We “walked out” in the sense that Meg came by in a Lyft and we got in. Up at Dilworth Plaza, we ran into two School of Rock kids, and a kid they knew from LARPing/Fringe Festival, so B and C were convinced they were at a legitimate happening. They had watched Greta Thunberg’s TED…
Category: science
that old standby
Dry ice. Never fails to impress. Thanks, Tuck. Don’t fool yourself here that it didn’t “impress” Claudia; the field recording we made of a piece of dry ice vibrating in a metal spoon impressed upon her greatly — clearly her personal fingernails-on-a-chalkboard. But this was funny: And this was just cool: …
claudia’s pre-birthday mythic creatures anti-party
This is (will be!) Claudia’s third homeschooling birthday, on the 28th. But the opening for the “Mythic Creatures” exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences was this weekend — and so she took some friends. We took the subway up. Prior to going into Mythic Creatures, we attended the live animal auditorium show, where Claude…
various (incomplete)
I know this kid who suddenly had a passionate desire to see the water bill be lower than it’s ever been. We talked to our neighbors and ours is, and has for years, been ridiculous compared to the friends around us. Béla’s very vested in this and he suggested that the fact that the third…
planet pals (or, tucker’s birthday natal chart while it’s still a “secret” — part one)
“Astrology” did not used to be a word tossed around used mostly for impulse purchases on grocery store endcaps, or paper placemats in diners. The greatest minds — the intellectuals and academics — were astrologists. Nostradamus, Ptolemy, Galileo, Chaucer. Science, math, astronomy — even “just” the cultural aspect of learning about the different astrological systems…
molecule of the week, august 31: water
Well. Not super exciting, but we also didn’t expect we’d be starting school last week. I don’t know that we will necessarily post every week’s molecule. We’ll see. Just in case a water molecule isn’t enough for you, here’s a clip of a concert we went to later in the week — Philly’s Hardwork Movement…
Periodic Table Manners, or the Outcome of Mendeleev’s Madness
When we set out with the Mendeleev’s Madness project, our intent was to generate some breadth of knowledge about the elements of the periodic table, and a greater depth of knowledge about some of those elements. Largely that breadth was covered in the first round, where they relied on Theodore Grey’s Elements along with a few…
it’s all the rage in japan. it’s…
Aluminum foil balls. Perhaps you’ve seen the video tutorials. Well, we’ve got a few balls going, in various stages, so we’re happy to share with you what we’ve learned so far. (Because I have no doubt that we will take this to the next level; being a family who make masks with foil quite…
lend me some sugar — i am your neighbor
Surprise, we aren’t a big sports family and don’t watch a lot of games. But it was exciting that the Eagles were in the Super Bowl and Jason Douglass’ Danceadelphia, which has been the kids’ studio since they were preschoolers, ALWAYS goes ALL OUT for EVERYTHING for Philly kids. Jersey-burning? Yep. Greased pole? Yep. I…
Nobles, Royals, Hot air & Salt: Elemental Exposé
Chemistry is the central science – the manifestation of the laws of physics, and the field from which all life develops. It is the heart of everything we can experience, and how we encode experiences. And so, it is where my heart goes into science. Last year we spent time working with the rock tumbler…
did you know you could make Ph indicator strips with poinsettias?
As they often say, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” But what the heck. It was fun, not too smelly, and did, to some degree, work. Seems to me it might be more practical to buy commercial test strips but, if you’ve got a poinsettia and NOT a desperate need to know the…
mendeleev’s madness
Surprise: I thought maybe Tucker might want to handle atomic theory with the kids this year. I really just wanted them familiar with the periodic table — all our other science stuff just pops up here and there out of interests that are usually concurrent with other projects. But they didn’t know what elements were,…
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