Now you can test it in water. I first tried it in the sink and then moved to an inflatable pool so it had more space. The boat moves forward.

The science behind it:
When you twist the band, it stores energy called potential energy. When you let it go, the potential energy converts to kinetic energy. The popsicle stick acts like an oar, pushing the water as it spins. This moves the boat through the water.

I hope you have fun making your boat. 

I love backyard camping. One thing we don't have is a firepit so there is no way to make s'mores outside. We decided to make a solar oven so that we could make and enjoy s'mores. It was a fun project and it worked. Scroll down to see the instructions. 

You will need:
- A box or two. We used two boxes as the main one had a hole on the top. 
- Scissors 
- Aluminum Foil
- Plastic wrap
- Tape
- Glue
- Black paper (enough to cover the bottom of the main box)
- Markers and stickers (optional for decorations)

Here are the steps:

​Cut out the lid of the other box. Wrap it in aluminum foil and tape it.  Tape this lid to the top of the main box.

Finally, tape some poles to the lid so that it stays up when cooking. Your oven is ready.
Then it is time to test it outside. 

How it works:
The silver foil refracts the sunlight to the oven. The black at the bottom of the box absorbs the heat from the sun. The plastic wrap traps the heat in so that the oven stays warm. This cooks the food. Our oven wasn't warm enough to cook anything else, but maybe on a warmer day it would be hotter. We will have to test. 

Finally, our s'mores were ready. They were delicious. 

Now we can enjoy more s'mores when we do backyard camping.  

I hope you enjoy making your solar ovens and your s'mores. 

Today we are making colorful recycled crayons using broken crayons. We are making them in the shape of mini cupcakes. Scroll down to see the instructions. This makes a great Earth Day activity, (especially if you use green and blue crayons).

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. 

Peel the paper off the crayon. This can be tricky so you may need an adults help. We even had to use a knife for some of them. 

Break the crayons into smaller pieces, (you may need a scissors for this), and put the crayons in the cupcake wrappers. 

When the oven is preheated to 350 degrees, put the tin in the oven.
Watch them until the crayons are melted. This only takes a few minutes. 
Take them out. You will need an adult's help with this.

Carefully transport them to a plate and put the plate in the fridge to cool and harden. Mine were ready in about 30 minutes. Make sure they are hard on the inside, too.

Peel the cupcake wrappers. It adds a fun effect. 

Here is the finished product. How fun and colorful!

Now you can gift them or draw and color with them.  You can get great effects with the different textures of the crayon. 

This activity also makes a great craft for Earth Day as you are recycling and if you use green and blue, they look like Earth.

I hope you enjoy. 

Today, I made a parachute for small and light toys. Scroll down to see the instructions. Have fun.

Now I tried it higher and it worked. 

I hope you have a great time.