Slime!

SLIME!  Ooozy, gooey, squishy, squashy ... and here's how to make it:

mix 1 cup of cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water. Stir as you go.

That's all there is to it... unless you want to make gelatinous neon slime. In which case you'll need some non-toxic school glue and borax. If you want it to be transparent use clear glue.

Here's how to make gelatinous neon slime:

• In one container mix 1 teaspoon of borax in 1 cup of water – stir until dissolved.
• In another container, mix 1/2 cup of glue in 1/2 cup of water and stir to dissolve.
• Pour the glue mixture into the borax solution while stirring slowly.
• When it begins to make slime, dive in with your hands and knead it.

Here’s a video showing how to make slime with a good explanation of the cross-linked polymer you’re creating. Have fun and drop by next week for more cool stuff to do.

Read!

Tired of reading mysteries and fairy tales? Check out the cool nonfiction section at the back of the library - over in the 500s. Here's where you'll find books that go Fizz and Boom... like Super Science Concoctions, by Jill Frankel Hauser. Subtitled "50 mysterious mixtures for fabulous fun,"  this book encourages children to play around in the kitchen "laboratory". Mixing and pouring is part of the process that will have them learning about molecules, colloids, gels, and polymers. Most of all - it's fun!


Janice VanCleave's 200 Gooey, Slippery, Slimy, Weird Fun Experiments is exactly what it says it is: a book full of recipes for gooey, slimy fun. It includes biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and astronomy activities that will get kids psyched about science.

Don't Try This at Home, by Vicki Cobb and Kathy Darling, is full of fun things to do - but they're experiments for kids on the move. Inside you'll find activities to do in the yard, at the beach, at the park, in an airplane, at an amusement park, in an elevator, in skyscrapers and more.


  Scary Science, by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone, is the perfect book for a kid infatuated with vampires and zombies. Inside are recipes for mixing up festering ooze, goblin lamps, and bubbling alien blood. From disappearing coffee cups to spooky writing, this book has all the creepy experiments you'll ever need.

Check back next week for another hands-on science activity!

Boom!

Want to fly a rocket? This one won't get you into space, but it might fly over the roof of your house.

Here's what you need:

• 16 oz plastic pop bottle
• Rubber stopper or a wine cork (that fits in the opening of bottle)
• Tablespoon  
• Baking soda 
• Strong tape (such as duct tape) 
• Scissors 
• Three unused pencils 
•  Funnel 
• White vinegar 
• Paper towel 
• Safety glasses
• an adult!

Making rockets is fun, and none of these ingredients is toxic. But there's always a chance that some vinegar could splash out - so make sure you wear your lab goggles or safety glasses - and that you've got an adult supervising the rocket launches.

And here's how you put it all together  (if the video isn't working, go here)

 

Fizz!

All you need to make a fizzy rainbow is baking soda, different colors of Kool-Aid, and some white vinegar... and a turkey baster.

Mix each color of Kool-aid individually with some baking soda. Then spread them on a cookie sheet in stripes in rainbow order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet.

Now suck up some of that white vinegar in the turkey baster and squeeze it over the kool-aid-baking soda stripes. You get a fizzy rainbow! Not only that, it smells good.

Thanks to Jessie K over at Play Create Explore for this fun idea.

If you're looking for science activities for preschoolers and kindergarteners, check out the backpacks. There are books and activities about rocks and oceans, bugs, trucks, stars and planets. Have fun!

Drop by next week for things that go Boom!

Fizz! BOOM! Read!

Fizz!      Boom!     Read!

  It's Summer Reading time at the Candor Library ~ and this year's theme is "things that go Fizz! Pop! Boom!" So grab your lab coat and goggles and head down to the library.

Candor Free Library's Summer Reading program begins Monday, July 7 - that's next week. It goes six weeks, through Saturday, August 16. All you need to participate is a library card (free!),  a reading log (also free!) and a book bag to carry home all those literary treasures. You'll need to bring the book bag...

 Each week participating readers can pick up a prize or activity at the circulation desk. These include a "make your own bouncy ball" kit, balancing tricks, 3-D puzzles and more.

Reading participants are encouraged to fill out a ticket for each book they read - at the end of the program there's a drawing for gift certificates to Barnes & Noble bookstores. There's a category for every reader:

• Beginning Reader - 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade - 6th Grade
• Teen through 12th Grade

  So Monday, after the carnival has packed up and the smell of gunpowder has finally wafted away, after the last of the popcorn and cotton candy is gone, drop by the library to pick up your Summer Reading log and some good books. If you're looking for fizzy, boomy things to do at home, check out the books in the 507 section at the back - where you'll find hands-on experiments to do in your kitchen, backyard, or on the go. We've also got a Science Explore bag for elementary aged kids and science-themed backpacks for the preschool/kindergarten crowd.

Drop by this blog over the next five weeks to find some reading ideas and some hands-on activities that fizz, boom, bounce or slide away. If you're looking for more hands-on science, check out the archive at Archimedes Notebook.