Narrabri mum-of-three Merry Conaty has created a whizz-bang website full of fun science experiments to entertain and educate children during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am a scientist, a mum, and thanks to COVID-19 I am attempting to work, teach school, care for kids, keep food on the table and occupy and extend my kids while we are staying home,” wrote Merry Conaty on her website’s homepage appropriately named ‘Lockdown science for kids’. (www.lockdownscience.com)
“We are so happy to do our bit to flatten the curve here at home, so are getting creative about how to learn.”
Merry is the loving mother of five-year-old Seamus, three-year-old Millie and 18-month-old Hugh but also has another important title – Dr Meredith Conaty.
She is a researcher for CRDC and holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Sydney.
Suffice to say Merry is very clever, and the perfect person to put together a science website that’s simple for families to follow from home.
“I’ve never made a website before, I’ve never done anything like this,” Merry told The Courier.
“Some friends and I were just talking about what we can do when we’re at home and how we can use different things to engage our kids.
“And then I thought – well, we’re doing lots of science experiments and a lot of people might not know the basics of how to do them.
“So I decided to write them up and share the experiments.”
Merry’s website includes awesome science activities for the young (and the young at heart) including how to create your very own lava lamp while learning about density, liquids, gasses and solids as well as how to get a boiled egg into a bottle without breaking the egg or the bottle.
There’s also bouncy ball, hot ice and rainbow celery experiments too.
“You don’t need a science degree or fancy equipment to do some science at home – it’s much easier than you think and there’s heaps we can do.”
The experiments can be carried out using items that are likely to be in a household’s pantry, garage or garden such as water bottles, plants, vinegar and bicarb soda.
“We’re all stuck at home and I just thought we need to be able to use what’s in front of us and show the kids that you can understand big things about the world by using normal stuff that we’ve got at home.”
Of course, Merry strongly advises supervision.
“Hugh does try to eat parts of the experiment, we don’t encourage that,” Merry added.
Merry’s husband is also a scientist, Dr Warren Conaty, and the community is fortunate that the couple have not only found the time to build a website but are also willing to share their favourite family experiments.
Like most parents in the district, the Conatys are currently balancing working from home, homeschooling and staying sane.
“We’re just cobbling it together,” said Merry.
“Life is now one long multi-tasking event.
“So normally Warren works early in the morning until lunch and then I work from lunchtime until dinner and then we both do a few hours of work in the evening.
“Because we’re just at home – all the time – I feel like we’re busier than ever but we also have heaps more time together as a family, so that is quite nice.
“But then trying to fit in Warren working and then me working and doing school from home and having the little kids home from day care too just means it’s pretty busy.
“Seamus is five and he’s in kindergarten at St Francis Xavier’s, Millie will turn four in a fortnight and is convinced that she is also at school and sits down to do school work every morning with Seamus.
“And then 18-month-old Hugh is normally just in freefall – you know sitting on the table throwing pencils in the air, eating the homework – that kind of thing,” Merry added with a laugh.
Merry’s upbeat personality means she is trying to look on the bright side and find the silver linings as we try to muddle our way through this uncertain time.
“You have to be positive, otherwise you would go crazy,” she said frankly.
“I mean Hugh wakes up at 5am and from then on it’s just go, go, go.
“I think the aim for us is to take it as an opportunity to engage with our kids instead of just being at home and kind of waiting this out and waiting for it to end.
“We don’t know how long it’s going to last and we don’t know exactly what’s coming.
“So our attitude has been that we just have to try and embrace it and make the most of it and try and encourage the kids to learn and explore.
“The challenge is that you don’t just want to be doing ‘the basics’ and just have the kids ticking along – you want to give them activities that will expand their world out from just being at home and give them new things to think about.
“Another part of it is also trying to help them not feel anxious or feel too worried about being at home and the virus and what it all means.
“It’s really about trying to find a way for the kids to come out of it with a really positive feeling of having learnt new things.
“We are trying to just make the most of it for them and for us and find a way to make this a special time rather than it just being a time where we’re focussed on waiting for it to end,” said Merry.
And as the world races to find a cure for coronavirus there’s probably no better time to foster young scientific minds.
You can find Merry’s experiments at – www.lockdownscience.com
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