This build-your-own solar kit isn't rocket science

We're a crazy homeschooling family, minus the denim jumpers and 65 children (Kidding! Kidding!)  and I'm always on the lookout for ways to teach the kids things without boring them to tears with text books and lectures. The 6 in 1 Educational Solar Kit is now a part of my educational bag of tricks -- a fun, kid-friendly way to demonstrate how solar power works.

It took me just a few minutes for this mechanically-challenged mama to put together a little solar-powered windmill which, thankfully, was no harder to assemble than some of my son's Lego contraptions. Even better though was seeing the kids' reactions when we took the windmill outside and faced the little solar panel to the sunlight and saw the blades spin like crazy. The kids like to move the solar panel around to see how its position affects the speed of the blades, and it was so cool for them to realize that the sun's power can do more than make plants grow or burn their lily-white skin. Plus on rainy days we can still play with it, since a 100-watt halogen light makes a decent enough substitute for the sun.

So, are we doing school in the summer? Well, I guess we just did. But no one seemed to mind a bit. -Christina

Grab OWI's 6 in 1 Educational Solar Kit direct from OWI's Robotikits Direct or at the Live Science Store.