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 …
Continue reading "Snow Volcano Made from Diet Cola and Salt"
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 …
Continue reading "Microgreens for Beginners: Steps for Planting"
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 …
Continue reading "Citizens of Earth: Participate in JunoCam!"
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 …
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 …
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, …
Continue reading "Making Dye From Natural Materials (Farm to Yarn)"
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 …
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 …
A few summers ago I met an artist in Maine who makes beautiful framed artwork from algae. Using algae as a medium was news to me, so she explained where she finds her different types of algae and the best times of day to collect it. Algae come in various shades of greens, red and …
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 …
