Try it at home with a grown-up
Science Experiments for Kids
Hands-on experiments with cups, water, paper and other things you already have, each with a version for little kids, for grades 1 to 5 and for grades 6 to 8.
Every experiment here comes from a How Things Work topic, so a child can try it at the kitchen table and then find out why it happens. Each one asks a question, such as which jar stays warm longest or which towel dries first, and children answer it by watching, measuring and comparing, the way scientists do.
Pick the version for the child's age. Little kids get short, hands-on tries; grades 1 to 5 make a fair test and compare results; grades 6 to 8 measure, record and graph. A grown-up stays for every experiment.
Safety first
- A grown-up stays with the child for every experiment.
- Use only the everyday materials the experiment names. Do not swap in cleaners, medicines or anything hot.
- Nothing here is to be eaten or drunk, even when it uses food.
- Use plastic cups, jars and bottles rather than glass.
- Grown-ups do any cutting, and keep small parts away from children under 3.
- Wash hands after touching soil, leaves or anything messy, and wipe up spills so no one slips.
Kitchen chemistry
Mixing, dissolving and changing everyday things from the kitchen.
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Red cabbage color test
PreK–K
With a grown-up, soak chopped red cabbage in warm water until the water is purple. Pour a little into three cups. Add lemon juice to one and a little baking soda to another. What colors do you get? Do not drink them.
Why it works: How do acids and bases behave? -
Salt on ice
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put two ice cubes on a plate. Sprinkle salt on one. Which one melts faster? Touch the salty puddle: it is extra cold!
Why it works: Why does salt change how ice melts? -
Oil and water race
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put some water and a little cooking oil in a clear bottle and close it tightly. Shake it, then put it down and watch. Where does the oil go?
Why it works: How is olive oil made? -
Make the smallest bubbles
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put a drop of dish soap in a cup of water. Blow gently through a straw (blow, do not sip!) and watch the bubbles grow.
Why it works: How do foaming soap dispensers make foam? -
Eggshell in vinegar
PreK–K
With a grown-up, stack building blocks or sugar cubes one layer at a time to make a tower, the way coral polyps add layer after layer of stone. How tall can your reef grow?
Why it works: How do coral reefs grow? -
The waterproof wax test
PreK–K
With a grown-up, drip water on a waxed paper cup and then on a paper towel. Where does the water make little balls? Where does it soak in?
Why it works: How do ducks keep their feathers water-resistant? -
Banana ripening race
PreK–K
With a grown-up, look at a banana every morning. Draw it with crayons each day. What color is it today? Is it soft yet?
Why it works: How does fruit ripen? -
Sift the flour
PreK–K
With a grown-up, look at white flour and whole-wheat flour side by side. Rub a pinch of each between your fingers. Which one has brown bits?
Why it works: How is flour made from wheat? -
Winnow the grain
PreK–K
With a grown-up, mix a spoon of rice with some torn paper bits in a bowl. Gently blow across it. What flies away? What stays?
Why it works: How does a combine harvester work?
Hot and cold
How warmth escapes, how to slow it down, and where water drops come from.
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Keep it warm: the wrap test
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put one ice cube on a plate and wrap another in a thick sock or a wool hat. Wait twenty minutes. Which one is bigger?
Why it works: How does insulation slow heat loss? -
Dry coat, wet coat
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put one hand in a fluffy mitten and leave the other bare. Hold both near something cold from the fridge for a little while. Which hand stays warmer?
Why it works: How does animal fur keep warmth in? -
Make dew on a cold cup
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put a cup of water in the fridge for an hour. Take it out and watch the outside of the cup. Tiny drops appear, just like dew!
Why it works: How does dew appear on grass? -
Which towel dries first?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, wet two paper towels. Spread one out flat by a sunny window and scrunch the other into a ball. Check them after lunch. Which one is dry?
Why it works: How do wet clothes dry? -
Find the warm handprint
PreK–K
With a grown-up, hold your hand near a warm mug, then near something from the fridge, without touching. Can your hand feel the difference? That warmth traveling to your skin is infrared.
Why it works: How do thermal cameras show heat patterns?
Water, weather and Earth
Rivers, floods, waves and the ground under our feet, in a baking tray.
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Gravel or sand: where does water go?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, fill a clear cup with small stones. Slowly pour in water and watch it fill the gaps from the bottom up.
Why it works: How do aquifers store groundwater? -
Towel hill, bare hill
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put a dry sponge on a tray and slowly pour water on it. Watch it drink! Keep pouring. What happens when the sponge is full?
Why it works: How do floods develop? -
Sand or clay: which drains faster?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, pour a cup of water on a paved path and a cup on the soil in a flower bed. Count slowly. Which one is still wet on top when you get to ten?
Why it works: How do rain gardens reduce runoff? -
A river in a tray
PreK–K
With a grown-up, slowly pour water from a cup onto a patch of damp sand or soil. Watch the little river carve a path and drop sand at the end.
Why it works: How do rivers shape the land? -
A beach in a baking tray
PreK–K
At a beach or a sandpit with a grown-up, build a small sand hill near some water. Pour water gently at the bottom of the hill. Where does the sand go?
Why it works: How do waves change coastlines? -
Waves from deep to shallow
PreK–K
With a grown-up, float a cork or a bath toy in a bowl of water. Blow across the water through a straw to make waves. Does the toy travel with the waves, or bob on the spot?
Why it works: How do ocean waves form and reach the shore? -
A whirlpool in a jar
PreK–K
With a grown-up, fill a clear jar with water and a drop of dish soap. Close the lid tightly and swirl it round and round. Look: a little spinning tunnel!
Why it works: How do tornadoes form? -
Clear the muddy water
PreK–K
With a grown-up, shake some soil in a jar of water with the lid on, then let it sit. Watch the mud sink to the bottom! (It is not for drinking.)
Why it works: How does clean water reach our taps? -
Where does the spring come out?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put a sponge on a baking tray and prop one end of the tray up on a book. Slowly pour water on the sponge. Where does it drip out?
Why it works: How do natural springs bring water to the surface?
Forces and simple machines
Pushes, pulls, levers, wedges and things that swing, bounce and float.
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Make water climb with a straw
PreK–K
With a grown-up at the sink, fill a bendy straw with water, pinch both ends, put one end in a full cup and the other over a lower empty cup. Let go and watch!
Why it works: How does a siphon move water between containers? -
The straw that holds water
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put a straw in a cup of water. Put your finger on top of the straw and lift it out. The water stays in! Lift your finger and it falls.
Why it works: How does a hand pump raise water? -
Long swing, short swing
PreK–K
With a grown-up, tie a toy to a piece of string and let it swing. Then hold the string shorter. Does it swing faster?
Why it works: How does a pendulum clock keep time? -
Bounce in water
PreK–K
With a grown-up, bounce a rubber ball and then a ball of modeling clay. Which one keeps bouncing? Which one stops at once?
Why it works: How do shock absorbers reduce bouncing? -
Thin wedge, fat wedge
PreK–K
With a grown-up, slide your flat hand, fingertips first, between two sofa cushions. Feel the cushions move apart? Your hand is a wedge!
Why it works: How do wedges split or separate materials? -
Squeeze near the hinge
PreK–K
With a grown-up, pinch a ball of play dough with a clothes peg or kitchen tongs. Pinch with the tips, then deep inside. Which pinch squashes it more?
Why it works: How do pliers grip objects firmly? -
Which wall is stronger?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, build two towers of toy blocks: one stacked straight, one with blocks overlapping. Push gently on top. Which one wobbles?
Why it works: How are bricks made? -
Shake the towers
PreK–K
With a grown-up, practice drop, cover and hold on: drop to your knees, crawl under a sturdy table, cover your head and hold on to a table leg. Count to 20 together!
Why it works: How do earthquakes happen? -
Spread the weight
PreK–K
With a grown-up, press one finger into play dough. Then press with your whole flat hand, just as hard. Which one makes the deeper dent?
Why it works: How do tracked vehicles cross soft ground? -
Flat or edge first?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, pump up a ball or a bike tire with a hand pump. Feel the end of the pump afterward. It is warm! Squashing air makes it warm.
Why it works: How do spacecraft return through the atmosphere? -
How much air is in the trash?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, fill a paper bag with crumpled paper balls. Now press it flat with your hands. Look how small it gets! Where did the room go?
Why it works: How do garbage trucks collect and compact waste?
Living things and your body
Watch fallen leaves break down, and test your own fingerprints, muscles and memory.
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Fingerprint detective
PreK–K
With a grown-up, scribble a dark patch on paper with a soft pencil. Rub your fingertip on it, then press your finger onto sticky tape. Stick the tape on white paper. There is your print!
Why it works: How do fingerprints form? -
Cram or practice a little each day?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, put five toys on a tray. Look carefully, then cover the tray. How many can you name? Try again tomorrow. Do you remember more?
Why it works: How does the brain form memories? -
Feel your muscles work
PreK–K
With a grown-up, hold your arm out and feel your upper arm while you bend and straighten it. Can you feel the muscle get fat and hard?
Why it works: How do bones, muscles, and joints help us move? -
The fallen leaf race
PreK–K
With a grown-up, gently lift some damp leaves in a garden or park. Look for woodlice, worms and white fungus threads. Put the leaves back so the helpers stay safe, and wash your hands.
Why it works: How do decomposers break down fallen leaves?
Light, sound and materials
Shadows, notes from bottles, and what pencils and crayons are made of.
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Bottle music
PreK–K
With a grown-up, blow gently across the top of an empty plastic bottle until it hoots. Now pour in some water and blow again. Is the note higher or lower?
Why it works: How do flutes produce different notes? -
Shadow sorting
PreK–K
With a grown-up, hold your hand over a bright flashlight in a dark room. Can you see the light glow red through the thin edges of your fingers? Light goes through thin, soft parts a little. X-rays go through much, much more.
Why it works: How do X-ray machines look inside objects? -
Day and night with a flashlight
PreK–K
In a dark room with a grown-up, shine a flashlight on a ball. Put a sticker on the ball and turn it slowly. Watch the sticker go from day to night!
Why it works: How do time zones work? -
Crayon color mixing
PreK–K
With a grown-up, color a patch with a yellow crayon, then color over it with a blue crayon. What color did you make?
Why it works: How are crayons made? -
Which pencil is darkest?
PreK–K
With a grown-up, draw a circle with a pencil and color it in. Then rub your finger on it. Look, gray flakes on your finger! That is graphite.
Why it works: How are pencils made? -
Measure one sheet of paper
PreK–K
With a grown-up, slowly turn a jar lid. Count the turns it takes to come off. See how little it rises with each turn!
Why it works: How does a micrometer measure tiny differences?