Here at Science Sparks, we’re big fans of all things Dr Seuss and at this time of year, The Grinch is one of our favourite books to read before bed as it has such a lovely heartwarming message. Did you know it’s 60 years old this year? Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe…
Can you build a marshmallow snowman? This is a super simple science investigation where children test different strengths of icing sugar to discover which sticks the marshmallows together the best. This activity is also one of my 24 days of elf science ideas. I also have a gingerbread house version and some Christmas candy experiments…
Happy 1st December!! My 7 year old woke up at 5.30am this morning wondering why she had to go to school as it was such a special day! I’m not organised for Christmas at all yet, so am very glad we’ve got another 24 days to go. Hopefully you’re doing better with your Christmas shopping…
Do you know how to find the North Star? Most people think of the North Star ( Polaris ) as being the brightest star in the sky, but there are actually many stars much brighter. The reason Polaris is so important is because the axis of Earth is pointed almost directly at it, meaning Polaris…
There aren’t many toys in our house that come out over and over again, but K’nex is definitely one with a very long lifespan. The kits themselves always come with such great ideas for what to build, but I really love it when my children design their own creations. We’ve recently built hockey sticks, magic…
Here at Science Sparks we love a good wooden marble run and the Quadrilla range from HAPE toys are the best we’ve found. The new glow in the dark Space City Marble Run is even better than the standard version as it glows in the dark! Space City comes with everything you need to build…
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer born in February 1473 who realised that the Earth orbits the Sun. This idea was strongly opposed at the time as many people believed objects orbited around a central Earth. The model proposed by Copernicus was called Heliocentrism. What is Heliocentrism? Heliocentrism ( helios means Sun ) is where…
The next scientist in my Wonderful Women in STEM series is Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was a British nurse whose work was hugely influential in changing how hospitals were run and improving cleanliness, nutrition and sanitation. Florence Nightingale‘s achievements are truly remarkable, she fought against the social expectations of her time to become a nurse…
This super clever globe from Oregon Scientific has kept my children entertained for hours on end recently. In normal ( daylight ) mode it shows everything you want and need to know about the world including political boundaries, oceans, equator, longitude and latitude lines, country and city names. In night mode it shows 88 constellations and…
Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, scientist and inventor who lived between 1452 and 1519. Leonardo is probably most famous for painting the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, but as well as painting he kept journals full of drawings of the different subjects he was studying, these included anatomical drawings, a design for a…
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