DK Smithsonian books make complex topics easy to understand

DK Canada Smithsonian books dedicated to a variety of topics are handy to have in any study space, as it explains complex topics in a fun and easy to understand format for children and adults. These books have made us gain interest in different subjects because of its clear illustrations and simple explanations. 

Keep Exploring During March Break with DK Canada Books

March Break is a time to play, relax and explore and break the school days' routine for a week! Children will have lots of time to relax and try different activities. Having fun and exciting books to refer to can help children get inspired to explore. Here are three books from DK Canada that will help children build exciting computer projects, including games, music, and designs on the computer, or learn to draw, or do science experiments.

Explore The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! at the Ontario Science Centre

Ontario Science Centre invites visitors to explore the science behind the unbelievable with The Science of Ripley's Believe It or Not!® exhibition, which is a joint production between Ripley Entertainment Inc. and Science North. We found this family friendly exhibition educational and interesting, as it presents an extraordinary collection of intriguing objects and artifacts from Ripley's Believe It or Not!®

A Beautiful Planet IMAX film at the Ontario Science Centre

Nighttime view of Spain and the Mediterranean as seen in the new IMAX® film, A Beautiful Planet. © 2016 IMAX Corporation. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Entertainment's space epic A Beautiful Planet made in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) opens on April 29 at IMAX® Ontario Science Centre. We enjoyed watching a preview of this amazing film. I love how the film portrays the beauty of Earth - how unique and far beyond our imagination everything is, which is not possible by anyone but God. Watching this film made us appreciate the beauty of Earth more, and think about the changes we can make in our own lifestyle to preserve the beauty of Earth. 

Exploring Science

My family and I love exploring science on a regular basis by going to the Science Centre, reading books related to science, watching shows related to science, and also exploring science at home. Here is an experiment my children did where they inflated a balloon without blowing, hope you get to try it with your little ones during the March Break. 

Montreal Science Centre

The family friendly Montreal Science Centre is a fun place to explore. We got a chance to see the Cave of Lascaux exhibit during our visit, as well as explore other fun features of the Science Centre in Montreal.

Jerusalem IMAX and The Science of Rock ‘N’ Roll at The Ontario Science Centre

Jerusalem the 43-minute large format film narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and presented by National Geographic Entertainment is a stunning and thought provoking presentation of one of the world’s iconic cities. Jerusalem is sacred to half the people on earth; fought over more than any other place in history; conquered and destroyed, rebuilt and reinvented repeatedly over 5,000 years. This film helps us discover why this tiny piece of land is sacred to three major religions through the stories of Jewish, Christian and Muslim families who call Jerusalem home.

Sesame Street Presents The Body at Ontario Science Centre

My children are at a curious age where learning about their bodies fascinate them. We were happy to check out the new Sesame Street Presents The Body exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre, which will be open until May 5th, and is free with general admission. 
My children had an awesome time learning and exploring about the body at this colourful, child friendly exhibition. The whole exhibition was set up as though we were at Sesame Street, which we enjoyed.

AstraZeneca #HumanEdge Exhibit At Ontario Science Centre

My family and I were happy to check out the preview of the AstraZeneca #HumanEdge Exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre, which opens this weekend Saturday December 7th. This permanent exhibit hall will reveal innovative and exciting science through more than 80 exhibits, providing visitors with immersive, bodies-on experiences and new perspectives on unique artifacts. At the exhibit, we can explore all the wonders and possibilities of the human body, which made us appreciate and thank God for how miraculously we were created.

Time for Play with these DK books and making gooey slime

For children play is a form of serious learning, so let this March Break be a Time for Play.  This list of specially priced DK Books will inspire and help solve the problem of "What should I do?" questions especially during the upcoming March Break.  These books will allow fun and creativity to flow. 

This Alien Robots Science Book will be enjoyed by all the children and parents, although it is recommended for children age 7 to 12 years.  I like this super cool book as it has lots of fun robots that we can assemble with our children.  

I got my children's help to find the correct pieces to assemble and make six awesome robots.  

We learned about friction, motors, levers, gears, axles and propellers.  It explains physics, mechanics, forces and motion theories.  

This video will show how the robot spun, while the robot spun against the wood it made noise so lower the volume on your computer if needed :)

This Book Made Me Do It is a fun book that we can keep looking and learning from.  We can learn many interesting things from this book and I really recommend it for everyone.  We can brush up our know how about so many things such as arts, crafts, horoscope, interesting facts, origami, sports, food and more.  

We made this gooey slime, which is a messy but a fun experiment that children and adults will enjoy.  

To make this you will need...

1 cup cornstarch plus more
1/2 cup water
few drops food colouring

Put the cornstarch in a bowl then slowly add about 1/2 cup of water, stirring all the time.  It will become a gooey mixture.  Add the colouring then stir.  We can also add glitter at this point but we didn't do this part.  

Add more cornstarch to make the mixture roll into a dough between the hands and you will notice the gooey slime melt but when it drops it will become a solid and stick to the table.    

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A Science Kit that Entertains and Educates

This Science Kit from DK books has taught and entertained my children and I with many scientific facts.  There are over 100 experiments inside the kit that allows us to experiment with easy to find material from around our home.  The kit also includes some material that we need to start experiments. 
Although, this kit is intended for children over 8 years my 4 year old son liked joining his sister and me to do these experiments and to be part of it.  My daughter inferred her knowledge from school when we did some of the experiments.

This type of kits and books encourage children to start liking a subject such as science and makes it a part of their lives, rather than just "school subjects".  When parents get involved with teaching and making this type of learning fun from an early age, children will not think of it as a "chore" to learn subjects like science and geography.
This Science kit has action packed experiments that teach how everyday things work, so we can see and marvel at the mysteries of science.  We don't need to be a "science whiz" to do these experiments because the instructions are step-by-step.  I just wish the book has close up pictures on some instruction that need us to cut or do things more carefully; for example when we did the spinning helicopter it didn't exactly turn out the way it is supposed to because I didn't understand on how to cut the straw correctly, but we still had fun experimenting and trying to figure it out.  After all when experiments go wrong that too is science; that is what I told my children :)

When we did this experiment of inflating a balloon without blowing on it my children were involved and looked in awe at the result :)  I felt good trying to make connections and teaching them about carbon dioxide and how gas molecules take up more space than liquid molecules.  

You will need...
a balloon
glass bottle with a narrow neck
vinegar
baking soda
funnel

1. Pour vinegar into the bottle until it fills 1/4 of the bottle.
2. Fill baking soda into the neck of a balloon through a funnel until it is half full.
3. Stretch the balloon over the mouth of the balloon and leave it to hang.
4. When you are ready for action quickly lift the balloon so that the baking soda falls into the bottle.
5. Voila the balloon will inflate.

I asked my children to record the observations of the experiment in the book that came along with the kit.  My little one drew the picture while my elder one labeled and wrote what happened in the experiment.
I like that these types of kits encourage learning while children have fun.
Contest:
DK Canada books is having a holiday contest so we can win a DK shopping spree worth $250.  The contest ends on December 17th. 

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First