Science is something that is fun in our home. I love science, and I hope my children always will, too. One of the easiest ways to foster a love for science is by doing hands-on experiments. Despite my love for the subject, I cannot always think of what to do with my children. We usually just do some simple experiments without doing all we could do — understanding the science behind it, what the experiment is an example of, etc. Unless someone makes all those connections for me, we are just playing and making messes. Not always a bad thing, but I know it can be better.
We were thrilled when the new DVD, Amazing Science Volume 1 arrived for review. On the 2 discs, 23 experiments are shown. Not just shown, but fully explained and demonstrated. The science — the hows and whys are expounded in a way that is easy to understand. At the beginning of each experiment (a separate chapter on the DVD — easy to jump right to the one you want) a supply list is given. All of the supplies have either been right on hand or easy to obtain. To make it even easier, one of my Crew mates made a printable supply list for all of the experiments. You can access that right here in her review. (Thanks, Ami!)
We watched all of the experiments first. The things shown are so amazing that it was very entertaining as well. Some of the experiments we had come across on YouTube in the past as “parlor tricks”. You know, “Impress your friends as you get a hard boiled into a narrow necked glass bottle”. “Lift an ice cube with a string.”, that sort of thing. What we haven’t done is learn the science behind those things. This set is awesome (should that be amazing?) in how well the science principles are explained. The experiment becomes so much more than just fun or amazing.
We recognized Mr. Jason Gibson right away from the Math Tutor DVD we reviewed a couple of years ago. His passion for science and math are evident from just a few minutes watching him. He explains things in such a clear way, all of us were able to learn something, from the Kindergarten age boy through their thirty-something mama. You can read more about the mission of ScienceandMath.com here.
My children loved the first experiment shown about color changing milk. We have done this before with pepper covering the surface of water. The point was made about surface tension, but not in nearly as exciting of a way as the example on the Amazing Science DVD.
