The title sounds more complicated than it is. Read on to learn how to keep your pre-schooler entertained with science. You'll undoubtedly find yourself entertained as well.
It all started with our vinegar and baking soda experiment. Oliver begged to do it over and over again. We did it three times. At one point, we actually ran out of baking soda and made a run to the store to play some more. Andrew came home and was over the moon about performing simple science with Oliver. He then announced he was going to make some "Non-Newtonian Fluid."
What.
Apparently, there are some fluids that don't behave the way we expect. You can easily make a liquid at home that doesn't splash when you tap its surface. Instead, it gets hard. Unlike "normal" liquids which flow more readily when you push on them (think about when you squeeze water out of a bottle), non-Newtonian fluids get harder when you push on them.
No, I'm not kidding.
Andrew whipped some up, and it kept Oliver happily entertained for over an hour. When we finally took it away to clean the mess, he was in tears pleading to play some more.
Here's how to make your own non-Newtonian fluid:
