Science Guy

Ox says he wants to be a scientist and an artist (in the evenings) when he grows up. He is always asking to do science experiments. My friend Tiffany loaned us this very cool book . . . great pictures and clear explanations for people like me who would otherwise explain many scientific concepts with a thoughtful pause and, "It's magic!"

In this first one, we made a diver out of a piece of aluminum, a paper clip, some plastitack and a bendy straw (aren't we just like MacGyver?), then put him in a bottle of water. When you squeeze the bottle, the diver magically drops to the bottom of the bottle. Fascinating. I forget why. Magic, I guess.




Then, we did another one where we made bubbles with homemade solution and bubble wands, made out of coat hangers and string wrapped around. This was a hit with all three kids. I now know that adding glycerin or corn syrup to regular soap relaxes the water's surface tension and makes it more elastic, thereby creating a bubble.