They Blinded Me With Science

Monday night was science night for the boys. Beedle begged for us to do what he calls an "experience" (which means "experiment"). He got a wonderful book from GiGi that had over 500 science experiments for kids to do. As Mom and I thumbed through them we realized that they were all time-consuming so we picked an old favorite that was quick and could be done before supper. The boys mixed vinegar and baking soda in a bottle and placed a balloon over the opening. The boys learned that the chemical reaction emits a gas and that is what filled up the balloon. There were a couple of tricky elements (pun intended) to this. The first was putting the baking soda into the bottle of vinegar with the balloon on at the same time. We came up with the clever idea of spooning the baking soda into the balloon, fastening the mouth of the balloon over the bottle top, and then emptying the baking soda from the balloon into the bottle. This led to a trickier element. We had to carefully explain what we were doing, making it very, very clear to Gus and Beedle. We wanted to be sure they weren't telling other people that their Mom and Dad were putting white powder into balloons. We found it funny at the time, but we certainly don't want anything to be misconstrued (no, we are not using our kids as drug mules). All kidding aside, the boys are always eager to learn about the wonderful world of science. And as you can tell by their faces, it can be a whole lot of fun!