Friday, March 29, 2024

Science Birthday Party Theme

November 9, 2009 by  
Filed under Party Themes

Picture 017Let me share with you a Science Theme Birthday Party that I did for my son back in 2005.  This is the party that made me decide to start my own business, but that is for another post. Anyway my son loves all things to do with science and at the time he was turning 7 – it was the first time I was having a party for him in my home – which we just bought.  So I decided to do a Science Theme. I can up with fun projects for all the guests to do and also some experiments/demonstrations my husband (The Mad Scientist) would do for the kids all with education in mind.  I love to incorporate education into my parties when ever I can. You can see a Photo Slide show below from the party.

Picture 009Before the party after I had all the RSVP’s in  I made each guest a shirt using white T-Shirts you can get at your local craft store for bout $2.00 each.  For all the guests I found a cool Science Logo and added “Junior Scientist” below. For my son he had a Yellow shirt with a different design and his said “Dr. DJ”.  I printed out these designs on my printer onto Iron On Transfer Paper and cut out the design and ironed it onto each shirt. Yes it was some work, but well worth it in the end. This way any mess they made did not ruin their clothes and it also became party of the favor they could take home and keep.

Picture 013My son also wanted to have a Volcano he could erupt before the party so we made one using Paper Mache prior to the party.  He was so excited to do this.  Visit my post How to make a Volcano using Paper Mache to get full instructions on how you can make one too. Again this is something that took some time, but it was fun to make with the kids and of course fun to erupt and the kids loved it.  TIP: This take drying time so you want to this at least a week or so in advance.

Picture 023For the decorations I made signs to hang all over the house that I created and printed up from the computer.  I made it seem like a Lab in my own kitchen. If you would any of the signs I used just contact me and I would be happy to send them to you with your child’s name on them for you to print out.  Then I just set up my kitchen table to be the place where they would be during the party to do all of their experiments. I had a rolling Microwave Cart that must husband used when it was his turn to do his demonstrations in between the ones the kids did.

Now here are the Experiments and Activities I had the kids do:

Building Molecules – On the table as the kids arrived I had Colored Mini Marshmallows and Toothpicks.  The kids then created Molecules where the Marshmallow is considered the Atom, the Toothpick the Connector and when put together they create a Molecule.  As the kids were having fun creating their masterpieces my husband gave them some education on what Molecules are and asked them questions and so on. Seems so simple, but the kids loved to make these and some got very big!!!

Making Slime – I purchased little bowls with covers for each guest so they could mix up their slime and then be able to cover and take home to play with later. I also had craft sticks for each of them to use as their stirrers. The Slime Recipe we used was:  Mix 1 Tbsp Borax (found in laundry isle of grocery store) with 1 Cup of water and set aside. In each bowl the kids mixed 2 Tbsp of White Glue with 1 Tbsp of regular water and some food coloring to give it some color (we used Green) then add in 1 Tbsp of the Borax Water. The kids loved how the consistency changes when you add in the Borax Water and how it becomes Gooey.  The boys loved this of course!!

Wave Bottles – For this I had a Water Bottle for each guest that I saved from recycling. They were the 12 ounce bottles.  Before the party I stuck on a label with each guests name and also wrote their names on the caps.  We then filled each bottle 3/4 with Vegetable Oil, 1/4 Cup of Water, Food Coloring (Color of Choice – we used Blue) and I let them add some confetti (foil).  It was fun for the kids to see how Water and Oil do not mix and how their confetti would settle in between the water and the oil. Then when they turned their bottles they could create a wave effect. Make sure the caps are tight!!!

Centripetal Force – For this I purchased Clear Balloons that you can see through and before the party I added a penny to the inside of each of them and blew them up.  Then when it was time we handed them out to the kids. They then had to get the penny to spin on the inside of the balloon to create Centripetal Force by getting the penny to spin inside the balloon and stay on the walls.  My husband explained to them why this happens and asked them questions. They had a lot of fun making this happen.

Now here are the Experiments and Demonstrations my husband (The Mad Scientist) did: Keep in mind that during all the experiments my husband explained why these things happen and he asked the kids questions and they asked him. It was great to know that they would come away with some fun knowledge from my son’s Birthday Party.

The kids  watched how a water balloon can make its way into a glass bottle. Using a glass bottle with a small opening,  fill balloon with water so that it is bigger and cannot go in on its own, light a 4” paper strip and put it in the bottle – still lit, quickly put balloon on top and the balloon with wiggle its way into the bottle. To get it out, run the bottle under hot water and it will come back out. The kids eyes were glued on the bottle as they watched in amazement.

Candles & Oxygen: We took 3 votive candles and placed them on plates and lit them, we covered one with a large glass jar, one with a smaller glass jar and left one alone. Which one will go out first? It was fun to see the kids take guessing and tell us what they thought was going to happen and what really did after it was done.

He also made some Snow right in the kitchen using Instant Snow that is just like the snow they use in the movies. Then we let all the kids come up and stick their hands in it and play with it a bit. I also sent some home with the kids so they could make it at home later (I will explain that in my favor section below).

Now my husbands demos were done in between the activities the kids did to break it up a bit – so they alternated back and forth.

Picture 063Towards the end we rolled out my son’s Volcano for him to erupt in front of his friends.  He was so excited to do this. We had the vinegar already inside the Volcano and when he added the Baking Soda to the Vinegar which we already added with red food coloring – it erupted with a fun red foam all down the sides which added some excitement to the room and a BIG smile on my son’s face. So the work it took to build this Volcano was all worth it to us. Again you can see my post on How to make a Volcano using Paper Mache. You do not need to be having a party to get the kids in on this fun activity!!!!

Picture 003For the Birthday Cake my Sister and I created a Volcano Birthday Cake which matched the look of the Volcano we made for my son to erupt. The lava was melted red candies that cascaded down the sides. You can see my post on How to make a Volcano Cake to see how we created it.

science party favorFor the party favors all I did was take Brown Lunch Bags and added on some graphics I printed from my computer and glued the to the front of each bag. I wrote each guests name on the back of the bags so we knew which one belonged to who. After each experiment I added they items to their bags – like the Slime, Wave Bottle, Molecules etc… I also had some other fun items in the bag that I put in prior to the party. Once of the was the Instant Snow I told you above before. I took a small amount and added it to a Ziplock Baggie along with the instructions I typed up and printed out – of course I also added – DO NOT EAT – just in case – lol.  I also added in some Magic Kool Aid Packets to each bag that I found in the supermarket a long with some other fun items like Pop Rocks. Remember they get to take home all the goodies they made at the party and their shirts so I did not need much in the bags above and beyond that. One other thing I did add in the bags was I typed up everything we did at the party in case they wanted to try some of the experiments again at home.

This party was so much fun for everybody and was and is still talked about by many. This is the party that made me say “Ya know what I need to do this for a living” and here I am still going strong with my business and helping other parents create special Birthday Parties for their kids. Do you also see how this party did not cost me a lot to do?  Yes some things took some time to make – but that is all it cost time and not hundreds of dollars and the kids had a great time and walked away a little bit smarter.

Now here are some pictures from the party which I cannot believe is almost 5 years ago now. My son will be turning 12 in 2 months from the time I am writing this post. Where does the time go?

Comments

4 Responses to “Science Birthday Party Theme”
  1. A Daddy Blog says:

    That’s cool that you’ve turned your creativity into a business. Good for you! I’m dropping by from Mom Loop (yes, they let dads play, too) and following you on Google Friend Connect.

  2. Thank You so much – I love my job so much and not many get to say that.

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