I dropped my kids off at pre-school the other day. There is a little box full of sea shells, and my boy picked one up and fingered the little lumps and bumps on

I dropped my kids off at pre-school the other day. There is a little box full of sea shells, and my boy picked one up and fingered the little lumps and bumps on it. I thought, damn, I have no idea how those little bumps on the shell are made. So I went on the internet and read as much as I could and found some nice links. Then I did a show and tell with the family. There wasn't that much interest, but later in the week I heard from his teacher that my wife had been telling the other kids how shells made, and what lives in them. My boys learned how to draw spirals. That's my story. I like the questions that kids ask, like what is an atom, what are protons, quarks etc. Then we get to say "No one really knows" and talk about the biggest machine in the world (LHC) (it may no be the biggest - but the story has to be good) and lab coats and scientists (like Dora the explora - that one's a bit of a stretch.) I think kids like to hear that we all question stuff and some people try to answer those questions. I love it when my kids say 'I think so-and-so' and you can tell them that other scientists thought that and did an experiment to see if they were right. That son, is a valid and interesting question.