SCIENCE PARTY My 8 year old son loves science and nature so I planned a science party. We were on a tight budget so we had to come up with some frugal ideas. 1. We made a light bulb pinata. Balloons are naturally shaped like light bulbs so we blew one up and cut up old newspapers into strips and made our own flour and water glue mixture. WE painted the bulk of the pinata yellow and the bottom black. our pinata turned out to be much stronger than the store bought ones. However you need about a week to do this so that it will dry in time. The person who got to hit the pinata first had to guess who invented the light bulb!!! 2. Geodesic gumdrop structures. The children made geometric structures with gumdrops and toothpicks. we talked about foundations and balance. We talked about cubes, pyramids etc. This was a BIG HIT!!! WE gave prizes for the sturdiest, tallest and most creative.  3. Slime  We made slime. Using a mixture of borax, glue and food coloring the kids created their own slime and got to bring it home. We talked about polymers (which is what this is).Other types of "slime" possibilities are cornstarch and water which creates a non-newtonian fluid. Another big but messy HIT!!!!!!!  4. Science treasure hunt. the children had to decode the messages written in lemon juice with a spray bottle of indicator (you can get the recipe off of any school science website). The clues had a science question on it and the kids had to find the next clue with a picture of the clue on it. For example one of the clues was: I am a ball of gas that shines bright in the sky. The kids then had to look for the next clue with a picture of a sun on it. When they found the next clue they had to decode it using the spray indicator. 5.SCience scavenger hunt   I had some "science" things around our house so I rounded those things up and hid them randomly. The kids had a list and had to find the items on the list. Some of the items were: Magnets , magnifying glass, crystal, calculator, different types of rocks, map of the solar system, medicine dropper etc. The kids broke up into two teams to do this.  6. DECORATIONS: I decorated with neon green. Tablecloths balloons, napkins  7. I made a volcano cake from a dome-shaped pan (the type you would use to make a doll cake). You could also use a regular bundt pan. I used chocolate frosting and red candy and fruit roll-ups for the lava. I added sparkler candles to the top.  Another HIT!!!!! I could have come up with many more ideas. Like a Lego building contest, a rocket balloon building contest, pendulum building contest, make a baking soda and vinegar volcano etc Any science website would give you tons of ideas that are easy to do even if you are not a "science" person!!!! If you could get your hands on dry ice that would add a neat affect. Or if you are a dramatic person act like a "mad scientist" and do some crazy things.  Hope this helps other moms to know that a party does not have to be expensive or difficult.   my son  and friends had a blast!!!!!!