Experiment 4: Foaming Fish

What happens when you combine vinegar, dish soap, and baking soda? Something so great that Alathea kept requesting a repeat demonstration... 

(This idea comes from 50 Science Things to Make and Do by Usborne.)

Hampton Court Palace

For a long time we've been meaning to visit this historic building, most associated with Henry VIII, but also adapted by subsequent monarchs. It was Henry's summer palace, which he took from Cardinal Wolsey after Wolsey failed to secure Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Apparently the hunting was good out here in what was then countryside, away from London. It's possible to get here by boat on the Thames as the Tudors would have done, but that can take hours, depending on tides. We opted for trains, which was long enough.

 

This fountain flowed with wine in France in the Field of the Cloth of Gold--the meeting of Henry VIII and the French King and an ostentatious display of wealth and importance. (Sophia donned a Tudor-like cloak during part of our visit.)

A re-enactment of heated words between two Tudor noblewomen. The lady in black is Anne Boleyn.

The main kitchen fire with lots of racks for roasting meat on spits.

 

 Seated at the head table in the Great Hall

 We completed the maze!

 

Behind is a baroque exterior to part of the palace, renovations which due to financial and other problems William & Mary (c.1689+) were never able to complete. But Sophia preferred William's part of the palace to Henry's (c.1509+).

Tree tunnel

 

King William was known as William of Orange (he was Dutch) and imported orange trees, as well as many other exotic plants, to Hampton Court Palace.

 Lots of wildlife in the gardens: heron,

 Deer,

 Family of swans,

 Geese,

Nesting coots. The male kept bringing sticks back to help bolster the nest.

A honey mead cake with beetroot and carrot that Wes and I tried in the cafe. This was a Tudor-inspired recipe, and it was good. It tasted nearly like carrot or spice cake.

Isle of Thanet

We spent a few days' vacation with my parents in a part of the UK none of us had ever visited. Interestingly the Isle of Thanet is no longer an island; it's more like a peninsula jutting out of the southeast of England, but in Roman times Thanet was separated from the mainland by a channel of water a mile wide in places, where ships sailed. This channel has filled in overtime. Unique geological history, but we engaged in more touristy pursuits:

Sophia climbing and going down an enormous slide

 

 The girls ride in a ladybug.

 Sophia braves the cold sea.

 Broadstairs beaches

 

 White cliffs and lots of seaweed

 

The following are from the Shell Grotto in Margate:

 

Unknown persons at an unknown time decorated walls of several underground rooms with millions of shells in complex patterns.

 Hole in the ground through which the Shell Grotto was first discovered in the 1800s.

 Wes in the Shell Grotto.

 The colors the shells in the Grotto would have been originally.

Sophia & Alathea outside a pub where we tried a lot of different seafood.

At the Broadstairs Water Gala

Cone Cakes

Here's another baking idea we got from the classic Betty Crocker cookbook Aunt Chelsey sent us:

Cute idea. I never thought to bake cake in an icecream cone before. Sophia is now requesting them for her next birthday. If I make them again, I'd only bake what we were going to eat at the time because the cones don't stay crispy long.

My sous-chef with the cone cake she decorated. She requested we make very pink icing.

Science Museum

Sophia's been wanting to visit the Science Museum for a long time, so I put it on our summer "to do" list. Here are some highlights from a great day out for both girls:

We just stumbled upon this bubble show while at the museum, but it turned out to be the best bit. Among other things we saw a tennis racket used as a bubble wand to make lots of little bubbles, and a big wand that made huge bubbles, which we unsuccessfully tried to keep afloat. We saw bubbles filled with helium that went up to the ceiling, and bubbles filled with carbon dioxide that quickly plunged to the ground leaving smoke behind them. Finally, Sophia was chosen out of all the girls in the room to go inside a monster bubble!

 Designing a kaleidoscopic pattern

 Using shapes to make patterns

 Alathea's always pleased to see a steam train.

 Alathea loved the building blocks.

 In nearby Hyde Park

Clown Cupcakes

This idea came from the 1957 Betty Crocker's Kid's Cookbook, which Aunt Chelsey sent the girls:

A cupcake and ice cream! Now how to decorate it?

 

 

Alathea's "clown" face

 

 Sophia's "clown" face

 Betsy's "clown" face

 Pure satisfaction!