Snow Volcano Made from Diet Cola and Salt

I confess. I’m not a fan of diet soda. Quite honestly, I can’t think of a better way to use diet soda than to make a snow-cano in the back yard, because I certainly won’t be drinking it. For the first time ever, I appreciate diet soda. It’s worth noting any carbonated soda may be …

Microgreens for Beginners: Steps for Planting

I subscribe to the notion that tiny versions of things are cute. Microgreens are cute. These sprouts are young plant seedlings of common vegetables and herbs that we eat when they are mature, such as kale, beets, broccoli and radishes. The term microgreen refers to how the sprouts are harvested when they grow their first …

Citizens of Earth: Participate in JunoCam!

Back on the fifth of August in 2011, NASA launched the space probe Juno to the planet Jupiter. Juno is carrying an array of scientific instruments, one of which is a special telescope/camera called JunoCam. JunoCam has a planetary-sized job and it’s not simply taking images to send back to earth. NASA incorporated an interactive …

Botanical Gardens are for Everyone

You never know what you’ll see when you go to a botanical garden. I take that back; you can be fairly certain you’ll see some plants, but other than that you won’t know what might be around the corner, especially if you visit during the time of a special exhibit. My family often makes a …

How to Make an Origami Fortune Teller

Whether you’ve made a fortune teller before or not, I bet you don’t know how many squares were hidden in the fold lines. What You Need: A square piece of paper or origami paper Directions Step 1 Fold the paper in half, and then unfold. Step 2 Fold the paper in half in the other …

Making Dye From Natural Materials (Farm to Yarn)

When you pulled a shirt out of your closet this morning, what color shirt was it? Did you wear a vivid red or brilliant blue? The bright colors we have access to today generally weren’t available until the introduction of synthetic (man-made) dyes and the industrial revolution. Before these milestones in chemistry and modern science, …

#JungalowStyle

Did you watch the movie Bio-Dome and wish you never had? If so, then you’re like most of the world. But, did you watch Bio-Dome and secretly wish you could surround yourself with tons of plants? Well, then you might just be ready for the latest millennial house decorating trend, #JungalowStyle. Other terms for this …

It’s a Milkweed Pod!

The plight of bees and monarchs are a cause for concern, and you might wonder what you can do to help them rebuild their populations. Allowing a few common milkweed plants, which can be found in at least 39 states and seven regions of Canada, to grow near your home is a fantastic way to …

Make Your Own Bark Rubbing

  Here’s an easy project to use an excuse to get outside in spring, summer or fall. As an added bonus, you probably already have all the materials on hand. What You Need: Paper Roll Rubbing Crayon (with the paper wrapper peeled off) Pencil, Markers, Stickers or Crayons Instructions: 1. Gather a sheet of paper …