Sunday was the day we had fun and relaxed at PlusKids: fun for the children, rest for the parents.
We made erupting volcanoes and rainbows. These are two of the most spectacular experiments you can run with children and, at the same time, two experiments with a simple explanation — which is what makes them useful rather than merely pretty. A volcano erupting on a table takes the whole room's attention; what matters, though, is the minute afterwards, when someone asks why and the answer can be given in terms everyone understands.
The rainbow has the opposite advantage: it does not impress as much, but it links what you see in the sky to something you can make on a tabletop. And a child who has produced a rainbow with their own hands looks at a real one differently.
Experiments do something no explanation can: they show that science is done, not just read. The children measured, poured, got their quantities wrong and started again — exactly what scientists do, only on another scale.
Sundays like this have a practical advantage too: the children are busy with something worthwhile, and the parents get a few free hours without worrying that the time is being wasted.