like dark, moist areas out of the sun and do not bite or sting. Keep them in the bin out of the sun for a few days and watch what they do. 

Fast Food Science

Finally, head down to your local fast food restaurant. No need to order the food, just grab a few packets of ketchup. When you get home, carefully scrunch the ketchup packet into a plastic soda bottle. Then fill the bottle to the rim with water and add the cap. The packet should float at the top of the bottle. If it doesn't, try another packet until you find a good floater. When the packet is sealed at the factory, an air bubble gets trapped inside. As you squeeze the bottle and push the water against the floating packet, you compress the air bubble into a smaller space. When you make the bubble smaller, the ketchup packet will sink. Your preschooler will amaze their friends when they demonstrate their floating and sinking ketchup packet.

Young learners have a natural curiosity about our world and how it works. It won't take much to discover your own love of science and learning.

Find more information on Color Changing Milk and Diving Ketchup at SteveSpanglerScience.com.