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Just because the weather isn’t nice doesn’t mean that it’s time to hang up your sneakers and sporting equipment and head straight for the TV or your computer games after school.

It’s important that you keep you body and your mind active during the long school season ahead. As long as the weather permits, try having fun with some outdoor activities for at least an hour a day. If you can’t play outside, try some fun indoor activities to exercise your body and stimulate your mind.

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It’s fun to see all the different birds that might visit you on your balcony or in your garden. From sweet little brown sparrows and lovely songbirds to showy blue jays and cardinals, you can attract the birds of your area with a homemade bird feeder.

This is a good time of year to provide sunflower seeds for chickadees, blue jays, and cardinals so if your birdseed does not include any, you may want to add some to the mix. Blue jays would even appreciate some corn kernels that they’ll stow in their cheeks before flying off to enjoy them.

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Stickers are loads of fun and a great way to express your individuality. You can decorate your notebooks and binders, personalize your stationery, or brighten up just about any surface you choose. Design your very own lick-and-stick stickers. For the adhesive use the recipe for glue made with corn syrup. Remember to ask an adult to help you with the glue recipe.

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Like you, butterflies enjoy warm summer days. Hardier than their seemingly frail frames appear, butterflies can log thousands of air miles a year. For instance, Midwestern Monarchs fly 3,000 miles to winter in the warmth of Mexico. With more and more open space being taken for roads and development, it is harder and harder for butterflies to find places along their flight path to rest and refuel.

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In ancient times, because they posessed knowlege and skils that others didn’t know about, scientists and mathemeticians were sometimes thought to posses magical powers. You can use math today to show your powers too!

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Elsewhere we have talked about writing secret codes. What better way to write your secret code than with invisible ink?

It will disappear soon after you write it down, making it meaningless to enemy agents and other dubious characters whom you may not wish to read it. Spies and others have been using invisible ink for centuries.

Give it a try. The ingredients are to be found in most households, but the secrets are entirely yours.

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You will see the American Flag displayed in many areas of your neighborhood on Memorial Day in May and on other national holidays. Here’s a flag you can make yourself for Memorial Day. Remember to save it for the July 4th holiday too! And don’t forget to ask an adult help you.

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There are few things more mysterious than magnetism. An invisible force that moves things, the cornerstone of navigation (on water or national parks), a power that invovles the very core of the earth. Here is a chance for you to play with magnetism in a way that is sure to surprise your friends.

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Are you an artist looking for a new outlet? Perhaps you’re a kid looking for something fun to do. Or an adult with time on their hands (an interesting expression - does time have weight too?). Whatever your reason, here’s a great idea to get you started. Maybe you could even try building the Taj Mahal out of clay! Give it a try!

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Pinatas are found at almost every Mexican celebration. Pinatas were traditionally in the shape of a six-pointed star and were filled with fruit, candy, and small toys. Today they are designed in all types of shapes, including animals, plants, and flowers. At fiestas, the pinatas are hung in the air and children are blindfolded and take turns swinging at the pinatas. Eventually, the pinata is hit hard enough and it breaks releasing the candy and toys that it contained. Try making your own pinata at home. Make sure you ask an adult for help.

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Avocados are a fruit native to the Americas, and their use by the Aztecs dates back over 1,000 years if not much longer. When the Spaniards arrived in Peru in the 16th century, they had never seen anything like it. They gave it its modern name, and today the fruit is grown widely in California and elsewhere. Our suggestion here is that once you’ve made delicious guacamole with your avocados, try planting the pits!

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What happens when you mix water, alcohol and tiny beads?

This experiment not only sparkles, it helps teach you about atoms and their properties. Have you ever heard of polar molecules and what they do?

Here is your chance to find out in an engrossing and very informative way.

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