Science Activities
Basic Chemical Reactions. If you have yeast and hydrogen peroxide, Elephant toothpaste is always fun. Just keep in mind that household HP is only 3-6%, so the reaction will be less dramatic than the big science shows which have access to 20%.
Baking soda and vinegar volcano is a classic, as is "fizzy painting" - spread a thin layer of baking soda in a tray, give kids colored vinegar and eyedroppers/pipettes.
Homemade Thermometer
1/2 water 1/2 rubbing alcohol + a few drops food coloring in a bottle. Place a straw in the top. Seal the top around the base of the straw with clay or glue to make airtight except for the straw opening.
The volume of the liquid will expand/contract with the temperature & will move up & down the straw as a result. You can even calibrate it by marking on the straw with sharpie. Or just compare outside vs. in fridge.
Tip: Measure each liquid separately! 1/2 cup water + 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol != 1 cup liquid because the molecules are different sizes.
Simpler Alternate - Use a balloon and a bottle to demonstrate thermal expansion. Watch how the balloon inflates or deflates as you warm and cool the bottle. (Glass bottles work well for this, but take care not to heat or cool glass too rapidly, or they’ll get a bonus lesson in the effects of thermal expansion)
How Do Plants Direct Water? Get a pitcher of water pour on plants (such as houseplants) and watch where the leaves direct the water.
Rainforest plants tend to direct the water outward to prevent rot at the crown if it's not an epiphyte/plant that grows on another plant, like many bromeliads. Many of these plants will have pointy "drip tips" to direct lots of rain off. Desert/succulent plants tend to direct water inwards.
How Much Gunk is in the Air? Get some clear scotch tape & arrange so it is open to the air outside. For example, run between the posts under the a deck railing or tie a couple of strings between trees. For control, also hang inside (such as in a closet, where there is little air movement). Leave up for a couple of days, then check on the amount of dust/dirt. Use to discuss air pollution.
Leaf Rubbings Look up different botanical terms for your leaves. For example: leaf edge (margin, such as lobed, serrated, entire) veination (usually palmate or pinnate), type (simple or compound).
Owl Pellets If you want to order special supplies from Amazon, you can dissect an owl pellet to see what it ate. (Better for kids old enough to wear latex gloves.)
Pinecone Bird Feeder Tie ribbon/string to pinecone to hang, then slather a pinecone in peanut butter, then roll in seeds, and hang outside where kids can see.
Plant Seeds and Watch Them Grow! Beans grow satisfyingly quickly. If you want to watch closely, put a bean in a ziploc bag with a soaked cotton ball or paper towel, and tape to the window. You’ll be able to see the germination in close detail. If you're really adventurous: Try placing the sprouts under different colored lights or under colored plastic sheets to see if light color affects plant growth. (Hint: We see plants as green because they reflect a lot of green back at us. This means the plant is not absorbing/using green light.)
Soap Sink Erosion Get 2 identical bars of soap (same size/brand). Keep one dry and place the other under a dripping faucet for 10 minutes. Compare & talk about erosion/chemical weathering/water conservation.
Raindrop Erosion Experiment Get big juice bottle cap (or petri dish if you have one), fill with fine textured soil, use eye dropper to drop 4 drops from 1meter (or yd if you only have a yardstick). Check how far soil goes from the force of the drops. Repeat with 4 drops from 2 meters. Compare.
Use to discuss force of rain on loose/uncovered soil in terms of erosion. What happens if soil surface is covered with mulch? Plants?
Raise Insects to Study Metamorphosis Pet supply stores that sell reptiles will also sell crickets & mealworms. Crickets undergo incomplete metamorphosis (several nymph stages until the final molt, which has wings) while mealworms have complete metamorphosis (larva/grub, pupa, adult).
Rocket Balloons! Run a string through a straw (I actually keep an old strong straw base from the kids' old sippy cups), tape the string ends to something... wall, chairs, just make sure you have a long length of string in open space. Blow up a balloon, secure the end with a clip (flat chip clip works pretty well), but do not tie. Tape the balloon to the straw in parallel. Release the end, and watch the balloon shoot along the string.
Study Inertia with Marbles So much you can do with inertia with just a simple bag of marbles. Put one in a mixing bowl, and swirl to speed it up. Watch out if it reaches ESCAPE VELOCITY! Cut a wrapping paper tube in half along it's length, and show her what happens if you have 5 marbles at rest in the middle, then shoot 1 marble down the half pipe. Repeat with 2, 3, and 4 marbles. Have a big sheet of paper or poster paper? excellent! Make a wide, shallow funnel, and swirl the marble around.
Topographic Map
Get container and make a landform out of modeling clay. Place in container. Place sheet of clear plastic on top. Trace edge.
Add water to be 1cm deep. Trace edge of water. (May need to add food coloring for visibility.) Repeat w/ 2cm deep, etc until you have created a topographic map.
If you don’t have modeling clay, use a rock or a toy (that doesn’t float). We also placed a piece of electrical tape on the side w/ cm markings so we easily knew how much to fill. We used the clear lid of an organizing tub for the plastic.
Water Conservation Place bucket under dripping tub faucet at beginning of day. Check at night to see how much water was collected. Discuss water conservation/why it's important to repair leaky faucets & toilets.
Homemade Thermometer
1/2 water 1/2 rubbing alcohol + a few drops food coloring in a bottle. Place a straw in the top. Seal the top around the base of the straw with clay or glue to make airtight except for the straw opening.
The volume of the liquid will expand/contract with the temperature & will move up & down the straw as a result. You can even calibrate it by marking on the straw with sharpie. Or just compare outside vs. in fridge.
Tip: Measure each liquid separately! 1/2 cup water + 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol != 1 cup liquid because the molecules are different sizes.
Simpler Alternate - Use a balloon and a bottle to demonstrate thermal expansion. Watch how the balloon inflates or deflates as you warm and cool the bottle. (Glass bottles work well for this, but take care not to heat or cool glass too rapidly, or they’ll get a bonus lesson in the effects of thermal expansion)
How Do Plants Direct Water? Get a pitcher of water pour on plants (such as houseplants) and watch where the leaves direct the water.
How Much Gunk is in the Air? Get some clear scotch tape & arrange so it is open to the air outside. For example, run between the posts under the a deck railing or tie a couple of strings between trees. For control, also hang inside (such as in a closet, where there is little air movement). Leave up for a couple of days, then check on the amount of dust/dirt. Use to discuss air pollution.
Leaf Rubbings Look up different botanical terms for your leaves. For example: leaf edge (margin, such as lobed, serrated, entire) veination (usually palmate or pinnate), type (simple or compound).
Owl Pellets If you want to order special supplies from Amazon, you can dissect an owl pellet to see what it ate. (Better for kids old enough to wear latex gloves.)
Pinecone Bird Feeder Tie ribbon/string to pinecone to hang, then slather a pinecone in peanut butter, then roll in seeds, and hang outside where kids can see.
Plant Seeds and Watch Them Grow! Beans grow satisfyingly quickly. If you want to watch closely, put a bean in a ziploc bag with a soaked cotton ball or paper towel, and tape to the window. You’ll be able to see the germination in close detail. If you're really adventurous: Try placing the sprouts under different colored lights or under colored plastic sheets to see if light color affects plant growth. (Hint: We see plants as green because they reflect a lot of green back at us. This means the plant is not absorbing/using green light.)
Soap Sink Erosion Get 2 identical bars of soap (same size/brand). Keep one dry and place the other under a dripping faucet for 10 minutes. Compare & talk about erosion/chemical weathering/water conservation.
Raindrop Erosion Experiment Get big juice bottle cap (or petri dish if you have one), fill with fine textured soil, use eye dropper to drop 4 drops from 1meter (or yd if you only have a yardstick). Check how far soil goes from the force of the drops. Repeat with 4 drops from 2 meters. Compare.
Use to discuss force of rain on loose/uncovered soil in terms of erosion. What happens if soil surface is covered with mulch? Plants?
Raise Insects to Study Metamorphosis Pet supply stores that sell reptiles will also sell crickets & mealworms. Crickets undergo incomplete metamorphosis (several nymph stages until the final molt, which has wings) while mealworms have complete metamorphosis (larva/grub, pupa, adult).
Rocket Balloons! Run a string through a straw (I actually keep an old strong straw base from the kids' old sippy cups), tape the string ends to something... wall, chairs, just make sure you have a long length of string in open space. Blow up a balloon, secure the end with a clip (flat chip clip works pretty well), but do not tie. Tape the balloon to the straw in parallel. Release the end, and watch the balloon shoot along the string.
Study Inertia with Marbles So much you can do with inertia with just a simple bag of marbles. Put one in a mixing bowl, and swirl to speed it up. Watch out if it reaches ESCAPE VELOCITY! Cut a wrapping paper tube in half along it's length, and show her what happens if you have 5 marbles at rest in the middle, then shoot 1 marble down the half pipe. Repeat with 2, 3, and 4 marbles. Have a big sheet of paper or poster paper? excellent! Make a wide, shallow funnel, and swirl the marble around.
Topographic Map
Get container and make a landform out of modeling clay. Place in container. Place sheet of clear plastic on top. Trace edge.
Add water to be 1cm deep. Trace edge of water. (May need to add food coloring for visibility.) Repeat w/ 2cm deep, etc until you have created a topographic map.
Water Conservation Place bucket under dripping tub faucet at beginning of day. Check at night to see how much water was collected. Discuss water conservation/why it's important to repair leaky faucets & toilets.
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