This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English EducationReport.

Experts say students are never too young to think creativelyabout science. Educator Karen Meador says early education can helpchildren become creative science students later in life. Mizz Meadoroffers some suggestions for activities. She recently shared herideas with Gifted Child Today Magazine.

For example, she describes how students between the ages of aboutfour and eight can explore the movement of liquid on wax paper. Thewax keeps the water from disappearing into the paper.

In addition to the wax paper, students need small tubes calledeye droppers for the experiment. The students also need watercontaining red, yellow and blue food coloring. Using the eyedroppers, they place the colored water onto the wax paper. Then theyblow softly into the water. Or they can blow through a straw, a thinhollow tube, to move the water drops.

The students observe the tension on the surface. They see how itaffects the way the water moves and shapes itself. Even whenstudents blow the drops of water across the paper, the liquid keepsits round shape. Mizz Meador says the children like to see how thecolors mix when one colored drop slides into another.

The shape and movement of the water is similar to that ofmercury. But mercury is dangerous to handle.Mizz Meador also sayschildren can study how water acts on aluminum foil. They can findout if the water will act the same on a metal surface as it did onwax paper. Before doing the new experiment, they can write theirideas about what they think will happen. Or they can record theirideas on tape. Mizz Meador says this activity prepares them for moredifficult experiments.

The children again move the colored water around by blowingdirectly onto it or through or a straw. But this time they move iton the foil. Then they test their theories about how the water wouldact against what really took place. Similar experiments can becarried out with other kinds of paper or glass.

Karen Meador is writer of the book "Creative Thinking and ProblemSolving for Young Learners," published by Teacher Ideas Press.

This Special English Education Report was written by JerilynWatson. This is Steve Ember.