The Coronavirus has bound us to our homes. It has been over a year since the beginning of lockdowns, social distancing, and homeschooling.
It is essential for parents to keep their kids learning and involve them in projects that will help them learn in a fun way. It is not surprising that children are not engaged with learning as they are in school. Therefore, fun science activities are a great way to hold their attention.
You can carry out numerous science projects at home with simple supplies that are either already available at home or can be bought from a nearby hardware store. You can also take inspiration from blogs and websites dedicated to making science fun for kids.
Let’s have a look at some fun science activities which can be helpful for your child.
1. Cleaning Pennies
Level: Elementary School
You can do an experiment that involves cleaning pennies at home. Ask your child to collect a dirty penny from around the house or from their money bank if they have one.
Add some vinegar in a glass, 1 teaspoon of salt, and combine the two. Then ask your child to put their coins in the glass and stir them for a while. Take out the penny and wash them with tap water and see the magic!
While you do the experiment, teach your kids about chemical reactions and what happens when you different chemical reacts with each other. Teach them about basic elements (salt), acidic elements (vinegar), and their reaction when combined.
2. Play Sink Or Float
Level: Preschool and Elementary School
Another interesting activity to teach your kids about density is by playing sink or float with them. Simply fill water in a tub or even your kids swimming pool and gather different household objects such as:
- Bath Toys
- Wooden Sticks
- Pennies
- Paper
- Cereal
- Grains
- Leaves
- Bottle caps
- Plastic bags
- Pebbles
Now make your kid put one object in water at a time and observe what sinks and what floats. The child would be even more excited to find out which one his toy sinks and what floats in the water.
This activity helps your child learn about buoyancy and density and is a good sensory activity.
3. Lava Lamps
Level: Middle School
Lava lamps can never cease to amaze kids, even adults at times (at least in my case, haha!). You kids would love to experience lava in front of them that too after making it themselves.
The lava lamp is simple and easy to make with very few ingredients:
- Cooking Oil; you can take canola, vegetable, or olive oil.
- Water
- Coloring; you can choose food colors or water paints
- Alka Seltzer tablets
Start by putting ½ cup of water and add the food color of your choice. I like to use gel food colors as they look more funky and appealing to the kids.
Now put the Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass, disposable cup, or a container of your choice. Next, take a glass and fill 3 portions with your chosen oil and pour this in the colored water glass until it’s almost full. Stop pouring the oil when there are only 6 – 7 centimeters left.
Now, let the kids put the Alka Seltzer tablet in the colored mixture and let them enjoy the colored lava. This is a great experiment to teach children about viscosity.
4. Water Treatment Project
Level: Middle School
Another interesting way to engage your children in science activities is through a water treatment project. Let your kids collect dirty water samples from a river or a pond.
Now put a few tablespoons of Alum and put it in a bottle with the dirty water. Let it sit for a few hours till the dust settles down. Now filter the water through sand and gravel.
While most of the dust would be filtered, there are chances that a few particles are still present. You can also use a coffee filter to filter off small particles. Now you can just disinfect the water with chlorine or cleaning bleach.
5. Milk Painting
Level: Preschool
Another interesting science activity is milk paint. Add high-fat milk and a few drops of food coloring to a bowl or plate. Now use a cotton swab or a toothpick and let your kid create swirls.
The marbled effect created will amaze your little one. You can also dip a paper in this solution and let it dry to save your kid’s first milk painting as a memory.
6. Homemade Slime
Level: Elementary School
Kids love to play with slime. This time rather than buying slime from the market, make it at home with your child. Making slime is easy and simple and requires very few products.
Items you’ll need:
- Glue
- Baking soda
- Contact solution
- Cornstarch
Mix half a teaspoon of baking soda, one and a half tablespoons of contact solution, and the glue. You can also add glitter or food coloring of your choice to make it look vibrant. If you want your slime to be stretchy, add warm water.
The slime is a great way to teach how elements change their shape and form when they interact with each other.
7. Frozen Bubbles
Level: Preschool and Elementary School
Creating bubbles is a fun activity to do with your kids. However, doing it in winters is even more fascinating for kids as it freezes the bubbles. Anything below 10 degrees work, temperature below 0 degrees Fahrenheit would produce the most awe-inspiring bubbles.
You would require:
- 6 cups of water
- 1 cup of corn syrup
- 2 cups clear dishwashing soap
Gently stir 6 cups of water with 1 cup of corn syrup. Now you can add the dishwashing soap to make it a bubble solution. Now put in the bubble-blowing stick in and start making bubbles. The temperature will freeze the bubbles. Make a video and watch it later with your kids.
To Sum It Up
Science can be the most favorite subject of your children if done the right way. You can make it as fun for your kids as possible as there are endless experiments and learning activities to do with your kids at home.
It will not only help you engage your kids but would be a learning experience for them. Whether your kid chooses a career in architecture or biophysics, whether in pharmaceutical or digital marketing, these science experiments would come in handy everywhere.
The world and everything around us are based on scientific phenomena, you just have to make your kids see them, and these fun activities are one great way to do it!
- Helping Children Thrive With Fun Science Activities - March 30, 2021
