The winter may be fun in snow but when the temperature gets too cold for kids to play outdoors, parents can have trouble keeping children entertained over the weekend. Put the laptops and video games away and get ready to get creative with these fun projects that build childhood genius, without tipping the kids off that they may actually learn a little science!
Crystal Gardens
Crystal GardensChose a fishbowl or similar shaped glass jar. Pour one cup of epsom salts into the jar. Using a separate jar, Microwave tap water for one minute in any microwave safe glass. Mix your choice of liquid watercolor to the water and Stir. Immediately pour the warm colored water into the fishbowl/jar with the salt, stirring for two minutes or until the salt has completely dissolved. Let the mixture cool for ten minutes in the freezer and then move to the refrigerator to remain overnight. For best results, allow the jar to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of six hours.
Flubber
mix together ¾ cup of cold water, 1 cup of elmers white glue, and a few drops of liquid food coloring. In a separate bowl, mix ½ cup of hot water with 1 teaspoon of borax, until borax has completely dissolved. Slowly pour glue mixture into the borax bowl, mixing well. Pour flubber into a large ziplock bag, kneading well. Store in plastic bag until it’s play time.
Dinosaur Fossils
In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water. Stir well, until ingredients are mixed and dough like. Press into a ball and knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Next comes the fun part… Use your child’s favorite Dinosaur book as a reference and shape pieces of dough into bones. Tip: make fossils by pressing plastic dinosaur figures into a ball of dough to make an imprint, remove plastic and other debris before baking. Lay out all the bones on a cookie sheet. bake the bones at 250 degrees for about 3 hours. Once the bones have cooled, use as a learning tool or build your very own Dinosaur!