My son has been working through Apologia Biology over this past semester. With his studies he is engaging in a wide variety of experiments. Sometimes he deigns to let me take part and it’s a hoot sharing the wonders of discovery with him. Every once in a while though he runs into an experiment that I simply can’t find the ingredients for or that try as he might, he can’t get to work properly. Highschool science is sometimes a challenge for him. What is a lad to do then? What does one do with science experiment fails?
Idea Spawned
I was actually a bit stymied by this until I read a blog post where a gal mentioned her son (I think) watching youtube videos for the experiments she didn’t have the ingredients for. Brain fart… like seriously, why didn’t I think about that??? Don’t you think it’s a fantastic idea though?
The Problem Experiment, Solution One
We ran into this one experiment that my son sent me out shopping for. He gave me a list for some upcoming experiments, one of which was meat tenderizer. Well, I searched London for meat tenderizer going to several different stores and calling others. One store was positive they had some and I had a delightful chat with a young man as we searched the store, but I ended up empty handed with lots of apologies. 🙂
I had to tell the lad that we needed to figure out an alternative for this experiment. I had a box DNA package that I had picked up a while back that had a recipe for making DNA so he used that. This one used a different methodology so we figured it was worth a shot. It was part of a kit that had a number of DNA related experiments in it. I’ve linked a couple of kits below that aren’t quite the same but close.
Solution Two
The lad had some success with this kit. I had wanted him to do a lab report with this experiment but watching his frustration I told him to choose a different experiment. In the meantine it was most excellent that he could watch this experiment being done by another family.
Watching this video below I can just imagine the fun my lad will have doing the plastic rock experiment.
It has been such fun watching other families do some of these apologia experiments, and it’s a great back up for when we have science experiment fails, or simply lack the ingredients to do them properly.
I urge you to check out these experiments yourself, if only! 🙂 My son really enjoyed doing this experiment I found below.
Solution Three: Failed Science Experiments
Our third solution to failed science experiments is simply to try again. Sometimes you miss a step, or you timed something wrong, or random chance just had it not working. So try it again! My lad did this with a mould experiment. The first time he didn’t cut the cheese fine enough, the second time he did but thought he’d add a twist, and the third time he did it perfectly. His crow of delight was totally worth all the effort. 🙂
There are so many good experiments out there. Let not the lack of ingredients stymie you. Don’t get caught up in your science experiment fail. Watch videos, try it an alternative method or simply try it all again. Just do it, you’ll learn so much!
Others in this Series
- Add in your life.Â
- Edmund Burke, philosopher.Â
- Clarity in Writing.
- Deep Runs the Well.Â
- Ease of Consistent Schedules.Â
- Fantastic Ways to learn History.Â
- Going Through Browswer Tabs.Â
- Hiding the Unknown.
- Invested in Health.
- William James, philosopher.
- Key books for Middle School.Â
- Looking for Picture Books.Â
- Making Facebook Easier.Â
- New Direction.
- Online Homeschool Conference.
- Studies in Philippians.Â
- Quine.Â
- Reading Aloud with Teens.Â
- Science Equipment fails.
- Â
I think part of the fun of science experiments is the failing where you get to try it all over again!! 😉 That being said, I was never great about doing them at home. I used other moms who had that knowledge. Now I see that I could’ve done some!!
YES! I firmly believe that everyone can do science, you just need the willingness to try. 🙂 It’s not hard to be amazed and then to learn something.
Very cool! I think that is part of the joys of homeschooling – when we are in a science classroom with a teacher who is a veteran, it is probable that experiments won’t fail (they have worked out all the problems over the years). At home – who knows what might happen!
We didn’t something like the plastic rock. My first grader did NOT want to touch it at all.
oh that’s too bad, plastic rock is amazing to play with. perhaps the next experiment will be more up her/his alley! 🙂