For the last week and a bit, Miss G’s been having a total blast experimenting with all sorts of open-ended science activities and challenges…

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And it’s all because of this book – The Curious Kid’s Science Book by Asia Citro.  We are big fans of her first book, 150+ Scree-Free Activities for Kids {which actually inspired us to create a taste-safe sensory play kit for a friend last year}, and this second book certainly does not disappoint!  What I think I love most about it is that it really gets little ones into the scientific process {but in a totally organic and child-led way} – asking questions, testing different methods, making observations, making adjustments, re-experimenting, and coming to conclusions.  What I also really love about it is that at 5 years old, Miss G is very capable of leading many of these explorations completely on her own, giving her a huge sense of pride and independence. Win!!

So, when I asked my good friend what her little guy was into a few days before his birthday party and she responded with, ‘He loves doing science experiments!’, there was no question what we’d put together for him.  A DIY science kit it would be!

Luckily for us, Asia {the author of the book} has made this part extremely easy by providing a list of the most common materials needed to do the experiments in the book both on her blog and on page 28 of the book itself!  And in case you’re wondering, most of what’s on the list is really easy to find either at a grocery store or at a dollar store.

Here’s what Asia recommends including:

• salt
• sugar
• corn syrup
• cooking oil
• vinegar
• lemon juice
• baking soda
• pinto beans
• food colouring
• coffee filters
• plastic cups, short and tall
• zip-close bags
• straws
• masking tape
• cotton balls
• cotton swabs
• dish soap
• potting soil
• children’s safety goggles

We took a few liberties with our list, but included most everything {save the darn children’s safety googles that I waited too long to go out and find!} and also included one of Miss G’s favourite science tools – plastic pipettes.  In the case where something came in a monstrous size bag that we felt was excessive for the size of our kit, we simply re-packaged the goods into smaller sets / bags and used some funky washi tape to pretty things up a little bit.

Next up, Miss G created a personalized book plate and stuck it just inside a copy of The Curious Kid’s Science Book.

Then we tied the book up with some baker’s twine and placed everything neatly into a pretty plastic bin.

As a finishing touch, we added a little label to the front of our kit, and it was done and ready to be given.  ☺

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