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Mail-order Science Clubs
Do your children love science? Are you looking for fun and educational activities for your kids? Would you like an easy, hands-on way to introduce your young children to scientific principles? If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, you may want to try a mail-order science club. The Young Scientists Club (www.theyoungscientistsclub.com) features a series of mail-order kits that introduce children to science studies. The Young Scientists Club is curriculum-based, so these kits are an excellent learning tool for homeschoolers. They can be used as a complete science curriculum for children ages 4-8, or as extracurricular science experiments for children up to age 12. Fun and interactive, these kits are a great way for parents and children to spend time together. Dad can do them with the kids after work or on the weekend. Older children can help their younger siblings with the experiments. Someone with little or no science background will find the kits as easy to use as those with advanced science degrees. A Harvard-trained biologist and mother originally made up this unique science program for her own children. The kits have a down-to-earth, homey quality, with hand-drawn pictures and simple diagrams. The pages look like they came out of a color computer printer. Each kit contains simple instructions written especially for children (given by Celsius the Science Bug character), in addition to detailed instructions for parents. Children are introduced to the scientific method and are encouraged to write down their observations, measurements, and conclusions. Every kit contains several hands-on experiments that take about one hour to complete (although there are a few long-term projects such as growing beans and measuring rainfall). In each kit you receive everything required for the experiments except for common household materials. They also tell you what will be needed for the next kit, so you can be sure to have the supplies ready when it arrives. Kit topics include: Magnets, Volcanoes, Water, Weather, Measurements, Fossils, Minerals, Electricity, Senses, Heart & Lungs, Digestive System, Bones, Space, Dinosaurs, Planets, and many more. A complete description of the 36 science kits- enough for 3 years!- can be found on their website. Unlike individual store-bought science kits, each of the Young Scientists Club kits reinforce what was learned in previous kits as well as introduces what will be learned in future kits, creating a continuous learning experience. If your children want to learn more about a kit topic, they can go online to the Young Scientists Clubhouse, or e-mail Celsius the Science Bug with any questions they may have. All new Young Scientists receive a free binder and storage pouch with a magnifying glass, memo pad, pencil, ruler, and more. The Young Scientists Club works similar to a magazine subscription. Your child will receive a science kit on a regular basis (once a month or bi-monthly). Each shipment costs $14.94. The Mad Science Club is intended for 8- to 12-year-olds. The Mad Science Club provides a free introductory lab pack containing a test tube, rubber gloves, magnifier, and more, followed by a series of thematic kits for learning science facts through hands-on experiments. These kits focus on twelve popular themes - Explosive Reactions, Tricks and Optical Illusions, Your Incredible Icky Insides, Disasters, Detective and Spy Science, Food Science, Space Science, Sports Science, Engineering Science, Inventions Science, Energy Science, and Underwater Science - providing an entire year of experiments. Each Mad Science shipment contains an experiment kit with supplies, a lab notebook with instructions for a variety of do-it-yourself experiments, and a fiction book related to the topic. Mad Science materials are colorful and "cool," with a mass-market feel. The fiction books are wild and wacky - my son calls them "part science and part comedy" - and they especially appeal to boys who like explosions and have a crazy sense of humor! The style of layout and illustrations in the experiment logs remind me of "Magic School Bus" books. The Mad Science Club costs $14.74 per month. Call 1-800-411-6706 to subscribe. Mail-order science clubs introduce children to the wonders of scientific discovery and spark their interest in future scientific inquiry while exploring a wide variety of scientific fields. They allow children to perform creative, interesting, and safe experiments. Imagine the anticipation and excitement of your child receiving their very own mail, being part of a club and getting science surprises that are available nowhere else! If your students are aspiring scientists or have inquisitive minds, they will enjoy these science kits.
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