Mad Science: DO try this at home!

Confession #1: Even "eco-moms" drive through fast food places. Right now, Chick-Fil-A is giving out science tools in the kids meals. At first I thought, "Great! Just what we need, another plastic toy they will be bored with in no time." but, then I flipped through the science experiments that come along with the tools. My boys have gotten a beaker and a cylinder and I've been impressed with the experiments that came with both! My twins have really found a new love of science thanks to these handy little books! Confession #2: Mommy's having fun too.

Click the TIME magazine cover for an article on America's lost "edge" . Maybe your kid is the solution.

Check this "eco-experiment" out.

Painting Naturally

You need:

Vegetable skins (carrots, radishes, beets, zucchini)
Whole vegetables (spinach, broccoli, peppers)
1 cup per plant
Sturdy grinding sticks (and/or a knife, but only if a grown-up is helping you!)
Water
Teaspoon
Paint brushes
Coffee filters
Freeze the plants overnight.
Place each plant in a cup and thaw.
Grind, crush, and chop (if a grown-up is helping) each plant until each cup contains only pulp.
Add 5 teaspoons of water to each cup.
Let sit for 5 minutes.
Dip a different paintbrush into each cup and dab the mixtures on a coffee filter. See what colors and images you can create!
Explanation:

You made natural dyes! The colored dyes that you made are from pigments found in plant cells. The pigments found in plants is what gives them color, just like the pigments in our bodies give our hair, eyes, and skin color. Freezing, chopping, and grinding the plant helps break the plant cells and release the pigments.


You can find other fun and easy experiments to do at home or super cool science workshops for your kids at http://www.madscience.org/!