Growing up with one of the geekiest mothers in the world, I think it's safe to say that my brother and I have visited our fair share of science museums. While I love science and can appreciate its usefulness and general awesomeness, I'm not quite as into it as the rest of my family (where did I wrong? Both of my parents have science-related degrees! Weird...). However, I've always had fun at science museums and I still seek them out now that I'm all grownup and adult-like. 

But I do have to say something that will probably make my mother's head explode...My favorite part of any museum visit is almost always getting a bag of free-dried astronaut ice cream! Yeah, I said it. I have a feeling I'm not alone in this since ThinkGeek.com basically agrees with me. It's so delicious and weird! Who doesn't love that awkwardly dry sweetness that turns to neopolitan goo in your mouth?!  Sooooo yummy. But the bag is always so small and unsatisfying. Like they're just mocking you with a spaceman's diet. Anywho, last Christmas I noticed that Paper Source (because all good things can be found there) was selling Dippin' Dot-esque bottles of the stuff! YES! I kid you not. It's not as good as the larger chunks of it but it'll do in a pinch. Also, Thrive makes lots of freeze-dried goodies. I didn't realize this was a thing but I'm 100% on board.
 

There's this tutorial on how to make your own...It looks fairly complicated but I'm not Madame FancyPants like my mother so I think I'll show her and we'll see if it's doable.
There's also this version...Which seems a little less intimidating: HowStuffWorks

Has anyone else made it before? I'd love to know if it ACTUALLY tastes like the real stuff or ya know, actually works. The Maker in the video is fairly convincing but he could just really like ice cream in general (who doesn't?). 

Also, BONUS: Learning AND sweet treats!

Phew. I just finished a lab with my students which involved copper wire and silver nitrate. NORMALLY, I have zero tolerance for "tom-foolery" in lab, however...this was clever and harmless goofiness. The lab involves placing copper wire in a solution of silver nitrate and observing the single replacement reaction as it unfolds. A precipitate (the silver) attaches itself to the wire and it looks quite a bit like a pipe cleaner in it's earliest stages. One of my students called me from across the room, with an edge of concern in his voice. I said, "what the..." as I approached and saw the neon glow coming from one of their test tubes (with H20). What are the odds that a high school junior would have an actual neon colored pipe cleaner in his backpack? I LOVE TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS...