Channel your (kid's) curiosity

We had an indoor weekend due to the major storm passing through. Luckily we got mostly spared and our thoughts are with the ones touched by the storm. I noticed quite an uptick in tweets about how long the day is when you cannot go outside (with your kids). Here is what I did - and yes this is very nerdy:

We spent a lot of time measuring things. The idea is very simple (and very familiar if you are a scientist or in a relationship with a scientist..). In parenthesis, I am cross-linking the steps with a scientific paper.

• You ask a question that has a numerical answer (introduction).
• You guess what the answer is (hypothesis).
• You find a tool to take the measurement (methods section)
• You take a measurement to determine the answer (result section).
• You compare your guess with the measurement (discussion section).
• If they are different, you come up with a story why (discussion section).

You do not need a fancy research lab to do this. All you need is a bit of imagination and some (cheap) sensors. Also, cell phones do include a lot of sensors and there are apps that can be used. I am not including them here since I am a firm believer in limiting screen times for kids, independent of content (yes, we can argue you about this..). There is something special in terms of the learning and the entertainment when you carry around a measurement device and read from its display.

Here are some sensors that work well for such activities. Note that none of them are toys. Please stay safe and use them in an age-appropriate way. All of them are less than $25 on Amazon (except the CO2 sensor). Please see here to learn how my site uses affiliate links. Below are some sample questions that kept us entertained and curious.

​
Here are some basic but (too kids and adults like me who are still kids) fun questions. Always add the question "Why?"

Temperature:

• Is it warmer inside or outside?
• Are different rooms of different temperature?
• Does the temperature change during the day?

Humidity:

• Is it more humid inside or outside?
• Is humidity different in the bath room?

Electricity using the plug in "KillAWatt" (only for adults, under strict adult supervision, outlets are nothing to play with)

• Is the voltage the same for different outlets?
• Is the frequency the same for different outlets?
• Does voltage change when all lights in the house are turned on or off?
• Does the frequency change when all lights in the house are turned on or off?
• How much power does a tea kettle draw?

CO2 Concentration

• How does CO2 concentration change when the windows are open / closed?
• Does turning on the gas stove change CO2 in the kitchen (adult supervision, safety etc)?

Sound pressure

• How loud can you be?
• How quiet can you be (preferred!)?
• How loud can your instrument be (piano, violin, etc)?
• What is the difference in loudness when the distance to the noise source is increased?
• 
  

Luminance

• What is the brightest light we have in the house?
• How dark can we make a room?

PH

• What is the pH of various drinks?

Electricity using the multimeter

• What is the voltage of a charged AA battery?
• What is the resistance of different materials?

And so on. Have fun happy Monday!