Those who stop in know that my oldest is a scientist (his birthday party last year). What this means is that I have read too many bug books, collected too many live… and dead… oh yes… specimens, dug up too many worms, bought too many science kits and gadgets… but at the end of the day it’s all honestly wonderful because he is so very curious… and he takes his little brother and I along for the ride. My youngest, by the way, is into dinosaurs (his party last year)… so we have to go fossil hunting a lot too. {wink}

So yesterday I shared a customer’s science birthday party and it got me thinking about a fabulous gift my son received at his robot birthday party (details coming soon!) a few weeks ago, a book called 365 Science Experiments (written and tested by teachers is all is says for the author). It’s full of simple science projects, most of which can be completed in 15 minutes or less, perfect for busy families. I do wish it had a bit more detail on what you’re learning (again, because my son wants to know everything), but all in all, it’s a wonderful buy especially if your child is just getting interested in hands on science. Or, if you’re looking for simple experiments for your science birthday party!

So last night my sons and I created a pond in a jar for a school project. And so I thought I would capture it with my camera for his teacher, as well as for you.  This is my guy (with me holding on to his shirt) digging up mud for the bottom of our pond.

And this is a shot of our mud, and a small snail, plus who know what else… the girly in me was coming out… something I constantly have to fight back as a mom of two adventurous boys.

And this… well this is the algea that was growing on the top of the neighborhood pond. We just HAD to have some of that. Right?

This is my son using a very scientific tool (aka: a stick) to put some in the jar. We also had to collect a few live pond plants and plant them in the mud before carefully adding pond water to the side of the jar as to not completely disturb our new habitat.

The goal of the project is for the kids in his class to observe the living things in pond water over the next week. And the plants are for those things that don’t stay in water all the time. {skin crawling}

But no worries if messy science isn’t for you. There are hundreds of experiments that just require typical household items. As a matter of fact, the book is broken into biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology and weather.

As always, I hope you’re inspired to do something fun today!

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