July was a fun and busy month at the Kiddie Science Lab, with our young scientists diving into a hands-on science exploration that included botany, biology, chemistry, and more! We cared for the garden and harvested yummy food. We observed the Lab turtle, Spaghetti, to learn more about her needs and behavior. We spent time with the backyard chickens, Sweet and Sour, and made lots of observations about their behavior and vocalizations.

We learned scientific vocabulary associated with our topic of exploration, and made relevant connections to art which allowed our young scientists to get creative while learning important scientific facts. We got messy, laughed a lot, and explored serious questions such as 'what happens when our water gets polluted?'.

We recycled newspaper and turned it into new paper, we learned about the water cycle and created simple filters. We learned the characteristics of invertebrates and the role they pay in our garden. We conducted chemistry experiments using grocery store ingredients and at one point harvested so many cucumbers each young scientist in the program got to take one home.

The first half of our science summer was incredibly fun and we can't wait to continue the scientific exploration. See you soon at the Kiddie Science Lab! More pictures can be found on our Facebook page. #summerscience2019 #kiddiescience

Our growing season has been going really well, though some more rain could come in handy.

We have enjoyed a bounty of cucumbers, with our tomatoes ripening a slow bit at a time. Our garden herbs include only basil and thyme after the caterpillars ate through the dill and parsley. The good news is we've been able to harvest hundreds of dill seeds, which will be used for the next growing season.

As of August 13th, we have harvested a total of:
3lbs of mixed herbs
14.6lbs cucumbers
6.5lb tomatoes

All this was grown right here in Brooklyn, and cared for by young scientists age 2 to 12. 

After several very hot days, we got way too much rain before settling into a comfortable stretch leading up to another warm-up. Our garden plants have required a lot of love and attention, which our young scientists gladly provided. Their dedicated care has paid off in the form of a delicious harvest. Although very few tomatoes have been ready, we've enjoyed munching on freshly picked cucumbers during our workshops. Scientists of all ages have given the Lab cucumbers the thumbs up! We've also harvested Lab herbs to use in plant sprays against flying and crawling garden insects. As of 7/22/19, we have harvested a little over 8 pounds of cucumbers and almost 3 pounds of tomatoes. Kid-grown food, right here in Brooklyn.

We've also harvested several thousand dill seeds, and a few hundred green pepper seeds to be used in next year's garden.

As of July 13th, we have harvested the following from the Kiddie Science Lab garden. We would like to acknowledge our young scientists for their hard work, dedication, and gentle care of our garden. 

2.1 lbs Collard Greens
1.2 lbs mixed herbs (Mint, Parsley, Dill, Cilantro, Basil, Thyme)
1 lb Rainbow Chard
1.5 lbs Lettuce (mix of red and green)
1.8 lbs Cherry Tomatoes
​3.1 lbs Cucumbers
.9 lb Onions & Scapes

There's much more to come!