Little Scientist - 1: Origins

A year or so back, we bought a science kit for our then 5 year old daughter. As with all such kits, the highlight was supposed to be the volcano (vinegar with baking soda). And as we’ve discovered so many times since, that experiment is never anywhere near as spectacular as the pics will show or what you think it will be… But that activity still got her interested in “science experiments”, many more of which have since been done based on YouTube and various kits.

One of her first experiments was to catch a couple of ants in a bottle and observe them with the magnifying glass provided in the kit. Any attempts at telling her to leave the poor ants alone was met with a ferocious “Do you or do you not want me to do science experiments?” response. Oh, what horrors we inflict in the name of science. (Note: she’ll call her friends who “play” with ants the ant bullies…)

The wheel with different colors (or patterns) that merge when the wheel is spun fast blew her mind. How can that be? The sun dial, on the other hand, left her cold: I guess a kid who doesn’t know the whole world is slave to time can’t possibly appreciate a sun dial. The suction cup felt like magic: how can it stick? Why does it stick to some things but not others? The large soap bubble generator was a fun experiment: bubbles, large ones, what’s not to like?

And then she did this experiment where an egg is put in vinegar, left for about a week, and bingo! The egg gets all rubbery and even bounces without splattering. While it was still in its egg-in-vinegar gestation stage, she’d proudly show her “science experiment” to anyone who came home. After she’d seen the rubbery egg bounce, she’d quiz her friends about the scenario. And then tell them the answer with the typical smugness of all kids, “You didn’t even know that? Really?”

Another experiment showed how dissolved salt in water makes things float. She couldn’t really appreciate it until I told her about the Dead Sea and how even people who didn’t know swimming could float on it. Seeing pics of people reading and even using their laptops when floating in the Dead Sea blew her away. “Wow! Let’s go there for a vacation”, she said, “Even you who doesn’t know how to swim, can float there”. Always thinking of others, how touching.

The mint in cola experiment was a tough call for her: the appeal of the experiment v/s the wastage of yummy cola. Another one involved putting M&M’s in a bowl of water, and waiting for the “M” label to peel off. When I explained that the M’s come off because they’re paper, she responded, “Yuck! Who eats paper?” A minute later, she was happily munching M&M’s!

Another one involved lighting a matchstick that was held up straight in a bowl of water. Cover the matchstick with a glass; and you’ll find the water level in the glass rises. She loved that one: who doesn’t like to play with fire?