Hands on Science Kits?

[IATeachingMom]

Ok, I need the "best of the best" hands on science kit...OR book. I'm willing to chase around and find my own supplies if need be. I can find or get almost any science supplies out there....I need this to be for K-2 grades about. We tend to do better if there is a "unit" on one particular theme or learning about one thing for a while before moving on as opposed to just a new experiment every week. Also, I only ask because every now and again I see posts about how people are disappointed with the quality of some kits.....I really need a good one. Help! Please! TIA

[rafiki]

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[gingersmom]

Home science tools has really nice kits. And they ship amazingly fast!

 

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1252690912

[starwarsmomma]

Another vote for explorationeducation.com!!! We are doing both their kits and LOVE Them!

 

I want to find more like those!

[Orthodox6]

Horribly expensive, but serve 1-3 students at once:

 

http://www.delta-education.com/siansplash.aspx?subID=5&menuID=17

 

Good materials and fun ! Use with grades 2-6.

[IATeachingMom]

Anyone else?:001_huh:

[lisabees]

I use and absolutely love Supercharged Science. It says between K-8 for their kits; I use them for my 7th grader. There is probably a lot of teacher involvement for the little ones.

 

The creator, Aurora, just came out with an escience program also, but it is too old for little ones, I think. But, then again, maybe I am underestimating them! We are thrilled with it.

 

HTH!

 

Lisa

[missmoe]

Home Science Adventure kits are wonderful. Everything is included in the kit--the experiments are informative and easy to do. I have used them with three of my kids and this year will be using some of them again with my youngest two kids.

 

http://rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1252747470-1035050

[auroram42]

Yes, you're right - there's a lot of teacher involvement for grades K-2, but here's something you can give the little ones right now without too much fuss... it's an excerpt from a science manual I wrote:

Imagine you’re a painter. What three colors do you need to make up any color in the universe? (You should be thinking: red, yellow, and blue.) Hand your kids those three colors in watercolor or paint and show them how they make different colors of the rainbow. You can make green from blue and yellow, etc.

Here’s the tricky question - can you make the color “yellow†with only red, green, and blue as your color palette? If you're a scientist, it's not a problem. But if you're an artist, you're in trouble already.

 

The key is that we would be mixing light, not paint. Mixing the three primary colors of light gives white light. If you took three light bulbs (red, green, and blue) and shined them on the ceiling, you'd see white. And if you could magically un-mix the white colors, you'd get the rainbow (which is exactly what prisms do.)

 

If you're thinking yellow should be a primary color - it is a primary color, but only in the artist's world. Yellow paint is a primary color for painters, but yellow light is actually made from red and green light. (Easy way to remember this: think of Christmas colors – red and green merge to make the yellow star on top of the tree.)

 

Find three flashlights. Cover each with colored cellophane (color filters) or paint the plastic lens cover with nail polish (red, green, and blue). Shine onto a white ceiling or wall, overlap the colors and make new colors. Leave the flashlights on, line them up on a table, turn off the lights, and dance - you will be making rainbow shadows on the wall! (In addition, you can paint the lens of a fourth flashlight yellow to see what happens when you substitute it for the green light.)

 

When you combine red and green light, you will get yellow light (the wall you shine the light on will appear yellow). Wave your hand in front of the lights and you will see cyan and magenta shadows. Which lights will give you a yellow shadow?

Notes: This experiment has a few things to be aware of. If you’re not getting the colored shadows, check to be sure that the flashlight is bright enough to illuminate a wall in the dark. Be sure to shut the doors, shades, windows, and drapes. In the dark, when you shine your red flashlight on the wall, the wall should glow red. Beware of using off-color nail polish – make sure it’s really red, not pink.

 

If you still need help making this experiment work, you can visit your local hardware store and find three flood lamp holders (the cheap clamp-style ones made from aluminum work well – you’ll need three) and screw in colored “party lights†(make one red, one green, and one blue), which are colored incandescent bulbs. These will provide a lot more light! You can also add a fourth yellow light to further illustrate how yellow light isn’t a primary color. Try using only red, yellow, and blue… you’ll quickly find that you can’t obtain all the colors as you could with the original red-green-blue lights.

 

Happy Experimenting! :party:

Edited September 21, 2009 by auroram42
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[*Jessica*]

Thanks, Aurora! My little ones are going to love doing that experiment....and it ties in with the primary colors art lesson we just completed.