Do you have a budding scientist residing in your home? You’re undoubtedly seeking strategies to encourage their interest in science and STEM subjects. Fortunately, even simple science experiments carried out at home with or without a science experiment kit can be pretty informative and entertaining for children.
These fun scientific experiments and activities for kids of all ages can be done together on the weekend or after school. It’s also a fantastic approach for them to learn about the scientific method, which they will use throughout their education and possibly their entire lives!
You just never know. One simple experiment could be the spark that ignites their desire to be a scientist for the rest of their lives. Here are our top 5 selections of interesting scientific experiments that you can try out at home. Let’s introduce your child to the wonders of science!
- Homemade Lava Camp
Materials:
- A clean plastic bottle (or several plastic bottles)
- Water
- Vegetable Oil
- Fizzing tablets (like an Alka-Seltzer tablet)
- Food Coloring
Steps:
Fill the bottle about 1/4 full with water. Fill the bottle close to the top with vegetable oil. If you have one, you can use it. Allow a few moments for the oil and water to separate.
After that, add a few drops of food colouring to the colour of your choice. Keep an eye on the colour as it moves through the oil.
Break your fizzy tablet in half and drop half of it into the bottle as the next step. Observe the bubble blobs as they form.
Finally, turn out the lights and drop in another half tablet if you have one. While the blobs are bubbling, shine the flashlight via the lava lamp!
Explanation:
Because oil is less thick (lighter) than water, it floats on top of it. Because the food colouring has the same density as water, it sinks through the oil and dissolves in it. As the tablet dissolves, carbon dioxide gas is produced.
Because gas is lighter than water, it floats to the top, carrying colour from the food colouring with it. When the coloured water blob releases its air, the water becomes heavier and sinks.
- How to make a volcano
Materials:
10 ml of dish soap
- 100 ml of warm water
- 400 ml of white vinegar
- Food coloring
- Baking soda slurry (fill a cup about ½ with baking soda, then fill the rest of the way with water)
- Empty 2 liter soda bottle
Because of the clutter, this should be done outside.
Steps:
- Fill the empty soda bottle halfway with vinegar, water, dish soap, and 2 drops of food colouring.
- Mix the baking soda slurry with a spoon until it is completely liquid.
- It’s erupting time!… Step back and quickly pour the baking soda slurry into the soda bottle.
Explanation:
Carbon dioxide is produced by a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. Carbon dioxide is the same gas that gives sodas their carbonation. What happens when soda is shaken? The gas becomes agitated and attempts to spread out. Because there isn’t enough area in the bottle for the gas to spread out, it rushes out the opening, triggering an explosion!
- Orange Fizz
Materials:
- An Orange or Clementine
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
Steps:
- Peel the orange and cut it into slices or pieces.
- Dip a slice or chunk of bread in baking soda.
- Grab a bite! It should start to bubble in your mouth as you chew.
Explanation:
When acids and bases mix, you get some exciting chemistry! Oranges and other citrus fruits are filled with citric acid. It is a safe acid, and it’s what gives oranges, lemons, and limes their sourness. Baking soda is a base, the opposite of an acid. It’s also safe, but doesn’t taste very good on its own, and will give you a tummy ache if you eat a lot of it. As the citric acid and baking soda mix, it makes millions of carbon dioxide bubbles, the same as you breathe out, and the same one that makes soda so fizzy.
- Light Refraction Magic
Materials:
- Piece of Paper
- Marker
- Glass
- Water
Steps:
- Draw two large arrows on a sheet of paper, one near the top and the other towards the bottom. Make the arrows all point the same way.
- Fill a glass halfway with water. Lower the piece of paper into the glass of water slowly. Take a look through the glass of water and be amazed!
Explanation:
Refraction is the bending of light when it moves from one medium to another, such as from air to water or from water to air. Light travels from the paper into the air, then through the glass and into the water, and finally out of the glass and back into the air before reaching our eyes in this experiment.
Light moves the fastest through the air, slightly slower via water, and considerably slower through the glass. That is, light bends when it passes through the glass cup and into the water, and then again as it passes through the glass cup and into the air.
Because the light paths intersect, the image appears to be flipped.
- Dancing Raisins
Materials:
- Clear Soda
- A clear glass of water
- Handful of raisins
Steps:
- Fill one glass with clear soda and the other with simple water or another drink that does not contain gas bubbles.
- Then, in each glass, place the raisins and watch how they dance in the clear soda.
- The soda’s gas bubbles propel the raisins higher. The raisin dips again after they pop.
Explanation:
The carbon dioxide bubbles pop when they reach the soda’s surface, releasing the gas into the atmosphere. The raisin will lose its buoyancy and fall to the bottom of the glass as a result. This is why rising behaves differently in various liquids.
In case the kids are more involved in science and these DIY home experiments are not enough it is suggested to buy the kids science experiments kits where these kits provide practical pieces of equipment that can be set up at home like a science lab, provided the science kits bought are for their respective ages.
A love for science learning and teaching can bring us all together. A child is curious enough to create wonders, so all we have to do is direct their curious mind to the right way of questioning. Xperimentor science kits that make a science lab at home help your child expand the boundaries of knowledge. We desire to bring science to all. To this end, our blended science learning ecosystem is like the Swiss knife of effective learning. It assists your child in learning at their pace while establishing sound foundational knowledge with tons of fun science experiments, activities, and projects. We believe that experiential learning from our science experiment kits could lead to a generation of scientists and innovators. No wonder kids love it, and teachers across schools approve of it.
Featured Image Credits: Inhabitat
