Mad Science

Did you know that giant anteaters walk on their fists to keep their claws sharp for digging into ant hills? Not to mention that an adult eats about 30,000 ants a day!

Snow is so magical! Grab a colored piece of plastic (like a lid) and your favorite magnifier, and set up an outdoor snow lab for your kids. Let the snow fall on the plastic and have them examine it close up. Each snowflake is actually an extremely complex formation made of ice crystals! No matter the precise shape, each snowflake always has 6 sides! Watch this video by one of our collaborators @NASAGoddard to find out why! https://youtu.be/jbgpVE6sTpE

Watch your kids having fun making cave crystals at home with our Stalactites and Stalagmites experiment! https://youtu.be/kv_8Um5fUCs

What makes popcorn pop? The short answer is expanding steam! The only common variety of corn with a coating thin enough to become popcorn is called Zea mays var. everta. Each kernel contains a drop of water surrounded by starch. The drop of water turns to steam when heated, and warms up the starch. The steam expands and bursts the coating. The starch cools on contact with the air, forming what we know and love as popcorn! #NationalPopcornDay

Not only are bats the only mammals that can fly, but some species can reach speeds of up to 100mph (160km/h), which also makes them the fastest mammals on the planet.

Never be afraid to ask questions!

Did you know that pumpkins are one of those culinary vegetables that are actually scientifically a fruit? They are classified as a fruit because they contain seeds.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians!

Kids learn all about the center of gravity and balance in our Balancing Act experiment!

Did you know that Mars has the largest volcano of any planet in the entire solar system? It’s true! The mountain is called Olympus Mons and it stands 25km tall and is over 600km in diameter.

When you blush, your stomach lining blushes too! When you’re embarrassed, your body releases adrenaline as part of the fight or flight response. This causes your blood vessels to dilate, which causes your cheeks to redden, and your stomach lining too.

The Earth is not a perfect sphere! It’s actually more of a squashed sphere, called an oblate spheroid. This is because several forces, including gravity, cause the planet to bulge at the equator. #EarthScienceWeek

A great week for women in science! Congratulations to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna, who were awarded the Noble Prize in Chemistry 2020 on Wednesday for their work on CRISPR-Cas9, a high precision method for editing DNA.

True! Dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent, including Antarctica.

Allow us to introduce you to the silk moth. It may be pretty common but weve never seen anything like it. You tell us if its cute and cuddly or the stuff of nightmares. No, really, we want to hear what you think in the comments!

Studies have shown that the human body restores cells at such a rate that 98% of the atoms are replaced annually!

As recently as 2012, some scientists say that they have classified a new human organ! The human body really is amazing! The digestive tract structure is called the mesentery and prior to this it was believed that it was made up of separate structures and not a single continuous structure.

Teach your dinosaur enthusiast about fossils with our Fast Fossil experiment! #NationalOnlineLearningDay

September 10 Which is the only mammal that can fly? A) Flying Squirrels B) Pelicans C) Bats... D) Flying Fish Bats are the only true flying mammals. Pelicans and flying fish are not mammals. Flying squirrels can only glide for short distances.

Our cool Water Arrow experiment teaches kids about refraction! Try this one at home this week!

Thank you to all the teachers out there who continue to teach our kids during this most difficult and different time. Keep doing what you do, in-person, virtually or however you’re doing it this fall! #WorldTeacher Day

Make an easy kaleidoscope at home! Its fun to look at and kids will learn about reflection and patterns at the same time!

Did you know that the majority of the worlds oxygen comes from the oceans? Surprising, right?! Its true, 50-80% of the oxygen we breathe is made by plankton, seaweed, and other marine photosynthesizers!

Happy Labor Day! A special thanks to all the front-line workers! We hope you enjoy the long weekend and take some time to relax with your loved ones!

We thought that #NationalReadaBookDay was a great time to remind you of our favourite STEM childrens books, especially with the new school year underway!

Tiger stripes are as unique as human fingerprints. Baby elephants suck their trunks just like human children suck their thumbs to self-soothe. Prairie dogs kiss hello, just like humans often do.... Animals and humans are not so different! #NationalWildlifeDay

Did you know that there are more than two types of twins?! Most people have heard of identical and fraternal twins but there are also mirror image, half-identical, mixed chromosome, superfecundation, and superfetation twins. Look them up to see what they all mean!

Happy #NationalSkycraperDay! Do you know which building is the tallest in the world? The tallest building in the world is the Shanghai Tower.

The principles of surface tension and magnification have never been so clear! Teach your kids about them with our Water Lens experiment.

Sometimes the most amazing discoveries come from the utterly unexpected!

Homeschool tip: Teaching kids chess is an excellent way to work on strategy and math with them, all under the guise of family game night!

When you think of clouds, does the phrase heavier than a jumbo jet come to mind? No? Well, they can be! The average cumulus cloud weighs upwards of 1 million pounds! Yes, you read that right!

Its that time of year; back-to-school. While this year looks different than all those that came before it, just remember that youre doing a great job and that science (the teaching of it and the learning of it) doesnt have to be hard! Theres a science lesson behind just about everything in everyday life!

A. Cherries. Cherries contain compounds called anthocyanins. When they are in acidic environments, they will be red in color. In neutral or basic environments they turn purple or blue in colour. This is why when you cut into a cherry muffin the fruit inside looks blue or purple and not red!

Today is the Fall Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. That means that not only is it the first day of fall, but that the sun is exactly above the equator and the day is exactly the same length as the night! This only happens twice a year.

Only 2 letters don’t appear anywhere on the Periodic Table of Elements. Can you tell us what they are?

Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American woman in space. On top of being an astronaut, shes also a medical doctor, chemical engineer, linguist, teacher, actor, author, and successful business woman. What an accomplished and legendary career! #womensequalityday

Allow us to introduce you to the silk moth. It may be pretty common but we’ve never seen anything like it. You tell us if it’s cute and cuddly or the stuff of nightmares. No, really, we want to hear what you think in the comments!

There are about 100 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes every second and that each one contains about 1 billion volts of electricity?! Thats enough to power a 100-watt light bulb for more than three months!

DNA is a hot science topic these days. Teach your kids all about it using tomatoes!

Start getting ready for back-to-school with our fun at-home experiments. Get those science juices flowing! https://www.madsciencepromo.com/

Your children can learn pro building tips from a LEGO certified professional! Last week we hosted an event for 500 kids from around the world with Robin Sather from Brickville DesignWorks. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/wRA22f8QSWs And share their brix builds with us using #101brixchallenge

Youve heard about black holes, but have you heard about blue holes? Blue holes are deep, dark cavernous holes that extend hundreds of feet into the earth. Many have yet to be studied and could contain life forms never seen before!

Teach your kids about potential and kinetic energy with our Mini Catapult experiment!

Mad Science is hosting a FREE, Online Event! Join our Brix Challenge with a LEGO Certified Professional as he shares his building tips and tricks, answers questions, and leads guests in an interactive, live build. Space is limited so sign up now and be sure to take part in the pre-event building challenge! #101brixchallenge https://bit.ly/3a9RR5N

On International Youth Day we celebrate kids in science. Kids involvement in STEM topics is so important, not only for the scientific contributions that they will go on to make as adults, but also for the discoveries they make while theyre still children. Kids see things in a different way and that unique perspective can change the world!

True or False? False. Although, it was once believed that bacterial cells outnumbered human cells in the body 10 to 1, more recent estimates but the ratio closer to 1 to 1.

Perfect for secret message writing and playing spy games! Get your kids into science with our Invisible Ink experiment.

Did you know that chalk (the chalkboard kind) is made up of the fossils of microscopic marine organisms called plankton? That is, if you are using chalk made from Calcium Carbonate.

Today is friendship day! Many kids have not been able to see their friends very much lately and its been tough on them. Why not help them send a virtual or mailed card to let their friends know how important they are, in a scientific way!

True Or False False. The Jurassic period is named after a mountain range called the Jura.

The kids can keep tabs on the weather this summer with our Bottle Barometer experiment!

The largest moth in the world hails from Australia; no surprise there! The largest wingspan ever recorded was 36cm (14.17 inches). Thats wider than your standard ruler! Fun fact: it doesnt have a mouth and cant eat. It only has a lifespan of 10-14 days and its main goal is to reproduce in that time.

In honor of national moon day, heres a moon-centric quiz question! Almost true, but ultimately false. It takes 27.3 days for the moon to orbit Earth.

This is not something out of a sci-fi movie. Its a naturally occurring gemstone from Australia called the Rainbow Tree Opal! Opals are formed by a solution of silicon dioxide and water, which settles into cracks and crevices. The water evaporates and leaves the silica behind, forming an opal.

Get your kids making their own DIY noisemakers with our Quakers experiment. Theyll learn about the acoustics of friction at the same time!

Take a look at this fish with a transparent head! You can see the lenses of its tubular eyes through it! How cool is that?!

Did you know? Babies have almost 100 more bones than adults! Babies have about 300 bones at birth that fuse together as they get older, whereas adults only have 206.

Have you ever heard of a dirty thunderstorm? It is an extremely rare phenomenon, thats why you may have not heard of it before! It is a lightning strike within a volcanic eruption cloud. The ash particles collide and actually create this breathtaking event!

Its clean beaches week! Even if you dont live near an ocean, stroll by a local pond or lake and collect any trash that you see scattered about. The local wildlife will thank you and so do we for doing your part!