Looking for something fun to do with the kids over the holiday break?
Rick Crosslin, scientist in residence at MSD Wayne Township joined us today with a few holiday-related experiments!
He says old LED and incandescent Christmas lights are a perfect tool to explore electric circuits.
Crosslin also demonstrated how to make a simple circuit light-up Christmas card using a battery and old lights.
Supplies Needed:
- Tape
- Aluminum foil
- Batteries (most lights are 3.4 volts and most batteries are 1.5 volts, so we need a few batteries.)
- Christmas tree lights.
For a more detailed experiment on simple electric circuits click here.
For more from Rick visit:
The word vaccination is being thrown around a lot lately, and it may be leaving a lot of kids confused. Rick Crosslin, scientist in residence for MSD Wayne Township, joined us today with a little history on how we discovered vaccination and how they work. He explained it all in a kid-friendly way using a toy castle and dragon. Watch the video above to see the full segment.
Key Points:
- Your body has an amazing immune system
- Antibodies are made to protect you
- Vaccination comes from the Spanish word vaca – cow, from a cowpox outbreak in Boston
Watch the full version of his scientific explanation on Rick’s Youtube channel here.
Today we got a lesson in floating from Rick Crosslin, scientist in residence for MSD Wayne Township. He demonstrated a cartesian diver lesson from a “discrepant event” point of view.
Rene Descartes was a French Philosopher and Mathematician. He invented Coordinate Geometry (x y-axis, with +1 or -1).

He also invented an interesting toy that we can learn about the difference between liquids, gases and buoyancy.
He invented the Cartesian Diver, a toy that can be used to demonstrate the transmissibility of pressure! It’s an object that ordinarily floats and can be made to sink.

You can watch a longer version of the experiment.
Rick Crosslin, scientist in residence, MSD Wayne Township joined us to take us through the process of making a “Garden Glove,’ a perfect project for kids!
Plants have played a critical role in life on our planet. They provide oxygen, medicine, clothing, and food for all of us.
Most plants come from seeds and from flowering plants that were first seen in the fossil record about 67,000,000 years ago, think T. Rex!
Flowers make seeds. They have male (stamen and pollen) and female parts (pistil and ovules).
Pollination leads to fertilization, and then to seed development.
Seeds Germinate, and they lay dormant to survive the winter. Then when they are warm and wet they germinate or split open and begin a new plant.
For more from RIck visit, his Youtube Channel.