Exploring the World with Science

Recently, we had fun learning through educational STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) focused activities at home. We have got involved in a few science activities like the water tornado, absorbing science, colourful sugar and potato clock!

Both of my children love science as long as we make it interesting and not bore them with too much information. Last week, we have received the Digital Metal Detector and Double Globe Planetarium from Trends UK to write about our opinion on how girls vs. boys in the family view science and science projects.

My children were thrilled to receive the items and both wanted to get their hands on the metal detector. My daughter is not really the adventurous type so I was pleasantly surprised. She wanted to go straight out in to the garden and look for metal!

So this Easter weekend, she was not hunting for eggs but metals. This digital metal detector is easy to set up and requires a 9V battery which is not included. This detector is suitable for ages 8 and onwards. Both of my children use this under our supervision.

Once you install the battery, you will need to calibrate it with a metal spoon which is to set the sensitivity. Once calibrated, it will make a loud beeping noise when it is near a metal. The detector contains coils which send the electricity (or an electromagnetic charge) to the ground and back to the coils. Metallic objects interrupt the signal, which results in the unit creating an audible sound (beep). This comes with a flip-up LCD screen which is easy to see and understand.

So I hid a few coins instead of eggs around the garden and got them to use it to look for it. They both were very pleased using it. They do tend to swing the detector close to the ground which is not recommended. I find that my daughter has more patience than my son when looking for metals.

Next we tried the Double Globe Planetarium. My daughter was not keen to learn about the solar system as this is not her favourite subject. She shows more interest in the ‘mood lighting’ and how the lights rotates. On the other hand, my son is fascinated by it and is very attentive to every details.

This planetarium comes with two globes; solar system and stars. It also include a red light pointer, CD-ROM, instructions and a spare light bulb. This requires 6 x AA batteries which are not included. This planetarium is suitable for ages 8 and onwards. Both of my children use this under our supervision. The CD-ROM is packed with information which is very useful if they want to learn more about it.

This planetarium is very straight forward to set up. The commentary is only for the solar system/planets and is informative and easy to understand. The globes are lightweight, easy to slot into the light bulb and swap in and out. This is best used at night and on a clear ceiling. The slow and steady moving globe shows how the solar system revolves which makes it very interesting. We love that there are independent on/off switches for the light, commentary and rotation.

Nowadays children are very fortunate to have educational gadgets to help them to learn in much more detail than during my time where I learned science through books and posters. I love how these gadgets help my children to learn and also add fun to it. Through the visual aid, it definitely helps encourage both children to learn through play.

Disclosure: We have received these samples for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.