Joyful Biology

My new book, Awesome Kitchen Science Experiments , opens with an investigation in which kids compare two different methods for putting bubbles into lemonade. The experiment helps kids tell the difference between chemical and physical change – and at least one of the methods produces a delicious drink. I had a blast sharing this experiment at a summer teacher meeting. At first, my colleagues looked terrified of the bubbling, smoking brew – but after a few minutes, everyone dug into this delicious drink. If you want to try the experiment but aren’t sure how to find dry ice, do an Internet search for “dry ice near me.” Some CostCo stores carry it, and there’s a dry ice supplier in most metro areas.

Cabin fever? Make a fruit rainbow with your kids. A certain number of days into winter, it can be hard to break my kids free of their macaroni-and-cheese/Netflix daze. My family’s magic cure for cabin fever doldrums? Pomegranates. Pomegranates are strange, beautiful, sweet, juicy, complicated fruits that take forever to open up and eat. A perfect provocation for bored kids. Winter time can seem like a barren wasteland when it comes to colorful fruits and vegetables, but it’s not. Try brainstorming a rainbow of foods with your kids, and then eat one a week. You can track the colors you’ve consumed by making a little bit of home-dyed artwork for each food. Keep a small bowl of pomegranate (or orange, or blueberry) juice set aside until after snack time. Your kids can dip a small square of white tissue paper into the juice to dye it. Crumple up the dried tissue paper squares and glue them onto a larger piece of paper or cardstock to make a rainbow. Here are some more ...