Glowing Reviews (Glow Stick Lanterns)

 

I recently bought a bunch of bracelet sized glow sticks for a party at our house, and, of course, I forgot to use them. Tonight, inspiration hit, and we surprised the kids with glow stick lanterns for their rooms. This is an incredibly easy idea, and the kids can help.  Not only is it cheap, simple, and quick, but the kiddos also got a big kick out of them and out of helping. Basically, you put activated glow sticks in bottles of water.

Here are the incredibly easy step-by-step instructions:

1. Find an empty bottle.  We used clear 2 liter soda bottles.
2. Rinse the bottles out.
3. Fill the bottles with fresh water. Okay, I cheated on this step.  I reused a bottle previously used for a "tornado," so it was already filled with water (and some colored sand, and a marble, and some drops of liquid soap...)
4. Peel off the labels. Don't worry about a perfect job.  Our normally OCD kiddos did not even care about the little pieces of label left behind.
5. Open a package of glow sticks.  
6. Activate the sticks.
7. Place the glowing sticks inside the bottle of water.
8. Tightly close the lid. If you have curious little ones, add some duct tape to the top for good measure.
9. Find a dark place to enjoy the ambiance of your new lantern. 

Our one year old taking her turn to check out a lantern

Our kiddos picked special places in their rooms so they could view their lanterns as they went to sleep.

In addition to being fun, these provide a surprising amount of light.

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Walking Water Experiment

We just tried a really fun science experiment - Walking Water.  I saw it listed in my newsfeed on Facebook yesterday, and we did it today!  I'm kind of proud that I knocked that one out instead of filing it under "to-do" on my overflowing mental lists.

Check out the experiment here:  http://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/walking-water-science-experiment-kids/  The link gives good detail and lots of pictures.

The basic set up is:

1. Place three clear containers side by side.  We used clear plastic cups. Be careful that you choose either containers that are not of great value or will not be stained by the food dye. 
2. Fill the two outer containers with water, leaving the middle container empty.  
3. Use food dye to color the water in the two outside containers. Use two different shades of food dye, one color in each of the two containers with water.  We used yellow and blue.  See further notes on color choices below.
4. Take two paper towels. 
5. Fold each paper towel so that it is long and skinny.  
6. Take one folded paper towel, and place one end in the container of colored water.  Place the other end in the empty cup.  Repeat this process with the second paper towel so that you have something reminiscent of a paper towel bridge extending from each of the two colored containers into the empty cup.  

Have your kiddos make some initial observations, and then wait a while.  We went for an evening walk. When we came back, the kids found the water had walked so that all three cups had an equal amount of water.  

Repeat this experiment over and over mixing different colors.  It is a great opportunity to learn about primary and secondary colors.  Primary colors are colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors together.  The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow.  Secondary colors are colors created by mixing the primary colors - orange (red + yellow), green (blue + yellow), and purple (red + blue).  

Have fun!!