April 5, 2017 at 3:23 p.m.
Children explore science at the library
Children explore science at the library
By Kayla Thomason-
Children's librarian Tom Hurlburt said the library has a science day every few years, often on days like Monday when classes in the School District of Rhinelander are not in session.
This year the children watched as adults mixed potions like Borax-free slime, foamy froth and color crawl.
A batch of elephant's toothpaste, a combination of yeast, water, hydrogen peroxide, food coloring and Dawn dish soap, was a particular crowd-pleaser, according to Hurlburt.
"Oh, they usually like the elephant's toothpaste because you get the big reaction of the chemicals and stuff so that one is usually the favorite," he said, adding that exposing children to science at a young age peaks their interest and often leads them to borrow science experiment books from the library.
Not surprisingly, the children liked the experiments the messier the better. Olivia Holzel enjoyed the diet Coca-Cola and mentos experiment "because it exploded and it was really, really, really high."
"It's really, really fun," she added.
Hailey Perry also liked the Coca-Cola experiment "because it exploded."
Jessica Scholtes said this was her first time bringing her son Alex to the science experiment program.
"We really like it," she said. "We go to a lot of the library events so he really enjoys being here."
Scholtes agrees with Hurlburt that it is important to expose children to science at a young age.
"I think it helps create an interest, especially the younger they are the more of an interest that they can have and they can start to enjoy things and learn more," she said.
The library staff got most of the experiments from the website www.stevespanglerscience.com.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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