1. No category

SUMMER
FUN!
Great things to do with
your kids & grandkids –
and perfect for your
next Family Reunion.
SUMMER FUN!
GREAT WEBSITES....................................................................................................................................... 5
Places to go in Utah .............................................................................................................................. 5
Fun Science Experiments ...................................................................................................................... 5
Paper Folding ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Templates for Playdough Mats Booklet -.............................................................................................. 5
Templates for Dry Erase Activity Book for kids -................................................................................... 5
RECIPES ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
The Best Bubbles Ever ........................................................................................................................... 5
BUBBLES THAT WON’T POP .................................................................................................................. 5
Make GIANT bubbles ............................................................................................................................ 5
HOMEMADE FINGER PAINTS ................................................................................................................ 6
Foam Dough .......................................................................................................................................... 6
SLIME..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Flubber .................................................................................................................................................. 7
FLOAM................................................................................................................................................... 7
Salt Dough Ornaments .......................................................................................................................... 7
SIDEWALK CHALK .................................................................................................................................. 8
GAMES....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Chopstick Pickup ................................................................................................................................... 9
Toothpicks & Marshmallows................................................................................................................. 9
Paper Bag Hand Puppets....................................................................................................................... 9
Balloon tennis. ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Hand shadows ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Balloon Characters .............................................................................................................................. 10
Make a Puppet Theater ...................................................................................................................... 10
Stamping Dice ..................................................................................................................................... 10
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Make Rock Dominoes ......................................................................................................................... 10
Make cards .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Cup Stacking ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Paint on the Lawn ................................................................................................................................... 11
Tic-Tac-Toe .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Twister................................................................................................................................................. 11
Hula Hoop Toss ................................................................................................................................... 11
Make an Air Fort ................................................................................................................................. 11
FOR YOUNGER KIDS ................................................................................................................................ 11
Counting Games .................................................................................................................................. 11
Counting Games using Money ............................................................................................................ 11
Ladybug Dots....................................................................................................................................... 12
Counting Games .................................................................................................................................. 12
FUN WITH FOOD ..................................................................................................................................... 13
Mad Scientist Potion ........................................................................................................................... 13
Edible Popcorn Painting ...................................................................................................................... 13
SQUISH FUDGE .................................................................................................................................... 13
HOMEMADE ICE CREAM IN A BAGGIE ................................................................................................ 14
HOMEMADE ROCK CANDY .................................................................................................................. 16
TO MAKE ................................................................................................................................................. 17
HOMEMADE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ............................................................................................... 17
PENDULUM PAINTING - ...................................................................................................................... 17
MAKE YOUR OWN DICE – MAKE YOUR OWN GAME .......................................................................... 17
DECORATE A FLOWER POT.................................................................................................................. 17
ECOSYSTEM ......................................................................................................................................... 17
PAINTING WITH DRINKING STRAWS ................................................................................................... 17
FELT FACES .......................................................................................................................................... 18
............................................................................................................................................................ 18
TIN CAN STILTS .................................................................................................................................... 18
PLANT A SEED & WATCH IT GROW ..................................................................................................... 18
HOMEMADE WINDOW CLINGS........................................................................................................... 19
WATER XYLOPHONE............................................................................................................................ 19
Marshmallow Gun............................................................................................................................... 19
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EASY HOMEMADE BOUNCING BALLS ................................................................................................. 20
SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 21
Ivory Soap............................................................................................................................................ 21
VINEGAR & BAKING SODA EXPLOSIONS ............................................................................................. 21
GLOW MOUNTAIN DEW ..................................................................................................................... 21
THE DISSOLVING EGG SHELL & BOUNCING EGG EXPERIMENT........................................................... 21
HOW TO MAKE ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE ........................................................................................... 22
CRYSTAL EGG GEODES ........................................................................................................................ 22
Tools and Materials .......................................................................................................................... 22
Crystal Egg Geode How-To ............................................................................................................ 22
Additional Tips .................................................................................................................................. 23
ANTS TRANSPARENT STOMACHS ........................................................................................................ 24
EASY TOYS FOR YOUR KIDS ..................................................................................................................... 25
The Superhero Cape Tutorial! ............................................................................................................. 25
4
GREAT WEBSITES
PLACES TO GO IN UTAH - http://www.enjoyutah.org/2011/12/free-utah-events-activities-andplaces.html
FUN SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS - http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/index.php
PAPER FOLDING to make a little book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmPZlFBR6I8
TEMPLATES FOR PLAYDOUGH MATS BOOKLET http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10832845/Playdough_Mats_Booklet.pdf
TEMPLATES FOR DRY ERASE ACTIVITY BOOK FOR KIDS http://www.livecrafteat.com/craft/make-your-own-kids-dry-erase-activity-book/
RECIPES
THE BEST BUBBLES EVER
6 cups water
2 cups Dawn dishwashing liquid
3/4 cup light corn syrup
Mix all ingredients together in a LARGE container of sorts...an empty water bottle, milk jug, etc. Shake
everything up and let sit for a few hours. Pour into empty bubbles containers or dishes and go wild with
your bubble wands!!
Pour all your ingredients into an empty containter, shake it up, and let it sit for a few hours!
BUBBLES THAT WON’T POP
Thing you need:
 1 C distilled drinking water
 1 Tablespoon dish soap
 1 Teaspoon of glycerin (I ordered mine online)
 straw (this is just what I chose to blow the bubbles with, Im assuming you can use a
typical bubble wand)
 1 clean glove (or sock) - (this is to keep the bubble from popping)
MIX ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER AND LET SIT FOR 24 HOURS
MAKE GIANT BUBBLES. Poke a hole in the bottom of a paper cup,
or cut off the bottom of a water bottle. Dip. Blow.
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HOMEMADE FINGER PAINTS
FOAM DOUGH - http://earlylearning.momtrusted.com/2013/05/foam-dough-shaving-cream-cornstarch/?_szp=443365
Materials:
 Shaving cream
 Cornstarch
 Food coloring (optional)
 Cups, spoons, bowls, play dough toys, etc. (optional)
Step 1: There’s only one step! Just pour any amount of cornstarch, and squirt
about the same amount of shaving cream on top of the cornstarch (you can
add more of either if you need to as you mix it until you get a moldable
dough). Then just mix it by squishing it with your fingers (my daughter really
loved this part!). You can also add some food coloring if you want to add
some color. That’s it! Super easy. Super quick. Super fun!
SLIME - http://tottreasuresnorthbay.blogspot.com/2012/06/slime.html
1 1/2 cups of CLEAR glue and 1 1/2 cups of liquid starch.
The liquid starch we used was the brand STA-FLO, you can find it at your local
grocery store with the laundry detergent or you can purchase on amazon.
You mix it all together, separate the slime into a few small bowls and add
food coloring to each bowl.
You only need a few drops of food coloring!!!
The mixture may need to be mixed with your hands for a bit to get the
desired texture, depending on the brand of glue you use. We used Elmer's Clear Glue.
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FLUBBER - http://frugalfunchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/flubber-recipe.html
Mixture 1:
1 ½ cups warm water
2 cups Elmer’s Glue
Food coloring
Mixture 2:
3 tsp. Borax
1 cup Warm Water
Stir mixture 1 together in 1 bowl. Mixture 2 in another bowl. Make sure both are mixed well.
Pour mixture 1 into mixture 2.
There is no need to stir the mixture but you can if you want because it is the chemical reaction that actually makes
the flubber. When it is in a glob work it for 2-3 minutes. Initially it feels wet but it eventually dries up to the final
product.
FLOAM
materials:
2 tsp. borax
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup elmer's glue
food coloring
ziploc bag
5/3 cups of polystyrene beads.
"You can substitute 2/3 cups micro-beads (1 mm from Jo-Ann Fabrics) and 1 cup bean bag
filler (1/8"). You can also grate styrofoam cups or packing peanuts."
how to:
1. Mix borax and 1/2 cup of water.
2. In another bowl, mix glue and 1/4 cup of water. Add food coloring.
3. Pour the glue solution into the bag. Then, add 3 tbsp of the borax solution, do not mix.
4. Add the polystyrene beads.
5. Seal bag and knead by hand until mixed. Let the bag stand for 15 minutes. Then knead for a
few more minutes.
SALT DOUGH ORNAMENTS
These don’t just need to be for Christmas. Make decorations to hang in the trees. Make windchimes.
Make gift tags for presents.
Ingredients



2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup warm water
Instructions
1.
2.
Mix together flour and salt.
Then mix in the warm water.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Mix until you have a dough that is similar in consistency to pie crust.
Take the dough and place it on a floured surface.
Roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. If you don't have cookie cutters you could use a glass to cut circles.
Put the shapes on a cookie sheet.
Then take a sharp object (I used a meat thermometer) to put a small hole in each shape where you will
insert the ribbon.
9. Make sure the hole goes all the way through the dough, because it will close up slightly while baking.
10. Bake the salt dough ornaments for 4 to 6 hours at 200 degrees or until hardened.
SIDEWALK CHALK
What you will need:
• Toilet paper or paper towel tubes
• Scissors
• Duct tape
• Wax paper
• Small bucket or disposable container to make the recipe
• ¾ cup of warm water
• 1 ½ cups Plaster of Paris
• 2-3 tablespoons of tempera paint
• Paper bag or a “mess mat”
** we made six tubes of chalk – we simply doubled the above recipe.**
Step 1: If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half, so it is roughly the length of a toilet paper roll tube.
Step 2: Cover one end of each tube with duct table to hold the contents within.
Step 3: Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes. Roughly 6 inches X 6 inches. Roll the wax paper
loosely and insert into the tubes so as to effectively line the tubes. The top of the wax paper will be higher than the
tubes. The wax paper liner will keep the chalk mixture from sticking to the cardboard tubes and will eventually be
peeled off.
Step 4: Pour the warm water into your bucket. Sprinkle the Plaster of Paris over the water and stir the mixture with
a plastic spoon. The Plaster of Paris roughly starts hardening within 20-30 minutes, so you need to work fast so that
it does not harden too quickly.
Step 5: Next you will want to pour the tempera paint into the Plaster of Paris mixture and stir so that it is mixed
thoroughly. If you would like brighter colors add more tempera paint into the mixture. We wanted to make a variety
of colors of chalk, so we spooned about 1/2-3/4 cup of Plaster of Paris in each separate container and mixed in the
different tempera paint colors into each bowl. We ended up making six different colors and next time might mix
more
Step 6: Stand each tube with the tape side down on a cookie
sheet/flat baking dish/box lid to make the project easier to
transport to a drying location. Pour or spoon the colored
Plaster of Paris mixture into the wax paper lined tubes. Lightly
tap the sides of the tubes to release the air bubbles (so you do
not have holes in your chalk). After you have poured the
mixture into the tubes start another color. When done trim the
excess wax paper so that it is closer to the cardboard tube.
Step 7: It took 3 days for our chalk to dry. On the last day, we
peeled off the duct tape so that the underside could dry. When
the chalk dries, peel off the paper tubes and wax paper. Your
chalk is ready!
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GAMES
CHOPSTICK PICKUP – pickup marshmellows, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, etc. See who can pick up the
most.
TOOTHPICKS & MARSHMALLOWS
PAPER BAG HAND PUPPETS
BALLOON TENNIS. We got free paint stick stirrers at Walmart and used our 'personality balloons' found below.
HAND SHADOWS and other objects. This also helps my kids be less scared of the
shadows in their room at night.
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BALLOON CHARACTERS. Draw a face and then name them. (WARNING: your kids will be crushed if these
ones pop, tears MAY BE SHED).
MAKE A PUPPET THEATER Curtain to hang on a Tension Rod in any doorway
STAMPING DICE:
http://www.housingaforest.com/stamping-dice/
MAKE ROCK DOMINOES
MAKE CARDS
CUP STACKING – http://www.housingaforest.com/cupstacking/
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PAINT ON THE LAWN
TIC-TAC-TOE – paint a grid on the lawn, use Frisbees
TWISTER
HULA HOOP TOSS over floating balloon
MAKE AN AIR FORT http://earlylearning.momtrusted.com/2013/02/diy-air-fort-ofawesomeness/
Here’s what you need:
- the biggest sheet you can find
- packaging tape
- fan
To start, tape one of the long sides down to the floor. Place the fan at one
end. Flip the sheet over the fan and tape together. Then tape the remaining
edges to the floor. We pleated the far end a couple of times to get a bigger
bubble. Turn on the fan and let your air fort fill with air. The tricky part is
getting in and out. We used the end with the fan; just move it to one side,
crawl through, then replace it in the middle of the opening.
FOR YOUNGER KIDS
COUNTING GAMES – have flowers with numbers on them that
kids count “chips” onto
COUNTING GAMES USING MONEY – have a few of the kids get
together – they each start with the same amount of $$$, but each
is trying to get a specific coin
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LADYBUG DOTS - Add the number of DOTS to the Ladybug
COUNTING GAMES – muffin cups and buttons
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FUN WITH FOOD
MAD SCIENTIST POTION


Apple Juice with Food Coloring
Dry Ice
EDIBLE POPCORN PAINTING
So we used ROYAL ICING to paint our popcorn (I've always used powdered egg whites to make our royal icing.)
This is the basic recipe for Royal Icing
-3 tablespoons of egg white powder (also called Meringue Powder)
-4 cups powdered sugar
-6 tablespoons of water.
-A few drops of food coloring.
I can't remember the exact amount, but I thinned it up a bit with extra
water. Just enough so that it wasn't so thick that he couldn't paint with
it.
**Though I haven't tried this, if you may be worried about the egg
whites in the recipe, as an alternative I'm pretty sure you could try
melting regular store bought icing to use. It may harden faster, but i'm
sure you could have some fun with it before it did! **
Then just DRIZZLE the “paint” over the popcorn.
SQUISH FUDGE
3 ounces Cream cheese; softened to room temperature
1/2 cup Butter; softened to room temperature
1/3 cup Cocoa
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound Powdered sugar
Squeeze Fudge Preparation
Place all ingredients in a large, resealable plastic bag, then squeeze it and squish it until the fudge is
creamy. Enjoy!
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HOMEMADE ICE CREAM IN A BAGGIE
Here is what you will need to make homemade ice cream in a baggie:
2 TBL sugar
1 cup half & half (or light cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarse salt or table salt(I used canning salt)
ice
gallon-sized Ziploc bag
pint-sized Ziploc bag
Mix the sugar, half & half and vanilla extract together.
Pour into a pint-sized Ziploc baggie. Make sure it seals
tightly.
Now take the gallon-sized Ziploc bag and fill it up
halfway with ice and pour the salt over the ice. Now
place the cream filled bag into the ice filled bag and
seal.
Make sure it is sealed tightly and start shaking. Shake for about 5 minutes (or 8 minutes if you use heavy cream.)
Open the gallon-sized bag and check to see if the ice cream is hard, if not keep shaking. Once the ice cream is
finished, quickly run the closed pint-sized baggie under cold water to quickly clean the salt off the baggie.
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Open the baggie and pop in a spoon.
Hope you enjoy your homemade ice cream in a baggie as much as we do!
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HOMEMADE ROCK CANDY
What Do I Need?
• 4 cups sugar
•2 cups water
•a small saucepan
• a wooden spoon
• a candy thermometer
• a small, clean glass jar
• a measuring cup
• cotton string
• a weight to hang on the string (such as a screw or galvanized washer)
• waxed paper
• a pencil (to suspend the string in the jar)
What Do I Do?
1. Heat the water in the saucepan over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.
2. Completely dissolve the sugar in the boiling water, stirring continuously with the wooden spoon
until the solution grows clear and it reaches a rolling boil.
3. Remove the solution from the heat, and then carefully pour it into the jar. Cover the jar with a
small piece of waxed paper.
4. Tie the weight to one end of the string, and then tie the other end to the middle of the pencil.
The string should be about two-thirds as long as the jar is deep. Dip the string into the sugar
solution, remove it, lay it on a piece of waxed paper, straighten it out, and let it dry for a few
days.
5. Gently suspend the prepared string in the solution and let sit at room temperature, undisturbed,
for several days. You can check each day to see how much your crystals have grown. It’s
tempting, but don’t touch the jar until the experiment is finished—it usually takes about seven
days.
6. At the end of the week, the crystals on your string should be clearly defined, with sharp right
angles and smooth faces of various sizes. In the field of crystallography, these are called
monoclinic crystals. Their shape is determined by the way the individual sugar molecules fit
together, which is similar to the way the shape of a pile of oranges is determined by the shape
of the individual oranges and the way they stack together.
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TO MAKE
HOMEMADE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2011/07/homemademusical-instruments-for-kids.html
PENDULUM PAINTING - http://www.thechildrensartgroup.com/2012/09/meetup-22-pendulumpainting.html
MAKE YOUR OWN DICE – MAKE YOUR OWN
GAME
Get square blocks of wood. Paint each block. Write on each side of
the die, and use the dice to play a game that you make up.
DECORATE A FLOWER POT
ECOSYSTEM http://cranberrycorner.blogspot.com/2010/07/summer-funecosystem-edition.html
PAINTING WITH DRINKING STRAWS
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FELT FACES
TIN CAN STILTS
PLANT A SEED & WATCH IT GROW
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HOMEMADE WINDOW CLINGS
Here’s what you’ll need for this project:
 white school glue
 liquid dish soap
 food coloring
 glitter (optional)
 bowls
 paintbrushes
 wooden skewer (optional)
 plastic page protector
 template
And here’s what you’ll do:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Pour a few tablespoons of white glue into your bowls.
Add a drop or two of food coloring to the glue
Add a few drops of liquid dish soap.
Sprinkle in some glitter. This step is, of course, optional, but why would you skip glitter? ;) Then
stir until well blended.
Slip a template into your page protector if you'd like a guide to paint by.
Unleash your child to paint a VERY thick layer of glue.
We placed drops of color within the hearts and then used a wooden skewer to blend. You could
simply use a paint brush for this if you'd prefer. (My daughter loved this part and swirled the
colors around for a while.)
Once your child is happy with their design, set aside to dry. We left ours to dry overnight.
Optional step: Clean the outside of your window before applying your window clings! ;)
WATER XYLOPHONE - http://www.homegrownlearners.com/home/2012/7/22/sorcerers-apprenticethe-water-xylophone.html
 8 Mason Jars
 Food coloring
Experiment to fill the jars with the appropriate amount of water. Then color
each jar a different color. The you can use color to write your own songs.
MARSHMALLOW GUN - http://www.wikihow.com/Make-aMarshmallow-Gun
You need:
 Seven 5-inch PVC (or six 5-inch and one 8-inch)
 2 elbow connectors
 2 t-shape connectors
 2 end caps
To fire the gun, first take a mini marshmallow and place it gently in the opening of the only uncapped
small pipe (the one on top of the gun). Take a deep breath and blow into the opening that you just put a
marshmallow into. Your confection should shoot out of the barrel (the 8" piece). If it doesn't, try blowing again. It
might've gotten stuck.
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EASY HOMEMADE BOUNCING BALLS
What You Need:
Borax
corn starch
Elmer's Glue-All
warm water
food color (optional)
measuring spoons
2 bowls
What To Do:
Mixture #1 - 1st Bowl Add 2 tablespoons of warm water
plus 1/2 teaspoon of Borax
and stir to dissolve the Borax as much as possible.
Add food color to this mixture if desired & mix.
Bowl #2 Pour in 1 tablespoon Elmer's Glue-All
Add 1/2 teaspoon of the above Borax mixture
and 1 tablespoon corn starch
DO NOT MIX!
Let mixture stand for about 15 seconds
then mix the ingredients until it becomes too hard to do so.
You will be able to tell when the time is right it will get clumpy and combined together.
At that point, take out the mixture into your hand and quickly knead it in a circular pattern to
form your ball. (Think of when you make a ball with play dough.)
It starts out as a sticky, gooey mess but it quickly starts to solidify so you must mold it quickly.
Once your ball has hardened - go ahead and bounce it!
Note: This will not give you the same bouncy effect as a store bought ball but it bounces a bit
and the girls got a kick out of it. We found it worked better off our play mat than the regular
floor.
We had quite a few fails before we got our balls shaped right so don't be afraid if you need to do
this more than once. It is an experiment after all! The Borax mixture can be used for a few balls
so as long as you have glue and cornstarch - keep molding! My tip is to be quick when forming
your ball.
Be sure to store in a plastic baggie so you can play again tomorrow!
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SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS
IVORY SOAP http://makingmemorieswithyourkids.com/2012/01/soap-explosion/
cut one bar into 4 pieces and placed one of the pieces on a paper towel and placed
it in the microwave. We set the timer for 3 minutes but it really only took less than a
minute for this awesome “thing” to happen. Nope, no liquid! It started to expand and
became HUGE! I can’t even begin to describe how cool this is! It shrinks a little
when you turn off the microwave. And it’s not too hot so kids can touch it. It’ll
harden a little as it cools so they can break off pieces and use them in the bath or to
wash their hands.
NOTE: Lindsi over at Toys in the Dryer warns to NOT put a whole bar of soap in
your microwave at once. it gets way too big and will fill your microwave. Which
would be a bad thing, right? My kids and I were seriously debating about doing it
anyways. But we went with the warning
VINEGAR & BAKING SODA EXPLOSIONS
I filled 4 plastic cups with vinegar, and added different food coloring to each one. I then set 4 different
empty jars on a cookie sheet (you REALLY want a cookie sheet under your jar because everything will
erupt up and over). I scooped lots of baking soda into each empty jar. Then to make eruptions we simply
poured our cups of colored vinegar into the jars of baking soda. We did one jar at a time until the ooos
and aaahs were over, then moved on to the next jar. The faster and the more vinegar you pour into the
jar, the bigger the eruption! You may want a few jars of vinegar, because it's really fun but over quickly!
GLOW MOUNTAIN DEW
Glow sticks are fun, but wouldn’t it be more fun making them and not just for
halloween! To make the glow that you see in glow sticks you need a 16 oz. bottle of
mountain dew, peroxide, and baking soda. First take the mountain dew bottle and
pour out 3/4 of the mountain dew. Save it in a container so you can use it to make
more glow. So now that the bottle only has 1/4 of mountain dew put just a little bit of
baking soda (amount of the tip of a spoon). Next put 3 cap fulls of peroxide. Close the
mountain dew bottle and shake well! Your mountain dew will glow! Here is a youtube
video if you actually want to see it :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AGt0TROlnA
THE DISSOLVING EGG SHELL & BOUNCING EGG EXPERIMENT
This experiment is simple, it involves a lot of observation but the results are really to watch and the
finale was lots of messy fun.
What You Need:
Eggs - (we used raw eggs - 2 brown & 2 white)
vinegar
water
clear cups
What To Do:
1. Set up 4 clear cups.
2. Put 1 egg into each cup.
3. Add vinegar to 1 of each cup containing a white & brown egg.
4. Add water to the other 2 cups. - *eggs should be covered completely by each liquid.
5. Observe
Start of Experiment/Day 1:
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After only a few hours we could see that the vinegar was eating away at the shell of the brown egg. It
was nice to observe it at this initial reaction stage because you could easily see where the shell was
missing and where it was still on the egg.
Day 7:
Now that we had our rubbery eggs, we had to test if they could bounce! The first drop did indeed
bounce!
HOW TO MAKE ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE:
http://preschoolpowolpackets.blogspot.com/2012/01/science-experimentelephant-toothpaste.html
1. Set a soda pop bottle in the middle of a pan to catch the toothpaste.
2. Mix these in a separate container and swirl together for a minute. The yeast
will catalyze (or speed up) the reaction. Woo hoo!
** 2 Tablespoons warm water
** 1 teaspoon yeast
3. Mix these in your soda pop bottle:
** 1/2 cup 6% hydrogen peroxide. It is important to use at least 6%.
You can use 8% or more (available on Amazon), or you can Salon
Care Professional Stabilized Formula. 20 Volume Clear Developer
from Sally Beauty Supply works fine too. 3% from the grocery store
will NOT work as well. :)
** 4-5 drops food coloring
** squirt of dish soap
4. Pour the yeast mixture into the soda pop bottle...and be amazed!
If you're working with older kids, you may be interested in how it works:
The reaction is summarized by this formula: 2 H2O2 --> 2 H2O + 02. -- Hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2) naturally breaks down into water and oxygen. It is stored in opaque containers to help
slow down this process. Catalase (an enzyme in all living things, including yeast) speeds up the
reaction. Dish soap catches the oxygen and makes bigger bubbles and the food coloring makes it
look cool. The foam and bottle feel warm because the reaction is exothermic--it releases energy
as heat.
CRYSTAL EGG GEODES
Tools and Materials
Blown-out eggshell (Get the How-To)
Alum powder
White glue
Small paintbrush
Plastic or glass container
Egg dye
Hot water
Craft stick or spoon
Latex gloves
Drying rack or newspaper
Crystal Egg Geode How-To
1. Start by blowing out a large white chicken egg and splitting it in
half, lengthwise. The egg can be cracked by striking it against a
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surface or cut with a small pair of scissors. Make sure the inside of the eggshell is clean and dry.
2. With a small paintbrush, apply white glue to the inside and cracked edges of each half of the
eggshell and sprinkle with alum powder until completely coated. Set eggshell halves aside to dry
overnight.
3. The next day, prepare your growing solution in a glass or plastic container by using a craft stick or
spoon to mix 2 cups of very hot water (almost boiling) with an entire packet of powdered egg dye. Be
sure to wear latex gloves to protect your hands from the dye. (Tip: Liquid food coloring can also be
used to dye the geode -- 30 to 40 drops will adequately saturate the solution.)
4. Add 3/4 cup of alum powder to the hot dye bath and stir until completely dissolved. If there are
remaining crystals in the bottom of the container, place the solution in the microwave for a few
minutes to dissolve them. This will prevent alum from being drawn away from the geode.
5. Once the alum is completely dissolved, let the solution cool slightly (for about 30 minutes) and
then submerge one of the dried, alum-coated eggshells in the growing solution, allowing it to rest on
the bottom of the container with the inside of the shell facing up.
6. Set the container aside in a safe place overnight to allow the crystals to grow undisturbed. (Tip:
The longer the eggshell is in the solution, the larger the crystals in the geode will be. Twelve to 15
hours will usually result in a perfect geode.)
7. The next day, remove the geode from the growing solution very carefully (as wet crystals are quite
fragile), being sure to wear latex gloves to prevent the dye from staining your hands. (Tip: If you are
not satisfied with the size of your geode crystals, return the geode to the growing solution and wait a
day or two. As water evaporates from the solution, more alum will be deposited in your geode,
increasing the size of the crystals.)
8. Place your geode on a drying rack or newspaper and allow to dry completely before handling.
9. To grow a second geode in the other half of the eggshell, simply re-dissolve the crystals
remaining at the bottom of the growing solution in the microwave and follow the instructions above
starting at step 5.
Additional Tips
Geodes can be grown without using egg dye. The resulting crystals are clear to milky white, like
quartz.
While large chicken eggshells are suggested in this process, larger eggshells can be used. Simply
increase the size of the plastic or glass container and double or triple the amounts of dye (1 packet),
alum (3/4 part), and water (2 parts) used to create the growing solution.
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ANTS TRANSPARENT STOMACHS
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EASY TOYS FOR YOUR KIDS
THE SUPERHERO CAPE TUTORIAL!
What you’ll need:
 One ginormous t-shirt
 one piece of interfacing (2″ x 7 1/2″)
 Velcro
 hot glue gun (or sewing machine)
1. Lay out one ginormous t-shirt.
2. Cut off the sleeves.
3. Cut up the sides and lay the shirt open.
4. Cut out the shape of a cape, being careful to keep the neck hole in tact.
I cut some off of the bottom too, so he wouldn’t trip.
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5. The neck hole will be too big for your little guy…
cut out a section.
Even if it fits, for safety’s sake, make sure you make this cape detachable by adding the velcro
closure.
Without the velcro closure this cape could be a choking hazard!
Here you have two options:
#1 Sew velcro on as a neck closure or,
#2 Use a hot glue gun to attach velcro for the neck
closure
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