Make A Rubber Egg

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One thing that my parents did an excellent job of was instilling the seed of wonderment and curiosity in both me and my siblings. They took us to the Art Center, Art in the Park, and the Science Center. Every year, my dad would take me to an independent theater to watch an animation festival. In fact, the elementary school that we attended was Edmunds Academy of Fine Arts. I think that these all helped build a foundation of appreciation for not only the Arts, but for general knowledge and the expansion of our mental horizons.

When I was younger, one thing that I looked forward to every Thanksgiving was a similar experiment to the rubber egg. But instead of a rubber egg, you ended up with a wishbone that you could tie in a knot. When it dried, you had a bone-hard knot. I would take the hardened bone to school and baffle other kids. It was almost as if it was a magic trick.

Make A Volcano

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In my mind, nothing exemplifies a good old fashioned activity with the kids more than making rock candy and building a volcano. Since I already tried (and failed) at rock candy, I figured that it was time to build the consummate science fair project. As to the fact that I’ve never built a volcano before, I was slightly ashamed (or more appropriately, embarrassed) that I didn’t actually know how to construct the thing. I had a general idea of putting papier-mâché onto a mound with a hole in the middle.

When I started thinking about the practicalities of two children creating a sizeable mound with wet and slimy paper, I realized that I would either need a bunch of paper or something to put it on. Then a coworker suggested that I use chicken wire because it can be easily molded into any shape.

Make A Lemon Clock

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Before I had even started this project, it was one that I wished that I had done as a kid. I got this from The Daring Book for Girls. This science experiment required five different items; a clock, two galvanized nails, copper wire, electrician’s clips and a lemon (or two). Piece of cake. I looked in my fridge and realize that Leigha had a twenty pound bag of grapefruit and I figured that I could replace one of these for a lemon; it was bigger and still full of citrus. In retrospect, I would like to point out that this was the first of many times that I exchanged items/skimmed over the requirements for this to be a success.

            At Lowe’s, I quickly found the only item that I hadn’t heard of previously: the electrician’s clips. Then I started to look for galvanized nails. The book called for sixteen inch long nails. When I found them, I realized that a box cost about ten dollars, and I only needed two. I had several options at this point. 1. Spend ten bucks on some nails that I would hope to use one day. 2. Grab two nails from a box. 3. Find an employee and try to barter. Due to the fact that I’m a cheapskate and not a thief, I started to look for an employee.

Make Rock Candy

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What is more embarrassing than a failed attempt to make sugar crystals? Failing twice. The first time was as a thirteen year old. I kept a glass of sugar next to my bedroom window and checked it regularly. At this age, I spent a lot of time home alone, trying to find ways to entertain myself. I would take my bike to a busy street at the end of the block and lay down on the ground with my leg sticking through the middle of the bike. I would wait near the sidewalk, to see if people would stop and ask if I needed any help.

“No thanks, I’m just taking a rest.”

I was bored, lonely and weird. At the time, I was trying to make the sugar crystals because I thought that it would be a good snack that I could keep in my backpack. How can a kid beat rock candy for a snack? Like the demise of my one and only brine shrimp, I probably stuck my finger in the water too much. Aquatic pets aren’t supposed to be interactive.