Let's see what happens......

At 1.20 ish this morning, Sunday January 25th, my head was spilling over with science ideas.

As I lay thinking about what I had done yesterday (made some dead good dragsters using Starbucks plastic cup lids and tins), I came up with an idea, a BIG idea.

Around 6, I got up and sent the following email to a few friends whom, I hoped/knew, would be interested:

'Mornin' all, 

Last Wednesday, I had the first of my current round of science workshops in schools for parents and their young scientists. 30 kids and 25 parents came for a 90 minute 'hands on' workshop with me.

I'm running three classes in one school: first, 4/5 graders, then, this coming week, 2/3 graders, followed by 1st graders, then, in another school, an evening for all age kids.......THEN, three Saturday mornings in a local community center with all-comers plus parents.

The focus is getting parents to work WITH their kids on fun science ideas.

Yesterday, when preparing for the next class, I became so involved and had so much fun with new ideas using tin cans and plastic cups as the basis for making moveable 'dragsters'.

At 1.30 this morning, I was wide awake, my head buzzing with ideas.

Then, one idea grew and grew: I'm going to write/speak to a number of kids and ask them to 'test' my science ideas on their own and give me feedback. I'll start this with the 30 kids coming to this week's workshop. 

I'm then, with parents permission, going to send the kids one idea at a time to test at home - and give me their feedback...DEASD GOOD, SO-SO, BORING...............

Goal - I'm going to put together a booklet of THE best ideas, voted by kids and parents.................

You came into my head:

Any chance I can send you the ideas, one a time, to test drive, either as an adult or as a partner with a young child (grandkids, for example? 

What do you think?

Go on........you can do it, yes? :)

OK......let's see what happens.

Now I'm going to create the feedback letter for kids, photograph the sciency things i came up with yesterday, and .....drive Jeannine crazy!! :)

'I'm a scientist' workshops

Next week, on Wednesday 21st January, I run the first of three evening science workshops - I'M A SCIENTIST - for parents and kids at Mountain View and North East Elementary Schools:

21st January for 4/5th graders and parents
28th January for 2/3rd graders and parents.
4th February for 1st graders

Then, on the 5th February, I'm at Cherry Valley Elementary School................and on the Saturday, I begin three Saturday morning science workshops at PACE, the large community center in Parker.

They'll keep me busy for a bit!!

CLASS ONE - FLIGHT: making and flying twisters, seedcopters, tiny boomerangs, blimps, papercopters (and getting them to land in tins), straw rockets, gliders, making and launching paper planes, AK rockets, parachutes, and more........................

CLASS 2 - for 2/3rd graders, again, a full house.

Then, a week later, CLASS 3 - for 1st graders. 

This was the one I enjoyed the most - the young scientists were on top of their game and their parents were so helpful. 

Super, super evening.

CLASS 4        The following evening, I went to a village school where the PTA had invited parents and their families to an evening of noshing pizza and 'hands-on' science. Noisy, but it went well.

Looking back over all the classes, the papercopters, flip flops, boomerangs, and the straw rockets were a great success, but the activity that really ignited the curiosity of all the kids was the balancing straw.......that's where you balance a straw on a bottle and slowly bring another straw close......

What happens?

Well, try it and see for yourself.

Nope, I haven't gone anywhere.............

......Just REALLY having fun with my electric train set AND my HUGE marble run AND making my 2' model of The Titanic.................................:)

And preparing/gathering resources for 7 'I'm a scientist' workshops coming up in January and February........at North East, Mountain View, Cheery Creek and PACE.......