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!

In case you've never made it before, then FYI, homemade play dough is absurdly simple to make! It's a really fun project for those really hot (or cold) parts of the day when you and your mini lab assistants need to hang out indoors but don't want to just sit around in front of the TV. 

Check out and share this really great explanation of the science of Play Doh!  http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/play-doh.htm

I've included a printable version of our instructions that can also be downloaded on your tablet. 

This our first "At Home Science Lab" post so check back for more fun DIY experiments!

Yesterday was filled with the sewing of the science fabric. I must say, I was pretty happy with the first shirt I made…

I love, love, love this spoonflower fabric (yes, even though it’s biology, and not representing physical science). It’s science-y (so my students will love it) and the images are quite spectacular with their watercolor effect. And hello? Any fabric that manages to squeeze an image of Charles Darwin into it, must be clever. Which is your favorite critter?

(Mine is the iguana!)

Okay, so I'm not actually going to go into the science of butternut squash soup but I did experiment with recipes...That counts, right? I bought a butternut squash from Trader Joe's a little while ago and I was determined to do something with it. I've been on a homemade soup kick lately so it seemed pretty obvious what I should make! I looked up recipes all over the interwebs and decided that I would combine a couple of these two: Here and Here. It turned out pretty darn good and I am so very pleased that there are lots of leftovers!

I didn't include sage since the reviews made me think that I could light my house on fire if I tried...So instead I topped it with rosemary! Which, in my opinion, was the perfect little kick it needed!

It turned out pretty darn good and I am so very pleased that there are lots of leftovers!  

We finally did it! We made cloth shopping bags so we can stop using plastic bags and it feels gooooood!

According to the Earth Resource Foundation (and several other scientific organizations), by not using plastic bags we will be helping to reduce the number of plastic bags that become litter, lessen the impact on marine wildlife who can ingest or get caught up in the plastic bags, limit our usage of a material that can take one thousand years to decompose in landfills, and much more! It feels good, let us tell you!

It was a pretty fun process, despite a few sewing machine malfunctions and kitty interruptions! Ever since Corinne made her beautiful bag, we've been itching to make some for ourselves! We used this pattern because the shape is nice and it's pretty big so we can use it at the grocery store or IKEA (yes, please)! The one thing it's missing is a lining...but we can add that later. 

They're simple! But cute, right? Does anyone have any other fun patterns for shopping bags? We'd like to make more since there's a strong possibility we might need more than one shopping bag each!

Since I've been living at home, Mom and I have been trying to finish projects we started a while ago but never finished.It's funny how satisfying it is to finally complete something that's just been sitting there, looking all sad and pathetic with like glue or threads hanging off of it almost saying "help me! help me!" I found an unfinished wooden jewelry box from Michaels a while back and since it was pretty cheap I decided to get it, worrying a little that I might never actually paint it or fix it up the way I wanted. But Mom and I got creative and decided to have a fun artsy day so I painted the box off-white to match the rest of the furniture I have (my dresser, bookshelf, and nightstand all match thanks to my dad and Wayne), then we searched high and low for flocked paper that would look good and be soft enough to put my jewelry on for years to come! We finally found some at Papersource (because it is heaven) and I went to town! I'm pretty happy with it especially since it was an easy project!

We have another project coming up for this long weekend (hopefully) that will help us to complete at least one of my New Years resolutions which is to stop (completely) using plastic bags! I know, I know...A little late but better late than never, right? We picked out some beautiful fabric from the oh so wonderful IKEA a month or so ago and I can't wait to use it! I figure that if I have a really cute shopping bag then I'll be more inclined to remember and use it...hopefully.We'll post pictures of the process and completed project soon! In the mean time, here's a sneak peak at Julie's new project!