Experimenting on my kids - getting excited

I normally get pretty excited when I meet people who like the things I like.

I got really excited when I found out that Sam loves space. Rockets. Planets.

If I haven't told you I'm into this stuff - I am into rockets. I made my own sparkler rocket in Yr 7. The whole grade got excited cause I got them out of class. The teachers hand them lined up on the oval for my homemade rocket launch.

I wish I had a photo to show you. Mz Kilminster or Mrs Quade, if you are reading this, would you send me that photo?

When I went to the United States in 2008 I got to check out the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida:

From the telescope at the closest observation deck. I would just miss a shuttle launch... by a few weeks so I couldn't stay.

That Saturn V rocket is massive

Been talking with blokes at work about education - and I've been feeling more and more responsible for the raising of my children. Heck if that's my job then I'd better learn to be good at it.

I've been reading from Dan Pink's "Drive", "Scientific Secrets for Raising Kids Who Thrive" and that Sir Ken talk. The big idea that joins all this is: how to cultivate people's intrinsic drive to learn. This is the most effective and long term method to develop people who can think outside of the box and who are most likely to excel. Especially kids:  Keep it fun. Keep it interactive so it sticks.








So I decided to experiment on Sam.






Hypothesis

1. It is possible to intrinsic interest in Sam, in a short time using relatively simple techniques and tools available around the home.
2. A by product of this interest is retained knowledge and further desire for knowledge acquisition in the area.

Process
So for a week or so I've been laying it on thick.

1. I used an old gift voucher at a little book store. Found a $8 book about a rocket trying to find a nice place to live. Ok, the planets are not exactly in the right order but he loves that book. We have already lost the cardboard rocket that came with the book.
2. I played Sam this video of the space shuttle launch and this Space X grasshopper. He had so many questions like, "Why there's ice?" and "Why it lands on the ocean?"
3. On Saturday (for our weekly adventure) we took the boys to the Planetarium. Sam got to see model rockets, and he could name Earth, Saturn and Mercury (with a bit of help). 
4. I repainted the blackboard next to the kitchen (it was a job left from at least a year ago) and the first thing I put on that was... the solar system, sort of to scale. Alright, the sun is way too small. 
5. Sam went out and we found some asteroids. These are little rocks we could blu-tack onto the board. 4 was enough - but Sam wanted more.
6. I dug out a relic from my childhood "treasure box". In this box I keep all my good toys that I would hand down to my kids, and bring out bits as they are ready. I got out the space shuttle. This thing has wheels and it goes forward until it finds an edge, and then a hidden wheel at the bottom spins the shuttle to the right so it does not fall off the edge. Ingenious! Any way Sam got the shuttle for being a good listener. It was a hit.
7. I took out a remote controlled Lamborghini Aventador we got from China. Ok, not related to space but it was so fun.

See the asteroids? They have not fallen off yet.

Hanging out with the Russian who set up the cosmoneaughts.

My old relic of a space shuttle.

Conclusions:
Too early to tell?

I'm so looking forward to more rockets and space. Oh and Sam is too.








Have you got any ideas for me to try? Feel free to send me an email or add a comment.