Have you ever seen a mood ring that seemingly changes colors in response to your mood? Or, maybe you have seen T-shirts, toys, and even thermometers that change colors in response to temperature changes. All of these color changes, even the mood ring, change colors due to special chemicals, called thermochromic chemicals. Two types of [...]

A pun is a punny use of words. Puns can help kids to remember things they have studied. For example, after completing a studying about gravity, kids will know that gravity is a  force that pulls things toward the Earth’s surface–the ground. So they will see the humor in this pun: “This has been a [...]

A polymer is a very long chain-like molecule. Poly means many and mer means unit. A polymer is made by bonding (linking together) many small molecules called monomers (one unit). Polymers can be made of different kinds of monomers and they can be linked together in different ways. Plastic things such as plastic bags, milk [...]

Chemistry is the study of the composition, structure, properties, and interactions of matter. Matter is all the material in the universe. Materials are physical things that you can touch, taste, feel, see, or smell. Materials exist in three basic forms, gas, liquid and solid.  These forms are called phases of matter. Matter has mass (amount [...]

Dimensional Analysis This important math process is one of the important skills that  Dimensional Analysis  A math skill that is  not just for those preparing for science careers. It is an every day skill–it can even make cooking easier. Partly because of her dimensional analysis skills, the cook shown “zipped” through her college science courses. [...]

This book has crystals as well as other fun science challenges. Question: What is a crystal? Answer: A crystal is a solid in which the particles making up the crystal are packed in an ordered, repeated pattern. Crystals form much like the forming of clusters of soap bubbles. In the diagram, the soap bubbles represent [...]