I told you I had something better (weirder?) than Black Bean Brownies up my sleeve. I'm sharing my best Chocolate Chirp Cookie recipe. No, that's not a typo; chocolate chirp. Which is to say, cricket flour cookies with chocolate chips. Allow me to introduce you to entomophagy, or eating insects. Sound gross? Well, then you were probably raised in North America or Europe. Eating insects is actually quite common in the rest of the world. Also, ... [ Read More ]
Mine for Power Gems (A DIY Operation Game)
I’ve partnered with Bernzomatic to bring you another fun STEM project to keep you and your big kids busy over Spring Break. This time we’re making a sort of a DIY Operation game called Mine for Power Gems. As with the Fridge Fun Marble Run, this engaging project allows your kids to get crafty while building STEM knowledge and skills. Get ready to fire your Bernzomatic ST500 Cordless Soldering Iron up again! The cool thing about a cordless ... [ Read More ]
Make a Fridge Fun Marble Run
Not going anywhere for spring break this year? Keep your children’s minds active with a STEM project. Kids can turn your kitchen into an applied physics lab from the moment they purposely toss that first bit of food from their high chair trays. This STEM activity, the Fridge Fun Marble Run, is a lot less mess and a ton more fun. As you watch a marble turn potential (stored) energy, into kinetic energy (energy in motion) on its way down the run, ... [ Read More ]
Look What I Made: A Custom Candy Mold!
My Maker Mom-in-Residence is humming along and I'm eager to share the things I've made and learned. My goal at mHUB is to have some kind of output each week- a 3D print, a carved object, something to demonstrate that I am showing up, growing my skills and knowledge, and making things. A couple of years ago I interviewed Bob Clagett of I Like to Make Stuff. He told me, I do my best to try to find interesting projects, not interesting ways to ... [ Read More ]
DIY Crystal Heart
Here's a little blinged-out DIY science and maker project that's a perfect way to add sparkle to any day. Plus, growing crystals, solids whose molecules are arranged in an ordered, repeating pattern has a magical quality. This can come in handy if, say, you are trying to summon a fairy* to your garden. Or maybe you want to show off or share a shiny Valentine's Day gift made with love...and science. If you want to grow crystals as a scientific ... [ Read More ]
Celebrate the Sun
I don't know how things have been in your neck of the woods, but in Chicago, we've seen precious little of the fiery ball in the sky in recent months. But today the sun is shining, temperatures are rising, the breezes are slight- the prefect condition for making sun art, also called sun prints or solar art. If you want to get technical, we're talking about cyanotypes. (Click for interesting reading.) I've been itching to make sun art and to ... [ Read More ]
About That Ripple in Space-Time
You probably heard the news about the recent observation of ripples space-time, but you might not understand what it means. And maybe you could continue on that way if it weren't for the curious kids in your house demanding explanations. I'm here to help! Resources for Understanding and Explaining Gravitational Waves to Kids One hundred years ago, Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves. That is, he suggested that space-time had ... [ Read More ]