Farts are science.

No, really.

This week's science themes: reversible/irreversible change, and states of matter (gas/liquid/solid). We'll be finishing up tomorrow - we have a hunk of ice in the freezer that Isabel wants to put on the stove. This same water has been frozen and unfrozen, ad nauseam, this week, in order to discover whether the resulting changes were reversible or irreversible. We explored water as a solid and a liquid, leaving great, soggy messes in the dining room and requiring multiple wardrobe changes. We boiled water and watched the steam, and compared it to smoke from a flame. And it was during this conversation that Isabel shared her illuminating observation:

Me: Do you remember what makes steam?

I: Hot water turns into steam.

Me: That's right. When water gets hot enough, it becomes a gas.

I: Yeah. Like a fart!

Me: *chokes a little* Like a what?

I: Like a fart is gas!

Me: Er... yes, that's right.

I: And you can't see it and you can't touch it, but you sure can smell it and you sure can feel it, so you know it's there even if it's indvinzible!