5995

Science Party -6yr- Test Tube Invites

March 2003

Lisa in Jacksonville, Florida USA

Special Mention

Science Party 6 year old  We rented the clubhouse of a local neighborhood to have the party. What a great idea as the science party needed lots of room!

The invitations went out in plastic test tubes that I got on  e-bay. I put a label on the outside that said, EUREKA, the formula for Birthday fun has been discovered! I also put clipart of an atom a mad scientist cartoon and test tubes and beakers.  I used Microsoft Picture it to make the invitations and put a silly picture of my son looking like a mad scientist on it. I also used clip art of test tubes and a cartoon mad scientist from the program and from web sites to make it look like a science party invitation. I used a Dracula type font and said, Ooze on over to Nick’s Wild Laboratory for his 6th birthday party.

We had about 16 kids and 10 adults. As the children arrived they were directed to the make a molecule table. They made molecules(Geodesic Gumdrops) from colored toothpicks and DOTS candy. Dots are better than sugar coated gum drops--less mess no sugar coated hands. I covered the tables with a silver door cover. I got them on sale after Christmas there was Santa on the front but when you turn it over it is just plain silver and made great table covers, I had several of those. I had a sign on the table that said Make a Molecule Center and another table had Decorate your own boomerang here.  I had hot glued popsicle sticks in the shape of boomerangs and used my husband’s business cards to make ready to decorate boomerangs for the kids. A favor to take home as well.

I used lime green napkins and plates to complement the silver tables and also had a lime green table skirt for the food/cake table. I bought lime green balloons at a party store and mixed them with silver Mylar balloons for decorations.  Also on the floor I had big turkey trays filled with blue water and cornstarch, it feels so cool and the kids enjoys playing in those. We called it the slime area. I showed them how if you squeeze some in your hand it gets hard (solid) but if you open your hand it turns liquid again and flows out. I had a bubble machine blowing bubbles in another corner of the room so there was lots to do as everyone arrived.

After everyone tried these stations out we settled them down for some science demonstrations put on by my friend who played mad Scientist. We handed each child a plastic test tube filled with mini m&m’s and asked them to guess how many were in the one the scientist was holding. (We counted hers out prior to the party) The child that guessed the closest got a prize and all the kids kept and ate their test tube of M&M’s.  We started out together each with a starbucks bottle and a hard boiled egg (peeled) sitting on top of the bottle. We each put paper in the jar and dropped a lit match in it was a race to see whose egg would drop in first. Hers won! She then explained the science behind it all. There are lots of websites that explain these things.

Next was the red cabbage experiment. If you boil red cabbage and save the water it is a pretty dark purple and it stinks! We let the kids smell it just for fun and then pretended to add water to it. Really one beaker had baking soda water and the other had vinegar. I can’t remember which did what but the dark purple becomes light pink or light blue depending on what you add, it has to do with acids and bases. The birthday boy got to help out with that one. Another fun one was have a container full of water and add oil to the water (a lot of oil)the oil will sit on top of the water then splash food coloring in different areas of the oil. The birthday boy then used a big salt shaker and shook salt all over the top this adds weight to the oil and food coloring and it drops down into the water in balls then as the salt dissolves into the water the balls float back to the top. It is a homemade lava lamp so to speak. We used a big clear container from the dollar store. I got a lot of the stuff from the dollar store.

She then blew up a balloon by adding vinegar to baking soda in the bottom of a bottle and quickly attaching a balloon to the top, the gases formed blow up the balloon. The scientist did several other experiments all found on www.funology.com and www.exploratorium.org websites. The kids had a blast and learned a lot! We then move to the floor to make flubber or silly putty. Each child got there own bowl with a lid (ziploc bowls)  and they were instructed to add a certain amount of white glue to the bowl then I came around with borax water and added a little to each (I can’t remember the exact amount but it is all on the science sites) bowl. The kids then mixed it up and another adult gave them a choice of food coloring, they all turned into cool flubber and the kids enjoyed playing with it. Another adult wrote names on the lids and the kids took it home as a favor.

We then moved outside where the scientist had a giant volcano ready filled with baking soda the kids each had a plastic dixie cup of their own half full of baking soda. They gathered around the big volcano and the mad scientist poured a bottle of vinegar (dyed red) into the volcano and it erupted big time! The kids were thrilled! We then gave them each a dixie cup of red vinegar to add to their own mini volcanoes. Wow they loved it. We did this in the grass.  They also had a chance to try out the boomerangs and they actually worked.

Now it was time for cake. I had a friend make a chocolate mountain and then I bought a bag of red lifesavers (you can get all one color) I melted them down in a pot on the stove over low heat and poured them onto foil. It really made the coolest lava ever! Before the party I peeled the lava off the foil and stuck it into the cake. Everyone was impressed with the cake and it really wasn’t hard at all! I also made a test tube cake for those that don’t like chocolate. I had two Sara lee pound cakes and sliced them down the middle longwise. I iced the bottom blue and the top white. I used the rounded part of the cake to make the bottom of the test tube and used leftover pieces to make a lip at the top of the test tube. I then used blue mini m&m’s to look like bubbles in the white part of the icing. I put it on a tray covered in foil.

Finally opened presents and each child got to take home a candy filled rocket (from the dollar store) it actually shoots a foam rocket. I put a pre-made sticker on the rocket it had a picture of Nicholas and said Thank you for joining us at Nick’s party hope you had a blast. Get it? This was a lot of work but well worth it. I bought large sizes of oil, vinegar and baking soda at SAM’s.

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