Here’s a good collection of winter STEM activities and experiment websites. Be sure to scroll down for more links. Fizzing Christmas trees and more activities suitable for younger elementary children. Did I mention Peppermint Obleck and Santa Balloon Rockets?  Twenty-five activities and experiments for kids in grades K—5. Plenty of slime variations, clinging tensile experiments, and gingerbread ornaments exist. Try some Snow Science! Build an igloo, find out how snowflakes form, and make ice cream in a bag, plus thirteen more! Not only 43 Easy STEM Winter Activities but links to lots mor ..read more

Fizzing Christmas trees and more suitable for younger elementary children. Did I mention Peppermint Obleck and Santa Balloon Rockets?  Twenty-five activities and experiments for kids in grades K—5. Plenty of slime variations, clinging tensile experiment, and gingerbread ornaments. Try some Snow Science! Build an igloo, find out how snowflakes form, and ice cream in a bag plus thirteen more! Not only 43 Easy STEM Winter Activities, but links to lots more! Great resource! The post WELCOME WINTER ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES appeared first on Science-Nook ..read more

My dogs are already bored with the colder weather, and being inside more. To save your kids from the winter blues, try some of these great science activities and experiments in “Activities and Resources!” Who can resist fizzing Christmas trees, gingerbread man science, or holiday slime? First, start off with a book or two to welcome the season.             Winter Wonderland (National Geographic Kids) by Jill Esbaum. Ages 3—5. A great photo-picture book to introduce the season.           &nb ..read more

So what is compost? Check out the experiments and activities below to find out! Watch changes in organic matter over time. This activity is a variation on the above experiment, just not in experiment form. This activity one adds earthworms to the mix. This site has free printables, and discusses the chemistry of composting. This site advocates teaching even preschoolers about composting! Lots of info about composting with suggested experiments to use even with older kids. The post COMPOSTING EXPERIMENTS AND ACTIVITIES appeared first on Science-Nook ..read more

I was marveling at the sea of yellow-green maple leaves in my yard. While beautiful, there are way too many to leave over the winter. I think I will collect quite a few for my compost bin. I can imagine how well my garden will do with all of that lovely compost next spring. Then, I will mulch the rest with my mower to nourish my yard. But I will leave the garden beds, which are also full of leaves, untouched to protect the plants. These will also make suitable homes for the many small organisms that inhabit the garden.             This is ..read more

Have you ever bitten into an apple and discovered that it is mealy? Yuck! So how can we find out if an apple is mealy before we sample it? One suggestion was a “thump test.” Have you ever thumped a watermelon to determine if it is ripe enough? Apparently, you can do the same with apples. Let’s try it! We could compare this test with density and see which is best. First, what is density? It is how tightly packed are the molecules of a substance. As an apple ages, its cells lose water and some of the “glue” that holds the cells together, resulting in a mealy apple. MATERIALS: 5 apples of the sa ..read more

20+ Apple Science Experiments and Activities for Kids Apple science and STEM Why does fruit turn brown? Erupting Apple Volcano Experiment Extracting apple juice with pectinase–for middle or high school students The post Apple Experiments and Activities appeared first on Science-Nook ..read more

Leaves turning, temperatures falling, puppies frisking, apple picking, hot cocoa drinking, jack-o’-lantern making…Fall!             Did I mention pumpkin spice everything? Every elementary school is doing pumpkin science now. How about some other fall science activities? But first I like to start a unit or activity with a book! Stories build background, encourage critical thinking, and raise questions that may be addressed in the activities. After perusing Amazon, I found an overwhelming number of books about apples. They range from plant ..read more

Issues in Earth and Space Science:  We feature short fiction stories for middle and high school students that illustrate key earth science concepts in the plot of the story.  These are fun but educational stories suitable for the classroom. Check out the free online course materials for Earth Science Essentials, an advanced refresher course for science teachers or others interested in earth science.  Dr. Russ Colson THE ROCK HOUND Whoopee!  My first story is being published on the “Issues in Earth and Space Science” (http://earthscienceissues.net/Fiction/The_Rock_Hound-Youn ..read more

How did you become interested in illustrating books? I think like most kids, I was drawn to the cool covers of books and comics. Anything with a monster or alien, or better yet, a teacher pulling off his mask to reveal he actually is a monster/alien instantly had my attention. Much later I got into the words in the book and how the covers were the perfect billboard to get me to read. I slowly got to realize how much potential images could have in selling a story, giving you just enough to be interested. Then, when I was bit older, reading comics and graphic novels, I started seeing the poten ..read more