As soon as I mentioned that I had a science video for the kids to watch, Wonder Boy was up and running! He loves science, as long as it's not just book work - he's watched most of the episodes of Myth Busters at least twice. The first DVD of Amazing Science! Vol. 1 was playing within what seemed like seconds, and shortly thereafter the video was paused again - on the supply list - with requests for odd objects. Milk? Dish soap? Q-tips? Hard-boiled eggs? Matches? Ummmmm...
Watching them do the first experiment, "Color Changing Milk," was really sweet. See, Little Miss had to get in on the action, too, and since there wasn't anything dangerous going on, I went ahead and let her. I heard exclamations of "sweeeeeet!" and "coooooool!" amidst the general squabbling (yes, we're going through one of those phases). The kids just loved that we had everything to do the first experiment right away, and enjoyed playing around with it while they watched the rest of the segment wherein the host, Jason Gibson, explains why and how certain results are seen.
After Little Miss was down for her nap, I let the older two do the second experiment, "Egg in a Bottle". This involved lighting matches and using the stove. My kids know how to use the stove, and I was ok with the whole playing-with-fire thing as long as I was aware of it and in the room. They loved seeing an egg get sucked down into a bottle. We only had one bottle, so they of course argued over who got to remove the egg, etc. Wonder Boy also tried the lemon battery, after getting a few items from my dad. He also did some of the other experiments on his own, and has informed me that he needs dry ice. I informed him that he needs to remember to pay attention to the "why" portion just as much as the "how-to" portion.
Amazing Science! Vol. 1 is a two-disc set featuring 23 experiments. A list of supplies is given at the beginning of each segment, most of which are everyday household objects. Quite a few of them do involve flames or other things that middle-school aged children can do on their own, but they should still be supervised by an adult. There are several that can be done with younger children, as there is no element of danger. I would say this set is definitely a hit, at least with my son. Super Girl enjoyed the first couple of activities, but wasn't interested in it later on when we came back to it - though, she was interested in checking out the website. Amazing Science! Vol. 1 can be found at www.scienceandmath.com for $19.99. You can also download the content for $17.99.
***Disclaimer: I received Amazing Science! Vol. 1 in exchange for my review through TOS Homeschool Crew. All opinions are those of myself and my children.
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