[STEM] Fun with Failure

Hi Reader,

Have you ever made something but forgot a key ingredient?

I think we've all had that moment when we tried really hard to make something special... and in the bustle of putting it together, forgot the one thing that makes it work.

One memorable occasion for me was making a coffee cake for a special celebration in 9th grade. My grandmother was living with us at the time, and well... too many cooks in the kitchen, you know?

I forgot the baking powder.

It still tasted fine. It was just dense. And shorter than normal.

And I really wanted to impress this boy I had a crush on.

But I lived through it and learned first-hand how important baking powder is! After that incident, I started using a checklist—getting all my ingredients out in a line before mixing anything up.

Sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than our successes.

Fast forward decades later to a bath bomb experiment. (Hey, these make great gifts!)

Basic ingredients:
bath bomb molds (plastic Easter egg shells work great)
4 ounces baking soda
2 ounces cornstarch
2 ounces citric acid
2 ounces Epsom salt
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons water
5-10 drops essential oil of your choice
1 1/4 teaspoon oil (I like coconut or olive oil here)
1-2 drops food coloring (optional)

The key ingredients are baking soda and citric acid—when they mix in water, they create carbon dioxide (the fizz!)

So I’m shooting video as I make these for the first time, and everything seems fine… until I start scooping the mixture into the molds. The mixture starts foaming and extruding everywhere!

Once again, I forgot a key ingredient while shooting. At least this time I caught it on video so I could figure out exactly what went wrong!

Why Failure Matters (Especially for Girls)

Here’s what I’ve learned: treating failure as information—not the end of the world—is one of the most important skills we can teach kids.

Girls especially struggle with perfectionism. There’s research showing women won’t apply for a job unless they feel 90–100% qualified (and then still stress over that 10% gap), whereas men feel confident at 25% qualification.

I think there’s a “perfectionist gene” at play. But I also know it’s possible to build resilience, self-esteem, and confidence by learning to do hard things.

Hobbies are wonderful for this—fear of failure is low, motivation is high, and kids get to practice problem-solving without a helicopter parent telling them what to do.

That’s why I write STEM books and develop hands-on experiments. Stories change attitudes. Learning by doing builds the “choice muscle.”

And it’s also why I’m working toward a TEDx talk.

Big News: I Just Applied to TEDxSavannah!

My talk: Wrong Is Wonderful: How Failure Shapes the Leaders of Tomorrow

Their theme: Shaping the Future

The idea: The choices we make today as parents and educators literally build the decision-making capacity of the next generation. By giving kids the freedom to choose, fail safely, and learn, we’re shaping future leaders who can handle complexity, uncertainty, and the challenges they’ll inherit.

Fingers crossed I make it to the January 30–31 in-person pitch round!

I still have work to do—crafting the 12-minute talk, applying to more TEDx venues, updating my website, and finishing a new book—but I’m excited about what 2026 might bring.

Want to follow along? I’ll keep you posted on the TEDx journey, share more STEM experiments, and maybe even show you what happens when a bath bomb goes rogue. 😊

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

Cheers!