It all starts with poster board.
Getting mom to drive to the drug store to load up on the thick flimsy is a great start to a great project. Grab a sheet of white, a sheet of neon pink, and if you’re lucky one of those thick cardboard three-folds. Come on, we both know that cardboard added some scientific integrity to your research — the seventh grade equivalent of getting your work published in The New England Journal of Awesome.
Now, it doesn’t end there. Next you’re grabbing markers, spray paint, baking soda, and Styrofoam. Once you’ve got everything together you’re rushing home and getting down to science, people. The carpeted corner of the unfinished basement becomes your lab and it’s time to spend hours putting on lab coats, staring into microscopes, and pour bubbling green liquids into beakers. Also, taping.
Come on and let’s count down some classics:
6. The solar system. Jabbing those spray-painted Styrofoam balls with a straightened out coat hanger is a truly great feeling. As is painting a splotchy brown Australia on Earth and a big eye on Jupiter. If you want to go the To Scale route, remember to leave Pluto at home.
5. Volcano. There are two types of eruptions. First, there’s the Underwhelming Fizz — where you stare deep into the mouth of the fiery beast only to witness some rock-hard hunks of baking soda floating in a pool of strong-smelling vinegar. It’s disappointing, but you can always try again and hope for a Superblow — where everyone stares with wide-eyes as red ooze bubbles and slides down your carefully painted volcano onto the GI Joe townspeople below.
4. The one the kid’s parents obviously did. Also known as robbing your child of the thrill of scientific discovery in exchange for a B+.
3. Growing something. Whether it was lima beans or patches of fresh grass, it was a a classic move to study Sunlight vs. Shadows, Music vs. No Music, or Watering Plants vs. Pouring Coke On Them.
2. Coke is bad. Speaking of Coke, did you have that kid who left a tooth or some nails sitting in it for a month? The groundbreaking research typically concluded with a harsh indictment of the entire soda industry. And maybe a business card for the kid’s dad who was a dentist.
1. The one that didn’t work. Every science fair had a few of these gems. They were sad and beautiful at the same time. Because that down-faced ten year old standing in front of a dim lightbulb was learning how to deal with lost efforts and how to get back their drive after a fall. Keep that chin up, tiger. You’ll get ’em next time.
Yes, beautiful science fair moments were always a perfect close to months of hallway passion, energetic teachers, and long lonely nights cutting construction paper letters with pinking shears. Letting kids learn, letting kids dream, letting kids try and try and try — well, there’s just so much good that comes of that.
As they bottle insects, jab battery wires into lemons, and rub magnets together, you can see the whirring gears spinning with delight. Yes, all that learning just sponges, soaks in, and sticks there forever as the next generation of curiosity seekers tease their buzzing minds forward and forward and forward…
AWESOME!
Pre-order The Book of Awesome
Photos from: here
Dancing…… any kind of dancing. Dancing to be silly, dancing cuz the music moves you, dancing to no music….. I like to dance to no music to be silly. Its my little way of making myself giggle.
Deciding amongst friends what single super power you would choose if you could have any! Is it gonna be flying, invisible, speed……….Oh and I’m not a nerd!
Methinks Stuart dost protest too much!
Oh, and, uh…flying.
When your vacation plans fall on the only good days in a patch of bad weather.
It doesn’t matter if you plan your trip a week or months ahead. As the trip approaches the forecast calls for lousy weather. As the date gets closer and closer the forecast shifts a day or two one way, then the other. A day or two prior to departure the forecast is pretty much locked in: AWESOME weather!
Using a deserted public restroom.
We all feel a little uncomfortable going to the bathroom with others there and it’s ok to admit that we enjoy it when we get the whole entire bathroom with three sinks and five stalls to ourselves. Especially when you get to use the large handicapped bathroom, because no one else is there to claim it and it’s huge! AWESOME.
Love going in to use a public restroom and finding it not only deserted but also SUPER CLEAN! Especially when it doesn’t seem like a place that would have a clean bathroom…
When you have been looking for a song title for years, and finally found it.
McDonald’s ketchup. Its the perfect match to the hot and salty fries. McDonald’s ketchup is much sweeter then ordinary Heinz ketchup. Its just awesome!
Road Trips
making a highway truly “yours”
those gas stations with the strange owners
25-second rest stop stops
gotta love ’em :)
Opening a brand new container of coffee.
Is there anything better than sticking your nose right by the rim as you crack the seal on a new container of coffee? It smells so good, no matter the brand. It’s the aroma of early mornings and the aroma of much needed caffeine on those not-so-early mornings.
Opening a brand new container of peanut butter.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I love the smell of freshly opened peanut butter. I’m such a kid in that I LOVE peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There is nothing better than getting to open a new jar, and be the first one to use that fresh peanut butter goodness.
i love being the first one to dig into a brand new pb jar! it’s kinda like walking in fresh snow and leaving footprints..
Jenni, I believe that’s what we call a “two-fer”.
http://1000awesomethings.com/2008/09/23/933-the-first-scoop-out-of-a-jar-of-peanut-butter/
http://1000awesomethings.com/2009/12/01/623-the-sound-of-snow-crunching-under-your-boots/
me and my friends started thinking of awesome things this week – here are a few of my favourites (however these we thought up by 14- and 15-year-olds):
– late night sleepover conversations
– feeling very tanned because you have white marks
– road trip sing-a-longs
– and AWESOME LISTS
getting to know your neighbors! block parties and potlucks. chatting up by the fence. makes the world a less lonely place :)
Passing on this website to some friends and they think its AWESOME too…… that’s awesome!!
when it snows in a place that never gets snow… texas, alabama, florida etc…
tv shows that are put on line. its to be able to never miss a new episode!!
When a little child slips their hand in yours. Have you ever had this happen? You’re walking along when you feel this tiny hand slip into yours. Nothing said, but peaceful calm rolls over you both and you look at each other and smile.
AWESOME! :)
I love when this happens in a store and the little kid looks up like, “You’re not my Mommy…”
Me and the parents always get a chuckle about that.
The Book of Awesome getting a nice review by the New Yorker! AWESOME! :)
YES!!!!
The Book of Awesome is awesome all in itself. Add on a great review and its even more awesome.
Getting Final Jeopardy right. BONUS – if all 3 actual competitors get it wrong, which equals an automatic confidence boost.
On the flip side, getting Bonus Wheel right when the actual competitor can’t figure it out is extremely frustrating. You yell at the TV for an endless 10 seconds and then have to watch Sajak reveal the unwon prize to the idiot who couldn’t get “Mowing the Lawn”. Lame.
How Bright the Room Gets When You Change the Light Bulb
Everything is seen in a whole new light.
Finding old cartoons on tv that you haven’t seen since you were little. I found ThunderCats “ONDemand” the other night and keep watching them over and over again. I wish I could find some of the old WB cartoons (Like Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid and such).
When there is Only Just Enough Ice Cream in the Tub for Only You
Delicious delicious ice cream just for you! And you get to eat it right out of the carton!
Eat Stale Pizza!
To do your first snowman, even you’re older than 20 years, because in your country doesn’t know!
Going to the Farmer’s Market on a Saturday morning. There really is nothing better. Everyone is there with their spouses, kids, dogs. Saying hi to our favorite vendors and farmers. I get all my fresh produce, then I head over to the to see if I can score a loaf of my favorite bread. Honey, maple syrup, baked goods, fresh meats from my local farmer. And don’t forget the goats milk cheese. Did I mention the fresh yogurt & milk? Oh and the most awesome thing about it is dinner on Saturday nights. Always a fresh feast!
Ohhhh yes. And when some of the venders have made special food from their wares and you can eat while walking around… or once in a while when there’s someone playing soft music somewhere with little kids gathered all around…
I live in Montana. If you know Montana, our winters can sometimes be quite long. And snowy. And gloomy. But every once in a precious while, we will have a glorious, spectacular sunny day. The most awesome thing in the whole world is to stand outside in the freezing cold while the most beautiful sunshine warms your smiling face!
The immune system is awesome. Its a super complicated bureaucracy of Bcells and Tcells and lymph nodes and antibodies and all sorts of crazy things and they all somehow work together to keep us healthy. Awesome!
Happy Meal toys.
As a kid it was always fun to finish the meal with ripping open that plastic bag and take out that toy to play with on the table while the rest of the family finishes their meal and cleans up.
Now, let’s face it, when we’re craving just something snack size the Happy Meal toys are the extra bonus that bring us back to when we were kids loving those special times that we got to eat out. And, because we don’t always wish to keep them, we give them to a niece or nephew, or the child of a friend, or maybe our own child which leads to the glowing smile of a child just getting a new toy.
Awesome
My jerk of a mom (just kidding, Mom) always took my toy away immediately after getting the meal to insure that I ate my food and would only give it back once I was done.
I was babysitting and went to McDonalds and caught myself doing the same thing to another poor, defenseless child. (hear the violins yet?) Anywho, I quickly apologized and vowed never to make the same mistakes as my parents did before me.
When everyone pulls over to the side of the road to make way for an emergency vehicle to drive by…we all feel like we had a part in saving-the-day!
The day you feel better after being sick.
Your throat has been scratchy, your nose has been stuffy, your head has been pounding..
but one morning, you wake up, and suddenly you’re okay.
Nothing hurts anymore, and you finally feel better again.
AWESOME!
The cold side of the pillow.
When you wake up in the middle of the night hot and uncomfortable just flip your pillow over to the cold side and you are instantly refreshed. Awesome!
http://1000awesomethings.com/2009/01/06/858-the-other-side-of-the-pillow/
The moment you hear the words, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
You seal that moment with a kiss, and turn around facing your family and friends as they applaud. You walk down that aisle together, remembering all the steps you both took to get to this moment, the twist of fate that led you to find each other and more importantly you walk out of those doors knowing you’re in this together.
And it’s only just begun.
Awesome!
An unexpectedly loaded spoonful.
Whether it’s a nice blob of gooey chocolate chips in a bite of cookie dough, extra raisins or marshmallows in a spoonful of cereal, or the whole Oreo buried in your cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream, there’s just nothing like lifting out an unexpected load of hidden treasure.
The moment you clap eyes on your trusty utensil filled with unparalleled doses of goodness can only be described as…
AWESOME!
Opening a time capsule
Good humored practical jokes that become great memories
Winning the lottery. Hey, I get excited even when I just got a free ticket.
Looking at someone else’s mail (ask permission first!)
A kid’s victory dance. Heck, anyone’s victory dance is great to watch. Are they the fist shaker, the booty wiggler, or a jumper?
The feeling after a haircut. It feels like a major body part was removed. In a sense, it was!
When you bring your purchase up to the cash register and it rings up less than you expected it to – Awesome! It makes your day and saves you money :)
When you’re five and your magical brain powers change all of the lights green.
ha ha…. I always tell my daughter to tell the lights to turn green about the time they are going to….she does think she has magical ‘turn lights green’ powers.
The look of appreciation and love your parents give you right after they hang your artwork on the fridge.
When you pee gallons more than you felt you would need to when you walked in the bathroom.
Will this AWESOME sensation ever end? Oh, I think this is it. Oh– nope. Still going. Aaaaaaaaand AWESOME
When you put on a jacket for the first time in a while, and you find money in the pockets. :)
seeing a rainbow after a really bad storm. :)
Watching a child’s first roller coaster ride.
I worked at an amusement park for five years, and two of those years were spent running only the kid’s rides. Only the priviledged were allowed to run the only kid coaster in the park, which went around the track twice and the total ride lasted about a minute.
There were plenty of kids who had never ridden before, and statistically the ones who rode solo for the first time on the coaster were BY FAR the most entertaining to watch.
PHASE 1: The initial jerk of the train. 99% of the kids’ smiling faces turn from complete happiness to sheer terror. The extra 1% don’t reach this phase until they get to the top of the 20 foot high hill.
PHASE 2: The first time around the track. They are feeling out this machine that just whipped them up and down two hills and around a corner which seems to be never-ending. Some with wide, watery eyes, some with concerned expressions… some with the realization that they just peed their pants (and my immediate realization that I would probably be the one to have to clean it up)
PHASE 3: Coming in the station the first time around. This is the great divide. 33% have tears running down their cheeks, and are absolutely horrified by the ride, and are feeling incredibly betrayed by their parents. How could they let this happen to me? (A select few of these younglings will try to escape their locked fortress to no avail, flailing frantically in hopes of getting their parents to stop the evil man/woman who is running the ride.)
Another 33% will still not have registered the first circuit – their faces will either still have a look of terror, or will be completely blank. (Meanwhile, the parents mumble to each other, “Uh oh… you think they’re okay?” “Look at him/her… is he/she going to throw up?” and “HAHAHA LOOK AT THEM! OHHH HONEY GET THIS ON CAMERA!”
The final third is what makes the job so great and guiltless. These kids are already screaming to go around again with their hands in the air, and panting with delight.
PHASE 4: The halt. At this point, the children have decided their views on the situation. “This ride is the spawn of evil, we will never return.” “My parents will never sleep again because of the nightmares this ride will give me for the next 4 years.” “My parents will never sleep again because I WILL STAY ON THIS RIDE FOREVER!” Most kids have one opinion or another, but every once in a while there is the child who seems to have completely forgotten they were even on the ride. They leave the exit ramp as though they had blacked out for the entirety of the experience. In this case, repeat phases 1-4.
I will do the parents a favor, and consider their reactions a different story for a different day that exists after the end of time, for they are more harrassment than entertainment.
Watching children undergo this life-changing experience: AWESOME
Living in a small (tiny) town I am soooooo happy when I have a day when I don’t run into any of my exs. Super awesome.
Saying a word until it loses its meaning:
Jab
Shirt
Ghost
Who
Honk…
There are plenty more, just pick a random word and say it 30 times to yourself – what does it even mean anymore?!
Old
Park
Under
Grape
Rural
Cranky…
Or how about AWESOME.
To Cuddle!
Going on an erasing rampage and Erasing every last bit of dry erase marker writing or chalk writing from a board… and I mean every last mark… even that line left over from the half-erased “b”…. and finally seeing a clean board… all ready to be written on again!
AWESOME!
Me.
-Grandparents, especially spending time with them when they’re around. I’ll miss sitting in the backyard and talking about badminton.
Going back and forth between a hot tub and a pool! When it gets realllllly hot in the hot tub, getting out and leaping straight into the pool – that first splash of cold water on your burning skin? Yum. And then when the shivers set in, melting back into the hot tub. Nothin’ like it.
AWESOME!
Calling your ex because you’re feeling low, and accidentally dialing the wrong number. Totally Awesome. You have just avoided a whole new drama.
Watching family videos and realizing that you were cute and annoying and laughing at yourself.
This is all I did over Spring Break with my parents and it was AWESOME.
random unasked for back rubs/massages. when your just sitting somewhere with a group of people and someone comes up behind you and just starts massaging your shoulders. you didnt ask. you dont have to repay. best feeling ever.
Plus, you get to find out who has a not-so-secret crush on you.
Walking up to a door with your hands full, and someone coming out at the exact right time to help you.
You’ve all been in this situation: you’re carrying way too many things and wondering how in the world you’re ever going to get that door in front of you open without losing your whole bundle. Then you see it: that wonderful, amazing, perfectly-timed person walks out at exactly the right second, helping you to get inside without dropping a single thing.
AWESOME!