It’s summer, so I’m thinking about science. Myriad animals – mice to moose –are out and about. Breezes carry scents of metabolizing plants. Storms and stars catch our imaginations. Cave, rocks, and mountains beckon. Our world is an amazing place, so when it comes to science, let that wonder and excitement be front and center whether it’s summer or not.

Actively involve your child in the world and develop process skills such as observing, categorizing, measuring, gathering and recording data, interpreting data, inferring and predicting, and, of course, “publishing” findings.

Keep interesting pets. Grow houseplants and gardens. Watch meteor showers. Hike. Use field guides to identify anything and everything. Feed birds. Visit zoos, museums, gardens, planetariums, and aquariums. Study different methods of marking the passage of time. Pan for gold. Hatch chicks. Keep a personal growth chart including height, weight, hands, and feet. Experiment in the kitchen. Use simple tools. Collect plants and leaves using a plant press. Make things that fly and float and glide. Build snow and ice structures. Document changes from season to season with photos, sketches, and calendars. Grow crystals. Make models, displays, and collections. Borrow or buy a microscope with prepared slides and blanks. Create rainbows with crystal prisms. Experiment with lenses and mirrors, vibrations and music. Follow websites such as the USGS volcano observatory and UAF’s aurora forecast. Build outdoor fires and cook in the flames and coals. Explore tide pools, ponds, swamps, and creeks. Record weather, temperatures, and sunrise/sunset each day for a month. Soak your sandbox and build castles.

Your child is immersed in a world just waiting to be explored. Who knows what you might discover when you explore it together.