I heart science kits!

If you’ve been to a craft or hobby store, toy store, or even perused science materials online lately, you know what I’m talking about. These babies are popping up everywhere—from chemistry sets to rock gardens, tadpole habitats to night sky viewers.

And I want them all!

Logically, I know that I shouldn’t want them for myself, and that my child should be at the heart of these desires; after all, I would be using the kits to explore a variety of topics with her. And the funny thing is, upon leaving my high school, I hated science; I didn’t hate it throughout my entire academic career, mind you. I had some fabulous science teachers who gave me plenty of opportunity to really get into the subject, get creative, and explore it like a real scientist rather than perform boring tasks over and over again (thank you, Ms. Endebrock and Ms. O’Shaughnessy!). But I had other teachers who did quite the opposite, and by the time I was finished with their courses (one I actually dropped—something I had never done in my entire academic life until this point, which made me feel like an absolute failure), I swore that I hated science.

But that’s not really true, is it? The same went for math—but in reality, it wasn’t the subjects I hated; it was the force-fed facts, figures, and techniques I hated. I had some wonderful and some horrible math teachers, too. I just needed to learn to separate the person and their methods (and expectations) from the subject matter—which, as most of you know, is difficult to do, especially when you’re being graded (cough—judged—cough) on the matter at hand.

So these amazing science kits, I think, are a wonderful way to get our kids interested in the subject without forcing it down their throats. I plan on buying several to keep on hand for my child to explore. We can’t wait to buy our first telescope—she’s already asking about stars, and we’re having a blast doing experiments on our own already—and to let her get into whatever science projects she likes.

And I promise to try not to force her to love the science subjects that I love (largely animal studies, which she currently adores)—and to have patience when she shows an affinity for those her father loves instead (which she’s already done with a number of electrical interests). In fact, when we do purchase these kits, we’ll let her pick some of them out herself.

I said some of them—Mommy wants to pick some out, too!

And on that note, I would love to hear about which kits work the best (and which ones don’t), what telescopes and microscopes are the best value on a budget, and maybe even how to create your own kits at home. Any ideas?