Crafting meets chemistry with MindWare’s Science Academy’s Deluxe Squishy Ball Lab! The science behind the squishy balls is all about polymers and chemical bonding. These magical polymers defy the laws of matter since they’re both liquid and solid.
The Squishy Ball Lab has everything that your budding scientist will need, including laboratory gloves, mixing bowls, mixing sticks, beaker, and of course the non-toxic essentials for creating colorful and sensory filled, squishy balls. The guide book explains the science behind polymers and how they defy Newton’s Law of Viscosity and provide detailed step-by-step instructions for making different types of squishy balls. Your child is able to test the scientific method and exercise their artistic creativity with the variety of colors, beads, and squishy ball add-ins.
Why do we love this science kit? Language is a critical skill for helping children learn science. They must grasp and understand new scientific terms and vocabulary (do adults even know what a polymer actually is?), make logical connections and predications, and have the ability to express all of those ideas in a cohesive way. These labs are interactive and engaging experiences that build curiosity and feed the brain! Children communicate new observations and discoveries, follow directions and likely make some mistakes too, and grow their scientific understanding. After making 5 of the 10 different squishy balls offered, language was flowing, predictions became knowledge and we added new science vocabulary to our repertoire. There are enough materials for every member in your family to have their very own squishy ball whenever you need to de-stress or just fidget and have fun.
Available at MindWare. Click here
By Erika Cardamone MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-language pathologist, Mom, toy reviewer, speaker, foodie, runner
