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Zinc Sulfide and Ben

You know where this is headed…

Ben went to a birthday party Monday evening. Let me just say, a kid’s birthday party on a Monday (or any weekday evening for that matter) is pure genius! Ben got home from school, did his homework, then was off for two hours of bouncy inflatable fun, pizza and cake. He came home wiped-out and, after ripping into his goody-bag, went soundly to sleep. Perfect!

Yesterday afternoon, when he should have been focusing on his homework, Ben was busy taking another peek through his birthday party treats.  He found a rubber bracelet.

“Mommy, I’m going to test this bracelet for Zinc Sulfide.”

Huh?

“You’re going to do what?” I asked, cookie-making spatula frozen in mid-air. Zinc what?

“Zinc Sulfide. I’m going to see if this bracelet has Zinc Sulfide in it.”

Right, Zinc Sulfide. What did I know about Zinc Sulfide? Um, absolutely nothing! I had to Google Zinc Sulfide just to know how to spell Sulfide (which FYI, has an f not a ph). Frankly, I had no clue what the kid was talking about.

DSC00029 

What is he thinking?

“So,” I asked with trepidation. “How are you going to do that?” I was imagining all sorts of trouble: smoke, fire, explosions! Who knew what Ben had in mind?

“Like this!” Ben said, marching into our darkened dining room. He held the bracelet in the air. “Yep! It glows! It has Zinc Sulfide!!”

I was slowly catching on.

“Mommy,” Ben explained. “Zinc Sulfide makes things glow-in-the-dark. It takes the light, then make its own light in the dark.”

My mouth dropped to my knees.

“Ben, how do you know all this?” I certainly don’t.

“Papa taught me when we did the Magic Science Kit.” (Love, LOVE the POOF-Slinky Scientific Explorer Kits).

Of course. I should have known that Pierre was behind this.

“Well Ben, I am super impressed that you remember what Papa taught you.”

“Yeah Mommy, my mind is full of the scientific method.”

Honestly, I can’t make this stuff up. I love writing this blog for just that reason. Kids say the most incredible, amazing, mind-blowing things. And I get to write about it.  Turns out, Ben was right. Luminous Zinc Sulfide does, in fact, glow. It’s all about fluorescence and phosphorescence (and that is as scientific as I am going to get). Scroll down this link to find out more. 

I pounced on Pierre the minute he walked through the door from work:

“So…Ben was telling me all about zinc sulfide.”

Pierre just grinned.

Over dinner, Ben told us about a rhyme he had made up, adapted from a song his teacher taught him in school that day:

Ben figures things out,

Scientific method is what he’s about!

And later that night, after the boys had gone to bed,  Pierre held Ben’s bracelet under a lamp until it glowed.  “Look,” he said holding it out to me, “Zinc Sulfide.”

Two peas in a little scientific method pod.

xo Naomi

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