Despite how easy it is to dread science, it can be a lot of fun for your children. Kids love to do basic science experiments from a very early age.

One of the easiest ways to encourage an interest in science is to buy science kits. Depending on your children’s ages, these can be simple or more complex, and require varying amounts of direct parental supervision.

Even though she’s too young for most of them, my daughter has been begging for a robot kit. At her age, a robot kit would have to be just a few quick clicks, not something really challenging. She’s 4, after all, and many are for ages 14+. Were she old enough, though, she’d probably enjoy something like the amphibious solar vehicle.

In the past we did show her how to do a crystal growing kit. It wasn’t something she could do herself, but she certainly could watch the way I mixed it for her, and wait rather impatiently for them to grow. Of course, the impatience probably lasts a while. But the nice thing about the crystal growing kit was that we managed to break them down and do it over again.

I’ve often enjoyed helping my kids with some science basics. At the ages of my kids, kitchen level experiments work well, but as they get older we’ll get more complex. It’s a lot of fun.