Children wonder endlessly about how and why things are the way they are. They also use scientific skills during everyday play — observing, identifying, classifying, and predicting. There's no need to bone up on a variety of topics to answer all your child's questions, though. Simply sharing the enthusiasm for discovery encourages kids and helps them value the process of learning. Below are tips for supporting your child's natural curiosity along with some simple ideas for indoor experiments.

• Create a science center.
  Assemble a variety of tools for exploring: a magnifying glass, prism, measuring tape, kaleidoscope, and some plastic storage containers are a good base. Then add everyday objects to examine — sand, seeds, newsprint, and stones — plus a notebook and pen for recording observations. For investigating simple mechanics, include hardware such as locks and keys, nuts, bolts, screws, and screwdrivers. Kids also love to dissect broken gadgets, so include a Walkman, wind-up alarm clock, old telephone - or anything else that you don't need reassembled!