We are in the middle of science fair planning at school, so when I was watching the movie, Igor I had to laugh. Poor Igor (John Cusack) is obsessed with breaking out of his predestined roll as a hunch-back assistant to evil scientist, Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese), so he enters a creation in an evil science fair.

I couldn’t agree that mandatory science fairs are evil, but more on that later.

After reanimating a road kill bunny, Igor decides he’s ready for a bigger project, creating a Bride of Frankenstein-type monster (Molly Shannon) called Eva. Unfortunately for him, the town’s science fair is all about making evil monsters, and Eva is a sweet girl who couldn’t hurt a fly.

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  Have you ever wanted to go on assignment with National Geographic? Then maybe you should enter your child in the 2009 National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Challenge.

Fifteen young explorers and two teachers will be selected as members of the 2009 National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Challenge Expedition Team and will win the field trip of a lifetime — a 12-day expedition to Peru with National Geographic and local experts as their guides.
Highlights include exploring the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and visiting Tambopata Reserve deep in the Peruvian rain forest, where team members will have the opportunity to help in a research laboratory. All winners will also receive a digital camera courtesy of Nikon.

The challenge is sponsored by National Geographic Kids magazine, PromPeru, and the marketers of PURELL.

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I’m attending a special mommy blogger event next week in Southern California put on by the kind folks at Sony. We’ll be trying out Sony Digital imaging products and services including trying out the Sony Cybershot DSCW170, Sony Alpha DSLRA350 Digital SLR Camera, and the Sony HDR-SR11 10MP 60GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. Fancy! We’ll also be meeting with photography expert Me Ra Koh, and from shooting pictures on the beaches of La Jolla.

I’m excited but nervous. It’s been years since I took a photography course. Let’s just say it was before digital cameras were invented and I spent more time in the darkroom printing pictures than I did taking them. My experience with digital cameras is limited. Like most folks, I just point, shoot, download, crop and post/email. So I’m glad that I have a copy of Photographing Your Family: And All the Kids and Friends and Animals Who Wander Through Too to read on the plane thanks to the folks at National Geographic.

What I liked about Photographing Your Family is that Joel Sartore, a National Geographic magazine photographer and father of three, reviews the basics like composition, key elements and light. Then he shares his secrets for photographing your family by going through his own family albums and explaining what he did to get the shot. You will also learn the best ways to print, display, and store your work, and tips on choosing equipment. I was especially interested in the chapter on the digital darkroom where he explains how to use software programs like Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 to alter and improve your photographs.

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Even if you’re not Irish, it’s fun to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your family. Here are some ideas:

• You can read some Irish folk and fairy tales. 
• You can learn more about the a history of the holiday by downloading St. Patrick’s Day: Not just for the Irish. (Includes traditional recipes, too.)
• You can march in your local St. Patrick’s Day parade. (One of the healthy tips I give for Staying lean and green this St. Patrick’s Day at my blog, This Mama Cooks! On a Diet.)
• You can download a St. Patrick’s Day Coloring Book and draw. (Make sure you have plenty of green crayons on hand.)
• And of course, you can cook!

Many kids might balk at eating corn beef and cabbage, so why not try an Irish breakfast pudding?

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Depending on where you are in the country, Spring Break is just around the corner (my kids are off the first week of April). It’s a challenge to keep the kids busy if you’re home trying to work, or getting out of the house whether it’s a day trip, or going far, far away via the family car or airplane.

Here are some book and activity ideas if your traveling:

Check out Usborne’s 50 Travel Games and Activities activity card set. For ages 6 and up, this fantastic pack of cards is full of fun games and things to do while traveling. Just choose a card, then follow the simple instructions on the back. The activities are on everything from guessing songs,and word games, to simple crafts. The activities can be done in the car, at food stops along the way, in line at the amusement park, or on the plane.

The cards come in a box, but I’ve seen moms have a hole punched in the corner so they can put a metal ring through them (you can do this at Kinko’s) so the individual cards can’t be dropped and lost. They put the cards in a small box along with glue sticks, crayons, paper, scissors, markers, etc. for an instant craft activity box.

Another source of activities is Playing With Stuff: Outrageous Games With Ordinary Objects. This would be a great book to keep the kids busy if you’re visiting relatives – as long as their fairly tolerant of your brood. For ages 8 through 13, kids will need to collect items from empty film canisters to bags of potato chips. These games are all about found objects.

There’s activities that use ice cubes, slices of cheese, old calendars and the remote control as well. Grandma will think you’re nuts, but the kids will have a great time playing these irreverant but imaginative games.