Let’s just all agree—eggs are pretty amazing! They are surprisingly strong and you can use them to do all sorts of STEM activities to learn about osmosis, strength, air pressure and physics. Use your bounty of Easter eggs to try out some of these science experiments with eggs!

Walk on Eggs

Photo: S. Massey

How can you walk on eggs without breaking them? An egg’s unique shape gives it tremendous strength, despite its seeming fragility. 

Insider tip: if this science experiment has you in the mood for eggs, check out our list of the best egg-cellent egg recipes for kids

Make Eggs Magical

This “look ma, no hands, wires or mirrors” trick will get them every time; an egg being sucked into a jar while your little scientist delightedly looks on is always a hit. To perform this illusory feat, you’ll need a glass jar with an opening just smaller than an egg (think: old school milk jug) and a peeled, boiled egg. When you and your little scientist have checked these items off your list, it’s time to start the show. Mom or dad should toss a lit match into the glass jar, followed by your mini lab assistant, who’ll quickly set the egg over the opening. Abracadabra! Alakazam! The match dies out; the egg gets (seemingly) inexplicably sucked into the bottle. And just like that you’ve performed another bit of parent magic without breaking a sweat.

Why it works: The match uses up the air inside the bottle. Once that happens the pressure outside the bottle is greater and pushes the egg down into the bottle.

Squeeze an Egg

Science Sparks

You may have seen this science experiment with eggs make its way around TikTok this past summer with people trying to crush an egg with their biceps. You'll find the science behind it described on Science-Sparks and everyone will be cringing when little hands put the big squeeze on a fragile egg. Try as you might, that baby won’t break (until you crack it into a pan to make breakfast for dinner afterward). 

Brain Boost Factor: The egg’s shape is clearly stronger than it looks.

Disappearing Egg Shell

Go Science Kids

Can you and the kiddos solve the mysterious case of the disappearing egg shell? Following the simple how-to at Go Science Kids, you’ll learn the step-by-step and talking points about the process along the way. Warning! Although it’s totally non-toxic, toddler aged kids will be tempted to squeeze the egg at the end so keep an eye out!

Crystal Egg Geodes

This grow-your-own experiment that lets you grow crystals inside an egg shell. Be sure to get alum powder that contains potassium, or else you won't get any crystal growth. Adding drops of food dye to the growing solution yields some super cool crystals. A perfectly formed geode takes about 12-15 hours to grow, making this a great weekend project. Get the full scoop on how to do it from Learn to Grow.

The Egg Drop Challenge

If you have fond memories of building your own egg drop contraption for high school Physics class, this is a great one to share with the kids. They'll love learning all the science behind what can protect the egg and constructing their own egg drop contraption. Get the full scoop here

Eggs and Osmosis

Teach kids all about how liquids pass through semi-permeable membranes in this fun science experiment with eggs from the QuadSquad

Make a Folding Egg

Kids will love being able to bounce this egg between their hands and fold it up into their pocket during this egg science experiment. How does it work? Steve Spangler shows you in this video

—Taylor Clifton & Kate Loweth

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You are spending so much time at home with your baby due to the pandemic. Without mommy and me music classes, story time and infant swim lessons parents are looking for new ways to engage their little ones. Based on the latest infant cognitive development research, infantio, an iOS app & online streaming service designed to stimulate infants’ minds from the get-go, releases today in the App Store and at infant.io.

babies tablet

Designed to stimulate infants’ minds from the get-go, this series of high-contrast animations capitalizes on the fact that babies are born with an innate expectation of how the physical world behaves, as well as the capacity to keep track of quantities and perform basic arithmetic. Simple puzzles, patterns, counting exercises, and mechanics demonstrations are designed to captivate the tiniest thinkers without overstimulating them.

The infantio app offers two modes, stimulate and soothe, and an included session timer to help parents track and manage screen time. infantio’s animations include age-appropriate patterns and puzzles as well as physics and math demonstrations.  An included session timer helps parents track and manage screen time, while a soothe mode pairs the animations with calming, classical music to help babies  and their parents unwind and relax.  

infantio is compatible with iPhones and iPads and is available now for free download in the App Store. The animations are also streaming on infantio.io.

—Jennifer Swartvagher

Featured photo: Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

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You’ve seen the kiddos create epic cities with elaborate scenarios enough times to know that LEGO bricks are more than your average toy. Now there’s one more reason to love those little bricks: LEGO Education is celebrating its 40th birthday with the worldwide launch of its newest educational tool, LEGO Education SPIKE Prime. We got the scoop on this newest product and its impact in classrooms today. 

LEGO SPIKE Prime

Using this new STEAM tool, students learn by building a robot, testing out if it works and if it doesn’t, they take it apart and build it again. Through collaboration with their team, students learn by their mistakes and when everything goes as planned, their confidence levels rise. 

LEGO SPIKE Prime

This hands-on STEAM learning solution combines 528 LEGO bricks, easy-to-use hardware and a drag-and-drop coding language with 32 lesson plans.

LEGO SPIKE Prime

Combining the physical and digital worlds through bricks, sensors, motors and an intelligent Hub, students build fun and engaging creations, and then using the SPIKE App, they bring those creations to life through scratch-based coding. Students can program SPIKE Prime to break dance every 20 minutes as a reminder to get up and move, check the weather forecast to see if they need an umbrella, or customize a fitness plan and do sit ups together. The activities fit into a variety of lesson plans from physics to language arts. 

LEGO SPIKE Prime

 

—Jennifer Swartvagher

Photos courtesy of LEGO

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Building blocks are an absolutely essential plaything in every baby’s toy box. Aside from offering hours of child-directed fun, they do wonders for building spatial awareness, motor development, language and problem-solving skills. Read on to discover why Lovevery’s Block Set is only one you’ll need.

More than 20 ways to play and learn!
Expertly crafted for infinite play potential, The Block Set is both comprehensive and flexible in its design. The system consists of 70 wood pieces in a variety of shapes and a rainbow of beautiful hues. From cubes, planks, and geometric shapes, to solid wood people, wheels, and threading blocks, The Block Set has everything your child needs to grow into a lifelong learner.

The Lovevery Block Set is simple yet sophisticated with research-driven tools for your child’s developing brain. Babies, tots, and kids can stack, sort, roll, count and categorize while connecting the dots between basic concepts. What’s more, a stage-based guide packed with 20+ developmental activities and with clear and actionable instructions provides a logical map for inspiring learning through play.

Grows with your child
The Block Set by Lovevery is intended to become your family’s favorite box of open-ended amusement. The fun begins at 18 months when baby can use its modular features to discover cause and effect, gravity, and velocity. As your child grows, so does the potential for play. You might find your little one building a city, acting out a story, or challenging their creativity and confidence by physically engaging with the blocks. Watch your little one mix and match activities as they advance. When ready, your child can follow a sequence of steps and transform the set’s compact wooden storage box into a charming pull car.

The name of the game is experimentation with this set. And it lasts well beyond the first four years of your child’s development. Learning activities range to meet every stage of your child’s growth. The blocks are all made to last and crafted using 100% child-safe materials, including FSC-certified sustainably harvested wood with water-based non-toxic finishes.

Supports early childhood development
The magic of childhood is captured in this timeless toy set. In addition to being simply fun, it’s designed under the guiding principles of the Montessori method of teaching. Moreover, the Block Set can help little kids grasp STEM concepts like math, physics and engineering. Whether your child is leading their own play or following your lead, they can unknowingly be practicing everything from higher-order planning to hand-eye coordination.

Your child might start out examining and categorizing the blocks or fitting them together spatially. Then, engage in pattern play and explore connections. Next, you might overhear the wooden friends talking about feelings. Or spy your child investigating how things balance or topple over. Your child’s development and imagination may flourish as they create and learn.

Want to learn more? The Block Set makes a great gift and is available at lovevery.com for $90. Lovevery also has a subscription program of age-based Play Kits that are delivered by developmental stages and span from newborn to 24 months. Check them out!

—Whitney Harris

photos: Lovevery

STEM—an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math—is one of the biggest buzzwords in education these days. With good reason, as learning these subjects can help students become better thinkers and problem-solvers. With their natural curiosity and great capacity to learn, babies and toddlers are born scientists and mathematicians. Here are our top picks for books that introduce STEM concepts to your future Einsteins.

Nerdy Babies: Space by Emmy Kastner
This new series of board books and picture books covers cool topics like space and the ocean in language littles can understand. Written by a former teacher, the books cover topics with simple text, engaging questions and cute imagery kids will love. In the space book, your kids will learn all about the sun, solar system, gravity and orbits.

Available at amazon.com, $7.50.

Baby University ABCs Four-Book Set by Chris Ferrie
Teach baby the ABCs of space, mathematics, physics and science with these board books. The colorful illustrations complement the STEM concepts for every letter of the alphabet—times four! Written by a father who is also a mathematician and award-winning physicist, we imagine he can calculate the path of the spaghetti before it gets thrown from the high chair.

Available at amazon.com, $39.96.

STEAM for Babies–Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math by Andrea Scalzo Yi
Even the youngest of babies will be enamored by the high-contrast black, white and red pictures and simple text in this image-driven book. In addition to introducing STEM words, it includes the bonus “A” for art concepts.

Available at amazon.com, $7.99.

Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
Counting is one of the earliest math skills babies learn. This visually striking counting book is written and illustrated by the creator of multiple Caldecott Honor Books. The rhyming text and bold art take young ones on a journey of discovery where they learn what a dot, or two or three…up to ten, can make.

Available at amazon.com, $16.99.

HTML for Babies by Sterling Children’s
Get your little techie familiar with the language of coding by using a book from the Code Babies series. Bold fonts and colors present the letters and symbols used for web-based programming, vital to learning in today’s digital world. In addition to HTML, there are books for CSS and JavaScript.

Available at amazon.com, $6.95.

This Little Scientist: A Discovery Primer by Joan Holub
Short rhymes beginning with the phrase “This little scientist…” tell the stories of ten diverse scientists, including Isaac Newton and Jane Goodall. A fact box under the charming illustrations further explores the work of each trailblazer.

Available at amazon.com, $7.99.

Baby Loves Science Board Boxed Set by Ruth Spiro
Taking a baby-centric approach to abstract scientific ideas, the Baby Loves Science series is thoughtful and fun. Each book shows how a baby might encounter concepts like gravity and thermodynamics in their everyday life. These books will continue to encourage curiosity as baby grows.

Available at amazon.com, $35.96.

My First Math Book: An Introduction to Math Symbols For Babies and Toddlers by Christine Dillard
Picture equations introduce babies to the basic symbols of mathematics. All the math signs—equal, addition, subtraction and more—are big for little eyes to spy, and adorable animal and nature pictures accompany them. Great for learning counting as well.

Available at amazon.com, $9.95.

Counting Kisses by Karen Katz
With the whimsy of a traditional picture book, count down the kisses from one to ten in this sweet bedtime story. In addition to counting, babies will get a lesson in different body parts and likely the comfort of a few kisses!

Available at amazon.com, $7.99.

Architecture for Babies by Jonathan Litton
Learn the building blocks of architecture with this selection from the Baby 101 series. Find out what architects do and learn about the world’s most famous structures, including the Colosseum and Taj Mahal, in the straight-forward text and detailed illustrations.

Available at amazon.com, $8.09.

Hello World! Solar System by Jill McDonald
The sun, the moon, the planets and more come alive in this bright introduction to the solar system. The illustrations are full of basic shapes, and the text features simple science facts with prompts for engaging little explorers, all in a sturdy board-book format.

Available at amazon.com, $7.99.

Little Scientist Board Book Set by Emily Kleinman
Meet the real people behind the world’s greatest scientific discoveries. These four chunky board books are perfect for little hands. They feature scientists from four different disciplines (astronomy, physics, chemistry, and earth & life) with a short description and a bright illustration on each page.

Available at amazon.com, $14.99.

On the Launch Pad Counting Book by Michael Dahl
Combining math and science, this counting book is perfect for all aspiring astronauts or astrophysicists. Your budding voyager will enjoy finding the hidden numbers in the colorful illustrations. Countdown and blast off for fun learning!

Available at amazon.com, $8.95.

Girls Who Code: Baby Code! By Sandra Horning
Although part of the Girls Who Code series, this book is for all babies. Using items your little one is sure to be familiar with, like a phone and a teddy bear, the text and illustrations work together to show how baby performs an action and a computer does a similar task.

Available at amazon.com, $7.99.

Baby University Four-Book Set by Chris Ferrie
Explore four fundamental science concepts with this book set by father, mathematician and physicist Chris Ferrie. The titles include Quantum Physics for Babies, Rocket Science for Babies, General Relativity for Babies and Newtonian Physics for Babies. Grownups might even learn a thing or two!

Available at amazon.com, $39.96.

featured photo: geralt via Pixabay

—Katie L. Carroll

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If there is even one tiny LEGO brick somewhere in your house, chances are you’ve stepped on it—and subsequently howled in agony. So why does stepping on LEGO bricks hurt so much? Turns out, there’s actually a scientific reason for it.

It’s nearly impossible to be a parent and not experience the pain of stepping on a LEGO—or several—at some point. It’s such a commonly-experienced phenomenon that the internet is filled with memes about it. Yes, the LEGO walk challenge is a real thing—much like one would walk on fire or glass. Many who have attempted LEGO walking claim it hurts way more than walking on fire or even broken glass. The reason why stepping on LEGO bricks is so painful has to do with physics and human anatomy.

Photo: Alexas_Fotos via Pixabay

Scott Bell is a fire walker—and yes, a LEGO walker, too. Bell told Smithsonian magazine that when his team fire-walks they are actually just walking in the embers of logs that burned for an hour. Although the temperature of the embers registers “between 930 and 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit,” that’s not actually what you feel when you walk across. Glass walking is also less painful than it looks because the broken pieces are spread evenly over a surface. As you walk across, your foot distributes weight, which flattens the glass. No one piece pierces the skin or even pokes it hard enough to set off pain receptors.

On the other hand, plastic LEGO bricks are an entirely different story. These bricks are built to withstand the thrashing of any threenager—and then some. In fact, as the Smithsonian explains, a single two-by-two brick can withstand up to 4,240 Newtons, or in everyday terms about 950 pounds of pressure!

So when your foot finds itself in the precarious position of landing on top of one of these nearly indestructible, sharp-cornered little bricks, there is absolutely zero give—and all of that force is redirected right back into your poor, unsuspecting foot. Speaking of feet, human feet are very sensitive. The bottom of each foot has up to 200,000 sensory receptors, which are all screaming in agony the instant they touch that LEGO.

It actually hurts less to step on multiple bricks at once because then the impact is spread across the foot rather than one single painful point of contact. Moral of the story: if you must have LEGO bricks on the floor, leave several scattered and avoid having one lonely brick sitting by itself at all costs. Your feet will thank you.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

 

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On Wednesday, the scientific community—and the world, too—woke up to some incredibly sad news: Stephen Hawking had died in the early hours of Wednesday morning at his home in Cambridge, England. Hawking was a noted physicist, Cambridge professor and was known as a man who lived against the odds throughout his entire life, especially after developing ALS at the age of 22. He was 76.

From his groundbreaking book, A Brief History of Time, to his empowering life story portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in the 2014 biopic, The Theory of Everything, to his much-loved cameo appearance on The Simpsons, Hawking has permeated much of our generation’s understanding of space, time, quantum physics—and even the power to overcome immense personal challenges with inspirational aplomb.

Despite such a loss, Hawking has left behind some remarkable gems for generations to come—and not just in the form of complex books on the physics of the space-time continuum, either. There are a number of kids books about Stephen Hawking, as well as a young adult science fiction series Hawking wrote with his daughter, Lucy.

Here’s our round-up of the best Stephen Hawking kids books to inspire your own pint-sized physicist at home.

All About Stephen Hawking

Part of the popular All About series of biographies for children, All About Stephen Hawking gives readers ages 8 to 12 years old a fantastic overview of not just Stephen Hawking's life, but of his contributions to science.

Get All About Stephen Hawking here on Amazon.

Stephen Hawking: Cosmologist Who Gets a Big Bang Out of the Universe

This Scholastic biography from 2009 is meant for slightly younger readers, aged 7 to 11. At just 32 pages, there are plenty of awesome illustrations to keep young readers engaged.

Get Stephen Hawking: Cosmologist Who Gets a Big Bang Out of the Universe at Amazon.

Stephen Hawking (Against the Odds Biography)

Yet another non-fiction book for readers in grades 3 through 6, this Against the Odds biography tells "the amazing stories of inspiring people who have made a difference and changed the world, despite the odds stacked against them," according to the publisher. 

Get Stephen Hawking (Against the Odds Biography) from Amazon.

The Living Einstein: The Stephen Hawking Story

One of the most recent kid's biographies about Stephen Hawking is The Living Einstein: The Stephen Hawking Story, published in September 2017 as part of the "Dissected Lives" series of biographies. The book description reads, "He experimented, studied and explored anything and everything from the physical world to the cosmos. Be inspired by his story. Learn from his discoveries." 

Get The Living Einstein: The Stephen Hawking Story on Amazon.

George's Secret Key to the Universe

Stephen Hawking, along with his daughter Lucy, wrote a series of young adult science fiction books. The first book in their series, George's Secret Key to the Universe, introducers readers aged 8 to 12 to the world of a scientist named George, his daughter, and a supercomputer named Cosmos.

Get George's Secret Key to the Universe here on Amazon.

George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt

In the second book of his series, Hawking takes young readers on an adventure through space that travels the expanse of a heartfelt friendship.

Get George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt here on Amazon.

George and the Big Bang

In the third installment of Stephen and Lucy Hawking's George's Secret Key series, the scientist and his pals take on enemies while getting to the most exciting moment in the universe—the very start of it all!

Get George and the Big Bang on Amazon.

George and the Unbreakable Code

The fourth George's Secret Key book has protagonists George and Annie "off on another cosmic adventure to figure out why strange things are happening on Earth," according to the publisher. You can read a free story, "George and the Cosmic Doorway," from the book at The Sun, courtesy of its Get Kids Reading campaign in 2014.

Get George and the Unbreakable Code here on Amazon.

George and the Blue Moon

The fifth George's Secret Key book was just published in November 2017, a mere four months before Hawking's death. No word yet if there are futureGeorge's Secret Key manuscripts from Stephen and Lucy Hawking that might be published posthumously. 

Get George and the Blue Moon here on Amazon.

R.I.P., Stephen Hawking. You will certainly be missed—and thank you for the incredible legacy you've left for our generation, our kids and their kids someday, too.

Is your kid hoping to travel to the moon, Mars—or even across time? Share your stories of science and discovery with your kids in the comments.

—Keiko Zoll

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You might think that New York City is one of the last places for quality star-gazing, and to some extent you’d be right; views of the Milky Way in all its glory aren’t happening here. However, the Big Apple is home to both some high-powered and historic observatories, as well as the big brains (read: academics) who come to New York to study the science of sky and beyond. Here’s the best news: you and the kids can take advantage of all of this for free, through Columbia University’s Astronomy Public Outreach program. Outta sight!

photo: Cheryl and William de Jong-Lambert

Stargazing, City-style
It’s true! The public is invited to come learn about astronomy and make use of Columbia’s high-powered telescopes to gaze into the night sky at no charge. Held every other Friday during the school year and monthly in the summer, Columbia University’s Astronomy Public Outreach program evenings are held every other Friday during the school year and monthly in the summer. Events are free of charge of no reservations are required. Just show up!

The events are geared towards families with children of all ages, as well as scientifically-curious adults, and start around 7 p.m. in winter when the days are shorter, and at 8 p.m. or after in summer when night falls later. (We suggest packing a picnic and enjoying Columbia’s resplendent lawns as you wait for show time in summer months.)

photo: InSapphoWeTrust via Flickr

Program of Events
The evening kicks off with a mind-opening 30-minute lecture that includes big-screen visuals that bring a complicated astronomical topic down to earth for laypeople. Next is a Q&A during which the presenters—many of whom are renowned in their field—answer questions from fellow researchers and children alike. (To be honest, they seem to have a bias toward calling on the children in the crowd.)

Finally, everyone is invited up to the historic Rutherfurd Observatory, located on the roof of Columbia University’s Pupin Physics Laboratory, which also happens to be a National Historic Landmark. In these hallowed halls, the atom was first split in 1939 and the Manhattan Project—the secret project to develop the first nuclear weapon during World War II—was launched.

Visiting the roof is weather-dependent (call or check the website), but the talks are held rain or shine. On a clear night—even in winter—the program can attract some 300 visitors, but even on a recent cloudy night with no roof access, the 275-seat lecture hall was near capacity.

The talk we heard, “New Horizons: The Pluto Encounter,” featured stunning new, up-close photography of Pluto’s surface and five moons, two of which were discovered during the space telescope New Horizon’s recent voyage. The speaker, graduate student Lauren Corlies, explained how images captured by the telescope are sent from space to earth. She also unpacked current thinking on Pluto’s surprisingly varied topography, which we now know includes massive craters and ice volcanoes. The next event, featuring the talk  “The Explosive Origins of Our Elements” is Friday, April 29, at 8 p.m.

During the summer summer the events are held monthly, and the lectures are replaced by sci-fi flicks, followed by curated discussions that help the audience distill fact from fiction. Then the astronomers bring powerful, portable telescopes out onto campus to provide views of the cosmos to attendees and passersby.

photo: hjhausman via Flickr

Up On the Roof
The 90-minute roof scene is run by graduate students in Columbia’s astronomy program, all of whom clearly love this volunteer gig. (Who wouldn’t enjoy talking about their passion and life’s work to a rapt audience?) The Laboratory is home to two antique observatory domes: one large, that is accessed via a steep, narrow staircase, and a small one that stargazers crawl into.

Both are exciting to enter, but the large wooden dome is particularly awesome as an artifact in astronomic history. Built in 1927, it has been continuously maintained, but because of its landmark status, it has not been renovated or upgraded. The dome is opened and later rotated throughout the night (to keep up with the earth’s rotation) by way of hand cranks that creek and roll the roof into action with a tremendous rush.

Visitors take turns stepping up to a dais where a roof volunteer helps people zero in on particular stars, planets, and constellations. Smaller children stand on a stool or step ladder and must be held by an adult. If there are enough small children on line, the volunteers might treat everyone to a slow but exciting ride as they raise the old mechanical floor to effectively shrink the dome and give children easier access to the telescope. (When this happens, adults have to kneel.)

photo: Christopher Michel via Flickr

Constellations on View
Depending on the earth’s location, any number of planets—Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Mars—might be on view, along with Betelgeuse, a big red star that (relatively) is about to explode, and close-ups of major constellations such as Cassiopeia, the big and little dippers, Orion’s belt, and much more.

The dome’s light blue interior is also decorated with various constellations, including Orion, Deneb, Vega, Albireo. As you chat with graduate students along the way, you also learn about various subspecialties in field with far-out names such as galactic and extragalactic astronomy, asteroseismology, exoplanet research, and compact objects—an area that includes black holes and neutron stars.

Astronomy Outreach Program
Pupin Physics Lab (enter campus at 116th St. and Broadway)
Columbia University
Morningside Heights
212-851-7420
Online: outreach.astro.columbia.edu

Have you attended a Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach Program event as a family? Tell us what the kids (and you) learned in the comments!

—Cheryl de Jong-Lambert

Budding brainiacs, super scientists, and mini mathematicians will burst with delight when they visit the latest D.C. museum dedicated to tiny lab coats and big fun. Designed to foster a love of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (aka STEM) learning, kiddos won’t know which Children’s Science Center Lab station to stop at first. They’ll learn all about friction, drag, chemical reaction, wind energy—and they won’t have any idea they’re being schooled because it’s so much fun. Are your brain waves buzzing yet? Here are the museum’s must-visit-first stations.

Experiment Bar
Choosy kids can belly up to the Experiment Bar where they’ll ponder what kind of experiment they want to do with the help of an ever rotating menu of choices (on iPads no less!). Whether your little Einstein wants to channel her inner Ben Franklin or team up like Watson and Crick, she can sample from chemistry, biology, physics, and more. Fundamental science made fun? Awesome.

Inspiration Hub
If the apples of your eyes are always asking when they’ll use school stuff in real life then this center should be your first stop. With areas like Power the City, Catching the Wind (they can design real wind turbines!), Chain Reaction (hurray for magnets!), Gear Table, and the Keva Plank Construction Zone (think Lincoln Logs on steroids) little ones will learn exactly why 2 + 2 = 4 is so important.

Tinker Shop
Tinkers, engineers, counters and the like will love the Tinker Shop. They can build, bust, create and doodle till closing time. The space is intended to foster engagement with real world engineering problems so kiddos never know what they’ll be helping to solve. There’s even an automated art drawer. Pint sized tinkers can help test ideas in the vertical wind tube, operate on toys, and build circuitry boards. You know your little one is the next Leonardo Da Vinci right?

Discovery Zone
Fear not if your kiddos can’t quite say their ABCs or count to 10. Five and unders will have a ball in the Discovery Zone where shadow puppets come alive, giant foam building blocks beg to be built with, and tons of books are just waiting to be devoured.

11948L Fair Oaks Mall (Fairfax, Va)
Cost: $12; Free/2 and under
Open: 10 am–6 pm
Online: childsci.org

Have you been to Children’s Science Center yet? Tell us about it in the comments below. 

—Hilary Riedemann

Photos: Children’s Science Center via Facebook 

You know reading to your baby is important, but what kind of books with she really love at this age? Let your future bookworm get acquainted with story time by sharing cuddly, cloth books that provide sensory experiences and interactive elements. Flip through our 12 finds to see our top picks including a precious bedtime story she’ll love through toddlerhood and a clever cloth text on nuclear physics (really!).

Good Night, Teddy

You and Baby will spend a day with a teddy bear as you read this story. Take him through mealtime, playtime, bath time and more, before you finally tuck him into (pajama clad and all) bed.

Available on Amazon.com, $13.25.

What’s your baby’s favorite book? Tell us in a Comment.

–Julie Seguss