She Blinded Me With Science Party

I love throwing a party, whether it’s for 400 at Saks Fifth Avenue or a dinner party of 6, but the most fun parties to plan are those for my daughter. Not only do you get to be creative with children’s parties, but you also get to release your inner child. We do not do a big party every year but have enjoyed planning a “Break On Through To Two” Rockstar Party, a Farm Party equipped with the coolest chicken cake, an Art Party where the children each created a painting, and this year a Science Party, which perhaps takes the cake for the most fun.

The Experiments

The great plus to a science party is the experiments will keep them engaged and pass the time (no need for bouncy rentals or coming up with games.) The experiments we chose to do were also simple and required little ingredients. Remember to ask the children questions as you do the experiments, children love to answer questions and feel like they are contributing. Here are the experiments we chose:

1. Crack Your Own Geodes – We set up an area outside and my husband helped each child crack his or her own geode. I ordered ours from Amazon and I was more than impressed because every single geode was filled with beautiful crystals – each box of 12 geodes was $14.95 here is a link Crack Your Own Geodes.
2. Planting Basil Seeds – Botany is arguably the most important of the sciences and a super easy experiment to do with the children that they can take home and hopefully use is planting basil. I found seed starter pots at The Dollar Tree for $1 a dozen. You can find basil seeds at Lowe’s, Home Depot, or your local hardware store for around $1.50 (one pack is plenty for 20 children.) You will need small seed starter pots, seeds, and potting soil. Let each child fill their seed starter with potting soil 3/4 full. Tell them to take their pink finger and make an indention in the soil. Give them 2 basil seeds to drop in the indention and cover up. Label each pot with each child’s name and set aside on a tray. Sprinkle with water. Remind the to put the basil in full sun and water regularly, they should see bail sprout in 7-10 days. Ask them if they know any foods that use basil and give them suggestions on how to eat it.
3. Making Slime – There are not many activities more fun in a child’s mind than making slime. Here’s how:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of white craft glue (like Elmer’s glue)

1 Tbsp Borax

1 cup warm water

Food coloring (optional)

Mixing bowl

Mixing spoon

Directions:

In one bowl mix 1/2 cup (4 oz) glue and 1/2 cup water. Add food coloring if you want colored slime.

In a measuring cup, mix 1 tablespoon borax with 1 cup warm water until the borax is dissolved.

Add the glue mixture to the borax solution, stirring slowly.

The slime will begin to form immediately; stir as much as you can, then dig in and knead it with your hands until it gets less sticky. (No one makes slime without getting a little messy!) Don’t worry about any leftover water in the bowl, just pour it out.

4. Mentos and Diet Coke Geysers – For the finale you can do the Mentos and Diet Coke spray here is a link on how to click here.

The Invitation And Decorations

Creative Little Stars – To create the party invitation, the party banner, and goodie bags I used Creative Little Stars Science Party downloads on Etsy click here.

Science Lab Set Up – Fortunately for this party we have been renovating so creating an area inside where we could conduct the experiments was easy since we did not have to worry about wallpaper or upholstery at the moment. We used our banquette area draping our table with silver fabric. I had 4 large plastic bowls for groups of 5 to mix the slime, ingredients and measuring tools. We also used this area for planting the basil.

The Food

One of the most disappointing parts of researching online to come up with a menu was that every Science Party was packed with sweets and candy – there were no ideas for healthy food options. So to balance out the sweets, I tried to have some smart food choices too that were science related.

The Cake As A Centerpiece – A tradition we have with my daughter’s parties is finding cake ideas and having an extremely talented baker and friend bring the cake to life. Gia McCollister doesn’t simply create cakes, she creates works of art. Our Science cake was no exception with its bubbling beakers and test tubes. It was as delicious as it was gorgeous with a vanilla inside and green buttercream layers.

Nerd Filled Test Tubes – I found a set of 50 plastic test tubes and rack on Amazon (click here) and filled each test tube with Nerds candy.

Seed Starter Pots Filled With Vegetables – Using the same style seed starter pots I found at The Dollar Tree, we filled with carrots, celery, cauliflower to emulate a growing garden.

Tomato Mozzarella Planets – Cutting cherry tomatoes in half then layer tomato-cheese-basil-tomato and spear with a toothpick to create these easy planet-looking appetizers. If you think the kids will like it drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

The Drink

H2O – Good all water in small bottles was served as our drink of choice and seemed fitting for the party as well.

The Goodie Bags

Putting together the goodie bags was pretty fun and thanks to Amazon we good order in bulk some very cool science themed swag.

Hatching Dinosaur Eggs – My daughter LOVES these things so she wanted to share them with her friends. I found these sold in packs of 12 on Amazon click here.

Astronaut Ice Cream – Another cool choice for the goodie bags Astronaut Ice Cream sold on Amazon in packs of 10 click here.

Neon Pencils – We threw in a neon pencil because after all every good scientist needs to be able to write down their ideas.

Science ‘Nerd’ Glasses – Each child also got their own pair of science glasses. Another option would be to provide each child with safety goggles which can also be bought in bulk search here.

The Playlist

For some fun science themed music to play during the party (and if you have time you can make a cd to put in the goodie bags), here are the songs we chose for our Science Party:

1. She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby
2. Weird Science by Oingo Boingo
3. Monster Mash by Bobby “Boris” Pickett
4. Starman by David Bowie
5. Intergalactic by Beastie Boys
6. The Future’s So Bright by Timbuk 3
7. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
8. Mellow Yellow by Donovan