HW Ideas – Science

  • Make a family earthquake survival kit.
  • Quake safe your home. Track earthquakes on Geonet.co.nz
  • Find out where your local civil defence muster station is. Could someone in the family be a cd volunteer?
  • How does your family deal with organic waste? Construct a compost heap or start a bokashi  bucket or worm farm.
  • Do an audit of the stuff  your household regularly throws away. Do you have recycling bins? Could you reduce, recycle and reuse more?
  • Grow a vegetable garden. Grow herbs in pots. Germinate seedlings (natives,  vegetable, flowers). Plant swan plants to attract monarch butterflies.
  • Tune into the science program on National radio.
  • Watch  Frozen Planet. Watch mythbusters.
  • Read Bob Brockie science column in the Dom Post.  Discuss with family members.
  • Write a letter to a politician about a scientific issue you are concerned with.
  • Make icecream, beer, cheese, yoghurt, sherbets, baked Alaska, bread.
  • Dinner time discussions on topical science issues eg fracking, climate change, use of palm oil, oil exploration on East Coast, mining in National Parks.
  • Visit the Carter Observatory. Find south using the Southern Cross. Take a photograph of the moon every day for a month. Explain the changes.
  • Download the weekly star chart and try to identify the main constellations
  • Make your own home cleaners using baking powder, vinegar,  meths, ammonia.
  • Find all the acids and bases in the pantry, bathroom, laundry and shed. 
  • Check out the Khan academy – http://www.khanacademy.org
  • Watch Ted Talks clips on science topics.
  • Make a pinhole camera.
  • Check out the nutritional info on food labels of similar products. Which is the best buy? Google the preservatives.
  • Track your Kilojoule consumption using a food diary.
  • Make a pedigree chart for your family going back as many generations as you can. Can you trace easily identifiable genetic traits in your family.  (widows peak, hitchhikers thumb, red hair, )
  • Keep a bird log of the birds that visit your garden. Make a bird table or feeding station.
  • Ask a scientist a question
  • Visit the beach, zoo, museum, Zealandia, Wilton’s Bush, Island Bay marine lab.
  • Check out “Te Ara” on line NZ encyclopaedia – http://teara.govt.nz
  • Make a solar powered light.
  • Monitor and reduce household energy use. Compare energy costs of different energy companies.
  • Collect and store grey water.
  • Make a hangi pit.
  • Get a beehive. Observe bee flight paths. Keep chickens.
  • Identify all the different metals used in your home. Visit Carlucci land. Identify if any waste metals can be sold for scrap. Where do you recycle metals in Wellington?
  • Take time lapse photographs.
  • Make a weather station. Keep tallies of monthly rainfall. What is the prevailing wind in your area?
  • Create scientific trivial pursuit.
  • Plot growth of small family members.
  • Monitor advertisements for use of pseudoscience.
  • Take your pulse before and after a walk. Compare your pulse rates with older and younger family members. How long does your pulse take to return to normal after hard exercise?
  • Investigate food preservation methods. Dehydrate fruit. Make pickles.