GPOB - SCIENCE!

GEEK PARENTING ON A BUDGET – SCIENCE!

Geek parents love to imagine their children growing up to be chemists, physicists, astronomers, and mad scientists. We teach them about math, the elements, and wormholes. The best way to grow a love for these things is through fun science experiments. But science isn't cheap.

Have you ever looked at the prices of a chemistry set or a self propelled rocket kit? Yikes!

I love reading experiments geek parents do with their children. But I wonder how they can afford all the materials. I can do the vinegar and baking soda volcano, but after the first couple of times, my little geek is whining that he already knows what will happen.

So in the interest of science, I have found a couple of ways to play and experiment while on a budget.

1. Slime. Whether you're creating a baby for the Blob or some ecoplasm, kids love slime. It's very easy to make too. All you need is some water, glue, borax, and food coloring. You can find borax-free recipes online as well. It's easy and fun to make, and you can make all different kinds.

2. Cloud jars. Learn how clouds hold liquid. All you need is water, a jar, shaving foam, and an eye dropper with colored water. The foam will float on top of the water in the jar like a cloud. As your little geek drops the colored water into the cloud from the dropper, it will eventually become too heavy and rain.

3. Gummy bear torture. Oh yes, they're yummy and can teach us about science! All you need is gummy bears. Put them in various containers of liquid like water, salt water, vinegar, and liquid nitrogen (if you have any around!). You can eat the bears and watch as the candies bloat and explode. Researching this, I didn't realize how popular torturing gummy bears was. There are tons of videos online.

What fun and cheap science experiments have you done with your little geeks?

Christine Rains is a writer and geek mom. She is married to her nerdy best friend, and they have one adorable little geek. All of them are too smart for their own good, even their cat who knows how to flush the toilet. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. She has one novel and several short stories and novellas published. You can visit her website here.


It was so wonderful having Christine here this week! These are terrific ideas - and almost all of these activities were done without electronics - it CAN BE DONE! Thanks, my geeky friend - GEEKS RULE!