Kids Science Experiment Ideas

Experiments provide a great way to instill a love for science in children. While children often must put together a science project at school each year, many fun science experiment ideas exist that you can perform with your child in your own home.

Make Glue

Combine 2 tbsp. of vinegar and 1/2 cup of skim milk. Let the mixture sit until it forms small curds. Strain the curds by placing a coffee filter over a cup. Add the strained curds to 2 tsp. of water and 1 tsp. of baking soda, completing your sticky mixture.

Mucus

Make your own mucus by adding 1 cup of water to 2 cups of corn starch. Add a few drops of food coloring. While the mixture might be hard, pick it up and watch it drip in the same manner as mucus. Add water to show how fluids help thin mucus.

Will it Sink?

Fill a clear glass halfway with vegetable oil and drop an ice cube in the glass. Observe whether the ice floats and what happens once it melts. By adding food coloring to your ice, you might get different results. Try adding one drop to one block, two to the next and three to the next.

Orange Peel

Fill a large bowl with water. Drop an orange in it. Does it sink or swim? Now peel the orange and repeat. What happens now?

Sound Wave Cannon

Make a cut across the bottom of a soda bottle so the bottom is flat across. Cover the bottom tightly with plastic wrap, as if covering a drum, and remove the lid from the top. Point the Coke bottle at a piece of tissue, thump the bottom of the bottle and watch what happens.

Static Travel

Place an empty soda can sideways on the floor. Rub a balloon on your hair until you feel the static charge. Now move the balloon toward the soda can and watch what happens.

References

• PBS Kids
• Mucus
• Exploratorium