emily's wonder lab experiments at home

Emily’s Wonder Lab Lives on With Calandrelli’s New Book ‘Stay Curious and Keep Exploring’

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During the pandemic parents around the world have struggled to find ways to keep their kids entertained at home while also ensuring that they are still enriching their minds. Video games and YouTube have proven a boon for those unexpected sick days or quarantines, but finding quality entertainment hasn’t always been easy.

A few months into the pandemic, our family discovered Emily’s Wonder Lab , a science-focused Netflix series starring Emily Calandrelli, an MIT graduate that worked for NASA. For my (at the time) 3-year-old son, Emily’s Wonder Lab was both an exciting show to watch but also an informative piece of programming that taught him a lot of cool scientific concepts. His love of Emily’s Wonder Lab even fostered an increased interest in science beyond the show.

Unfortunately, while Emily’s Wonder Lab Season 1 is still available on Netflix, there are no plans for a second season as of this writing. But for Calandrelli and her fans, the journey of Emily’s Wonder Lab continues in book form.

With Stay Curious and Keep Exploring , Calandrelli is capturing the same spirit of Emily’s Wonder Lab with both fun experiments for families to do and key science facts to ensure kids are still learning. Calandrelli isn’t deviating from the formula that worked for Wonder Lab either; she isn’t talking down to the kids when explaining the science behind each experiment.

“The response from fans was overwhelming - in a good way! I could not have anticipated the impact a show like this could have (especially during a time where a lot of us were stuck at home). One of the recurring comments from viewers was that they loved how I talked to the kids. Instead of talking down to them, I incorporated them into the scientific process! Our show encouraged questions and curiosity from viewers and I wanted my book to do the same! So for each experiment, instead of "here's the science!" (like you would read in a text book), the science is explained in a Q&A format between myself and a curious child asking questions. Like in all the work that I do, I wanted this book to feel approachable, relatable and easy to understand!”

Alongside being a genuinely entertaining show with experiments that are as eye-catching as they are educational, Calandrelli has a personality that is well-suited for working with kids. Dating back to 2014 with Fox’s Xploration Outer Space moving forward to guest appearances with Bill Nye and now Emily’s Wonder Lab , Calandrelli has shown she has a genuine knack for bringing science to the mainstream. Stay Curious and Keep Exploring is a new facet of that but it retains the same spirit.

The book itself includes 50 different experiments, each designed to teach a unique scientific concept. The experiments feature an introduction by Calandrelli not unlike what you would see during the Netflix series, a rundown of materials, step-by-step instructions for completing the experiment, and then a tag that explains the science behind the reaction or event that is seen.

As Calandrelli explained to me, she wanted experiments that hit three key notes:

"I worked to find experiments at the intersection of (1) Fun to do (2) Easy to explain, and (3) Accessible. Over the course of the year creating this book, I could be found in my kitchen playing with balloons, bubbles, baking soda, magnets, and food coloring to make sure the experiments were easily repeatable and accessible for anyone who would like to try them at home! Of course, there are a couple more challenging experiments in there for older kids who are ambitious, but for the most part, all of the experiments can be done by kids with just a little help from their lab assistant (their adult)!"

Having spent some time with Stay Curious and Keep Exploring it’s easy to see that the spirit of Emily’s Wonder Lab is in the book. Calandrelli has found experiments that utilize materials that can be found easily around the home, and the results are as eye-popping as those seen on the TV screen. More importantly, the book affords families the opportunity to go at their own pace, which isn’t as easy to do while watching a show.

Stay Curious and Keep Exploring might have still come to life at one point or another in Calandrelli’s career, but the response to Emily’s Wonder Lab is what convinced her to work on the book. Even before we knew the fate of the show, the first spark of the book began.

"Emily's Wonder Lab was so well received by families that I had an explosion of interest for MORE experiment ideas to do at home. I still go through dozens of messages each month where families message me with pictures of them doing experiments from the show with their kids! Many actually asked for a book of ideas as soon as the show came out!"

It may be disappointing that Emily’s Wonder Lab has not continued beyond the one season, but Stay Curious and Keep Exploring is the perfect follow-up. The experiments are engaging, the format is clear and concise, the art work (courtesy of Cachete Jack) is playful, and Calandrelli never shies away from doing what she does best: explaining science to kids.

Stay Curious and Keep Exploring is available September 27, 2022.