Category Archives: science

September 11, 2013 · 9:13 AM

Science Experiment: Make a Naked Egg

A super super easy experiment that you can do with two things you probably already have in your kitchen. My kids liked it so much, as soon as they finished with the first one, they immediately started another.

1. Take a raw egg, and place it in a cup.

2. Cover it with vinegar. We used apple cider vinegar the first time, and regular white vinegar the second time. Both worked fine.

3. Cover the cup (we used plastic wrap held on with a rubber band) and stick it in the fridge. Check it every day and give it a swirl. You can change out the vinegar too, if it gets too yucky.

After a few days, the shell is completely dissolved, and the egg is held together by nothing but its tough membrane:

It is still raw inside, but it is strong and rubbery. You can even bounce it a bit on the counter (if you’re gentle) It’s also very swollen, because with the shell gone, it absorbs much of the liquid it’s been sitting in.

For even more fun, stick it back in the cup with some food coloring and water, and let it sit overnight.

And for EXTRA fun, be sure to do what my kids did, and pop it with a fork to examine its insides when you’re done.

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January 25, 2013 · 3:21 PM

Science with Everett

Everett is completely enamored with both science and magic. This simple little trick combines a little of both.

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February 10, 2011 · 6:58 PM

The Eyes Have It

Spencer and a friend went to a class at the science center today, where they learned about, and dissected, a cow’s eyeball. Paxton had opted out, and Everett was home fighting off a cold, but Spencer was very excited to do this particular class. One of his favorite TV shows is Dr G: Medical Examiner, and he relished the chance to play medical examiner himself for awhile.

He came home talking about corneas and irises, blind spots and eye juices. And he’s now pretty sure he does not want to go into the field of pathology when he grows up.

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July 22, 2010 · 1:16 PM

The Rice Experiment: Called on Account of the Smell

If we were to follow this experiment the way it was written, we would have kept and observed the rice for thirty days. Unfortunately, I hadn’t factored in 1) Summer in Phoenix, and 2) the inexpensive, not-very-well-sealed, dollar store containers I put it in. We got to about Day 5 before the smell of decaying rice threatened to take over our kitchen (and by extension our entire house).

All three containers ended up molding, but in very different ways…

The hated rice was by far the worst. It had turned brown, and slimy, and stuck together. The tiny of spot of mold had rapidly grown into huge, black, ugly splotches of cancer.

The ignored rice was next. It also got the big, black spots of mold… several of them, in fact… but the rice itself stayed relatively white and fluffy.

And our loved rice? It had started to change colors like the hated rice, and it got some fluffy white mold on the top. The biggest difference though, was the lack of black mold. It had just a couple of small spots, and was not overrun with it like the other two.

It occurred to me at some point that we were unfairly influencing the experiment because we wanted the loved rice to stay clean the longest. We believed that it would make a difference. Then I realized that that was sort of the whole point… that we BELIEVE the positive energy that we’re sending.

I believe in the Law of Attraction, because I see it manifest itself in my life (and in others’) again and again. And I see it manifest itself because I believe.

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July 16, 2010 · 11:43 AM

We Have Mold!!

I was handing Everett the container with our “hated” rice this morning, so he could give it his daily dose of evil diatribe, when Paxton suddenly stopped me. “Wait, what’s that? I think I see mold!” I turned it around in my hands, and sure enough, a small, black spot of mold is indeed forming near the bottom of the rice. We carefully inspected the loved rice and the ignored rice, and both are still white and fluffy, with no signs of decay. Awesome.

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July 14, 2010 · 6:30 PM

The Rice Experiment

Everett has been asking to do a lot of science experiments lately. We signed up for this weekly newsletter, which has given us some fun ideas, we’ve been pulling out the various science books we’ve gotten over the years, and we’ve been looking around the internet.

The experiment we started today is a famous experiment by Masaru Emoto. Emoto is an entrepreneur and doctor of alternative medicine who has done extensive research into the idea that words, thoughts, or even music directed at water before it is frozen will influence its crystallization. He claims that positive energy will make the crystals beautiful, while negative energy (or no energy at all) will do the opposite. He has published many books, including many volumes of a work entitled Messages From Water, that explain his viewpoints and his research. This site has a nice explanation of his work and some very cool pictures of some of his crystals.

This experiment is a take on the same theory, using rice instead of water.

Take three identical containers and fill them with cooked rice. Label one with “I love you,” one with “I hate you,” and leave the third unlabeled. Now, talk to the rice! Speak the words on the containers every day for a month (loving words to the “loved” container, and hateful words to the “hated” container) and completely ignore the unlabeled container. Wait and watch for what happens, or doesn’t happen, as the rice ferments and goes bad.

Today was Day One. And while the kids mostly seemed to get a kick out of the whole thing, I discovered (or reaffirmed really) that I really don’t like saying hateful things. Even to rice.

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March 5, 2010 · 8:28 AM

Let there be Light

A few days ago Everett asked me how electricity worked. We were in the car at the time, so I gave him my own – limited – explanation, and told him that we could look it up when we got home (and that he could talk to his Pop, an electrician!)

Yesterday I was putting some things away in a closet, and right in front of me was this:

If I was aware that we had it, I’d completely forgotten about it. I brought it out for him yesterday, and we worked through the first few projects in the book, learning about the loop of electricity, and powering a light, a buzzer, and a little engine. He can’t wait for Tegan to take her nap today so we can do some more.