Navy League STEM Expo at the National Harbor
It was one of those rainy spring days that begged to stay indoors, but when I see a STEM event in the area, I feel a strong obligation to drag Najwa and one of her friends out to it. Even when it’s advertised as for 5th through 12th graders. So ...Finally Planting the Seed Ball from AAAS Family Science Day
A few months ago at the AAAS Family Science Day, Najwa visited a table where she made a seed ball. Basically, it’s a clump of soil with a bunch of wildflower seeds in it. She was told to plant it somewhere and when the weather invited it to, the seeds ...Invisible Ink and Flammable Iron
The theme for tonight’s chemistry project was iron. When you think of iron, you think of a metal used to build strong and durable objects like hammers, cars and sky scrapers. But this science project uses iron to make invisible ink and later we’re going to burn it. The first ...Revisiting Scratch at Northeast Library in Capitol Hill
Though I work at a place that teaches college graduates how to code, I haven’t made a big push for Najwa to learn how to code. I will, and she has expressed interest, but I haven’t got there yet. Eventually though. But there was an event a the library in ...Science Games and Learning at the AAAS Family Science Days
Najwa and I headed out to the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel in Woodley Park where American Association for the Advancement of Science was having their annual meeting. And during these meetings, they have a Family Science Day, just the type of stuff we like to do. AAAS Family Science Days ...Building Bombs, Defusing Bombs and Meeting Bomb Techs
When my family returned from my dad’s military posting in Germany back in 1991, the Rodney King video and aftermath were well underway. Police brutality was no longer simply a rap song; it was an issue that was finally being addressed on a national stage. Nearly three decades later, though, ...Getting The Fat and Protein Clots Out the Milk
When you think of milk, you think of a creamy liquid. For tonight’s MEL Science experiment, Najwa was going to separate the liquid from the solid part of milk, the curd. This was similar to the project we did over the summer when we poured milk into Coke. The phosphoric ...Using Chromatography to Understand Marker Colors
You would think that a black marker has black ink. And a green marker has green ink. But do they? That was the objective of this MEL Science chemistry project. First we put put a nice big black dot in the middle of the filter paper. And it’s black. No ...Creating Oxyhydrogen from Water Then Igniting It
We had one of Najwa’s friend over and decided to do a science experiment. The goal was to electrolyze water so that it decomposes into two gases: oxygen O2 and hydrogen H2. The end results is that there’s twice as much hydrogen as oxygen creating what’s called oxyhydrogen. And when ...Experimenting Fractals in Art at ARTECHOUSE
ARTechouse is one of DC’s more different museums. Probably a bad way of describing it but weird sounded bad and too many are unique so, it’s more different. In a unique weird way. The current exhibit explores fractals. We took Najwa and her friend Dayla out there, though I think ...What Happens When You Pour Milk Into Coke?
I was randomly looking for quick and easy science projects online and saw one that takes no time at all. Just pour milk into a Coke and let it sit. It is a reaction of the Phosphoric Acid contained in the coca cola to the milk. Phosphoric Acid molecules attach ...Engineering Projects from Catapults to Robots at KID Museum
Generally I plan everything we do for events and activities in Washington, DC. Partly because I love DC and it has so much to offer that there’s no need to go elsewhere; partly because it’s much more convenient than traveling in our neighboring states. But one way to get me ...Reptiles, Books And Just Playing Around At The New Woodridge Library
Najwa and I took a trip down the road to check out the new Woodridge Library. I had planned on coming here eventually, but with live reptiles for the kids, this made for the perfect reason. I did misjudge the show. When seeing that the event was from 3:30 pm ...Viewing Jupiter, The Moon, Otherworldly Stuff At The Astronomy Festival
The ladies and I headed out to the National Mall to check out Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and some really cool telescopes.National Math Festival
When math is a subject that gets a lot of love in the home, how could we not attend the National Math Festival? This little challenge was, well, quite challenging. Najwa gave it what she had, but like everyone else we watched attempting to figure it out, no such luck. ...
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Exploring The Kalmar Nyckel Museum In Delaware
Around the corner from our visit to Fort Christina Park is a museum, featuring the Kalmar Nyckel, but also a tribute to world exploration by boat. The Kalmar Nyckel is the ship that first brought the Swedes to the new world where they had a settlement in Wilmington, Delaware, before ...
Getting Travel Ideas at the Travel Show
We’ve always been a traveling family, but we’re now determined to do at least one international trip a year, if not two. And where better to learn about other places to go than the Travel Show? It’s really a convention with a bunch of booths with a bunch of travel ...
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Navy League STEM Expo at the National Harbor
It was one of those rainy spring days that begged to stay indoors, but when I see a STEM event in the area, I feel a strong obligation to drag Najwa and one of her friends out to it. Even when it’s advertised as for 5th through 12th graders. So ...
The night of Sept. 17, 2010, I entered into the world of Daddyhooding. The doctors failed to give me a training manual, so I’ve been improvising every step of the way.
I got a lot wrong, a few things right, but have been having a ball ever since. Najwa Gaines has made me realize that I had no life until that night. And this is my story.