With Christmas almost upon us, you might be scrambling for a last minute present for your child.  What's better than a toy that entertains and educates?  Check out these recommendations for STEM toys for kids!

ThinkFun Gravity Maze
Ages 8+
This game is what you get when you combine a marble run with a series of engineering challenges.

Sillbird 12-in-1 Education Solar Robot Toy
​Ages 10+
This solar powered robot can be assembled 12 different ways.

Kinetic Sand
Ages 3+
This moldable sand behaves like wet sand and never dries out, so you can build and rebuild over and over again.

Snap Circuits Electronics Exploration Kit
Ages 8+
This kit gives kids safe, hands-on experience with electricity and circuits.  Directions for more than 100 projects are included.

Shashibo Shape-Shifting Box
Ages 8+
Similar to a fidget toy, this shape-shifting box can be configured into 70 different designs.  Test your spatial reasoning folding the pieces back together.

​ThinkFun Roller Coaster Challenge
Ages 6+
​This toy turns your child into a roller coaster engineer.  Design a roller coaster based on the challenge you draw.

Power Your Fun Fort Building Kit
Ages 4+
Kids can build endless forts, tunnels, and other play structures with these easy to connect rods and spheres.

Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Talking Microscope
Ages 4+
Slip in any of the 60 colorful slides and learn more than 100 facts about animals, plants, and humans.

National Geographic Rock Collection Box
Ages 8+
The perfect gift for your budding geologist, this box comes with over 200 samples of rocks, minerals, and fossils,  as well as a book and a magnifying glass to aid in identification.

hand2mind Numberblocks MathLink Cubes
Ages 3+
Use the linking counting cubes to recreate your favorite characters and the wipe-clean cards to complete math puzzles and games.  (My own daughter has absorbed so many math concepts from Numberblocks!  I am a big fan.)

Merry Christmas, space fans!

You might have heard people say that it's better to eat fruits and vegetables when they are in season.  So what does "in season" mean, and what does science have to say about it?  Well, both of those questions actually have pretty straightforward answers.

"In season" means during the season of the year where the fruit or vegetable is at its most ripe.  Basically, nutrients in food are at their highest peak when the fruit is at its ripest.  When you are eating fruit that is grown locally, it is picked closer to the time of actual ripeness.  Foods that are not in season are often flown in from other areas of the world.  Most transported foods have to harvested long before they are ripe to avoid spoiling, meaning that it doesn't reach peak ripeness and flavor.  (However, if you can't get seasonal fruit and veggies or want to eat out of season food, don't worry!  All fruits and veggies are still very nutritious!)

Eating seasonally has other benefits too.  One of them is that you get a wide variety of foods in your diet throughout the year.  No single food can provide all of the vitamins and minerals that you need, so eating a varied diet is important for your body.  Eating a varied diet even reduce your risk of developing chronic diseases!

From an environmental standpoint, eating seasonally is better for the Earth.  Foods that are in season are usually easier to get without having to ship them long distances, which reduces the environmental impact from fuel emissions and refrigeration.  This also contributes to making local, in season food less expensive.  When there's a lot of a food available in the store (because it's in season), they can charge less for it.

Here's what's in season in December:
Beets
Cabbage
Carrots
Citrus Fruits
Horseradish
Leeks
Onions
Sprouts
Turnips
Winter squash

Happy, healthy eating!

Happy Thanksgiving, science friends!  As a celebration of this delicious holiday, here are some yummy STEM experiments that you can try at home!

Homemade Butter
What you need:
Mason jar with lid
Heavy whipping cream

Process:
1. Fill your glass jar about halfway with cream.
2. Make sure the lid is closed tight and shake.
3. Shake and shake and shake and shake....
4. Observe the changes every five minutes or so.  After awhile, you will have a solid clump of butter!

What is happening?
Heavy cream has a lot of fat in it (which makes things taste delicious!).  Shaking the cream causes the fat molecules to separate from the liquid.  The more you shake it, the more the fat will separate and clump together, making butter!  The liquid that is left over is called buttermilk.  Don't waste that!  You can use that to make quick breads or tenderize chicken!

Bread in a Bag
What you need:
Gallon zip top bag
Large bowl
Parchment paper
Hand towel
3 cups plain flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
.25 oz packet rapid rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup of warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil

Process:
1. Open your zip top bag and place it in a large bowl.  You will be mixing your ingredients inside the bag.
2. Scoop 1 cup flour into a large zip top bag, with 3 tablespoons sugar, packet of rapid rise yeast, and 1 cup of warm water.
3. Squeeze the air out of the bag, then seal the bag closed and mix from the outside of the bag with your hands. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes.
4. Open the bag and add 1 cup of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Seal the bag, and mix again.
5. Add 1 more cup of flour, seal, and mix again.
6. Remove the dough from the bag and knead for 10 minutes on a piece of floured parchment paper to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.
7. Cover with a warm damp hand towel for 30 minutes.
8. Place in a greased bread pan and bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

What's going on with the yeast?
Did you know that yeast is actually a living fungus?  This bread in a bag recipe uses a type of yeast that is dormant until you activate it.  When you combine the yeast with warm water and give it food (sugar), it "wakes up" and starts the fermentation process.  As the yeast eats the sugar, it gives off carbon dioxide, which causes the bread to rise as air pockets get trapped in the dough.  If eating a living fungus sounds gross, don't worry.  Cooking the bread kills the yeast.

Paper Bag Popcorn
What you need:
Popcorn kernels
Brown paper lunch bag
Salt and butter (optional)

Process:
1. Open a brown paper bag and pour in 1/3 cup popcorn kernels.  Fold the top of the bag down twice.
2. Place the popcorn in the microwave, and cook on high for about 1 1/2 minutes.  Listen to the popcorn.  When the pops start to slow down, remove the bag to avoid burning your popcorn.
3. Add melted butter and salt to taste.

Why does popcorn pop?
Inside each solid kernel of popcorn is a small drop of water.  When you add heat, the liquid inside the kernel turns to steam, eventually bursting the kernel when the pressure becomes too much for the hull to hold!

Happy eating!

STEM is used in all kinds of jobs, including solving crimes!  Here are some ways that police and investigators use their STEM skills in law enforcement.

Analyzing evidence: When forensic investigators collect evidence at a crime scene, they are using science skills!  An investigator might collect and test substances, weapons, and even biological evidence like fluids or hair.  All of these clues help them piece together what happened and who was involved in the criminal activity.  This could also include identifying bomb or other weapon components.

Using algorithms: Modern investigators rely heavily on computers to help automate examination of evidence.  Fingerprints, facial recognition software, and DNA databases are all used to identify perpetrators and others present at crime scenes.

Data analysis: Another way investigators solve crimes is by using computer data to identify commonalities in criminal activity.  This can help identify "hotspots" of crime and can even help analyze networks of organized crime.

Cryptanalysis: When investigators find a jumble of code or an unfamiliar gang tattoo, they use cryptanalysis to decipher its meaning.  Code cracking relies heavily on STEM analysis skills.

If you are interested in a career where you can utilize STEM skills while fighting crime, check out the FBI's STEM Careers website here.

NASA has had a long history with the United States Armed Forces.  Many astronauts have been selected from their ranks, and the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command currently provides support to NASA. While NASA's astronaut program is open to both military and civilian applicants, military training, particularly in fields like aviation and engineering, can provide valuable skills and experiences that are relevant in space.  Flip through this slideshow to learn about just a few of these heroes.

November is Native American Heritage Month, and we want to take a moment to appreciate people of Native American descent who have made great contributions to STEM.  Each of these individuals has made a great contribution to their field.

Unfortunately, while marginalized racial and ethnic groups still only make up a small percentage of people working in STEM, it is important to note that indigenous people in America are greatly underrepresented in the sciences.  American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) peoples hold only 200,000 out of 34.9 million STEM jobs.  Click here to learn about initiatives to grow indigenous participation in STEM.

Halloween candy is great!  And you can do so much with it!  Check out these ideas for how to use your candy.

Is your candy acidic? Candy pH Test
What you'll need:
Sour candy (like lemonheads, nerds, or sour gummy worms)
Skittles
M&Ms
Candy Corn
8 plastic cups
Distilled water
Measuring cup
Baking soda

How it works:
1. Taste one of each of your candies.  Order your candy by how sour it is and write down your observations.
2. Put 1/4 cup of water in four of the cups.  Place one piece of each candy in the cups (one kind of candy per cup).  These are your controls, which means you won't do anything else with them other than observe what the water does to the candies.
3. Write the letter C on each of these cups and set them aside until the end of the experiment.
4. Put 1/4 cup of water in four new cups.  Place one piece of each candy in the cups and let the candy dissolve completely.  You can crush candies that are taking too long to dissolve.  These are your variable cups, the ones you'll be working with.
5. After the candy has dissolved completely, sprinkle one tablespoon of baking soda into each of the variable cups.  The baking soda is your independent variable, the only thing that changes in the experiment.  Watch for bubbles.
6. The bubbles are your dependent variable, which is the thing that happens after you add the independent variable.  Record your observations about the bubbles.  The greater the amount of bubbles, the greater the acidity of the candy!


Dancing Frankenworms
What you'll need:
Gummy worms
Baking soda
Vinegar
Cutting board
Sharp knife
2 clear cups

How it works:
1. Cut 3 gummy worms into quarters the long way.  It may help to make your knife wet or dust it in baking soda to prevent the candy from sticking to it.
2. Stir 3 tablespoons of baking soda into a glass filled with 1 cup of warm water.  Mix your cut worms into the baking soda solution.
3. Let the worms soak for 15 minutes.
4. Fill the second clear glass with vinegar.
5. Fish your worms out of the baking soda solution with a fork.  Add a few to the vinegar.
6. The baking soda in the gummy worms will react with the vinegar by producing carbon dioxide bubbles.  The bubbles form on the outside of the gummy worms, causing the worms to rise and "dance" their way to the top of the glass.


Growing Gummy Bears
What you'll need:
2 small bowls
Water
Salt
Gummy bears

How it works:
1. Make about a cup of supersaturated salt water solution.  To do this, add salt a little bit at a time to a cup of boiling water until no more salt dissolves.
2. Allow your salt water to cool in the fridge.
3. When the water is cool, fill your bowls.  Put salt water in one and plain tap water in the other.
4. Gather your gummy bears and pick some that are similar in size.  Put a couple in the salt water and a couple in the plain water.
5. Allow the gummy bears to soak for several hours.  (Don't soak longer than overnight or the gummy bears may fall apart.)
6. Observe the changes in size of your gummy bears.

In the autumn, we see a beautiful change of color as the trees that are green in the summer become red, orange and yellow.  Due to the changes in sunlight and temperature experienced during the fall, trees undergo a chemical process that changes the color of the leaves.

During the summer, leaves have a very important job.  They are the factories where the food that trees need to grow is processed.  This happens in leaves containing a chemical called chlorophyll.  Chlorophyll absorbs energy from sunlight that is then used to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates.  Chlorophyll has a large amount of green pigment, giving leaves their color.  Other colors are present in leaves, but during the summer, the chlorophyll masks them.

In the fall, when it gets colder and there is less sunlight, leaves stop the food-making process.  Chlorophyll breaks down, and its green color disappears, allowing the other colors present in the leaves to become visible!

Read more about this incredible process here!

Did you know that cooking is science?  It involves all kinds of complex reactions.  Try out some of these fun (and edible) cooking science activities--with a spooky twist!  This post was inspired by kitchenpantryscientist.com.  Check out their website for even more awesome science ideas!

Vampire Rock Candy
(Makes enough for a Halloween party)
What you'll need
5 cups granulated white sugar
2 cups water
cake pop sticks or wooden skewers
red food coloring

Directions
1. Dip one end of the wooden skewers in water and then roll them in granulated sugar.  The sugar should cover 2-3 inches of the stick.  Let them dry completely.
2. Boil 2 cups of water and 5 cups of sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  It should look like syrup.
3. Let the syrup sit until it is no longer hot and then pour it into a large glass jar or a deep bowl.
4. When the syrup is completely cool, set the sugary end of the skewers into the syrup, evenly spaced.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them sit for about a week.  Move the sticks from time to time so they don't stick to each other or the bowl.
5. When the rock candy is done, pull them from the syrup and let them dry.  Save the syrup.
6. When you're ready to serve your Vampire Rock Candy, pour a few cm of sugar syrup into the bottom of a pretty glass and add a few drops of red food coloring.  Stir.
7. Put your rock candy, handle side up, into the glass.  Enjoy your blood-dipped rock candy!

How it works
This is crystal science.  Crystals are solids formed by a network of repeating patterns of molecules.  When you boil the sugar into the water, it makes a supersaturated solution, meaning it contains more sugar than can stay in the solution.  As the temperature decreases, the sugar comes out of the solution, forming crystals.  The crystals bond to the sugar "seeds" on the sticks, making rock candy!


Alien Eyeballs
What you'll need
Two 3oz packages of lemon Jell-O
One 6 oz package of Berry Blue Jell-O
Water
Potato peeler
Toothpick or skewer
Two oval-shaped ice cube trays
Cherry Kool-Aid
Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid
Straw

Directions
1. Dissolve two 3oz packages of lemon Jello in 1 and 1/4 cups of boiling water.  Allow it to cool briefly, and pour it into ice cube trays.  Refrigerate until firm.
2. Dissolve 6 oz package of blue Jell-O in 1 and 1/4 cups of boiling water.  Cool briefly.
3. Using the end of your potato peeler, hollow out a circle in the middle of each yellow Jell-O "eyeball".  Carve the circle about halfway to the bottom of the gelatin.  Use a toothpick to remove the cored Jell-O.
4. Fill the hollow with the liquid blue gelatin and return to the refrigerator to harden.
5. Once set, put ice cube trays containing Jell-O eyeballs in a casserole dish of hot tap water for 1-2 minutes.  This will help you unmold the gelatin.  Remove the eyeballs from the ice cube trays.
6.  Use a straw to add red Kool-Aid liquid to the center of each eyeball.  Then use a toothpick to draw lines out from the center.
7.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for a few hours so that the Kool-Aid will start to diffuse.
8. Repeat the process with blue Kool-Aid liquid.
9.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  The Kool-Aid colors will diffuse into the eyeballs!

How it works
Molecules move from areas of high concentration, where there are a lot of other similar molecules, to areas of low concentration, where there are not as many similar molecules.  This is called diffusion.


Halloween Meringues
What you'll need
3 egg whites from extra large eggs
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
gel food coloring
toothpicks
sprinkles or dusting sugar (optional)
parchment paper
mixer
baking sheets
pastry bags (or large Ziploc bags with the corners cut off)
Round piping tips (if you have them)

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Beat egg whites on medium speed until they start to foam.
4. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat the egg whites on high.
5. When soft peaks form, add sugar a tablespoon or so at a time as you beat the eggs.  Add the vanilla.
6. Continue beating the mixture until stiff, glossy peaks with rounded tips form.  Don't over-beat.
7.  Add a round tip to the pastry or plastic bag.  Fill the bag with the meringue.  You can color the meringue with food coloring before piping.
8. Use the bag and tip to pipe half of the meringue into blobs.  (Tip: make colorful streaks on the meringues by using a toothpick to smear food coloring on the inside of the pastry tip before putting it into the bag and piping the meringue.)
9.  A small tip can be used to create eyes for the blobs, snakes or worms, or you can decorate with sprinkles and dusting sugar.
10. Bake the meringues for 1-2 hours until they feel dry.  Let them cool before eating!

How it works
Meringues are egg whites whipped into sugary foams.  As you whip air into the mix, glue-like egg proteins stick to the bubbles, forming a thick foam.  The sugar combines with water from the eggs to create a sweet syrup.  When heated at a low temperature for a long period of time, the sugar and protein go from elastic goo to a crunchy, glassy state!

Happy spooky season, science buddies!  In honor of the most spine-tingling time of year, here are some creepy STEM activities that you can try at home!

Flying Ghosts
What you'll need:
Tea bags
Black permanent marker
Lighter
Non-flammable surface

How it works:
1. Cut the top off of the tea bag, making a straight line.  Unfold the tea bag and empty the contents.
2. Draw a face toward the bottom of the bag.
3. Shape the tea bag into a cylinder and place it upright on the non-flammable surface.
4. Light the top of the tea bag on fire and watch what happens!

Witch's Brew
What you'll need:
Hydrogen peroxide
Warm water
Yeast Packets
Flasks or plastic bottles
Teaspoon and Tablespoon
Food coloring
Dish soap
Tray or container (to catch foam)
Small cup

How it works:
1. Pour half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into a container.
2. Squirt dish soap into the container.
3. Add food coloring.
4. In the small cup, mix one teaspoon of yeast with two tablespoons of warm water.
5. Pour the yeast mixture into the container and watch what happens!

Candy Catapult
What you'll need:
10 Jumbo popsicle sticks or craft sticks
Rubber bands
Bottle cap
Hot glue gun
Fun items to fling (plastic eyeballs, spiders, candy pumpkins, etc.)
Small measuring tape.

How it works:
1. Secure 8 craft sticks together at the ends with rubber bands.  Wind the bands tightly.
2. Take a stick and wedge it into the middle of the stack (horizontally) just above the bottom stick.  Make sure it is centered in the stack.  Place the remaining craft stick on the top of the stack in line with the one you just added.
3. Secure the tips of the two sticks together with a looser rubber band.  It will need to have some give to get a good launch.
4. Use a glue gun to add a bottle cap to the top of the catapult.
5. See how far you can fling things with your catapult.

Have fun and stay spooky!