Do your kids like to learn about weird science facts? Ours do! Especially since they tend to lose interest in a structured science lesson. 🙂
We got the chance to visit Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Orlando, Florida when Tigger was very young, but we haven’t been able to get back since. We did, however, get the opportunity to learn some of Ripley’s signature weird science facts right in our own home!
I received these books in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for details about my review guidelines.
Each year, Ripley’s Entertainment, the parent company of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, issues two annual books filled with the strangest science facts and human feats of the year. One annual, Reality Shock, is for older kids and teens, while the other, The Big One, is for elementary-aged kids.
Reality Shock is a book designed for kids aged 10 and up, so it’s a little too mature for our boys. I did, however, decide to share a few of the books’ weird science facts with Tigger, since she reads a couple of grade levels ahead.
One of the weird science facts we learned was about the planthopper bug. This bug actually shoots wax out of its stomach! Cue the kids saying “Ewwwwww!”
Scientists think that the bug shoots out wax to trick predators, because it’s able to break off the strands and then escape! That’s pretty weird. 🙂
Do you have any Spiderman fans in your house? They’ll probably like learning about a daredevil named Mustang Wanted (really).
This guy hands from as high as 300 feet in the air – with NO safety harness! Of course, this could give your teen sons ideas you’d rather they didn’t have. 🙂
I love vintage things, so I thought that this classic VW Beetle was really cool. It’s actually been redone in lace-style metal!
Can you imagine the skill and patience it takes to do something like that? Unbelievable.
If you’re interested in reading Reality Shock with your kids, you can get a great deal on it right now! As a gift to our readers, Ripley’s is offering Reality Shock for the discounted price of $14.99 – a savings of nearly $14 off the regular price! Depending on your state, you may even qualify for free shipping!
For younger readers (like our boys), Ripley’s also offers The Big One – a collection of silly stories and weird science facts for kids aged 7 to 10. We decided to make some of the facts into a learning experience!
After we learned about an artist who draws pictures on his son’s sandwich bags every morning, we made ours into works of art!
We had to try several different kinds of markers until we found ones that would work. Naturally, I reach for the washable ones first. 🙂 But it took permanent markers to draw the images on our sandwich bags. I must have said “Don’t get it on your hands!” a dozen times…lol.
We also read about some animal species that sport crazy colors, including blue frogs, pink slugs, and white tigers!
So we decided to add our own crazy colors to common animals! Roo made a blue and red frog, while Tigger colored her peacock green and pink!
If you’d like to pick up a copy of The Big One, you can get it from Ripley’s Entertainment or Amazon.com!
My son loves Ripley’s. We go at least once a year and have a bunch of the books. Great stuff!
That car’s so vintage… Is it weird if I want to get one? Hahaha, thanks for this post!