National Science Day: Parent-Led Science Exploration Mission (Free & Decentralized!)

Parents, are you ready to turn the world into a classroom for your family? 

This National Science Day, forget the four walls! Walking Ferns is challenging you to step out, explore science in the real world, and show your kids that curiosity lives everywhere!

The Walking Ferns Family Science Challenge

This National Science Day, let’s bring science back home.

Our grandmothers were running experiments long before laboratories existed. Science did not begin in institutions. It lived in homes, kitchens, fields, and communities — observed, tested, refined, and passed across generations.

Many of you have been bringing your children to Walking Ferns activities. As promised, here is a small step towards parents becoming facilitators themselves.

On February 28, we invite families everywhere to participate in the Family Science Challenge.

Observe. Decode. Share.

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It…

Choose any ONE of the three pathways below, or explore more than one.

Challenge 1: Decode Traditional Knowledge

Ask an older woman in your family about a traditional practice she follows.

Then explore:

• What is happening scientifically?

• What principle is at work?

Examples:

• Salt preserving food (osmotic pressure)

• Testing pepper dryness by biting (moisture content)

• Fermenting batter (microbial activity)

• Sun-drying grains (evaporation and preservation)

• Using ash for seed storage (moisture control)

• Polishing floors with round stones (friction and compression)

This is intergenerational science.

Challenge 2: Everyday Science at Home

As a family, pick something ordinary and decode the science behind it.

You can explore:

• Bicycle balance (centre of gravity)

• Pressure cooker (steam pressure)

• Why clothes dry (evaporation)

• Why rain forms (condensation and precipitation)

• Why pillars stand straight (load distribution)

• Optical illusions (how the brain interprets light)

• Fermentation in food

Have a conversation. Let your child ask questions. Think aloud together.

Challenge 3: Visit a Science Institution

Find a nearby Government science centre, research lab, university department, or museum.

Attend a National Science Day event.

Observe. Ask questions. Reflect together afterwards.

📌 Important

The experience comes first.
Be fully present. Keep devices away while exploring.

Tag. Share. Nominate.

After the experience, please share your reflections on social media between February 28th and March 4th and tag @walking_ferns. The reflections can be in any format :

• A short video (30–60 seconds)

• A voice note

• A written reflection

• A photo with a thoughtful caption

Then nominate one more family to take the challenge.

Use:

#ScienceLivesHere
#NationalScienceDay2026
#WalkingFerns
#WomenInScience
#ParentLedScience

We will repost and feature selected stories from participating families across our social media.

🌱 Why Join?

Because science is not just a subject. It is a way of seeing.

When children see you:

• Asking questions

• Making connections

• Learning alongside them

They start to see science in everything and learn ways to approach it.

👨‍👩‍👧 Who Can Join?

Parents and children of any age.
Schooling and homeschooling families.
One family or many together.

This is a free, parent-led exploration.

🚀 Ready to Begin?

Let’s make science visible again.
Let’s show that science lives here.