The Kid Should See This.

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There's just so much science, nature, music, art, technology, storytelling and assorted good stuff out there that my kids (and maybe your kids) haven't seen. It's most likely not stuff that was made for them...

But we don't underestimate kids around here.

Kid-friendly not-made-for-kids videos for all! Collected by Rion Nakaya and her three four year old co-curator.

Tip Jar: Curating this blog takes work! If you like the videos on this site, please support the science education projects that we've picked on DonorsChoose.org.

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From Science Friday, behold A Spacesuit Ballet: 

Of the suit he wore on the moon, Neil Armstrong wrote, “it was tough, reliable, and almost cuddly.” But that cuddly suit, made by the company Playtex, had some stiff competition (literally) from rival rigid, metal designs. This video features archival NASA footage of mobility tests for several spacesuit prototypes. Music is from the band One Ring Zero’s album “Planets”.

Meet Biologist Doug Altshuler. He’s a hummingbird fan and has created a “hummingbird training center” in his lab to test their agility, as well as to record their twists and turns with multiple slow motion cameras. The secret to their talents: hovering… which ties into that whole flying backwards and upside down while turning on a dime thing that they do. #incredible

This clip is from “Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air.” You can watch the entire documentary on pbs.org. We also have a few more slow motion hummingbirds in the archives.

This experiment was featured a few months ago in a video that had a variety of DIY science tricks. But it’s such a fun and easy activity to do that it bears repeating: Get some milk, dish soap, food coloring, a plate, and then wait for the oooos, aaahs and whoaaaas.

Thanks, currentfrequency.

It’s said that there’s nothing new under the sun, but the first time I saw someone levitating a glider, I couldn’t believe it… Ten years later I was building and flying walkalong gliders with my students. 

And now teacher Slater Harrison shares his Air Surfing Foam Walkalong Glider project on his site, Science Toy Maker. He also has videos about variations on the glider, the history of the experiment, and other easy and more challenging science DIYs. An excellent resource.

One of the most famous surfaces in mathematics, the Möbius strip can be constructed by cutting a long strip of paper, putting a half twist in it, and gluing the ends of the strip together. What makes this seemingly ordinary construct so fascinating is that, while the original strip of paper clearly had two sides, the Möbius strip seems to have only one. Try to draw a line on both “sides” without picking up your pencil. It’s actually quite simple.

Then you take some scissors to it… and it gets even more interesting!

via ScienceDump.

The Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee introduces the Van de Graff Generator and static electricity! After they make everyone’s hair rise, they create some serious sparks — another video worth watching. 

Science tricks to impress/distract your family! 

Via BoingBoing. 

Now this is an effective way for co-curators to remember the names of elements… have the elements explode! Five out of the six Alkali metals react with air and water: Lithium (Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Rubidium (Rb), and Caesium (Cs). 

Via laboiteverte.fr.

Aerostat — a lovely video of a balloon and video camera’s journey high enough to see space where it recorded an enviable sun flare shot — reminded me of this video shown above: Homemade Spacecraft/Space Balloon. 

Launched by a father and his seven year old in August, 2010, their homemade balloon and video camera set up (housed in a takeout container) also got to see the curve of the Earth, climbing 19 miles high before the balloon burst. It includes a bit more nitty gritty from their experiment, with lots of onscreen notes. Great stuff if you’re itchin’ to DIY with your own weather balloon, video camera and iPhone. 

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