Our friend Emma: Scientific Super Sleuth

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Dr. Thompson. He's a scientist who has come up with a line of science kits for children ages 9 to 12. The science kits let children learn about what real-life scientists do by asking them to solve mysteries. The young scientists are given links to a secret web site, so they can check their results along the way and learn if they've solved the mystery correctly. It sounded like a great idea. I love to encourage science, but Arielle and Linnea are just too young. I asked our friend Emma and her mom to help us out. They wrote the following review:



The other day Secret Science Team member, Emma, got a kit from Ectropy. It seems they needed a super sleuth like Emma to do a little case work for them.

Emma carefully opened the box. It contained all the evidence and the supplies needed to solve the mystery -- find out who was behind a devious plot to steal, duplicate and sell pirated video games!



Emma and her two assistants took this case rather seriously -- they followed the directions and recorded their findings in the chart that was provided -- they even carefully returned the samples to their little baggies hoping to "be scientists" again.



When she began the project, Emma thought that she'd do one or two of the experiments/observations....





but then couldn't resist doing another,



and then another,



and then another,



until she had completed the whole kit and found her results --



we went to the website provided and confirmed that she was correct! Oh the joy!



Scientist Emma wants to share this with some science loving friends of hers -- it was a lot of fun.

Emma is 10 years old and in the 5th grade, her assistants are 8 years old and in the 2nd grade. They would likely have been able to do most of this experiment on their own, but they lack a certain *carefulness* that is required. I reminded them often about not contaminating their samples.

The Secret Science Team Missions cost $34.99. All of the products Ectropy offers are designed and selected to meet National Science Education Standards. This makes them great for home school families. The Secret Science Team line is specially developed for grades 4 -7 to encourage scientific exploration, analytical reasoning, and literature. Ectropy also offers science consulting, experiment design, and science kit building services to help home school families meet NSE standards.

Curious about Curiosity Quest

Curiosity Quest is an award winning television series that airs on PBS in some parts of the country. In each episode, host Joel Greene goes on a quest to answer viewers questions. Those of us who don't get Curiosity Quest on TV, can watch it on DVD.

The DVD's are available at the Curiosity Quest Store for $19.95 each + $2.00 shipping. Consider these as a gift for the child who asks a lot of questions or for home schooling.

Our friend Duncan was a guest reviewer, and Mollie, Duncan's mom, wrote the review. Duncan reviewed two videos.

U.S Postal Service
Curiosity Quest Goes Green: Sanitary Landfill



Duncan is five years old, and we already know he will be an engineer or a scientist someday. He needs to know how everything works, from the sink to the ski bindings, from the television to volcanoes. We figure it's only a matter of a year or two before he starts taking things apart to see what's inside. Which is why Sara thought of us when she got some Curiosity Quest DVDs to review. The series attempts to provide answers to real kids' questions, and I think Sara was hoping to help me stave off the time when I come back in the room to find the toaster disassembled.

Curiosity Quest is produced in Southern California for KCVR TV, and is also available on various PBS channels and as a DVD series. The format of the show is that children write to the host, asking questions about things that have sparked their curiosity, and the host, Joel Greene, goes out (with cameras) to find the answers.

Duncan enjoyed the DVDs, which were the "Post Office" and "Curiosity Quest Goes Green" episodes, and asked to watch them several times, so that he "could give the best answers about how good they are."

Duncan especially enjoyed the Post Office episode, because, as he said, he "always wanted to know what they did back there, behind the counter, where we can't see." This is a good episode for small boys who like machines, because we got to see letter sorters that "go really fast. Mommy, do you think they need to be careful of their hands so they don't get hurt and the letters don't get covered in blood?" Perfect fodder for a five year old boy, as was the segment when the host drove the forklift-like vehicle (electric mule) around the sorting facility.



The repetitive nature of the lessons is a bit much for grown-ups, but not for five year olds. By the end, Duncan was shouting, "you can't touch the mail" when the host tried to hold the letters. Duncan said, "even I know that only you get to touch the letters you mail, and the postman can, too. No one else. That's a very important thing about the mail. That's called the sanctity." Lesson learned, young man.

Duncan said, "There's nothing I don't like about this one, except when they ask questions [of people on the street]. Because it's more like news, with a microphone. It would be better, and wouldn't feel like news, if they only asked kids questions, instead of some grown-ups." While none of the interview subjects seemed terribly adult to me, I think he was referring to two young women in their late teens. They seemed much older than the audience of the show, and clearly he felt he couldn't relate to them as well as the younger children.

Duncan was a little less interested in the Recycling/Goes Green DVD, probably because we live in a place where recycling and sustainability are topics of constant conversation. He did like the machines at the dump, though, and was interested to see how many crazy things end up at the landfill. "They even put MATTRESSES there!"



He thought this one would be "good for kids who don't know as much as me about recycling, because then they wouldn't send so much to the landfill. . . they need to sort at home, like with our boxes in the garage. Because it's lots of work to find all those things and get them out before the landfill closes at night and they bury everything." As his mom, I concur that this one was a little less science-y and exciting, but it does teach some good lessons about the way we need to care for the earth, and teaching these things to children is a great way to start.

True to form, Duncan ended our DVD-watching session with a question. "Mommy, how does the DVD player read the disc when is only silver?" And he was intently eying that DVD player like he wanted to take it apart.

Hey Curiosity Quest, do you want to explain how a DVD player works?

Nature Bag

I am so excited to tell you about Nature Bag ($39.95 CAD/ ~$37.00 U.S.), an eco-friendly, treasure trove of outdoor activities designed to help children learn about nature.



Nature Bag is the creation of Silvie and Katharine, two Vancouver moms who between them have 4 children, 10 years of teaching experience, a Masters in Environmental Education and an International Business degree. They suggest you take Nature Bag whenever you venture outdoors. We keep it hanging on the front door knob.

The sturdy organic cotton, fair-trade bag contains a rubberwood magnifying glass (Linnea loved this!), soy-based crayons, a recycled pencil, a recycled notebook, an organic cotton blindfold, two leaf viewers, 8 color cards, hemp twine and a booklet containing activities appropriate for every season. All the paper products are made from 100% post-consumer waste, and the pencil used to be blue jeans!



Why am I so excited? As a scientist, I think that getting kids out in nature, observing and appreciating, is the best way to build an early interest in learning about the world we live in. That is what science is all about -- getting interested, making observations and trying to explain them. I think it is especially important now, because kids that care about nature will grow up to care about protecting it. The Nature Bag is awesome because everything is included - even the ideas. Parents who have no idea where to start can easily lead their kids on these early adventures.

With Nature Bag, kids can learn about nature without causing harm. The activities are appropriate for children between the ages of 3 and 12 and can be used in the city, or in the country, or anywhere in between. They can be used over and over and will change with the seasons and as the child gets older and can understand more.

We've had the summer of bad weather, so on one of our rare sunny days, we took the Nature Bag outside. Nature Bag can be used in many types of weather, but my camera doesn't do as well.

But first, Linnea checked out the magnifying glass.



When we got outside, we used the leaf viewer to look at maple leaves up close. Then we compared them with linden tree leaves and apple leaves. The shapes and sizes and even the greens are different, but so are the patterns of the veins.

Here's Arielle holding her leaf up to the light.



Linnea tries.



Then we blindfolded Arielle and took her to a tree. "Is it fat or thin? Rough or smooth? Are the leaves high or low? Can you find moss? How does it smell? Which tree do you think it is?"



"Hmmm.... maple tree?" Good guess, most of our trees are maple. "Which one?"



Then Linnea tried. We fooled her by visiting a tree that had fallen during a winter storm.





Arielle drew a maple leaf that she found on the ground.





The absolute favorite activity was the color cards. The girls gathered objects that remind them of summer and made a nature collage. This obviously will change with the seasons.



Our beautiful results!



And, there are so many more activities to try. Nature Bag is a nice addition to a family camping trip, a picnic, or to a home school curriculum. While it would also make a great gift for the kid that wants to be a scientist or explorer in the future, it might also be nice for the child that is a little reluctant about the outdoors.