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Friday, June 15, 2007
How a dead frog can send your kid to college
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A dead frog could send your child to college for free. A do-it-yourself telescope project might get your family talking about some stars other than Paris Hilton.
You need to be old to remember this, but chemistry sets, electronics projects, microscope kits that included a sad-looking frog in a plastic bag, and telescopes once were a big part of growing up. Interest in science, sparked by these kits, was the first step toward success for many an engineer, physician and scientist.
Nowadays, kits like that are pretty much forgotten - but, thank goodness, not gone. With school vacations under way, this is a good time to introduce a young family member to some hands-on science. Most kids know their way around computer games, iPods and cellular phones but may know less about the basics of how things really work than a child of the ’60s or ’70s.
Projects like these provide the starter fuel for learning: curiosity. Putting a radio together or studying the stars isn’t going to instantly fast-track a child to MIT. But, working with science on their own time and in their own way - without the confining rules of school - can spark an interest that changes their lives.
When I was a kid, you didn’t have to look very far for a cheap microscope kit or a Gilbert Chemistry Set. Nowadays a little searching is required, but I can point you toward some science projects that are affordable and fun. No kids in the house? No worries, these projects are fun for old geezers, too.
Electronics kits
Let’s start our nostalgic tour here at Ramsey Electronics. When I was young, HeathKit was the place to go for electronics kits. Today, Ramsey is the king. You can start at the company Web page.
Then click on the link at the top of the page for Hobby Kits. Tell me, who could resist building an “electronic bug”? For $30 you can build a robotic insect that can walk. Money well spent if you ask me. Ramsey also offers kits to build AM radios, shortwave radios and - one of my favorites - a $10 electronic dripping faucet. Once constructed, it makes an annoying drip sound. We’re talking about highflying technology here, folks.
Astronomy
It’s hard to resist a telescope. And that’s part of the problem. Too many people start off wrong when it comes to looking at the sky. They either spend hundreds of dollars on a fine scope that ends up in a closet after a few weeks, or they’ll spend too little on a telescope that is as useless as Uncle Fred.
The best way to learn about the skies is with a decent pair of 7x50 binoculars - you may already have a pair - and with a good book about the night sky. My favorite is Night Sky: A Field Guide to the Heavens by Mark R. Chartrand and Helmut K. Wimmer. The book, part of the Golden Field Guide Series, retails for $14.95, but you can pick it up for $11.66 at Amazon.com
Not only does it offer a basic primer on astronomy, it includes a star chart that will help you find objects based on the time of day and the season. Then, just for the fun of it, there’s a really low-end telescope kit here. You won’t end up with something as good as a pair of binoculars, but for $15 you really can’t lose. And assembling the kit is a great way to get firsthand knowledge of how scopes work.
Biology
We started today with a dead frog. I fully realize most folks would rather not have a dead frog around the house. Hey, there’s a frog out there just for you at this link. It’;s the synthetic frog dissection kit from the Smithsonian Institution - this frog never hopped. So for $26 you can avoid the mess and still get an inside view of frog anatomy.
Chemistry
Another kit that might seem frightening to parents is the old chemistry set. I remember using my Gilbert set to turn my bedroom into a gooey and smoking disaster. Today’s kits are a lot safer and, if you’re interested, you can find a good selection here.
Think of today’s tour as a brief introduction to a whole world of kits and projects. In every instance, the Web pages here offer a host of other projects. So if none of these kits caught your eye, I’ll bet there’s something out there that will.
You never know what you will discover with these kits. My guess is that some of you will make the most important discovery of all: finding a child with a passion for science.
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