Anonymous wrote:We compared methods for cleaning pennies ... Charted by year & level of dirtiness. Predicted outcome, took before and after photos - 5 & 8 year old loved it.

What solutions did you use to clean the pennies?

Build a simple computer together. Buy the parts, test them out and put them together.

Anonymous wrote:Put a stalk of celery (with leaves still on if possible) in colored water overnight.

Or use white carnations.

Put a stalk of celery (with leaves still on if possible) in colored water overnight.

Yeast and baking... What makes dough rise ? Why? What kind of treatment (salt/heat/etc) will 'kill' the rising power?

We used some science kits (I know I saw them at AC Moore/Michaels, but also at toy stores) that come with basic supplies (baking soda, citric acid, a few other things) and instructions for basic chemistry experiments. My son really enjoyed those.

Great thread, thanks OP.

Steve Spangler has lots of great stuff and ideas.

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com

Anonymous wrote:Buy her Snap Circuits. They can be built into many different projects. They are a great learning tool, especially if you can have a converation about the hows & why different set ups work.

http://snapcircuits.net/

Yes! My 5 and 7 year old love Snap Circuits. My 5 year old is a girl and likes them better than my son. He likes the programmable Legos (Mindstorm).

Anonymous wrote:Buy her Snap Circuits. They can be built into many different projects. They are a great learning tool, especially if you can have a converation about the hows & why different set ups work.

http://snapcircuits.net/

These are cool! Thanks everyone, keep the suggestions coming!

Buy her Snap Circuits. They can be built into many different projects. They are a great learning tool, especially if you can have a converation about the hows & why different set ups work.

http://snapcircuits.net/

Amazon has plenty of cool books.. Go there and search for Kitchen Science.

Another great website is www.sciencebob.com

When I was young, my dad and I would construct model airplanes and such (he was an AF pilot). Not typical for a young girl, but it taught me a lot - following written directions, spatial reasoning, history (one model I remember creating was the Spirit of St. Louis), and a whole lot more. Plus, I got to spend time with my dad. Priceless. As a result, I am very math/science focused and love puzzles and solving problems.

We compared methods for cleaning pennies ... Charted by year & level of dirtiness. Predicted outcome, took before and after photos - 5 & 8 year old loved it.

I have a very curious and adventurous 6 year old DD. She is very careful and cautious, so I think we can do some projects meant for older kids. A couple of the things I had in mind were:

1. Building/flying remote control airplane
2. Building and launching model rockets (we have gone to the Goddard model rocket launch and she LOVES this idea)
3. Building an electric motor from scratch with magnets and wire

Would love to hear any other ideas people have for relatively simple but fun projects.