Supercharged Science - TOS Review

We love science so when we were offered the chance to review Supercharged Science we got very excited, especially when the girls discovered that Aurora (the mastermind behind it) was previously a real life rocket scientist with NASA !

e-science is an on-line, hands on, science curriculum. There are currently 20 units to work through with more being added. The units include; mechanics, motion, matter, energy, sound, astrophysics, chemistry, light, electricity, magnetism, alternative energy, thermodynamics, electronics, life science, biology, earth science etc. As you can see its a fairly full curriculum : )

Each unit comes with lesson plans, reading, video demonstrations, hands-on experiments and finishes with a quiz which includes some very amusing questions. 

We started by looking at the Scientific Method, where Aurora explains how to keep a scientific journal and what the scientific method is.

We then moved straight into the first unit - Mechanics (Force, Gravity and Friction)

I printed off the lesson plans and materials list for the first unit (but didn't bother with the subsequent units). I would read aloud the text to the girls (more for the benefit of Rose our non reader) then we would watch a demonstration and do the experiments.

We started by working though the units systematically but the older girls quickly realised they could ditch my help and find loads of fun experiments - they jumped around the site doing various activities with density and microwaving a grape to see plasma.

Aurora is very passionate and really relates well with children - the girls found her engaging and she managed to spark their imagination. She firmly believes in 'learning by doing' so all the activities are hands-on and are designed to excite kids and get them loving science.

I loved the variety of experiments on this site and the best thing is she tries to make sure to use simple items that you have at home - none of this searching for expensive ingredients. She also has a comments section at the end of each unit where you can ask her questions and get feedback.  I also liked the way she explains 

e-science is a wonderful way to help develop a love of science and give your kids a comprehensive science grounding (and it doesn't require you to have a deep knowledge of science)

It is designed for k-12 and is available for k-8 $37 a month and k-12 $57 a month and you can try a free sample to see how it works for you.

You can see what my crew mates thought over at the TOS Blog