the intra- and extra-terrestrial microbe
one scientist's journey as a microbial habitat and mom
This cake was inspired by a Jupiter cake at https://cakecrumbs.me/2013/07/24/jupiter-structural-layer-cake/. This cake was my first round cake and was challenging, but it certainly was fun to make. I am quite happy with the way it turned out, even with all the issues I had! Callisto is an ice moon of Jupiter whose craters appear luminescent …
You can make moons, asteroids, and planets using clay or this easy-to-make play-dough recipe. I like to use a very small amount of food coloring gel to color the play-dough, but you can also use natural food colorings like strawberry juice, beets, blueberries, and turmeric. I also like to use glitter for space minerals, but …
One of my favorite things to do in nature is hunt for mushrooms and other fungi. I am drawn to the shapes, colors, and variety of these ephemeral life forms and in awe of how magical and abundant they are. I rarely ever notice mushrooms unless I look down, taking the time to explore and …
Plastic collected from an Oregon beach in less than half an hour in one spot. Blue and white round pieces are water and soda bottle caps. Most pieces were smaller than a bottle cap. Plastics in the ocean and environmental pollution is a huge problem that humans continue to struggle with. On a weekly basis, …
Small rocks dropped into a cake pan filled with flour and cocoa powder make cool Moon craters. Demonstrating how craters formed on the Moon can be a fun and easy activity for teaching your kids about space, astronomy, or astrophysics for that matter. All you need to do is fill a pie plate or cake …
The kitchen is the perfect place to do science at home, and your kids will love these simple science activities that they can eat! Edible jello Petri Dishes with realistic bacterial colonies Crystal candy geodes DIY Pop Rocks Stomach digestion activity Edible Mini Garden And check out these pages from my site: Homemade Play-Dough Seafloor …
I wanted to make my own baby food when my kids were young. I relied heavily on books by Annabel Karmel like Top 100 Baby Purees for little ones ready to be weaned and beginning to chew, and Top 100 Finger Foods for toddlers and young children. I still use many of her recipes even …
This papier mache 3D bathymetry map comes complete with black smoker hydrothermal vents and a mini ROV to sample microbiology! I modeled this bathymetry map after one I had for the Escanaba Trough on the Gorda Ridge. I will be sampling this location on my next SUBSEA cruise this summer. To make the 3D structures …
Beep Bop Boop Beep! This pink robot costume is sure to be a hit with your little one. For some extra fun and to involve your kids in the design, let them draw some of the controls and dials and paste them on! We added a light box filled with twinkling holiday lights, a fan, …
In an effort to reduce packaging in our home, I decided to try to make my own breakfast cereal. This recipe is rather simple in that it is really just pie crust dough rolled out super thin, spread with melted butter, cinnamon and sugar, cut into tiny squares with a pizza cutter, and baked at …
the intra- and extra-terrestrial microbe 