{"id":1217,"date":"2022-02-11T09:29:29","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T17:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2022-02-11T09:29:29","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T17:29:29","slug":"junk-drawer-ecology-50-awesome-experiments-that-dont-cost-a-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/junk-drawer-ecology-50-awesome-experiments-that-dont-cost-a-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don&#8217;t Cost a Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you enjoy themed collections of hands-on experiments and activities that can be done with little preparation time using stuff from around the house? Then check out the newest in the Junk Drawer Science series, <em>Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don&#8217;t Cost a Thing<\/em> by Bobby Mercer.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1218\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/junk-drawer-ecology-50-awesome-experiments-that-dont-cost-a-thing\/junk-drawer-cover\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/junk-Drawer-cover.jpg?fit=667%2C1000&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"667,1000\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"junk Drawer cover\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/junk-Drawer-cover.jpg?fit=525%2C787&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1218 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/junk-Drawer-cover.jpg?resize=200%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/junk-Drawer-cover.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/junk-Drawer-cover.jpg?w=667&amp;ssl=1 667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>High school Physics teacher Bobby Mercer has organized instructions for 50 activities into 4 general categories: \u201cReduce, Reuse, and Recycle\u201d, \u201cAnimals and Plants\u201d, \u201cWater and Land\u201d, and \u201cAir.\u201d Each activity has a brief summary of the project and the ecology concepts it covers. Next is a list of the materials needed \u201cFrom the Junk Drawer.\u201d Once you have gathered the materials, the instructions are given step by step, illustrated with black and white photographs.<\/p>\n<p>Included with each activity is a discussion of \u201cThe Science Behind It\u201d and ends with \u201cScience for the Ages\u201d, a description of the age requirements for that particular project \u2014 based on safety concerns \u2014 plus ways to extend learning. Although the reading age is listed as 9-12, most of the experiments and activities could be used as is or modified for a broader age range.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the activities in <em>Junk Drawer Ecology<\/em> could also be extended and expanded to follow a child\u2019s interests.\u00a0 Using inexpensive household items to do hands-on science that has potential to grow with the child? It doesn\u2019t get any better than this.<\/p>\n<p>Check <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growingwithscience.com\/2022\/02\/stem-friday-kidlit-junk-drawer-ecology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Growing with Science blog<\/a> for the full review and related activity suggestions.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"6\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/stemfriday-tiny\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/stemfriday.tiny_.jpg?fit=216%2C104&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"216,104\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"stemfriday.tiny\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/stemfriday.tiny_.jpg?fit=216%2C104&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/stemfriday.tiny_.jpg?resize=216%2C104&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"216\" height=\"104\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growingwithscience.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roberta Gibson<\/a> All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you enjoy themed collections of hands-on experiments and activities that can be done with little preparation time using stuff from around the house? Then check out the newest in the Junk Drawer Science series, Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don&#8217;t Cost a Thing by Bobby Mercer. &nbsp; High school Physics teacher Bobby &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/junk-drawer-ecology-50-awesome-experiments-that-dont-cost-a-thing\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don&#8217;t Cost a Thing&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-1217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stem-friday-round-up","tag-junk-drawer-ecology-50-awesome-experiments-that-dont-cost-a-thing-by-bobby-mercer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pamhGQ-jD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":732,"url":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/rachel-carson-and-ecology-for-kids-her-life-and-ideas-with-21-activities-and-experiments\/","url_meta":{"origin":1217,"position":0},"title":"Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids: Her Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities and Experiments","author":"@roberta3","date":"March 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Right in time for Women\u2019s History Month we have the middle grade title Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids: Her Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities and Experiments by Rowena Rae. 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(STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Copyright \u00a9 2025 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;STEM Friday Round-up&quot;","block_context":{"text":"STEM Friday Round-up","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/category\/stem-friday-round-up\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/there-s-science-in-salt-cover.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1219,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions\/1219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}