I know I haven’t been writing as much as I meant to this year – I was hoping to talk to you every couple of days, instead of every couple of weeks. People ask my staff about me a lot… one of the most popular questions is: “Does she ever sleep?” The answer is of course yes, but not as much as the rest of the world. Whenever I travel, I keep my staff up all night as I scribble down new ideas or work out old, haunting problems. And one of the newest ideas I had I wanted to share with you!

We’ve been getting so many requests for less-expensive science classes that don’t require the Herculean effort that our live five-day workshops require, so I thought – why not offer science classes? But then, that wouldn’t be so different from the free teleclass, would it?

Well, it would, if I structured it the same way we do our Science Workshops and Supercharged Science Camps, complete with live “open” time for me to interact with the kids as they were building the projects and working through the experiments. So, I’m frantically sketching out our first series of science classes/camps and should have it done very VERY soon… and I really look forward to telling you all about it!

Wouldn’t it be great if your child could participate in a class with other kids from all over the WORLD with me as their teacher? The preparation and science stuff would be done for you. All you’d need to do it sit back and have a lemonade… and let the rest take care of itself. Okay – I’ve got some work to do – maybe the kids could make a lemon-squeezing robot…?

More soon – I promise!
~Aurora

So I am finally DONE with traveling for a little while (five weeks, to be exact), and I am still unpacking my rockets and robots, so the lab is a bit messier than usual. But it wasn’t until yesterday’s science teleclass that I realized I need to be more careful about what I do! Apparently one of my chemistry experiments got loose and dribbled down the side and not only glowed neon green but ate through the wire insulation right during a teleclass… not the best time for an electrical mishap!

Anyway, I’ve plugged in a new phone and I’m going to re-take the Burglar Alarms Teleclass and provide the recording free of charge to all the people signed up for the teleclass. Someone emailed me a question, though during the teleclass – they were asking how many different kinds of burglar alarms I knew how to make.

Let’s see – there are trip wires, pressure sensors, spit sensors, tilt sensors, motion detectors, movement sensors, and the electric eye (which uses a laser in order to work right). There’s also a door alarm we make in the Diamond Science Mastery program, as it involves soldering circuit boards, but it’s soo cool – the alarm sounds when you touch the doorknob!

And then there’s this one: the open-door detector. It doesn’t require any special equipment – just a single strand of hair. This “alarm” is more of a detection device – it will let you know if someone’s been inside your room or peeked in a cabinet. Here’s what you do: pull out a single strand of your hair and as you close the door to your room, insert the hair so you close it right on the hair and the force of the closed door keeps it in position.

That way, when someone opens the door, it falls out. I mean, who would really notice a hair, especially when they are so intent on seeing what’s inside your room? When you check on your room, look for the hair before you enter, and this will tell you whether someone’s been in your room or not. If you’re going to use this alarm exclusively, you might want to invest in a spool of thread… unless you want to go bald.

Enjoy! I’ll see you in the science teleclass today!

Aurora

Since Science Mastery includes unlimited support, I get to hear first hand how our science curriculum is working for their family. Although we like to hear from the kids themselves, it’s also great to hear from parents about their expectations and how it’s actually turning out.

Often I hear from kids about how they’ve improved our model of burglar alarm, added wings to the robots, changed the dihedral angle of a wing, or strapped two hovercrafts together for a bigger vehicle.

Sometimes, parents tell us about how they opened the box, screamed, and closed it back up. Other parents admitted to watching the videos and tinkering with the projects after they sent their kids to bed. I wanted to share one I received today with you that I really enjoyed:

“Hi Aurora,

~Elaine
Orlando, Florida

I know it’s hard to pick a science topic for study, let alone an entire curriculum for the year! Over the past two years, I have attended 13 Homeschool Conventions and BookFairs across the country (including HSC, CHEA, CHAP, FPEA, WHO, HEAV, MACHE, GHEA…) and noticed lot of different opportunities when cruising the aisles and attending the workshops. As a scientist, educator, and homeschool mom myself, I’ve often wondered how to pick just the right homeschool science curriculum.

When I attended my first Homeschool Convention, I didn’t have a product. All I had was an eight-foot tall neon-orange rocket, a lightning machine, and a decade of experience teaching science. What was I selling? I had recorded the past year of myself teaching science and thought people would be excited to buy the online versions of those recordings (MP3s and MPGs).

What I didn’t realize was how overwhelmed my audience already was… they didn’t really want to go out and buy over 1,200 different parts and pieces to make all the science projects I had recorded. And I didn’t have a physical product, because I was the product. – I was basically trying to sell thin air. I knew I needed to modify things when other vendors came over and said, “I’ve been watching you the entire weekend, and you put on a great show, but… what are you selling?”)

For the next show, we added the box of parts and pieces to the online information. But they still didn’t sell, because people now wanted everything together, on CD and DVD. Guess what we did for the next show? We learned that most people get frustrated with the lack of quality science tools available out there, but not nearly as much as they do when an experiment doesn’t work right the first time. With every new show, we got more and more acquainted with the needs and wants of our audience, and now after the 13th show, we’ve finally got a handle on how to best serve the community. Are you ready for a peek at my notes?

Did you know that 72% of homeschoolers opt to educate their own children because they are dissatisfied with the way academics are taught in the classroom? And over 90% of the educational programs marketed to homeschool families completely miss out on the key elements that are essential to a high-quality education. So what gives?

Your kid can learn science with very little effort from you, because when you focus on the things that have the biggest impact on their education, you are ‘majoring in the majors’ and not getting side-tracked by a lot of little stuff that really doesn’t matter in the long run. Our science programs focus on the majors and kick-start the momentum for your child’s internal learning cycle so they can drive their own education.

What this means to you is that you will no longer struggle with the thought: “Are they really learning anything with this activity?” because at the end of the lesson, they will turn around and teach you science. What this really means to you is that your kid will have their pick of not only universities but also life careers because you’ve instilled a love for learning that truly lasts, powered by curiosity and fueled by confidence.

In the 35,000 K-12 and college kids we’ve worked with, we’ve seen kids go from ‘juvenile hall’, work through our program, and later enroll in engineering at MIT. We’ve seen 4th grade girls teach high school robotics classes after working through our programs. And we’re here to remind you of something you already know… that it’s not only what you deliver, but how you deliver it that counts. Can you recall having a teacher that opened your eyes to something you previously thought of as dull and boring?

We offer complete science programs that include everything you need, even the teacher! Our programs are designed by a mechanical engineer, university instructor, pilot, astronomer, and real scientist, because we wanted to create the finest education by modeling the key elements that have been the foundation for the best scientists and engineers throughout history. What this really means is that you will become directly connected with the source in inspiration that ignited the spark in science professionals who are not only successful in their career, but also passionate about their field. How important do you feel it would be to have a science curriculum designed by science experts instead of marketing experts?

The Science Mastery program includes everything you need: all the parts and materials (how much time do you spend running around finding supplies instead of spending time with your child?), step-by-step instructions (ever get stuck halfway through a project?) and live tech support (so you’re off the hot-seat of having to come up with all the answers). It’s a highly versatile program that lets you either work alongside your child, or simply hand it over and let them take charge. In either case, your kid will turn around and teach you science at the end of the day. We stand behind every program we create with our unconditional happiness money-back guarantee, so you can test-drive our programs without losing sleep over it.

The Science Mastery program includes everything you need to avoid the biggest pitfalls in teaching science and deliver an education that will last a lifetime. Your child will be so excited to learn science, they won’t want to stop. Inside every Science mastery program box, you’ll find:

Parts & materials for over 100 science projects
Access to 200+ new science activities online
Instructional step-by-step DVDs
Live audio class recordings on CDs
The Science Experiment Manual
Unlimited support for as long as you need it
Unconditional money-back guarantee

As a real scientist and educator, Aurora has formed a bridge between the worlds of science and education. She specializes in sparking excitement and wonder – the two driving forces behind virtually all of the best scientists throughout history. Said differently, when kids enjoy science, they want to learn it. The Science Mastery Program includes hundreds of science projects, experiments and activities in Physics, Electromagnetism, Chemistry, Electricity, Light and Engineering. This comprehensive program spans 150 to 250 hours (depending on which version you choose) by focusing on wonder, discovery, and exploration.

But wait… how do you find a program that is the best fit for your family? By getting absolutely clear on exactly what you want as well as how you’ll know when you get it. With this level of clarity, you can stride down aisles of textbooks, worksheets, and science kits, bypass marketing hype, and select the best fit for your child’s future that’s not based on just on price or guesswork, but on meeting and fulfilling your ultimate goals.

Your first step is to clarify your ultimate education goals. Do you want your kid to learn science, memorize facts, or just appreciate the odd folks with the goggles and white lab coats? What are your goals for your child in science?

In addition to outlining your education goals, you also need ways to measure your progress as you go along. Did you know that an airplane is off-course 95% of the time? But pilots reach their destination by course correction – by measuring their progress as they go along and make small adjustments in speed, altitude, and heading constantly. And pilots never lose sight of the goal (destination). Keeping this in mind, how will you know when you’ve reached your goal? What (and how) will you measure your progress?

If you’re still struggling to find time to teach science or feel overwhelmed at just the thought of teaching it, you’re in the right place. We’ll show you how to deliver the best science education in a way that not only meets your goals, but is totally hassle-free and a lot of fun. We’ve helped over 35,000 kids, and now it’s your turn. I invite you to see what Science Mastery can do for your family.

Goggles, anyone?

I get asked this question a LOT, and being a teacher, I usually turn it right back around ask YOU questions to better clarify what it is you’re really after. I thought that instead of writing about how to select the best homeschool science curriculum, I would instead record a series of tips and tricks on video. Click PLAY below to get started…

Here’s a series of emails that went back and forth about water and electricity that we thought you’d enjoy reading over (this is a question we get a LOT here at our headquarters):

“We dangled the tips of our alligator clamps in a glass jar of water & the circuit didn’t complete – why not? Do we need to add things like salt or lemon juice to make it work?”

Aurora: Ah… yes we didn’t get to that part today in our free electricity teleclass. The water molecule does not conduct electricity, contrary to popular belief… it’s the stuff floating around the water that conducts it. So, dirty water will conduct better than clean… how about salty water?

OK . . . so now college & grad school grandma (who always thought water conducted electricity) is curious. Why will dropping an electric appliance in water electrocute you? And, what about how we see in the movies how folks standing in a puddle which has a broken electric pole has dropped therein will be electrocuted?

Aurora: Great question – we actually remind people that taking the toaster in the bathtub is still a bad idea because while PURE water does not conduct electricity, every single drop on the planet has *something* in it… and will conduct to some extent. So keep the hair dryer out of the shower. Does that help? (Great questions, by the way!)

YES! This absolutely does help – learn something new every day! So, I guess by extension that the guy standing in a puddle is at risk because the water is dirty – ding, ding, ding! I just can’t wait to see Nigel wow his cousins (& his uncle too for that matter) when he explains to them why water seems to conduct electricity i.e. that the H2O molecules don’t, but the stuff in the water does. Thanks so very much for what you do. We’ll look forward to the next class. Blessings, Nigel & his Grandma

Further notes: Since electricity is the flow of electrons, as we covered in today’s class, and while yes, water will conduct electricity, it very little compared to tap or salt water. The way a liquid solution carries a charge determines the conductivity of the solution. Salt is NaCl, but when dissolved in water, it breaks apart (decomposes) into positively charged (Na+) and negatively charged (Cl-) ions which move in the liquid from one wire to the other. The Na+ and CL- float around and carry the charge, thus conducting the electricity.

Distilled water has been boiled into steam and condensed back into water, leaving behind most minerals and salts, making it more pure than tap water. Water can break into H+ and OH- just like the salt, but it really doesn’t like to do so (the covalent bonds between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules equally share electrons within the molecule itself and it does not have an affinity for electrons, so pure water does not conduct electricity where as impure water will), making it resistant to conducting electricity.

But there are loads other things, like minerals and gases, that dissolve in water very easily. For example, carbon dioxide will immediately begin to dissolve in water.

Summertime… it’s almost here! And we here at the intergalactic headquarters of Supercharged Science are so excited to test out a set of our newer, wetter projects we’ve been saving for summer heat! We’ll let you know about the sonic water-wall, hydro-cannons, kid-wash, and chemical laser tag we’ve come up with… it’s going to be a GREAT summer!

Along those lines, we also want to let you know that we’re increasing the number of FREE science teleclasses, just for the summertime. We’re doing this for a few reasons: first, we want you to have as much educational fun as possible, and we’re going to do our part by sharing with you one of our most popular services (free video classes), and second – we’re building an online archive (more about this later) and this will get us rolling so you can have a great selection of classes by the time Fall starts. We’ll post the new schedule of teleclasses in a few days so you can be sure to mark your calendar and get ready for a science-packed summer!

I’m so excited about this new addition to our science line-up: we’re going to adding edited recordings of the monthly Science Teleclass along with the videos in an archive, so you can pick and choose which ones you want to download. We’ve only got a couple up right now, and we haven’t officially announced it, but we just wanted to let you know that it’s coming! We’ll let you know more as we go along…