Found my 5 year old squeezing out a tube of Aquaphor into a bowl of water because he was "doing an experiment". We ended up doing solubility tests in water, hand sanitizer, and oil. Then we saw how soap dispersed it in water. He really enjoyed it and learned all about polarity and micelles 🧪👩‍🔬🍎🥽⚛️🧬 - ThreadSky

stemfactually.com • 32 days ago

Found my 5 year old squeezing out a tube of Aquaphor into a bowl of water because he was "doing an experiment". We ended up doing solubility tests in water, hand sanitizer, and oil. Then we saw how soap dispersed it in water. He really enjoyed it and learned all about polarity and micelles 🧪👩‍🔬🍎🥽⚛️🧬

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jennifervestal.bsky.social•32 days ago

I remember my 8 y.o. son sitting on the kitchen counter dropping ice cubes into a pot of water and timing with a stopwatch
how long they took to melt, comparing a simmer to a rolling boil. I love seeing kids discover how the world works.

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

I love simple experiments like this too. They're more representative of the skills chemists use everyday. The only time I blew things up was for demos!

bopgun.bsky.social•32 days ago

This is all wasted on kids. I mean come, on as an adult I would love to spend my lunch hour at work doing this. It's like field trips and learning how old grist mills work. We were bored as hell as kids, but now it'd be like yeah...

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

You definitely still can! There are actually some very cool science kits out there if you don't know where to start. Some are advanced enough an adult would find them entertaining as well.

smandas.bsky.social•32 days ago

That’s nice. I probably would’ve gotten upset because aquaphor is now $8 a tube.

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

We didn't use a lot, but it's cheaper than a movie ticket and educational entertainment. We definitely talked about waste though.

lynnbtwin.bsky.social•32 days ago

Way to seize s learning opportunity! My 4 yr old g’daughter got to watch a piano tuning and ask questions about it yesterday.

baylinklab.bsky.social•32 days ago

Looking forward to these days ahead. Right now our only experiments are with the *hehem* microbiome.

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

I started w/toddlers but the 5 yo seems to be making more connections & getting a much more educational experience out of it now. It's one of the silver lining of the kids growing up. They can learn all kinds of neat stuff & they're actually excited about it.

Good luck w/the microbiome years

0b-or-boris.bsky.social•32 days ago

Put a little chip of soap on the back of a boat you made from foil for a motor boat.
Mr Wizard showed me that one

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

Thanks for sharing! I've never seen that one before. The kids will enjoy that and it builds off today's experiments.

0b-or-boris.bsky.social•32 days ago

He used cardboard not foil, but same idea https://youtu.be/yavDXRg5r7M?si=aimrDP0kIbtCEI0l

prunepicker.bsky.social•32 days ago

We must fuck around in order to find out.

dawque.bsky.social•32 days ago

Well done!! Parenting!!!

alycia.art•32 days ago

This is awesome as heck and maybe hide the ammonia and bleach bc I was a tiny chemist when I was little too and "potions" were my favorite 🤣🙃

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

Ha already did a sweep of the house after he did that. Kindergarten chemist-proofing the house this weekend 😂

improbablejoe.bsky.social•32 days ago

That's pretty great! Kids are born scientists and should be praised and guided like you did!!!

itsmelikewhoa.bsky.social•32 days ago

Way to engage in a precious teachable moment!!

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

He was so inspired after we were done, he spent 2 hours drawing "machines" that could help with his experimentations. They really resembled Schlenk lines! I'm so glad my kids love chemistry too! 💕

enzymer.bsky.social•32 days ago

Well done!

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

We also did some safety talks about independent experimentation and how we do a mommy-approved prelab first....

saystay.bsky.social•32 days ago

Yes!!! This is awesome! Non-newtonian fluids next?

Good job, 💖mom!

lovehardraven.bsky.social•32 days ago

My 3rd grader is taking chemistry for a science credit and he’s completely loving it. My kitchen stays a mess but it’s the memories that count.

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

Love it! It's such a great introduction to STEM. It's visual, tangible, and applicable to the world around us.

lostagaingin.bsky.social•32 days ago

My brothers and I always did little "Science experiments" growing up! One of my brothers is years my junior and for a science project one year, our dad took him to the hardware store and then helped him build a functioning mini trebuchet.
STEM is always good for kids!!

chula-mamacita76.bsky.social•32 days ago

Love this!

I read my boys the Max Axiom comic books, which really peaked their interest in science further in the elementary years.

Lots of hands on science and creation of things… 😍

stemfactually.com•32 days ago

I've never seen these comics! Thanks for sharing. My kids will love these.

chula-mamacita76.bsky.social•32 days ago

My boys are grown now (18 & 19), but we loved these!

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