Bucky Ball!

I've always said that one of my favorite things about homeschooling is the fact that I get to learn alongside my kids in SO many ways.  We just started a new science unit (chemistry) and the lesson covered something I had never even heard of before: Bucky Balls!

It was so exciting to learning about a recent scientific discovery that happened when I was a child. It made me feel less old.  Perhaps it made my childhood feel less distant for the kids too? I can hope.  :)

The lesson suggested that we follow the instructions from THIS BOOK to make a bucky ball out of gumdrops and toothpicks.  Well, the science kit comes with toothpicks, but not gumdrops. And since I didn't read the lesson until the night before class, I wasn't ready with gumdrops. 

I searched online for alternative ways to make our model and found this excellent resource.  I actually think it turned out better than the suggested activity and the bonus is that I didn't have to introduce sugar into our lesson and all the wonderful consequences that come with such a risky move.

The kids were showing off their bucky balls and spouting off their new carbon allotrope facts at the dinner table with no prompting from me = Win for the team.