Supercharged Science Review with my 4th Grader

Access to their e-Science Learning program was provided by 
for the purpose of this TOS Schoolhouse Crew review. 

We tried a few components through the free version of Supercharged Science's e-Science Program over the past few years, but I did not realize the vast variety of lessons available until beginning this full access review. Though we primarily used this with my 4th grader, this homeschool science curriculum is designed for grades K-12.

"It's working!" When I heard that, over and over along with the happiness in my son's voice, I knew this was just right for him. 

For this review, we decided to focus on the 4th grade options with my son. As we started, the informative videos guided us not only through science experiments but also through making the most of the program. Making a science notebook was illustrated clearly and Aurora Lipper still managed to keep that cool factor that my son enjoyed. My fourth grader watched the introductory videos then chose electricity and magnetism as his favorite two categories of the five selections for his grade. We then progressed through the lessons completing the experiments when supplies were available. Not every lesson shared in the topics is included in a specific grade level, such as the higher level chemistry lessons, so she encouraged us to explore the website both by grade level and by topic. 

Required supplies:
We watched most of the videos together through the Apple TV device. Any computer that can access the videos would be sufficient for this. Supplies necessary for the experiments are numerous because this covers so many topics and levels. Each experiment has a list of supplies as does each topic if you want to gather them all ahead of time. Almost every topic does include at least a few experiments that can easily be completed using common supplies.

"This is cool!" and similar comments were frequently heard as my son watched Aurora's videos. Oscillating magnets, electric currents, and even reading about compost all maintained his interest. I  appreciate the question/answer section at the end of each section; at times my questions were already answered there.

Not every lesson included a video. Some were video and notes (which included materials required and explanations). Others just included the explanations without the video demonstration. There is also additional downloadable reading material for each section in addition to the information for each lesson. 

The magnet information started with a riddle. One lesson called Magnetic Grape explained the concepts of diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic objects which were all new terms for my son. For this experiment, we substituted green olives for the grapes as that is what we had in the house when my son wanted to try it. We were able to test the diamagnetic properties of the olives as he imitated the steps of the experiment. 


I'm not sure that the olives worked as well for this as grapes would have, but he was satisfied that he did get them to move and he could eat the olives after completing the experiment.

The "Flying Paper Clip" was another experiment that he liked so much he included it in his "magic show" that he shared with our family one evening.

An additional 46 page K-12 textbook style download all about magnetism is also available for advanced students, I downloaded it and used it as a teacher resource. I appreciated how the lessons were appropriately classified for specific grade levels but the children could also explore their personal interests. After progressing through the entire magnetism section, my 4th grade son chose to do the electricity unit.

Ten static electricity experiments were a fun start to the unit.

Static Hairdo experiment: My girls have been chalking their hair lately, and when they saw him do this experiment they decided it was time to try it out on their brother. He thought this was working great until he realized her hair was caught on the balloon tie. Many of the experiments in this section used a balloon, and he worked his way through as many as he could. He was clearly able to see the thread react to the static on the balloon.

"An electrical circuit is like a NASCAR raceway" was the introduction to one of the sections. This is definitely interesting to my son. After easily completing multiple magnet and balloon experiments, he was disappointed though, that he could watch the other videos he wasn't able to immediately complete the experiments that required supplies that we didn't have for him to use right away. Thankfully, between my husband and my dad's shops we were able to find things that weren't "common household supplies" like battery cases and alligator clips.

In the latching circuit relay, Aurora shared: "It looks like a nightmare but you can totally do this. Just break it down into easy steps." Indeed it did look extremely complicated, but my son said he did understand her instructions.

Attaching the alligator switch to wire with daddy for use in the electrical experiments.

Videos, student worksheets and exercises, experiments, and a question/answer section make this interactive science multifaceted and a fun way for my son to learn while trying new things.

The reading section of the student information completely explained the science experiments including what was happening and the results.

When I realized he wouldn't be able to immediately complete the electricity experiments, I let him view the videos and read the lessons, but we moved on to Life Science which was another 4th grade selection.

We have a compost area that often gets any veggie scraps not fit for the animals to eat. What I realized when reading the compost lesson with my son was how much more we could be adding to the pile for our "compost gold." He learned that newspapers were good for compost but not the slick inserts as they wouldn't break down as easily. Dryer lint was something he hadn't considered adding before. When we read about the 25:1 recommendation, we realized that we need to more frequently add dry leaves. Thankfully, we do have an abundance of those. My son questioned the recommendation to add cat fur but did add old coffee grounds and a tea bag to our compost pile.

My son was not the only one to use this resource, though for the review we completely replaced his regular science plan. For the girls, we used supercharged science as an additional resource for their current science studies. A caution is included that these chemistry experiments are all at your own risk!

We actually learned a lot during the chemistry experimentation process. Preparation is key, and we returned to the same basic instructions given to my son in the beginning of this program. Both students got their science notebooks and wrote out steps, supplies, hypothesis, and actually thought through additional items that might be necessary like a hot pad and a fire extinguisher. Grandparents visited the evening that we made sodium hydroxide, so they watched that video with us again and discussed the processes covered in the book with my daughter. Balancing reactions was illustrated and explained then further discussed with Grandmommie.

Making sodium dioxide:

Yes, they are sharing one pair of gloves. Sibling cooperation is a delightful additional side effect of having his big sister try some lessons on "his" science program. C1000 and C3000 are popular chemistry kits. These lessons include a helpful indicator of which experiments you can complete with the components in each of those kits.

Here is where that experiment got a little complicated. Though we already had two different chemistry kits on hand, this was the very first time for us to actually try to use the burner. It didn't work with rubbing alcohol. It didn't work with the cheep 80% alcohol from behind the counter at the gas station where I bought the kids icees. So my dad held the flame thrower under the beaker until we finally started to see changes. Then someone had the bright idea to try a candle. The bottom of the beaker was black before they finished. But again, it worked!

A glimpse of our computer screen when we watched again with my parents before trying again:

Supplies needed, a complete explanation of the experiment and additional applicable information, chemical reactions to expect, and even proper clean up are all shared online with the video.

Mixing the two elements, the reaction changes during the experiment.

We were successful the second time around as evidenced by the changes in the litmus paper first to blue and then to pink!

The next chemistry experiment was much easier: making copper is pictured below. Look closely at the last image. The outer edge of the rod changed to copper! 

We now have an extensive collection of science e-books on the iPad from Supercharged Science.

Though I have not been formally testing my son in science, the exercises included with each lesson contained a comprehensive question list which was just right as a review. I had him write some of the questions in his science notebook and answer them independently then discuss with me, others we discussed without writing. The answers are also provided.

We recently got to try controlling water robots during a field trip to a nearby college. My son asked if that was something he could do, and his excitement filled the house when I found instructions on the supercharged science website for a simple waterbot. I was surprised to see a fairly simple supply list. He already watched the first video with me. He is also making plans to make us a doorbell.

If you are ready to try it out, Supercharged Science has a generous offer for my blog readers! Click to access a FREE copy of the Science Activity Video Series and Guidebook

Enrollment is $37 per month or $57 per month for the advanced grade 5-8 & High School level program, but Aurora has a very special offer for you: one month of full access to e-Science for just $1. You can also have free access to the sample experiments.

Click to read Crew Reviews


  1. so like Supercharged Science is a good fit for your boy. :) Glad you learned that tea bags and coffee go great into the composter... you can put more organics in eh? Including egg shells...just best to crush them first. Just no meat or fats cause they'll draw in coons and feral cats and what not.. you don't need that mess about the place do you? :)

    Annette @ A net in time.

    1. Most of our eggshells go back to the chickens for calcium, but we do add some to the compost at times. He has been shredding newspaper which before we were just throwing away. I hope we have plenty of compost for our garden this year.

  2. Fun times with science! I love it!

    1. Thanks, Lynn. There is so much to this program that we like. I didn't even include how my eighth grader incorporated it into her anatomy studies. I'm thankful we get to continue using this resource.


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