Kits Offer Parents Help with their Kids' Science Projects

RALEIGH — It's about the time of year when our young students will bring home science projects. That means parents have to scavenge all over town to find all the "stuff" for the project.

But there may be a solution. WRAL Online reporterTom Lawrencefound a Triangle woman who might be able to help.

Science Unlimited's web site says it all: "Helping students and parents with their science projects."

You can order from a list of 19 different kits online for $20 each plus shipping charges. The kits include everything your student will need to complete a project.

The senior scientist is Dr. Lori Lipkin. She and her daughter Alicia demonstrate some of their fun science projects, like how bubbles are not affected by the shape of a wand.

"Once they come out of the wand they are shaped by the surface tension of the bubble," says Lipkin. "So it's sort of taking something a lot of people believe and showing that that's not accurate."

Lipkin also offers online help with projects. The idea behind her science project kits is learning, not just putting something together to impress a teacher.

"We've tried to bring it home and use more everyday objects and use more everyday language than perhaps would be done in the classroom," says Lipkin.

Projects are explained in a thorough booklet to handle different levels of completion and complexity. Another experiment deals with weights. Projects are explained in a thorough booklet to handle different levels of completion and complexity

"Does the weight on the end of the swing, does that have an effect, does the length of the string have an effect and if so, what type of effect?"

Lipkin says there's no hocus pocus here. All experiments are scientifically sound.

Lipkin also says students may get better grades if they present their project well, backed up with charts, graphs and a simple explanation of the experiment.