We Love You So – Where The Wild Things Are – Spike Jonze

There’s a whole range of childhood phenomena that has been destroyed by the internet. OK, not destroyed. But certainly demystified.

I’m talking about the mysteries of mood rings, shooting stars, funny bones, baking-soda-and-vinegar volcanos, oobleck and countless other occurrences that take on the appearance of miracles to the average ten-year-old. Now that almost every kid has access to a computer, however, an explanation for these wonders is only a click away. We’re trading a sense of awe for a generation of extremely well-informed young adults– and depending on your perspective, the swap is either terribly disenchanting or highly necessary.

At any rate, all hope is not lost. You can still grasp at the remnants of your former incredulity by following Make’s instructions to make a thermographic notebook cover with just a bit of adhesive and some liquid crystal film. Voila, a notebook that looks like a mood ring and changes color in response to changes in temperature. If it doesn’t dazzle you like it might have in 5th grade, it’s guaranteed to at least stimulate a lot of experimental poking.

Tags: amazement, Experiments, funny bones, incredulity, liquid crystals, miracles, mystification, oobleck, projects, science, thermochromism, Wonder

This entry was published August 3, 2009, filed under Art, science, toys. You can follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can write a comment, or trackback from your own site.