I think I only went so far as Biology in high school. I really wish there had been someone around when I was a kid that made science as fun and as interesting as Steve does. Watching Bill Nye with my kids when they were little was what first turned me on to the fact that science is something that I can enjoy, too! And then we had “The Mad Science Guy” in Richardson, TX – who would put on demonstrations at the community centers. The kids and I loved to go see him. And guess what? My 13 year old daughter loves science! Awesome! That absolutely tickles me!!

I’m getting way off subject here, and way on my soapbox, let’s get back to those groovy gold pennies, shall we?

Is that superbly awesome, or what? I just love it! The pennies look so cool like that. And isn’t that interesting what he was saying about people trying to put them back into circulation and that when they’re like that they can’t go back into circulation? Can you imagine if someone handed you some as if everything was normal? Like maybe, the checker at the grocery store giving you change just hands you some …and then you see her cast a sideways glance at her coworker. And you and your kids are just standing there freaking out. And she’s saying, “What? What is the problem, ma’m?” And you can tell she’s trying so hard not to crack a smile? That would be so funny!

Here is the list of materials you need for this experiment:

* 20 mL of 6 M NaOH
* 0.1 g zinc dust
* evaporating dish
* hot plate
* tongs
* 200 mL beaker of water
* penny
* Bunsen burner or a propane torch

And you can read all the details about the experiment on this page: Gold Pennies experiment at SteveSpanglerScience.com

Newspapers are made from trees and trees grow… so it only makes sense that you should be able to grow a newspaper tree.

Hey Spangler crew – that’s just awesome!!

Wasn’t that incredible? Interesting that it happens now, when tons of school kids around the United States are busy preparing their own volcanoes for their Science Fair projects.

Now I know you guys have heard of Steve Spangler and other science guys erupting Coke with Mentos candies. But did you know that a lot of kids are actually making their volcanoes erupt with Coke and Mentos. I just learned that recently. It’s cool, because, mixing Coke and Mentos is so. much. fun. But it’s kind of sad, because, it’s so much fun when our kids partake in the very same activities we did when we were kids!

I actually thought I might get some Coke and Mentos for my kids for some Spring Break fun. Hey – if it would tear them away from video games and the internet for even a little while, it would totally be worth it!

Big ‘ol hat-tip to JustJulie and 408Down for this post!

VALENTINES DAY + SCIENCE + CRAFTS = FUN, FUN, FUN!!

And the cool thing is, the kids get to learn some science while they’re being super creative! They learn about acids and bases! I’m telling you – learning about science is fun! Either it’s gotten a LOT better since I was a kid or I just had my head in the sand! Whatever is true, I’m just glad it’s so great these days! My daughter actually says that science is her FAVORITE subject! To me, that’s a SCORE – big time!!

Steve is sharing his fun and learning all over the web, which this internet-crazy mama thinks is GRRRREAT! You can read his blog right here: Steve Spangler Blog and he is even on Twitter!! Click here: Steve on Twitter – and say Hello! to him yourself!

I am telling you – science is cool now! I’m serious! You know who helped me figure that out? Bill Nye. That is right – Bill Nye, The Science Guy. The kids and I used to watch him all the time! We loved him! And he made science fun! Now why didn’t anyone do that for me when I was a kid?

And then came The Mad Science Guy – he was cool! He would show up in Richardson, TX – in our recreation centers and our library and make us laugh and make us ooh! and aah! He was great! I think he has a website, too.

Those guys aren’t who I wanted to tell you about today, though. (Oops, too late.)

This all started yesterday when I found a post on my friend, Marisa’s blog. Marisa tells us that Science is for Everyone. Oh man, have I ever learned that! I’m so glad that I’ve learned such cool stuff as an adult to get my kids interested in science! Marisa blogged about a very cool online science retailer called Edmund Scientific. It wasn’t always online. Nope – because, it was started in the 1940’s. I dug around a little bit on the site and found some very cool stuff. It reminded me of a store in Texas for homeschool families that we went to once for science project materials. We loved that store! The product that Marisa was pointing out was The Art of Soapmaking. You see, Marisa is a very skilled soapmaker, and she says that had someone told her when she was in school that making cosmetics was science, she knows she would’ve paid much more attention in her school science class! I can totally understand that!

I’m always preaching that about books – make it interesting, make it about a subject in which the child is already interested …and you will sell them every time!

Ok, moving on in this ‘Invasion of Science’ comes Barbara J. Feldman. You guys know I love her – that’s her Daily Factoid over there in the left sidebar. And I told you before about her SurfNet Kids newsletter. The newsletter she sent out today contained none other than….wait for it…science fair ideas!! Do you see what I’m saying here? It’s like a science fair conspiracy or something! “Let’s bombard Mrs. Lisa with science today, General.” Yeah. Ok, then – you can sign up for Barbara’s cool newsletter right here: SurfNet Kids Newsletter.

It doesn’t end there, though! Can you believe it? And this next one is really funny! It’s funny, because, not only is it part of the big Science Fair Invasion of Mrs. Lisa, but, it also appeals to the Hippie in Mrs. Lisa!!

It was my newsletter from Steve Spangler Science and in it he was talking about how to make a new kind of tie dye t-shirt, complete with video! And it looks really cool! It’s the perfect combination of chemistry and art that teaches the concepts of solubility, color mixing, and the movement of molecules. So you wind up with a rockin’ cool shirt – and you learn something along the way! How cool is that?

And then, to put the cherry on the cake, my awesome friend, Sam, over at Punkymoms, asked if anyone had any good science fair ideas. Too funny – science was everywhere today!

And thus ends my scientific journey I was happily dragged along today. I hope my sharing it with you has been helpful to you!

GO READ A BOOK!