Kids, have you ever heard of kidney dialysis? Kidneys are essential for keeping the proper chemical balance in our blood. They perform a wonderful balancing act of filtration and osmosis that is not only essential to life, but is extremely complicated. In very simple terms, the kidneys filter blood ...

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Kids, in this column we¹ll put together some of our favorite internet sites for chemistry experiments and learning activities at the elementary school level. This is so that you have something to do in between our monthly columns! One of our favorite resources through the years has been the Ame...

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Kids, baking soda and/or baking powder are added to cooking batters to produce the gas bubbles that make cakes and muffins rise (this is called "leavening"). It is caused by the action of baking soda plus a liquid acid. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). When mixed with a liquid acid it rel...

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Kids, did you make your own bread from yeast according to the last few columns? We hope you did, but if not you can still do quite a few experiments with store bought yeast. The first experiment here tests how sugar effects the growth of yeast. Fill two 1-cup glass measuring cups with 1/2 cup warm w...

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Kids, did you make your own yeast according to last month¹s column? It is really fun chemistry to do hands-on and it has a biological slant (in a word, "biochemistry"), so we hope that you did. If you had to refrigerate your starter yeast in order to wait for this column to appear, remove one c...

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Kids, did you know that yeast is a tiny living fungus and that, like all living things, they need to eat? Here you will make your very own bubbly, gooey yeast for baking bread. The biochemical process is called fermentation, which begins as yeast eats the sugars in fruit and grain. This releases enz...

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Kids, have you discovered the colorful rocks that grow into underwater stalagmites yet? The ingredients for making your own silicate or crystal garden are a bit too exotic for you to find around the house or in the grocery store. Your best bet is to go to your favorite toy store and look for a produ...

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Kids, chemistry is so common that it can even be found in money. Here we'll learn some science about coins and bills. Let's talk about coins first. Pennies obviously look different by their color while all the rest appear to be the same silvery color, until the new 2000 "golden" Sacagawea dollar coi...

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Kids, chemistry is so common that it can even be found in toothpaste. Chemists have worked hard to come up with the perfect stuff. Read the labels – you'll find out all kinds of interesting things. Here you'll find some information plus learn some tests you can do to compare different brands. ...

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Kids, here's a really cool guide to what some common atoms and molecules look like when we have a whole bunch of them together, and see their everyday appearance. Please note: All chemicals and experiments can entail an element of risk, and no experiments should be performed without proper adult s...

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