Super Cool Science Party

Hunter has such a great time planning his ninth birthday party with me. We talked about the budget we had, and then found things that would fit within it together. He also helped make the cake which was decorated with a beaker of red liquid and M&M bubbles coming out of it. When the boys arrived yesterday we had a bowl of beads and a string of yarn in a bowl waiting for them. These were not just ordinary beads though. They were UV beads! They’re white until they hit the sunlight, then they instantly turn colors. When the kids finished making their necklaces, we put some extra beads on a paper plate and sprayed them good with sunscreen. We observed that they did change color, but it was a much lighter color, and that led to a short discussion on the importance of sunscreen.

Then there was the lemon experiment. There’s a double meaning in that because it involved lemons and because it didn’t turn out so well. We cut small slits into a lemon for each child. One slit held a penny and the other a paper clip. If you touch your tongue to the metal it is supposed to give a mini zap of electricity. It didn’t work for all of us, but some figured it out.

Following that we had the muscle memory experiment. Each of the boys stood in the narrowest doorway we have and put there arms straight and pushed with the backs of their hands against the doorway as hard as they could for 30 seconds. Then they stepped forward and tried to put their arms at their side and couldn’t! They described it as feeling like they had wings.

Next was the bottle rockets. I found a kit online for making water rockets and vinegar/baking soda rockets. We walked to the park behind our house and set them off on the large lawn there. The kids had a blast, and Rob was such a good sport being totally soaked with both water and vinegar paste by the time we finished. I even heard one of the kids say, “this is the best party I’ve ever been to!”

After this, we walked back home and watched Flubber while the kids ate candy, cake, and ice cream. What fun they had, and to top it off they all left for home with their Biohazard goody bags filled with: a growing body part, latex gloves, a face mask, Fizzy Color Tablets, Rainbow glasses, and Safetyglasses! Thanks again Nana for donating the biohazard bags, face masks, safety glasses and gloves! I don’t know how we will top this party next year. It was perfect!