Someone reached out to us a few weeks ago, wondering what kinds of science kits we’ve done with our kids and which we would highly recommend. Our older son was always hungry for more and more science – building, electrifying, wiring, soldering – whatever he could find out there, he did it. He watched YouTube DIYs and made his own gadgets and experiments out of things around the house. He turned discarded things he found at The Exchange into incredible working mechanisms. He dreamed up ideas that sounded outlandish and fashioned cardboard, wires, and a few motors into the very things he imagined. It’s been amazing to watch.
I say all of this because in the meantime, I’ve continually searched the Internet all of these years for science kits that will satisfy his curiosity and build on his skills. There are a lot of one-shot projects out there for $30-$50 a pop. Some we’ve skipped on entirely when they’ve looked way too easy. Others we’ve stalled on for the expense and the fact that they’d be built and done in 30 minutes, the results relegated to a shelf to collect dust. For instance, KiwiCo’s Kiwi Crates (for ages 5-8), Tinker Crates (for ages 9-16+), and Eureka Crates (for ages 14-104) have some great projects that we’ve gotten as birthday and Christmas presents for both boys now and then.
But there’s really only one kit out there that I’ve been able to find that doesn’t stop. It keeps going and going with experiments of all kinds, plus a membership to the accompanying website for 5 years, and about 8 DVDs that include videos on how to do dozens and dozens of other experiments using household items. It’s called the Science Mastery Diamond, available through Supercharged Science, created by the mastermind of all of this, Aurora Lipper (once a NASA scientist). It costs $1800. Yes. You read that correctly. And all of the materials are shipped in big boxes, ready to go.
We decided our son needed this when he was homeschooling, the rationale being that it cost a fraction of what his school tuition cost in past years. So we signed him up. When those boxes came, WOW! Science was ON at our house. For a good long time. In fact, we’re still in our fifth year of the subscription to the website.
If you’ve been at home, quietly wondering how you can make Christmas really special for someone and you haven’t known what to do, please consider getting the Diamond kit for the person who reached out to us. Their son is wanting so much more science in his life, and I suggested that they allow me to ask readers to mull this over. He is a kind, sensitive, intelligent boy who would be exceedingly grateful and would never take the opportunity for granted. I have no qualms at all about putting this out there for his sake. If this sounds like something you would like to do, please email me at edeekulper@gmail.com and I will put you in contact with the family.
This is what the kit includes in its entirety:
- Aeronautics (Aeronautics, Kites, Rocketry)
- Electricity & Robotics (Electricity, Magnetism, and Robotics)
- Physics of Light (Light Waves, Lasers, and Astronomy)
- Physics of Motion & Sound (Sonic Vibrations, Physics, Hydraulics & Pneumatics: Earth Mover)
- Engineering: Hovercraft
- Parts & Materials for 100 projects
- Instructional videos on DVDs
- Audio lessons on CDs
- Science Experiment Manual
- Online access to new projects
- Unlimited technical support
- Unconditional happiness guarantee
- Digital Multimeter Discovery Pack
- Engineering: R.O.V. Underwater Vehicle
- Engineering: Alternative Energy (Solar boat, Solar Racecar, Wind Turbine)
- Electronics I: Breadboard Experiments (Audible Light Probe, Variable Flasher, Light Actuated Relay, Alien Detector)
- Electronics II: Wireless FM Transmitter (the “Bug”), Laser Communicator, and the Siren
- Alternative Energy II: Fuel Cell Vehicles
- Chemistry 3000 by Thames and Cosmos (includes Chemistry 1000 from Science Mastery GOLD)
- Advanced Electronics III Projects (Rolling Clock, Door Alarm, Crystal Radios, Home-built Enviro-Batteries…)
- Advanced Engineering Projects (300-1 Learning Lab)
- Access to the Complete Science Fair Project Archives (Linear Accelerator, Fruit Batteries, Crystal Radios…)
And here is the link to details and purchasing.
Thank you for considering this, and may you make dreams come true for others this season!
