Making pancakes a great way for preK kids to have science enrichment activities at home?

Our kids love pancakes. From mixing ingredients in the bowl to pouring the syrup, they just seem to love eating these delicious creations of breakfast fame. But, what's funny, is that the entire process, from making to eating pancakes, is ALL SCIENCE!  As a parent, we can enjoy science classes near me (you), without having to leave our house by, just realizing that science for your child is just having a curious question and being willing to engage in figuring out how to explore the answer.

Just think about it. Measuring ingredients and ensuring you get the right amounts, allows you to teach your kids about science. Whether the eggs mix with the cinammon or milk, is science. Even the heating is science as if you turn the skillet up to high, you can burn the exterior of the pancake, while leaving the inside moist and uncooked, which is never good. So let me explain one new word to use in preparation, that is not only fun to say for kids, but is one of the coolest science concepts around. 

VISCOSITY! It represents the thickness of a liquid. Some pancake mixes are very thick (highly viscous) because we put too little milk, water or other liquids in the mixture, while others are quite thin (low viscosity). My kids (ages 2 and 7) like making three bowls of pancakes, with different amounts of milk, and then mixing them and talking about the texture while using the word VISCOSITY. It has helped them to apply a science word to other things in our refrigerator, like Butter (high viscosity), Jam (high viscosity), Fat Free milk (low viscosity), Apple Juice (low viscosity). We take these liquids and pour them into bowls and see that the ones that move very slowly, because of their thickness, have high viscosity. Try this experiment with your kids at home the next time you are making pancakes, whether you use VISCOSITY or not, it is great to actually allow them to make a mixture over a towel, and talk about why one is different than the other. Then cook the mixtures and observe what happens. Kids learn by doing, and this experiment is so simple that even a toddler can get involved. Enjoy!

Creativity matters for kids long-term outperformance in their career, so we develop those skills at Kids Science Labs to unlock their curiosity

Creativity sometimes starts with giving kids reasonable choices as they make design decisions

It took someone with imagination, to figure out a Segway, Netflix and Uber. The interesting thing is that all the great poets, painters, Nobel laureates and engineers, just think about the world differently. The best scientists and engineers are not the ones who have all the knowledge, but the ones that can connect that knowledge, with creative thinking, to real world issues.

A problem presents itself such as "we can't possibly travel faster than in a car" , and someone with imagination says "Why Not". What's funny, is this same principle is exactly how the mind of a child works. Kids don't know the rules and as a result, they have far greater ability to outperform in problem solving, creativity, and innovation than we do as adults, precisely because adults use their expansive knowledge to solve the problem, rather than access there even more expansive Imagination and Creativity.

Whenever you are seeking family-friendly activities for kids, remember that Kids Science Labs was built to offer the most engaging hands-on science activities nearby and operates centers across the U.S to help transform science education for all families.

Chicago STEM Field Trips are at their best at the #1 ranked Kids Science Labs

Chicago STEM Trips build long-term memories for students

We offer the most engaging STEM field trips, focused on Amplify Science and NGSS for elementary, milddle school PreK students. Kids Science Labs offers a wie range of Chicago STEM trip opportunities for small groups, girl scouts, and large classrooms for kids 3+. Our STEM enrichment activities boost Science Facts and are all aligned with NGSS, to ensure tha our students can enjoy hands-on science, engaging science enrichment activities, and do everything from educational and safe shark dissections to learning how to increase the size of bubbles.

Kids Science Labs is the ideal Chicago STEM trip for Kids 3+

Beyond our in-person Chicago STEM Field Trip experience, we also offer STEM Labs for those campuses that desire us to send teachers and materials to their school. Our Chicago Field Trips @ KSL include an on-site experience for schools that prefer to take us bus to the best hands-on science Field trips in Chicago at our Field Trip HQ in the South Loop. We encourage you to also join science museums, like the Field Museum and Museum & Science and Industry and tour their interactive exhibits as well, but Kids Science Labs is just different. When teachers are looking for direct STEM programs to address their required STEM enrichment activities, look no further htan KSL. Our field trips cover many topics, which you can find here:

Kids Science Labs is the the 1st Choice for Chicago STEM trips and Chicago Area Teachers

If you are looking to find out why Kids Science Labs is the #1 Ranked Choice for Childcare, Elementary School, and Middle School Teachers, check out our intro video on Field Trips. Beyond providing a truly engaging experience in education STEM environments for kids, Chicago area Kids Science Labs offers over 300 NGSS hands-on science classes, that are unrivaled in the United States anywhere. Kids Science Labs includes Chicago STEM Programs and Chicago STEM Field Trips such as

• Best Science Summer Camps for Kids

• Best Kid’s Birthday Party Places for Chicago Kids

• Best STEM Field Trips

• Best At-School STEM Enrichment Activities for Elementary Schools

• Best Educational STEM Opportunities and Professional Learning For Teachers

STEM Attractions that Make Unforgettable Chicago STEM Field Trips @ Kids Science Labs

Whether its our award winning Shark Dissection as a capttone Chicago STEM Field Trip, or experimenting with the life cycle of plants and animals in an ecosystem for Kindergarteners, our STEM Field Trips are world renown and full of un hands-on science activities for kids. Find out more below and save

Elementary STEM programs enable future career advancement with critical thinking at Kids Science Labs

How can I create a nightlight to help me read under the covers before bedtime?

Wednesday was all about diving into the problems that electrical engineers help us to solve! Kids love their iPads and remote control cars, but how do these things work? Electricity is the flow of electrical charge from one place to another. As electrical engineers, we had to figure out how we can bring electricity to different places like our homes, schools and KSL! Only materials that are conductors will allow electricity to move. We tested materials like wires, crayons, legos, cotton balls, and scissors to see which materials are conductive. Our engineers discovered that metals often make great conductors and used this knowledge to wire their own functioning electrical circuits! At home, dust off some of your old phones, computers, or gaming systems to investigate how electrical engineers have helped us develop technology that is smaller, faster, and more efficient!