This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Perhaps you've reached that point in the summer where your kids might be sitting around the house saying "I'm bored!" or perhaps you want them to be more engaged with the world around them. The Royal Institution of Great Britain and science educator Alom Shaha have come up with ExpeRimental, a new series of short films that help you bring science home. Check out this very simple lava lamp you can make at home with your kids!
ExpeRimental is a series of short films that make it fun, easy and cheap to do science at home with children aged 4 to 10. Our films give you lots of ideas for kids’ activities that will help you explore the world around you, question and experiment together. We’ll show you how to do the activity and how to make sure adults and children get the most out of it. Tell us how you get on and share your photos and any funny things your kids say!Each activity is designed to be easy to do using only common household objects. Simply playing, watching closely, and asking questions is enough to light a spark of science learning at home with young children. All the experiments are about encouraging natural curiosity and investigating the wonders of science while you play.
We think doing hands-on activities with children is the best way to get them exploring the world around them and thinking like future scientists and engineers. You won’t need any existing science knowledge to be able carry out and enjoy ExpeRimental activities. Alongside each film is an info sheet with all the extra information you might need, including a clear explanation of the science at work and some ideas of questions to ask while playing. With badges and certificates to print out, and no limit to how far the activities could extend, we hope these films will be just the starting point for fun adventures in science.
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You can like ExpeRImental on Facebook and help yourself to further information to accompany the videos and activities you'll be doing with your kids!