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The three year old son of YouTube user popolats opened one of his presents. Intead of a toy, it was a set of books. Naturally, he was incensed at this gift selection.

via Brian J. Noggle's Facebook wall

25 children at the Blackawton Primary School in Britain have published an article in the prestigious journal Biology Letters. It all started three years ago when a neuroscientist named Beau Lotto spoke at the school and advocated for the study of science:

After the talk, Lotto and Dave Strudwick, Blackawton Primary School’s head teacher, decided to try to do an original research project with the students where the kids would have full control. Lotto also ran a scientific outreach program called Street Science, whose aim was to get non-scientists to do original experiments outside the lab. He and Strudwick wondered if the same idea would work in a classroom.[...]

The class of students, after much contemplation, settled on studying the mental abilities of bees:

Ultimately, the class decided to investigate whether bees could use spatial relationships between colors to figure out which flowers had sugar water in them, and which didn’t. The question has interesting implications for bees in the wild, the kids pointed out. If some flowers are bad or have already been sucked dry of nectar, bees should learn to avoid them, “which is like a puzzle.”[...]

Getting the paper published was a struggle as well. In particular, several journals got stuck on the fact that the paper doesn’t cite any references. Lotto says they left the references out because the historical context wasn’t what inspired the kids, anyway.

“That wasn’t the basis for doing the experiment, it was what was interesting to them. That’s the driver of any quality science study,” Lotto said. “That’s what I tell my PhD students: Don’t do any reading. Figure out why you wake up in the morning, what you’re passionate about, and then read the literature. But don’t figure out what’s interesting based on what other people say.”

Link | Article | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user aquariumia used under Creative Commons license

There are many books written to help explain sex to kids. Kate Miller of Geek Mom has a rundown of the four that she considers to be the best. Among them is the classic It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris. Miller writes:

This book is perfect for kids age 10+. I know it’s perfect because when I handed it to my 10-year-old son, he flipped through it and said with disgust, “Jeez, Mom, is this just a book of cartoon pictures of naked people?” He then proceeded to never put it down. As a follow-on to It’s So Amazing, above, this book takes the same subject matter and advances it in complexity and frankness for its older audience. It still uses the same open, colorful, fun illustrations and authoritative yet friendly tone. A cartoon bird and bee go through the book with the reader, getting just as engrossed — or grossed out — as a young reader might. This gives the reader a couple of fun friends throughout. This book will present to your kids all the topics that might make you squeamish: sex, contraception, diseases, homosexuality, abortion, pubertal changes, masturbation, you name it. This edition also has new information on HPV, infertility treatments and using the internet safely. As a reproductive health professional myself, and as a mom on the northern-European model of talking openly with kids about sex, I endorse this book with all my heart and mind. Get it!

How did you/are you/will you teach your kids about sex?

Link | Image: Amazon.com

Mass Effect is a violent video game franchise that is, to say the least, totally inappropriate for children. That's why an activity book created by Something Awful user skookmunkee is hilarious. It's 30 pages and long and filled with coloring pages, games, and puzzles. You can download it at the link.

Link via Kotaku | Photo: Flickr user countchoculitis

The Make-A-Wish Foundation asked seriously-ill child Erik Martin what he'd like for his wish. Erik said that he'd like to be a superhero. So the Foundation and the city of Seattle made him into a superhero called "Electron Boy". Staged adventures with costumed villains allowed Erik to live out his dream. Now his alter ego's life has been turned into a comic book by Capstone Comics. Author Rob Bass wrote:

What really got me about the whole story was what it proved, right out there where anybody could see it, pure objective truth, that our imaginations are pure and boundless and can take us anywhere that we let them, no matter how much these bodies might fail us, that even if you're born without a right atrium and ventricle in your heart and no spleen and all your organs on the wrong side of your body and are extremely sensitive to the touch and you beat cancer once when you're eleven and then it comes back again when you're thirteen, you can overcome all of that, because you still have the power to do anything, become just who you've always dreamed of being.

Proceeds from the comic go to benefit Erik's family.

Link | Image: Capstone Comics

A toddler and her mother visited the mall in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania. The mother turned her head for a moment, and when she looked back, her little girl was inside a prize-dispensing claw machine. Rescue workers removed her without any problems:

“We pried the door off and I brought the child out and lifted her up and said, ‘here’s my prize,'” said Chief Paul Kashmer.

The child was removed safely from the claw machine and suffered no injuries.

“We got inside and sure enough there was the cutest little girl you ever seen, sucking a bink inside a toy machine with all the other toys,” said Kashmer.

Kashmer said the child never cried and even seemed to be enjoying herself.

Link via Ace of Spades HQ | Photo: WTAE

See this kid dunking on a regulation rim? He's only eleven years old! Adrian Moore of Conroy, Arkansas won't be eligible to play college ball until 2016, but he's already been offered a scholarship at Baylor University.

Link via Deadspin

Previously: Pro Soccer Team Signs 11-Year Old

Cartoonist Caldwell Tanner imagined covers from science fiction versions of five famous children's books.

The sleeper must awaken.

http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1811404 via Popped Culture

Previous Posts about Caldwell Tanner

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Zebra Imaging makes detailed holographic maps. Here's a video of a toddler exploring one and getting confused by the optical illusions that it creates.

via Super Punch | Company Website

Doctors at a hospital in Berlin created a MRI machine that allows a woman to give birth while being scanned. They hope that this machine will allow them to learn more about the mechanics of childbirth:

The new machine will enable the researchers to study in greater detail how the baby moves through the mother’s pelvis and down the birth canal – issues that have long been studied and debated. The hospital’s Institute for Radiology and Obstetrics Clinic will work closely together on the project.

Among other benefits, it should help researchers to understand why about 15 percent of pregnant women need a Caesarian section because the baby does not progress properly into the birth canal.

http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20101207-31649.html via Geekologie | Image: The Local

Actually, it's a just a "Deep Space Fighter Bed and Galaxy Mural", but it's clear that the TIE Fighter from Star Wars was the inspiration for the design. This is a custom-made bed by Posh Tots, a company that makes luxury furniture for children. You can view five more images at the link.

Link via Born Rich

Previously: From Cradle to Grave: The Story of Life Told with Beds

Thomas Perkins is an Emmy Award-winning animator. He's also a father, and he draws pictures on the lunch bags of this three children. At the link, you can find his blog devoted to the medium.

Link via Super Punch

Previously: Lunch Bag Art

Helen Osborne of Leicester, UK, gave birth in the backseat of her car after she was stuck in a traffic jam on her way to the local hospital. The entire scene was caught on a closed-circuit video recording:

Closed circuit television operators who witnessed the birth were so marked by the event they witnessed that they tracked the couple down and presented them with a video of the birth.

Mr Sullivan said: "It has to be the ultimate birth video and one which we’ll treasure forever.[...]

In the footage, a motorist in a silver Land Rover is seen pulling in front of the couple's Peugeot and lending Mr Sullivan his mobile phone. The father-to-be called the emergency services who talked him through the birth.

A passing off-duty police officer and a patrol car arrived on the scene and directed traffic around the couple's car.

Video at the link.

Link

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YouTube user JAMagicFilms took a picture almost every day during the first ten years of his/her daughter Natalie's life. The mostly consistent color coordination was a nice detail.

via reddit

Artist Amanda Vissell made four posters to inspire girls to be self-reliant and strong. I want this one for my girls' room.


Link via Boing Boing