Fight Summer Brain Drain {And a Giveaway}

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

We woke up to pouring rain and thunder this morning, so to keep the boys entertained we had a balloon race in the living room.

It was so easy, and this totally made me the cool mom. Who would think just some string, tape, balloons and straws would have these boys so excited?

Besides being fun, the balloon race demonstrated Newton’s Third Law of Motion, that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Huh? Yeah, it made me sound smart too. I didn’t tell my kids I read that online. This was an awesome idea, but I can’t take credit for it. I found this project and several more in the Summer Brain Games Activity Guide from the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. We also made a pinhole viewer with a shoe box and some aluminium foil and wax paper.

The Museum is offering the Summer Brain Games program online free this summer to help parents prevent the “Summer Brain Drain.” Studies show that kids can lose up to three months of learning over the summer. Providing activities that stimulate thinking and learning can help stop it. My oldest son David made huge strides in school this last year, and I certainly don’t want him to lose it over the summer.

If you want to tryout the Summer Brain Games with your kids you can download the kit after you register. The activities are appropriate for all ages, but you’ll need to supervise and give your kids some assistance. I’ve found it’s easier to do these types of activities with my kids in the morning when they’re still fresh and more attentive. 

When you register online for free you’ll get access to instructions for weekly science challenges and experiments. You’ll also get one free pass to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. We’ve been to the museum a few times, and it’s definitely worth making a trip to Chicago for a visit.

I’m giving away one Family Four Pack (value $76.00) of tickets to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.(Tickets are valid through the end of 2013.) To enter follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is offering a fun and free online science program called Summer Brain Games. The eight-week program lasts from June 17, 2013-August 12, 2013 and features a weekly experiment or science challenge that can easily be performed at home with kids of all ages.

Visit msichicago.org/summerbrain now to register for Summer Brain Games and download your free Summer Brain Games kit. As an added bonus, registering automatically gets you a pass to come to the Museum for free this summer.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.