5 fun, cheap and easy science activities to do with your kids - East Idaho News
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5 fun, cheap and easy science activities to do with your kids

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This article is brought to you by White Pine Charter School, which utilizes a Core Knowledge curriculum framework taught in a warm and dynamic environment. We believe that effective learning is hands-on where students are taught to be critical thinkers and life-long learners. Click here to find out more.

When it’s nice outside, it can be tough getting kids off the couch and finding something productive for them to do. One way to solve this issue: teach them science!

Don’t panic. Science doesn’t have to be stuffy, and you don’t have to have a doctorate to show children the wonders of their world. Here are five activities you can do with your kids that will encourage their curiosity and creativity in unforgettable ways.

Look up

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The perfect night: clear skies and time with your child! | Stock photo

If you don’t know the difference between the Big Dipper and Orion, don’t worry! Various mobile apps can name the constellations above your head. (Orion is only visible during the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere anyway.)

If you own a telescope, great, but don’t let the lack of one stop you. Get away from town — like an isolated spot in the country or in the St. Anthony Sand Dunes — and you’ll be surprised at east Idaho’s breathtaking starscape.

If you want to learn more, the BYU-Idaho planetarium offers fun shows on Thursday nights.

Read more on getting started with amateur astronomy.

Go small at home

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Flies are gross. Flies are beautiful. | Stock photo

Insects and spiders are a source of endless fascination for most kids (and endless revulsion for many adults). But have you ever looked at one up close — really, really close?

You can buy low-powered microscopes for cheap (and even get ones that connect to your smartphone!), but you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment for this. A magnifying glass will work nicely too. And if there’s something Idaho’s not short on during the warm months, it’s bugs, spiders and worms (dead and alive)!

You’ll be surprised by what you find — creatures you normally find ugly can be beautiful in a colorful and hairy sort of way!

Just be smart and don’t let your kids pick up tiny critters that can harm them. And have them wash their hands afterward!

If your children really get the bug bug, you may want to consider having insects on hand for closer observation. Click here to learn how to make a bug terrarium.

Nature detective

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Warning: Your kids may not want to come back. | Stock photo

Take the kids on a nature hike!

“Big deal,” you may be saying. “I’ve already taken them on walks with ‘plants and birds and rocks and things.’ They hate it.”

But do they know what they’re seeing?

When they see a non-human footprint in the mud, do they know what creature made it? When they see droppings on the trail, do they know what animal is nearby? What could have possibly left this hair or skin on this branch? What creature did these bones belong to?

Some resources:

Mammals (Idaho Fish and Game)

A Field Guide to Animal Tracks

Who poops in the woods?

Rock on

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Close up at some of the rocks at Craters of the Moon National Monument. | EastIdahoNews.com staff

This is a deep rabbit hole through lava rock, so watch out!

Since you live near Yellowstone National Park and Craters of the Moon National Monument, you are in the perfect place to learn about geology! You easily make many day trips observing massive geysers or exploring ancient lava tubes.

But even if you can’t get away, chances are interesting geology is literally in your backyard. Have your kids find you a rock near your home, preferably one that’s natural to the area and not one that was imported as part of the landscaping. Then research it. What kind is it? Is it igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary? (Remember those from school?) What does this say about what your yard was like millions of years ago? Nothing fires up a kid’s imagination quite like imagining water or lava roaring through the garden.

The only thing better than finding a neat rock is finding a fossil! Check out this guide to find out more about fossils in our area.

Break things

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Phil’s remains were subsequently laid to rest in a frying pan. | Stock photo

You may feel you spend half your waking hours preventing your kids from trashing your house. But what if, in the name of science, you told them they could break something without getting in trouble?

There will be conditions, of course. It has to be the object you say, it has to be in controlled conditions, and it has to answer a question.

Here’s an experiment you can try.

Put an egg in a tin can and drop it from your roof or another high spot.

(Spoiler: Unless you live in a house that’s 5 inches tall, the egg will splat inside the can.)

Now send another egg on its trip with other things inside. For example, your kids could pack an egg in plastic wrap, leaves, popcorn or old underwear! The question you will answer: What works best as packing material?

And who knows? Maybe Amazon will pick up on your experiment and send fragile items in the mail wrapped in slightly used briefs!

But in all seriousness, an experiment like this won’t just teach kids about eggs, gravity, and your fear of heights. It will show them how the scientific method isn’t a dull set of steps from a textbook — it can answer real questions and solve actual problems, from medicine to physics. And it won’t hurt to have conversations about science over omelettes either.

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