My (not so) Little Man is six.
Six! Can you believe it? I can’t.
So a couple of weeks ago we had a party. Little Man wanted to do a science party, which seemed like loads of fun, so I obliged.
SCIENCE!
And the first thing I knew about doing a science party is that you must have awesome experiments.
I found some disposable lab coats for the kids, and ones for Hubs and me as well. I also found some fun safety goggles and disposable gloves. Safety first!
We had 4 main experiments, although the first had a few different parts. I demonstrated the first one, so we have no pictures of it (of course!) and it dealt with the reaction between vinegar and baking soda as well as the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and yeast. I explained how the two reactions give off different gasses, and showed how you could extinguish a flame with the carbon dioxide given off by the vinegar/baking soda solution and how you could reignite it again with the oxygen given off by the peroxide/yeast solution.
Hubs showed them how to make a battery out of lemons, nails, and pennies. They were pretty excited about being able to light an LED with lemons.
We also did elephant toothpaste (instructions here) and our 9×9 square foil pans were not big enough! But the kids loved this fun experiment.
Lastly was the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment. We managed to hit the leaves on the tree! The kids were pretty stoked about that. And also really wanted to eat the Mentos.
After the experiments, the hungry scientists came in for some nourishment.
We continued the science theme with “cupcake experiments” where the kids could decorate their own cupcakes and test combinations of toppings. I made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and German buttercream colored 3 different colors. (Seriously, that recipe for buttercream is mind-blowingly good.)
We also had ham & cheese DNA twists. (Recipe here, though I substituted puff pastry for the bread dough.)
My sister & I also made some science-themed cookies. We tried a chocolate chip cookie roll-out dough this time. It was extra tasty, but a little less clean-looking.
Water molecules made from grapes and toothpicks.
And petri dishes filled with jello and candy “bacteria.”
Isn’t that just disgusting?! The kids loved it.
We had some beakers filled with colored water and dry ice to set the mood. And cake! The cake was really mostly for blowing out the candles, since everyone ate the cupcakes. I made the cake at the same time as the cupcakes, using a 6-inch cake pan and extra batter. Then I split the layers and frosted. I don’t claim to be any sort of cake-making or -decorating expert, but I think it turned out cute in rustic sort of way.
Happy 6th birthday, my (not so) Little Man!
by amber's hands 