Session 2: Boo Bash

We just had our second session of Curiosity Club, and my-oh-my was it a spook-tacular time! Our "Party Animal" Research Assistants had a blast in the Area 54 room of the Virginia Discovery Museum, giving both kids and parents the chance to express their curiosity in a fun, Halloween-themed, way.  

Families explored two exciting activities this week: Boo Bubbles and Dancing Ghosts! 

At the Boo Bubbles station, children observed the spooky bubbles float through the air, experimenting with how they popped, or didn’t, on different surfaces. One especially surprising moment? The bubbles started sticking to the

balloons around the room, building up on top of each other into playful bubble structures! We modeled our own comfort with uncertainty by admitting that we didn’t quite know why it was happening, and that’s okay! Showing children that adults can wonder too helps normalize curiosity and exploration. 

Boo Bubbles used these curiosity promotion strategies: 

1. Modeling Comfort with uncertainty: Adults shared their own curiosity and wonder about how bubbles interacted with different objects  

2. Strategic Question-Asking: Children made predictions about what might happen and were given time to think before testing their ideas. 

3. Use of prior knowledge: Children drew on what they already knew about bubbles, like whether they pop or stick, to make sense of what they were seeing. Recognizing what you do and don’t know is part of the curious learning process so you can better recognize when to search for more information. 

Over at Dancing Ghosts, children were faced with a puzzling challenge: the ghosts (made out of tissue paper) were stuck on the ground, and only they could help them fly! Equipped wth balloons and a hint to use static electricity, children eagerly experimented to figure it out. After trial and error, they figured out that by rubbing the balloons on their hair, carpet, or sweater, would generate enough static to make the ghosts lift off the table. Parents even joined in too! 

Dancing Ghosts used these curiosity promotion strategies:  

1. Free Exploration: Children freely tested different materials and methods to see what would generate more electricity 

2. Alternative ways of thinking: When one approach wasn’t working well (like trying the bean bag) kids practiced flexible thinking to try another way 

3. Reinforcing curiosity with positive feedback: Station facilitators encouraged all questions and methods of exploration, showing children that it’s okay to have questions and want to explore.  

Overall, we had a fantastic time exploring, wondering, and being curious with everyone who came into our room. A huge thank-you to everyone who joined us at Boo Bash for such a memorable event! 

Missed Boo Bash? Read our parent handout below or catch us at our next Curiosity Club Session on Thursday 11/6!