This is a simple, fun, extremely noisy experiment that will teach you a little bit about sound. All you’ll need are a straw and some scissors! First, make a straw into a reed-like instrument by flattening one end and cutting off either side near the tip so that it looks like an arrow, but leave […]

This fun activity will teach you a little bit about rockets. It is from one of NASA‘s educational websites and the great rocket template you’ll find below is provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. All you’ll need is a plastic soda straw, some paper, scissors and tape.  For the body of […]

Most clear hard candy has what scientists call a glass structure. It’s a disorganized jumble of three kinds of sugar: glucose, fructose and sucrose, which can’t assemble into organized crystals, so it remains transparent when you melt it and allow it to re-harden.   To make stained glass for our gingerbread house windows, I adapted […]

It’s fun to bring a little science into the holidays! Here are three fun projects from my new book Sheet Pan Science. Click here to watch the segment and learn to make Ice Globe Volcanoes, Epsom Salt Crystal Ornaments and Gelatin Window Stickies. For more detailed instructions, more science and more sheet pan science, click […]

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last posted, but I’ve been busy writing new books! My latest, Sheet Pan Science, comes out on Sept.13 and is available now everywhere books are sold. My motto for Sheet Pan Science is “Contain the mess, not the fun!” and I invented “Ice Globe Volcanoes” just […]

Use science to make your holidays shine! Here are a few fun ornaments adapted from projects in my book “STEAM Lab for Kids.” Basic instructions can be found below. Buy your own copy of “STEAM Lab for Kids” anywhere books are sold to learn more about the “Science Behind the Fun!” Happy Holidays! LED Ornaments […]

  Gelatin is the substance that makes Jell-O jiggle. See what happens when food coloring molecules move, or DIFFUSE through Jell-O. This creative science experiment that my kids and I invented lets you play with floatation physics by sprinkling glitter on melted gelatin, watch colorful dyes diffuse to create patterns and then use cookie cutters to punch out sticky window decorations. […]

This fun project teaches kids about paper science and lets you keep a little bit of summer growing all year long. You can find instructions on the video below, from my Kitchen Pantry Scientist YouTube channel. (Follow me there for loads of fun science projects!)

With summertime here, kids will be spending more time in parks, backyards and at cabins. Pressing plants to make a botanical collection and nature journaling get them outdoors to interact with the environment and discover the science all around them. Here’s a short video demonstrating how to press plants using cardboard, newspaper, watercolor (absorbent) paper […]

My latest book is out just in time for summer! Biology for Kids pairs short bios, beautifully illustrated by artist Kelly Anne Dalton, with related science projects, including step-by-step instructions and color photographs. (Available everywhere books are sold.) Amazon link here. Here’s a TV segment where I demonstrate a few projects from the book: And […]