This past weekend, there was a parent-student program at NHL’s Hebrew school.  We first spoke about the challenges and best techniques to teach our kids to be thankful.  Most kids today are lucky enough that their main problems involve what toys they get for birthdays/holidays or whether or not they have the latest versions of the most popular electronic gadgets.  Travel to a different country, however, and a kid might be worrying more about whether his latest meal will be today or tomorrow or whether his parents will be able to pay the doctors to treat his sick baby brother.  Compared to those concerns, getting the latest iPhone seems pretty petty.

Sadly, the culture we live in is defined by consume-consume-consume.  I wish I could say my boys are immune to it, but they aren’t.  They have plenty of toys (some days it seems like too many toys – especially when they don’t clean up) and yet they constantly want more.  We can’t exit any store without JSL asking for a new toy for him to open right now.  The fact we never give in to these new toy cries doesn’t seem to deter JSL.

One parent mentioned having toys “disappear” only to reappear months later.  We’ve used this cycle in and out strategy before.  Perhaps we should employ it a bit more.

Later on, NHL and his class came into the room.  We got to decorate a sheet and write in what NHL was thankful for.  This is what NHL wrote down for what he was thankful for.

Did you catch that one right before the end?  “Supermassive Black Holes.”  In case you’re wondering, NHL got that from this page

Of this book:

This book lists scientifically accurate information about the objects in our universe.  From the planets to black holes, from the Hubble Space telescope to space-time.  Of course, the facts are simplified for kids and the illustrations are made to be fun to look at.  Still, NHL has taken to this book and the page on supermassive black holes in particular.

It’s quite fun to watch him weave science and math into what seems to be otherwise unrelated projects.  He’s really got the mind of a junior scientist and I’m going to love teaching him more and more about the world (and universe) around us.

I love science.  NHL does too.  So when I heard about James Lu Dunbar and his The Universe Verse series, I just had to check out his work.  I’ve heard it compared to a mixture of Carl Sagan and Dr. Seuss.  This is a very apt comparison.

I read the first of the series, Bang!, to NHL and JSL.  The book starts out before the Big Bang.  They describe the tiny speck that the Universe began as and then the tremendous explosion of the Big Bang.  The book covers energy cooling into matter, the formation of the basic forces (such as gravity) that dictate how matter behaves.  It goes on to describe the first atoms, how they gathered together into stars and finally how some of those stars became supernovas.

All along the way, the narration rhymes in a manner that would make the Cat in the Hat proud minus made up words.  All of the weird looking words here are actually scientific terms and are used validly.  This is a book that could be used by high school physics students.  It really takes difficult to understand terms and simplifies them without losing any of the wonder of it all.

Of course, considering the weighty subject matter, reading this to a 4 year old and an 8 year old was a risky proposition.  JSL was a bit bored by it, but I didn’t really think he’d enjoy it.  Honestly, the only reason he listened in was because NHL and I were reading it and he didn’t want to be left out.

NHL, my science geek-in-training, loved it.  He definitely didn’t understood all of the physics that was described, but I really didn’t think he would.  What he did understand, though, was that this was an extremely entertaining story of how the Universe was formed.

The second book in the series is called “It’s Alive!”  After a quick rehash of how the Universe was formed, condensed to a mere 3 pages, the book discusses planet formation, the beginnings of life, Evolution, biology, DNA, the food chain and more.  Unlike the first book, this one is in full color.  (Bang! was in black and white.)

I initially planned on reading this to NHL, but changed my mind.  My concern wasn’t about him not liking the book, but for brief references to sex.  Mind you, these are done within the context of evolution and genes combining.  There is absolutely titillating about the presentation. Still, the word was there and I didn’t want my 8 year old asking questions I wasn’t ready to answer just yet.  Here’s the panel in question.  I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you’d show this to a third grader.

There’s still one book that hasn’t been released yet.  After reading the first two, I eagerly await James’ final book of the trilogy.  Reading his blog, it appears that this will cover (in part), agriculture and civilization forming.  If the quality of the third book is as good as the first two, this will be one set that every classroom should have.

The two currently released books in the Universe Verse series can be purchased for $12.95 for the first book and $15.95 for the second.  You can also e-mail him and he’ll send you the PDFs for free.  These will definitely be eBooks that I’ll keep and go over with NHL and JSL as they get older.  I’ll even re-read them myself just for the pure fun of it.

Disclaimer: I received the first two books for free as PDFs, however, as mentioned above, anyone can do this.  No review was required and all opinions expressed above are my own.

Recently, NHL decided to drop a random scientific fact that he picked up along the way.  He told us that butterflies can see colors that we can’t see.  It’s true also.  Many butterflies can see into the ultraviolet range of colors.

I tried to explain to NHL about the electromagnetic spectrum.  I explained how light makes waves and how “big” or ”small” the waves are determines what the color of the light is.  Bigger waves can be seen as red light while smaller waves will be seen as violet/purple.  Between those are the orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo that anyone familiar with ROYGBIV should remember.

Of course, the idea that light is a wave is a very complex and abstract notion to an 8 year old.  I don’t think he quite got it.  He did seem impressed when I linked it back to something that directly affects him, however.  I let him know that just outside of the light that we could see was ultraviolet light.  (At the time, I didn’t know that this was the “color” butterflies could see.  I found that out later via a Google search.)  I explained to him that ultraviolet light was the kind of light that caused us to get suntans and sunburns.  Thus, we needed suntan lotion to protect us against this kind of light.

This resulted in a wide-eyes “aha” moment in NHL’s brain.  I love seeing those moments in action.  Hopefully, this year, I’ll see a lot more of them.

What science facts do you enjoy sharing with your kids?

Don’t forget to enter my Hot Wheels Nitro Speeders giveaway!

This morning, as I was preparing lunches and snacks for NHL and myself, JSL came into the kitchen to play.  As he usually does, he was taking magnets off the fridge and repositioning them.  Then he took a turtle magnet off and looked at it.  Glancing to his side, he spied the dishwasher.  The turtle magnet got put on the door to the dishwasher and JSL was amazed.  It stuck in place!

He quickly brought this fascinating fact to my attention.  “Daddy!  Daddy!  It sticking!  See?!”

After entertaining himself with his new magnet-location, JSL did something that impressed me.  He took the magnet off the turtle and tried sticking it to the cabinet.  Why did this impress me?  Simple.  He was experimenting.  He had found a new and interesting phenomenon and was testing the limits of this.  Magnets stick to fridges (known) and dishwasher doors (new). Do they stick to cabinets?  No.  What about walls?  Also, no.

He asked me about the sticking so I took the time (which still packing lunches) to explain to him that magnets stick to metal which the fridge and dishwasher have in them.  He asked what else was metal and I mentioned that the oven might be, but he would need to try it out.  He excitedly put the magnet to the oven door and… it fell off.  So much for that theory.

Still, his excitement at testing a new theory fills my geeky heart with joy.  I know that NHL has an inner geek (he loves Star Wars, is enthralled by super hero cartoons, loves playing on the computer, etc), but I wasn’t completely sure about JSL.  I’d say this is some good proof that JSL has a bright future on the Geek Side!

P.S.  Sorry for the cell phone photo above.  As I mentioned earlier, I was rushing to make lunches/snacks and get NHL to school.  I didn’t have time to get my camera out for a proper photo.

I’ve talking about Sid The Science Kid before. I reviewed and hosted a giveaway for a Sid toy. I even mentioned a great episode about vaccines. So how could Sid get any better? How about like this:

Yes, that’s the complete Sid The Science Kid Vaccine episode able to be viewed online. And no, it’s not a pirated version, but a fully approved version. Don’t think it could get better than that? Well, if you go to Flu.gov, you can download this Sid episode for free.

As you may know, I’m a big fan of online video. I stream Netflix movies regularly on my Roku (especially another Henson production, Farscape). I’ve also considered cutting the cable cord more than once. (If we did, I’d be glad that PBS Kids, and thus Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train would be available via over-the-air television.) Being able to watch a Sid episode on my computer via the Internet is great. (Note to PBS Kids: Please consider making a Roku channel to stream full episodes to people’s Roku boxes on demand. My kids would love this!)

During the giveaway I ran, I promised that I’d soon be reviewing the Talkin’ Sid The Science Kid plush as soon as I received it.  Well, it took a little longer than expected, mainly due to Chanukah swamping my kids with new toys.  They went into overload mode and I knew I wouldn’t get a good opinion out of them right then and there.  So I waited for the toy high to die down and then had them play with Talkin’ Sid. Read more of this article »

The week is up and the Sid the Science Kid giveaway has ended. I used Random.org to pick a winning number from the 59 entries and the winner was:

Yes, number 12, also known as Noelle Cagle has won a Talkin’ Sid plush. I’ve e-mailed Noelle and she now has 48 hours to respond with her mailing information. If she fails to respond, another winner will be selected.

Congratulations to Noelle and thank you to everyone that entered. I wish I could send a Sid plush to everyone, but I’ll have to settle with saving everyone $3.00 off the purchase of the Talkin’ Sid The Science Kid plush at Toys ‘R Us. Go to Coupons.com and click on the “Toy and Game” link on the left hand side of the page. (Talkin’ Sid The Science Kid is currently only available at Toys ‘R Us.)

I would also like to thank The Jim Henson Company and KCET (PBS/Los Angeles) for allowing us to run this contest and for sending us a Talkin’ Sid of our own to review. This review is in progress look for it in the next week or so.

I love science. Always have. As a young child, a couple of my first career aspirations were archeologist and astronomer. (Of course, I wanted to become a baker too at one point.) My first year in college, I was a physics major until I slammed into that brick wall known as Quantum Mechanics. (Yes, I took Quantum Mechanics in my freshman year. Russian too. Yes, I was crazy!) Even though I didn’t choose science as a career, I still retain an interest in all things scientific. I enjoy reading about scientific advances and try to keep somewhat up to date with the latest scientific theories.

Lately, I’ve also been trying to ignite a scientific interest in NHL. I’ve talked to him about how the stars are very far away. So far away, in fact, that looking up in the sky is like looking back in time. I also like it when he watches shows, like Sid the Science Kid, that show science to be fun and exciting. (Oh, by the way, did you enter my Sid the Science Kid giveaway yet? If not, what’s keeping you? Go! Enter now!) Even better is when he comes home from school and starts telling me about some scientific information he learned in school. NHL definitely seems to have that scientific spark – the desire to know how things in the world work the way they do.

My Aloha Friday question is: How do you inspire your child to take an interest in science?

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #17

I’m a big proponent of science. I was even a physics major for awhile in college. So I like anything that helps to teach my children about the workings of the world around them. In addition, I’m a big fan of pretty much everything that the Jim Henson Company makes (and has made), from the Muppets to the television show Dinosaurs to Farscape. When I watch a Jim Henson production, I can be sure that it will be entertaining and high quality. Sid The Science Kid is no exception.

Sid always begins the show puzzled by a certain phenomenon. Whether it be a banana gone bad or shoes that "mysteriously shrink", Sid wonders how the event happened. Just like any good science kid, or grownup, Sid uses various tools to figure it out. He looks up information on the computer (aided by his mother), he comes up with a few theories (aided by his school yard friends), and he performs some experiments (with the help of Teacher Susie). In the end, Sid understands just what makes that phenomenon occur and starts to dream of putting it to good use (in his Super-Duper-Ooper-Schmooper Big Idea). The translation of the processes that real scientists go through is faithful while remaining understandable to children.

NHL has loved the Sid the Science Kid television show for quite awhile (as I’ve mentioned in the past). During a recent trip to a toy store to shop for Chanukah presents, he noticed the Sid toys. He was drawn to them and wanted one. In the end, we we decided to get him other items, but thanks to The Jim Henson Company and KCET (PBS/Los Angeles), NHL will soon have a Sid The Science Kid Talkin’ Sid to review. Ok, technically it is for me to review, but you don’t think I’m not going to recruit him to review it as well, do you?

You can save $3.00 off the purchase of the Talkin’ Sid The Science Kid plush at Toys ‘R Us by going to Coupons.com and clicking on the "Toy and Game" link on the left hand side of the page. Talkin’ Sid The Science Kid is currently only available at Toys ‘R Us.

But, wait, there’s more! (I’ve always wanted to say that.) I’ve been presented with the opportunity to give away one Talkin’ Sid The Science Kid plush to a lucky reader (or a lucky reader’s child as the case may be).

TALKIN’ SID THE SCIENCE KID

(Ages 3 years & up/Approx retail price: $24.99/Available Now)

Now kids can bring their friend SID home with the lively TALKIN’ SID THE SCIENCE KID plush character. This soft and loveable plush SID is 12 inches tall and comes ready to play and learn with his iconic "microphone." Squeeze his belly to hear seven different popular phrases from the series. Requires two "AA" batteries, included.

Rules for Giveaway:

• MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: What phenomenon would you like to see Sid investigate on Sid The Science Kid?
  
• 1 Bonus Entry – Follow me on Twitter @TechyDad. Post a comment here with your Twitter username.
• 1 Bonus Entry Per Day – Tweet about the giveaway. Be sure to include @TechyDad in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Chance to win a Talkin’ Sid The Science Kid Plush from @TechyDad. http://www.techydad.com/?p=1426
• 1 Bonus Entry Per Comment (limit of 3) – Post a comment one of my other posts from November or December. Be sure to leave a comment here telling me which post you commented on.
• 3 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the Sid The Science Kid giveaway. Be sure to leave 3 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today December 7th and ends at Noon EST on December 14, 2009. You don’t need to be a blogger to enter, but I do need you to leave a valid e-mail address in your comment so I can contact you for your mailing address once the giveaway is over. I’ll select the winner using random.org and will contact you via e-mail. Once the e-mail is sent, you will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclaimer: As stated above, I am going to recieve a complimentary Talkin’ Sid the Science Kid to review. I haven’t recieved it as of this posting, but I figured that this giveaway should go live as early as possible. When I recieve my Talkin’ Sid, I (and NHL) will review it and will post the review on this website.

Hey Sid, What do you say! What do you want to learn today? I want to know what things happen and how, and I wanna know everything now. How does this thing work? Why does that stuff change? How’d it do what it just did. What’s up with the sky do you think i can fly The world is big and I wanna know why Got a lot of questions and big ideas, I’m Sid the Science Kid.

Those words begin one of NHL’s favorite shows: Sid the Science Kid. Sid constantly tries to figure out the big questions in life like: Why does a banana turn mushy? Or why does it need to rain when you have an outdoors activity planned? Those might not seem like big questions to adults, but to kids questions like these are huge. And for good reason too. Children are just figuring out how the world works and questions like these are key.

Read more of this article »