I think the closest thing I’ve ever come to a  “scientific experiment/project” was making Oobleck with Patience and Piper. Growing up; I never had any interested in science. In fact, I think it was my worst subject in school. I was terrified of all the tubes and chemical mixtures to ever want to get involved. Science always seemed too complicated for me to understand and I wasn’t willing to take the time to learn it.

Now the girls- they love science. Their favorite ‘go-to guy’ for learning new things has always been Bill Nye the Science Guy. They’d get their hands dirty at the drop of a dime if it meant learning something new and exciting. For them science has always been more of a game than it is a lesson.

With this said- Patience and Piper flipped when they came home from school on Friday to find a Scientific Explorer Heavenly Hair Kit sitting on the table. They didn’t exactly know what it was at first (they saw an unopened box and knew it was theirs), but once they figured out what it was they were looking at they started screaming. The thought of making their own shampoo and conditioner was so exciting.

We spent the better part of an hour together; going threw the book, reading some of the experiments listed, learning about hair types and why hair is the way that it is, and then making the actual shampoo and conditioner. They had a blast with the whole experience. They said it was something they’d love to do again. Patience even plans on taking the booklet to school so that she can show her teacher. She’s hoping they might be able to do add it to one of their learning lessons in class (since you hardly need any material to try them).

So Who and What is Scientific Explorer?

Scientific Explorer kits are created and field tested through collaboration with scientists and educators at UC Berkeley’s Great Exploration in Math & Science Program (GEMS). The activities and kits are based on science activities that have been found meaningful in thousands of classrooms.

All the kits are packed with educational value- teaching kids the fundamentals of science through original experiments, open-ended questions. The scientific methods encourage creative inquiry and independent critical thinking skills.

If you find Scientific Explorer products interesting but don’t know if they have kits that cater to the younger ones- think again. You can find kits suitable for children 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9+, teens and even adults. You can find kits for every love.

Where to find Scientific Explorer: You can find kits of all types at Amazon, Fat Brain Toys, Barnes & Noble Book stores, Discover This, Giddy Up and more.

Average cost per kit: The one I received (Heavenly Hair Kit) has a retail price of $19.95. Most of the ones I’ve seen (aside from a select few that are more) average around $20.00 {+shipping}.

Overall Thoughts: I think they are so worth the cost, time and investment into buying any Scientific Explorer kits. It gives a child, any child (young or old) an advantage in learning new things through experimentation. I love how rewarding it was for my girls; to use the very shampoo and conditioner they made all by themselves (well, with a little help from me- very little) was amazing to them. It made them so happy which in turn made me super happy! I recommend them!

Disclosure: I was gifted with a Scientific Explorer kit, courtesy of ChildsPlay PR and Scientific Explorer, for the purpose of my candid review. I was not given any monetary compensation nor did receiving product influence any positive experiences on my part. Any thoughts and/or opinions expressed in this post are my own. Thank you.