# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Science Week 2020, now in its 25th year, will take place from November 8th to 15th. With Covid this year, many 2020 Science Week events will be held virtually, so you may be able to attend events outside of your local area. You can check Science Foundation Ireland as they fund a number of regional festivals offering a range of opportunities for the public to engage with Science.

Here a few science activities that have gone well in my classroom over the years...well, the ones I managed to catch on camera!

Walking on air (Science experiment)

Air is all around us but we can't see it. Most of the time we don't feel it. We find out how strong the wind is when it is very windy. When you blow up a balloon you fill it with air. If you squeeze the balloon, the air inside is also squeezed. The balloon changes shape when you squeeze it but the amount of air in the balloon stays the same. We investigated by filling 6 balloons to the same size, not over filling them with air- about half their usual size.

We placed the balloons on the floor.

We turned a table upside down and put it on top of the balloons.

One very brave pupils stepped carefully onto the table but we soon realised that the air in the balloons was strong and could hold lots of pupils. Only one balloon burst when the teacher (me) and all the pupils stepped onto the table!

Design & Make an Explorers Hut in the Antarctic
Following learning about Kerry native Tom Crean the Antarctica explorer, pupils worked in their science groups (6 teams of 4 pupils) to design and make a hut for explorers in the Antarctica, where there is freezing conditions and ferocious winds. Also a lovely lesson for Engineers' Week Pupils had to design a home that traps the greatest amount of warmth for the explorers. Pupils discussed the best materials they could use for their huts, including insulating; cotton wool, newspaper (homeless people insulate their bodies with newspaper!), tin foil. Most of the groups built cavity walls in their huts and filled the cavities with insulating materials.

Balloon Rocket

How do rockets work?

In science we used a balloon to help explain Newtons 3rd law, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

So how does it work?

It's all about the air...and thrust. As the air rushes out of the balloon, it creates a forward motion called THRUST. Thrust is a pushing force created by energy. In the balloon experiment, our thrust comes from the energy of the balloon forcing the air out. Different sizes and shapes of balloon will create more or less thrust. In a real rocket, thrust is created by the force of burning rocket fuel as it blasts from the rockets engine - as the engines blast down, the rocket goes up!

What to do:

1. Tie one end of the string to a chair, door knob, or other support.

2. Put the other end of the string through the straw.

3. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room.

4. Blow up the balloon (but don't tie it.) ...

5. Let go and watch the rocket fly!

Science: Design & Make a bridge

Design and make activity in Science. Science teams 'The Science Monkeys', 'The Bouncing Brains', 'The Brilliant Brain stormers', 'The Science Champions' and 'Team Toxic' developed their skills of

The finished Bridges were tried and tested with toy cars!

3-D Vision Pupils carried out different experiments to become aware of the difference between how they perceive things using one eye and using two eyes.
Online Illusions: Try some at
http://www.echalk.co.uk/amusements/OpticalIllusions/illusions.html

Pupils reach out and try to touch one another's fingers very quickly before their brain adjusts and has time to judge distances. Pupils can also try tossing cubes into a tub/jar with one eye closed!

Electricity

Static electricity experiments with balloons.

You can also use plastic pen (rubbed in the hair and then investigate how they gather little pieces of paper). Using a biro pen after rubbing it vigorusly on your scalp, hold it against a thin stream of tap water to explore how the water 'bends'.

Making electrical circuits Pupils can make simple circuits using bulbs, bulb holders, wires, bateeries and battery holders. Pupils had to complete the circuit correctly in order to make the bulb light. Some teams then removed their bulb and replaced it with a buzzer to make it buzz.
We experimented with creating circuits. We explored open and closed circuits and then each science group made

1. Simple circuits

2. Parallel circuits

3. Series circuits.

Extension activity for older pupils...Design and make a lighthouse!

Tooth decay in Coke (science experiment)

We added a clean white tooth (baby tooth) to coke and examined the decay over the course of a week. The results were shocking after just one day immersed in the coke.

When you drink sugary drinks, the sugars it contains interact with bacteria in your mouth to form acid. This acid attacks your teeth. Both regular and sugar-free sodas also contain their own acids, and these attack the teeth too. With each swig of soda, you're starting a damaging reaction that lasts for about 20 minutes. If you sip all day, your teeth are under constant attack.

Working with magnets

Pupils worked on a series of magnetic experiments.

They investigated the magnetic properties of iron and observed iron as an important everyday material.

recorded which objects are attracted by magnets

played a magnetic fishing game

made sculptures and designs with magnets

found the poles in each of the magnets

tested which magnets are the strongest

investigated if magnets will pull through paper

designed and made a sailing boat that is pushed through water by magnets

1. Pupils can make sculptures and designs with magnets

Pupils create sculptures using various magnets they have explored:

1. latch magnet

2. Bar magnet (alni magnet)

3. Ball magnet

4. Disk magnets

5. Washer magnets

6. Horse shoe magnets

2.Investigate the pull of magnets through paper... Investigate the power of different magnets...how many sheets of paper can the different magnets work through?

3.Investigate the push and pull of magnets

4. Create a magnetic fishing game

5. Design and Make a boat that moves through the water with magnets!

Each team designed a boat that would first of all float on water. They then added a magnet to their boat to ensure they could use the force of another magnet to move the boat.

A perfect project for Science Week!

Light (science): Creating a pin hole camera

Pupils created a pin hole camera using cardboard tubing, greaseproof paper, tinfoil and elastic bands.

They created a tiny pin hole in their tinfoil. We darkened the room and used a candle as our light. The light of the candle entered the pin hole and the image could be seen on the grease proof paper. However...the image was upside down. (The image was also reversed but we could need coloured lights to prove that!)

Images are upside down and back to front in all cameras.

The pinhole did not bend light. The reason is very simple.

Light does not usually bend but travels in a straight line so the light from the top of a scene passes through the pinhole, continues in a straight line, and ends up at the bottom. Exciting! Try out the experiment with torches, multicoloured nightlights etc.

Human Life: Sound

Pupils discovered how stereophonic hearing helps us in locating sound and how important hearing is to insectivorous bats.
Pupils made a model ear drum to test to show how the ear picks up the sounds we hear.

Sound: Loudness and Pitch

Pupils experimented with the sound that bottles make when filled with different levels of water. The bottles with a small amount of water made a deep sound and the bottles with a lot of water made high pitched sounds. Pupils went into groups with bottles of different pitches to create a song.

Science: Design and make a set of ear muffs (Sound)

Each science group planned in advance when designing their ear muffs, discussing the need of various materials such as cotton wool, bubble wrap etc. (to muffle sound). Using procedural writing they wrote down their 'step by step instructions' for creating their ear muffs. This finished with the hands on creating of the ear muffs and testing their effectiveness.

Plant life
1.Experiment to prove plants need water

Our experiment proved the cress seeds needed water to grow.

2. Children experimented to show that plants have veins that carry water around the plant.

3. Grass haired hedgehogs (Science; living things)

Pupils linked this to their procedural writing, giving step by step instructions on how to make a grass haired hedgehog using a cup, spoon, compost, grass seed and water. Additional option to used button for nose and eyes.

Before:

Winter Wheat
Pupils can sow winter wheat in October/ November We returned to visit the cultivation bed to assess how the wheat was growing later in the year. It should be ready for harvesting the following September...you could try grinding some of the wheat to show where flour comes from (even make some buns!)

Materials and change: Using household ingredients

Science Materials and change

1. Pupils carried out an experiment with simple kitchen materials (vinegar and Baking soda) to show chemical reactions. Extend to creating the 'volcano' experiment or 'puking pumpkin' (or puking butternut squash if it's not Halloween)

We loved our Puking Pumpkin science experiment! We are spending a few weeks experimenting with chemicals and change using household items. In this experiment we investigated combining the vinegar (an acid) with the baking soda (a base) which results in an entirely new substance, carbon dioxide. A chemical reaction occurred!

We added green food colouring (just for effect!) and also some Fairy Up Washing liquid as the washing liquid adds more bubbles and helps to thicken the resulting chemical reaction.

2. Each science group had to carry out an experiment to prove that air expands as it is heated

3. Pupils had to design and make a 'Cool Can Holder'. Pupils discussed what materials can be used to keep drinks warm or cold. They applied this to their design and make activity. The same amount of cold water was put into the cans at the end and temperatures taken often to determine which can can of water stayed the coolest.

Science: Investigating the effects of smoking on the lungs

Mouldy Bread Experiment

We did the mouldy bread experiment to test where germs are and how effective washing our hands with soap and water is versus using hand sanitiser.

We expected to be waiting 2-3 weeks to begin to see any mould growing due to the preservatives in the bread. Everyone wore disposable gloves for this experiment, all washing their hands very carefully.

Each pod had to do a different action with their bread. We had our control of untouched bread straight from the bread packet and into the sandwich bag with gloved hands.

The bottom image was a slice which was dampened with bread and water and left in a dark cupboard as pupils discussed how mould likes the damp and dark places.

Some interesting predictions were made!

Results of the bread put in the dark cupboard....

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Science Week 2020, now in its 25th year, will take place from November 8th to 15th. With Covid this year, many 2020 Science Week events will be held virtually, so you may be able to attend events outside of your local area.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At SFI we believe in the ability of science, technology, engineering & maths to effect positive change in the world and drive a sustainable international economy. https://www.sfi.ie/engagement/curious-minds/teacher-resources/classroom-resources/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
STEM CHALLENGES FOR KIDS

So you might ask, what does STEM stand for? STEM is science, technology, engineering, and math. The most important thing you can take away from this is that STEM is for everyone!

Yes, kids of all ages can work on STEM projects and enjoy STEM lessons. STEM challenges are great for group work, too! Easily done in the classroom, with groups, or at home for a screen-free activity, simple STEM challenges encourage many skills, including problem-solving and creative thinking.

STEM is everywhere! Just look around. The simple fact that STEM surrounds us is why it's so important for kids to be a part of, use, and understand STEM, from research on the internet to measurements around the house. Ordinary everyday activities use STEM.
Interested in STEM plus ART? Check out all our STEAM Activities!
From the buildings you see in town, the bridges that connect places, the computers we use, the software programs that go with them, and the air we breathe, STEM is what makes it all possible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Spaghetti Tower Challenge for Kids | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Can you build a tower out of noodles? A fun STEM challenge for young kids and older ones too! Build the tallest spaghetti tower.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Who wants to see a pumpkin throwing up? Most kids do! Get ready for a simple science activity the kids are going to go crazy over this Halloween. This pumpkin science activity has been dubbed the puking pumpkin around here. Although you may have seen another puking pumpkin including guacamole, this puking pumpkin experiment with baking soda and vinegar is perfect for Halloween STEM. Here, we love science activities and STEM projects!

PUKING PUMPKIN EXPERIMENT

HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS

Halloween is the perfect time to experiment with pumpkins and more specifically Jack O' Lanterns. Pumpkins are PERFECT for so many fun ways to explore science...
ALSO CHECK OUT: Pumpkin STEM Activities
Our puking pumpkin experiment is an awesome example of a chemical reaction, and kids love these amazing reactions just as much as adults! This erupting pumpkin science experiment uses baking soda and vinegar for a classic chemical reaction. You could also try lemon juice and baking soda and compare the results!

We have a whole season of fun Halloween science experiments to try. Repeating experiments in different ways really helps to solidify understanding of the concepts being presented. Holidays and seasons present numerous occasions for you to re-invent some of these classic activities.

BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR REACTION

We also tried this a few years ago with a white pumpkin or ghost pumpkin which is a fun effect too! All you need is a few simple ingredients from the kitchen and you can create your own puking pumpkin for science. Forget the guacamole!

PUKING PUMPKIN EXPERIMENT

This puking pumpkin can get a bit messy in a fun way! Make sure to have a surface or area you can easily clean up. You can even start by placing your pumpkin in a pie dish, container, or a large mixing bowl to catch the overflow.

YOU WILL NEED:

HOW TO SET UP A PUKING PUMPKIN EXPERIMENT

1. Grab a pumpkin! You can use just about any pumpkin, white or orange. Baking pumpkins are usually a great size, and you can pick them up in your local grocery store. A bigger pumpkin will work, but you will need more baking soda and vinegar, which isn't a bad thing either!

An adult should use a knife to cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin.

Next, you will want to clean out the guts. You can even save them for a pumpkin squish bag!

2. Then you will want to carve your puking pumpkin face. Happy or scared or scary, it's up to you but it will look funny "puking" anyway.

3. Then have the kiddos put about a 1/4 of a cup of baking soda into the pumpkin.

4. Add a squirt of dish soap if you want a foamier eruption! The chemical eruption will produce frothier bubbles with the added dish soap and create more overflow too.

5. Add a few drops of food coloring. You can also add food coloring to the vinegar for a deeper color eruption.

6. Time to add the vinegar and observe the chemistry at work!

Tip: Put your vinegar into a container that is easy for small hands to squirt or pour into the pumpkin.

Now get ready to watch the fun as your pumpkin pukes!

THE SCIENCE BEHIND PUKING PUMPKIN

Chemistry is all about states of matter including liquids, solids, and gasses. A chemical reaction occurs between two or more substances that change and form a new substance, and in this case a gas called carbon dioxide. In this case, you have an acid (liquid: vinegar) and a base solid: baking soda) when combined make a gas called carbon dioxide.

You can see the the carbon dioxide gas in the form of bubbles. You can even hear them if you listen closely.

The dish soap is added to collect the gas and form bubbles that give it a more robust pumpkin volcano lave like flow down the side! That equals more fun! You don't have to add dish soap but it's worth a try. Or you can even set up an experiment to see which eruption you like more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make your own puking pumpkin with this fun and easy puking pumpkin experiment. A few household ingredients for the best chemistry activity this Halloween!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's a hands-on way for kids to learn about the cycle of life and the importance of decomposition in nature. Just remember to handle decomposing pumpkins with care, as they can become messy and attract unwanted pests.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

1. EXAMINE THE MOLD!

Pull out disposable gloves, a magnifying glass, and tweezers. Check out the mold.

Why does mold grow? The carved areas of the pumpkin are quickly susceptible to mold due to increased moisture and a good surface! Mold is actually a fungus but not the kind you want to eat!

Mold spores are very {microscopic} tiny, but when enough grow together, the mold can appear to look blue, black, or green. We had a package of mushrooms, so I showed my son an edible fungus!

2. EXPLORE DECOMPOSITION

Kids can also explore the decomposition process or the breaking down of materials (the pumpkin)! Decomposition is all about rotting and decay. The pumpkin's cells (every living thing is made up of them) will break down over time, especially once you have opened the pumpkin. Mold and bacteria and other organisms like worms go to work on the pumpkin!

If you toss Jack into your compost pile, he will eventually decay and become compost!

My kiddo is not a fan of mold...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rotting Pumpkin Jack Experiment - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you have a Pumpkin Jack? Explore rotting science with pumpkins and explore decomposition, mold, and more with a simple pumpkin activity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Make a super simple DIY stethoscope that works, inspired by Indigenous doctor Susan Picotte. Dr Picotte was one of the first American Indigenous peoples and the first Indigenous woman to earn a medical degree. Find out how to make a stethoscope from things you will find around the house. We love fun, hands-on STEM projects for kids!

HOW TO MAKE A STETHOSCOPE

HOW DOES A STETHOSCOPE WORK

A stethoscope is a medical instrument that listens to bodily sounds, specifically the heart and lungs. Until the invention of the stethoscope, doctors would put their ears to the patient's chest to listen to the internal sounds. This had its limitations!
Also, learn more about the human body with our simple heart model and .
In the 1800's French doctor René Laennec was having trouble hearing the sounds from a patient's chest, so he rolled up his notebook, put it to their chest, and listened. It was groundbreaking!

From there, he experimented with wooden sound devices. He called his device a stethoscope, which is Greek for "looking into the thorax".

In 1851, Irish doctor Arthur Leared made it bi-aural, which meant it had two tubes for hearing with both ears.

Nowadays the modern stethoscope is one of the most common medical instruments we associate with nurses and doctors.

WHO IS DR SUSAN PICOTTE

Susan La Flesche Picotte, born in 1865, was one of the first American Indigenous peoples, and the first Indigenous woman, to earn a medical degree. She grew up on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska.

After attending medical school in Pennsylvania via scholarship, she returned to Nebraska to care for the Omaha people. She was the only doctor for over 1200 people and sometimes worked 20 hour days.

Dr Picotte was known for working on several public health causes for the Omaha people, including
hygiene, sanitation, and tuberculosis. In 1913, she realized her dream of opening a hospital in the reservation town of Walthill, Nebraska.

Check out more Indigenous Peoples Activities for kids!

On many occasions Dr Picotte would have used a stethoscope to diagnosis and treat patients. Find out how to make your own stethoscope below with our step by step instructions.

DIY STETHOSCOPE

Interested in exploring more famous men and women in science? Click here for fantastic, free science projects.

SUPPLIES:

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Place the small end of your funnel inside the paper towel roll.

STEP 2: Use several pieces of duct tape to attach the funnel and tube.

STEP 3: Now place the 'stethoscope' on a volunteer's chest and listen very carefully. You should be able to hear their heart beating! Make sure the room is quiet.

Get them to jump around before listening to your partner's heart! What do you notice?

More Fun Things to Make

Build a DIY thermometer.

Make your own homemade air cannon and blast down some dominoes.

Make a homemade magnifying glass.

Build a compass and work out which way is true north.

Construct a working Archimedes screw simple machine.

Make a paper helicopter and explore motion in action.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Have fun with this DIY stethoscope project made from simple supplies. Used by doctors and nurses, here's a simple stethoscope for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What can you power with a lemon battery? Grab some lemons and a few other supplies, and find out how you can make lemons into lemon electricity! Even better, turn this into a lemon battery experiment or science project with a few simple ideas. We love hands-on and easy-to-set-up science experiments for kids.

Power a Light Bulb with a Lemon Battery!

Powering a lightbulb with a lemon is a fun and educational experiment demonstrating electricity's basic principles. Here's a simple method to power a lightbulb with a lemon, suitable for kids.

Remember to supervise kids during this experiment, especially when handling the nails and using the wires. Enjoy exploring the world of science and electricity!

How Does a Lemon Battery Produce Electricity?

A lemon battery is a type of battery that you can make at home using a lemon and some simple materials. It works through a process called electrolysis.
Also check out how we powered a digital clock with a pumpkin battery!
Lemon juice acts as an electrolyte, which is a liquid that can conduct electricity.

When the penny and the nail are inserted into the lemon, they become the positive and negative terminals of the battery. The penny is made of copper and acts as the positive electrode, while the nail is made of zinc and acts as the negative electrode.

The zinc and copper electrodes are immersed in the electrolyte lemon juice, and the electrons from zinc atoms flow to the copper atoms which causes a small electrical current. This current is then able to power a small device, such as a light bulb.

Lemon batteries are not a practical source of power to use all the time but they are a simple and fun way to learn about how electricity works.
Discover more easy physics experiments for kids!
Make a Lemon Battery Science Fair Project

Free Printable Lemon Battery Project

Lemon Battery Experiment Set Up

Leftover lemons? Try this apple oxidation experiment, a lemon volcano, make invisible ink or fizzy lemonade for kitchen science!

SUPPLIES:

2 to 4 lemons

Galvanized nails

Pennies

LED bulb

Metal clips (Amazon Affiliate link) or Foil strips

Knife

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Line up your lemons.

STEP 2: Place a nail in one end of each lemon.

STEP 3: Cut a small slit at the other end of each lemon. Place a penny in each slit.

STEP 4: Connect your clips to your lemons. Start with one clip on a nail and the other end unconnected.

STEP 5: Attach the 2nd clip to the penny on the first lemon and the other end to the 2nd lemon's nail.

STEP 6: Continue with each lemon until you reach the last penny. Leave the other end of the clip unconnected.

STEP 7: Now you should have two unconnected ends; these are like a car's jumper cables. Don't touch them together!

STEP 8: Attach one of these unconnected cables to one wire of the LED light.

STEP 9: Now watch carefully as you connect the second unconnected wire. You should see the light coming from your bulb, powered only by lemons!

More Fun Science Experiments to Try

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Make a Lemon Battery | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how a lemon battery works and how you really can power a light bulb with lemon electricity. It is fun physics for kids!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Fairy Tale STEM Activity - Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Try a hands-on STEM challenge with Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

This STEM activity is designed for lower elementary kids. I am so excited to share some details about it! STEM tales introduce the youngest budding engineers to STEM, by taking a familiar story and using it to walk through the engineering design process. Do you love telling and re-telling stories with your kids? Do you ever change the ending to spice it up a bit? That's exactly what STEM tales is all about!

Integrate Literacy and STEM with Fairy Tales

The 8-page book provides an alternative ending to this story. Your students need to help make a bed for Goldilocks. Goldilocks is simply a printed out figure, which you can add weigh to with either small masses, pennies, or washers.

Using whatever crafting materials you have handy (index cards and tape are really all that is needed, but feel free to use other supplies as well), create a new bed for Goldilocks.

The Testing Phase of the STEM Challenge

Is the bed large enough? Will it hold the weight of the figure? You will be surprised at the designs your students come up with! Designing and creating a bed for Goldilocks is a way for students to bring the fairy tale alive.

After you have tested out the beds, it's time to introduce the bear family to the challenge (mama, papa, and baby, who is the same size as Goldilocks).

You will add heavier weights to mama and papa bear, and then test the designs again. This is a great way to demonstrate why it's important to know your design criteria before starting a STEM challenge! Mama bear may fit on some and not others, or papa bear may fit but weigh too much and collapse the bed.

Get the Goldilocks Fairy Tale STEM Challenge

Here is the link to the full resource. In addition to all the steps above, the 8-page story book guides students through the engineering design process and also includes a self-evaluation check list.

How to Conduct a STEM Tale Challenge

To read more about how to conduct a STEM challenge, visit this post:

To see all posts in this series, click here:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fairy Tale STEM Activity - Goldilocks and the Three Bears Try a hands-on STEM challenge with Goldilocks and the Three Bears! This STE...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Coding is a valuable skill for every child to learn, and there are tons of free and paid coding websites and tools to help your students just beginning or mastering coding. Back in the day, coding seemed like some kind of secret computer knowledge that no one except for geniuses could learn. But now, it's super easy to learn! Here are 6 great coding websites for students.

Khan Academy has been around a while, and it is classic essential code training for kids. They have organized and interactive lessons that build on one another so kids learn fast and are able to get creative quick on how to code. They'll be coding in circles around you. Luckily, Khan Academy isn't just for kids, anyone can learn code here! Khan Academy is a 501c3 non profit organization whose mission is to provide free, world class education to anyone, anywhere.

Code.org has a variety of ways for kids to learn to code. They even have live in person camps all over the world! They have online lessons from prekindergarten all the way beyond high school. CS, javascript, you name it, they've got it. It's another nonprofit pushing forward computer science learning for everyone! There are so many cool games and curriculums to use here.

Kodable is a really cool paid way to learn coding at home and at school. You can actually get a lifetime membership to Kodable for only $120-that's an amazing deal for all the features that are there. Of course, before you commit to a lifetime of coding, you can get a free trial to check it out. For schools the plans are a little different, but you can get a lot for free to start. "Skip cartoons, write code."

Tynker is another paid coding website specifically made with kids in mind. They are all about empowering kids age 5-17 to learn and write code. And for all those kids who are SUPER in to Minecraft, they have a whole play area where kids can code their own mods, add-ons, and texture packs. If there was ever a way to get a kid to learn and play it coding because all games require code.

This coding tool is designed for 6-12 year olds. This program is quite different from the above programs. Teachers or parents actually receive a box in the mail. From the info in the box, students can pick what they what to learn, what apps they want to download, what games they want to play, and what projects to complete. Of course, as a teacher you can pick and choose the projects for your class. What's unique is that kids get a tactile experience to accompany learning the code!

Codemonkey has an impressive kindergarten through 8th grade curriculum. Like a lot of the other websites, you can start doing Codemonkey for free, and then there are paid plans as you get deeper into the lessons. Codemonkey boasts built in classroom management, professional development, and matches with curriculum standards. AND they have web-based and tablet applications. This is a very well organized and well thought out program.

Wow wow wow! There are so many tools out there to help your students learn to code, and I didn't even mention half of them. There is also Scratch Junior from MIT, CS First from Google, and more.

What are your favorite ways to get your students excited to code?

Ready for more? Check out some other blog posts from our Technology category.

Try out some ready-made coding resources for elementary students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Great Coding Websites for Students - STEM Activities for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Coding is a valuable skill for every child to learn, and there are tons of free and paid coding websites and tools to help your students master coding.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Digital Stop Motion Animation

Hands-on stop motion animation is one of my favorite STEM activities to do with kids, because it can be tied into almost any subject area, offers high engagement, and develops patience, perseverance, and persistence. It's not always an option, though, such as when:

Technology or materials are limited

You don't have space to set up and keep sets available for multiple sessions (such as if you are teaching froma cart)

Or in the case of no-sharing materials, hybrid or remote learning, you may not be able to do hands-on projects.

Your kids are working on stop motion activities as a bonus or choice activity when they may only have 10-15 minutes at a time to devote to it.

This is the perfect time to use digital stop motion animation instead!

Simple Digital Stop Motion Animation

A simple way to get started animating quickly is to use ABCYa Animate - backgrounds, characters (called stickers), and drawing tools are all built in. You can simply just jump right in and start animating!

Some of the kids on my robotics team made a stop motion animation video with ABCYa (and then did some extra edits in OpenShot). You can see the video here:

Animating with Google Slides

Almost as easy as ABCYa is to just use Google Slides. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel with a tutorial video because there are dozens of them on YouTube already (I linked some below), but here are the basics:

1. Start with a background

2. Add in your animated component(s) as needed

3. Duplicate the slide

4. Move your animated component(s) ONE ARROW keystroke in any direction (if animating text add one letter per slide)

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until your animation is complete.

6. Watch your stop motion animation video as directed in the tutorial videos and/or screen capture the video and add some cool post-edits, like music, sound, credits, etc. I like to use Shotcut or OpenShot for this.

Balloons Over Broadway or Thanksgiving Day Parade Stop Motion Animation

This idea came to me as a way to tie in a digital STEM activity to the read aloud Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. Students can create their very own Thanksgiving Day Parade with floats they find on Google image search, or they can draw their own with the drawing tool. Here is a video sample of a completed project:

Students can work in pairs, but they could also work alone to create a single animation or a complete parade of floats!

Kids who struggle with drawing can use a float already found and instead apply their creativity to the animation aspect (changing size, aspect ratio, rotation) or having something exciting or unusual happen during the parade. Perhaps a bird flies by or a person photobombs the video!

It can easily be shared to the whole class when complete, as well as family members, and then saved as part of a digital STEM portfolio.

It seriously pushes the limits of persistence and patience. Stop motion animation is something that takes time and persistence to complete! Students are always so proud of their creations because they know just how much time they put into them.

Get the Resource

While you don't need this Digital Stop Motion Animation resource to complete the activity, I have included a background, various parade floats and vehicles, and step by step instructions so that students can do this project independently. Just download and get started right away!

If you celebrate Christmas in the classroom, this stop motion animation movie (or others) is so cute to create! I found just the perfect clip art elements to animate Santa Claus flying across the winter night sky. Here is a video sample:

If you want to create a winter-themed stop motion animation without Christmas theme, building a snowman is the perfect idea. I just love how this one came out:

Get the Resources

Pin these ideas for later:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Digital Stop Motion Animation Hands-on stop motion animation is one of my favorite STEM activities to do with kids, because it can be tied ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Build A LEGO Apple for Fall STEM | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Back to school building idea! LEGO building activities you can do with pretty basic bricks are the best. These LEGO apples are quick and easy to build and offer simple lessons in math and engineering. Perfect fall activity, LEGO apples are sure to be a hit with your LEGO loving kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We made colorful marbled paper with vegetable oil, now have a go at paper marbling with shaving cream. Mix up your own shaving cream paint from kitchen supplies and make DIY marbled paper at home or in the classroom. Art doesn't have to be difficult or overly messy to share with children, and it doesn't have to cost a lot either. Make this fun and colorful marble paper for do-able art projects for kids.

HOW TO MARBLE PAPER WITH SHAVING CREAM

HISTORY OF MARBLED PAPER

Marbling began in Japan in around the twelfth century. It has been said that it was discovered by accident by someone who submerged sumi ink paintings in water, watched the inks float to the surface, then put a piece of paper on the floating ink, lifted it up and found it had made a new image. This technique was termed suminagashi, or "ink floating."

Another type of marbling, Ebru, Turkish for "cloud art," originated in Turkey, Persia and India in the fifteenth century. The Turkish marblers used thickened water, which was similar to the marbling solutions of today.

Create your fun and colorful marbled paper using food coloring and shaving cream. Also check out how to marble paper with vegetable oil.

WHY DO ART WITH KIDS?

Children are naturally curious. They observe, explore, and imitate, trying to figure out how things work and how to control themselves and their environments. This freedom of exploration helps children form connections in their brain, it helps them learn-and it's also fun!

Art is a natural activity to support this essential interaction with the world. Kids need the freedom to explore and experiment creatively.

Art allows children to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life but also for learning. These include the aesthetic, scientific, interpersonal, and practical interactions that can be discovered through the senses, intellect, and emotions.
Making and appreciating art involves emotional and mental faculties!
Art, whether making it, learning about it, or simply looking at it - offers a wide range of important experiences.
In other words, it's good for them!

MARBLED PAPER WITH SHAVING CREAM

SUPPLIES:

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: Spray a layer of shaving cream into a bowl.

STEP 2: Randomly drop food coloring onto the shaving cream. Use several colors.

STEP 3: Stir the shaving cream a bit, dragging the pencil through each color but not mixing it thoroughly.

STEP 4: Place your paper on top of the shaving cream and press down evenly.

STEP 5: Lift the paper and scrape off the remaining shaving cream with another piece of card stock or cardboard.

STEP 6. Leave your marbled paper to dry.

MORE FUN THINGS TO DO WITH SHAVING CREAM

MAKE COLORFUL SHAVING CREAM MARBLING PAPER

Click on the image below or on the link for more fun and simple art projects for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make your own colorful shaving cream marbling with a few simple supplies for do-able art for kids at home.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kids love fluffy slime because it's SO fun to squish and stretch but also light and airy as a cloud! Learn how to make fluffy slime with saline solution so quickly you won't believe it! This is such a simple fluffy slime recipe to make with only a few fluffy slime ingredients. Make sure to add this slime recipe to your list of favorite slime recipes!

How Do You Make Fluffy Slime?

I get this question all the time! The best fluffy slime starts with the right slime ingredients, of course. The fluffy slime ingredients you will want to have are...

Guess what makes the fluff? You got it, shaving foam! Slime plus shaving foam equals light and fluffy slime! You choose the colors and give it any theme you like. Check out all the fun variations you can try further down!

I use to think making slime was an impossible activity with wasted time and effort, and a disappointed kid. Plus, it's a recipe, and I don't like to follow recipes!

However, slime is actually really simple to make, and our slime recipes are so easy to follow. You can get the slime ingredients on your next shopping trip.

Helpful Slime Resources To Get You Started

Everything you need to know about making slime is below! Did you know we also have fun with science activities too?

Can You Make Fluffy Slime Without Borax?

I have also been asked how to make fluffy slime without borax, and technically this fluffy slime recipe does not use borax powder. Check out the traditional borax slime recipe if you are interested in making slime with borax powder.

Our super stretchy fluffy slime recipe below uses saline solution instead of borax powder as the slime activator. You will need a saline solution that contains sodium borate or boric acid. These two ingredients are also members of the boron family, just like the borax powder and liquid starch are known as slime activators.

It is the borate ions in the slime activator (sodium borate, borax powder, or boric acid) that mix with the PVA (polyvinyl acetate) glue and form this cool stretchy substance. This is called cross-linking!

The glue is a polymer of long, repeating, and identical strands or molecules. These molecules flow past one another, keeping the glue liquid. Until...

You add the borate ions to the mixture, and it then starts to connect these long strands together. They begin to tangle and mix until the substance is less like the liquid you started with and thicker and rubberier like slime! Slime is a polymer.

Picture the difference between wet spaghetti and leftover spaghetti the next day. As the slime forms, the tangled molecule strands are much like a clump of spaghetti!

Is slime a liquid or solid? We call it a non-Newtonian fluid because it's a little bit of both! Experiment with making the slime more or less viscous with varying amounts of foam beads. Can you change the density?

Grab your FREE printable fluffy slime recipe!

Best Tip For Making Super Fluffy Slime

What to know how to make VERY fluffy slime? It's all to do with the fluffy slime ingredient; shaving foam!

What happens to shaving cream as it comes out of the can? Air is pushed into the liquid creating a foam. The foam's air gives our shaving cream slime its fluff!

The volume produced from the fluffy slime shaving cream creates a cool texture, like a cloud. Plus, it doesn't smell too bad, either!

TIP: Don't over stir your fluffy slime to keep all that air in there!

What happens when the air leaves the foam eventually? It leaves our slime too! However, the slime is still fun to play with, even without the extra fluff.

Check out the photo story of our fluffy slime below, and you can see the fun he is having with our fluffy slime recipe! Homemade fluffy slime is a truly satisfying sensory experience!

Fluffy Slime Recipe

Don't want to use saline solution? Borax slime or liquid starch slime are good alternatives!

Fluffy Slime Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Washable PVA School Glue (We used white)

3 Cups of Foaming Shaving Cream

1/2 Tsp of Baking Soda

Food Coloring

1 Tbsp of Saline Solution (Must contain both sodium borate and boric acid as ingredients)

How To Make Fluffy Slime

STEP 1. Measure 3 heaped cups of shaving cream into a bowl. You can also experiment with using less or more shaving cream for different textures!

STEP 2. Add 5 to 6 drops of food coloring. We used neon food coloring, but there are so many choices.

STEP 3. Add a 1/2 cup of glue to the shaving cream and gently mix.

STEP 4. Add 1/2 tsp of baking soda and mix. The baking soda helps to firm and form the slime.

STEP 5. Add 1 tablespoon of the saline solution to the mixture and start whipping. If your slime is too sticky, add a few more drops of the saline solution.

Don't add too much extra saline as the consistency gets less sticky with just good ole kneading. Adding to much saline solution can result in an over activated slime with a rubbery texture.

Once you get the mixture thoroughly whipped and incorporated, you can pull it out with your hands and knead.

TIP: Before removing the slime from the bowl, squirt a few drops of saline solution on your hands.

SUGGESTION: Repeat the fluffy slime recipe with different colors or enjoy the one batch! We made a giant batch of yellow fluffy slime the other day by tripling the recipe!

Different Types Of Slime To Make

We also have the most popular recipes kids want to be making right now like crunchy slime, butter slime, and cloud slime (to name a few)!

Click on the photos below to see all the kinds of slimy resources available. Get our ultimate slime making pack to download and print!

All the best homemade slime recipes in one place with plenty of fantastic extras!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Make Fluffy Slime - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to make fluffy slime today! Our fluffy slime or slime with shaving cream is easy to make and amazing to play with.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Want to know how to make homemade puffy paint? It is easy to make yourself or better yet show your kiddos how to mix up this super simple DIY puffy paint recipe. Kids will love the texture of this puffy paint with shaving cream, and this recipe makes for a fantastic and sensory-rich art experience for kids of all ages. We love easy art projects for kids!

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

WHAT IS PUFFY PAINT

Puffy paint is a light and textured homemade paint that kids are sure to love! Only a few simple ingredients, shaving cream and glue, are needed to make puffy paint. Get creative with homemade shaving cream paint the kids will love to mix up with you. From a glow in the dark moon to shivery snow puffy paint, we have lots of fun puffy paint ideas. Our art activities are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home! Find out how to make your own puffy paint below with our easy puffy paint recipe. Let's get started! Have extra shaving cream left? You will want to try our amazing fluffy slime recipe!

PUFFY PAINT IDEAS

Once you have mixed up your puffy paint here are a few things you can do with it.

Add one extra ingredient to your puffy paint and make your own glow in the dark moon craft.

Leave out the food coloring to create a winter wonderland with snow puffy paint that's not cold at all.

Make puffy paint you can use outdoors as the weather gets nicer! Our sidewalk paint recipe uses flour instead of glue for easy clean up.

Make puffy paint in the colors of the rainbow. Free printable rainbow template included!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT LAST

Homemade puffy paint will last for about 5 days. After that the shaving foam will lose its puffiness and the texture of your mixture will change. One way to store your puffy paint is in small plastic containers with lids, like what we use for storing homemade slime. Or you can even store your puffy paint in ziplock bags. Add tape if you are concerned that the kids will squeeze them open.

HOW TO GET PUFFY PAINT OUT OF CLOTHES

Get puffy paint on clothes? No worries, homemade puffy paint will wash off clothes easily with water!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT TAKE TO DRY

A thin layer of puffy paint generally takes about 4 hours to dry. If the paint is thicker, it will take 24 to 36 hours to dry.

PUFFY PAINT RECIPE

Want to make more homemade paint? From flour paint to edible paint, check out all the easy ways you can make paint for kids.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 to 2 cups shaving cream (not gel), depending on how fluffy you want the paint

Food coloring (for color), optional

Essential oils (for fragrance), optional

Glitter (for sparkle), optional

Construction paper or cardstock

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

STEP 1. In a large bowl, whisk together glue and shaving cream until combined. STEP 2. If desired, add food coloring, essential oil, or glitter and stir to distribute. Tip: If you want to make a few different colors, put some puffy paint in small containers and then add a few drops of food coloring and mix with a small spoon or Popsicle stick.

STEP 3. Your homemade puffy paint is now ready to use. Painting with homemade puffy paint is a fun project for kids as young as toddler age and all the way up to teens. Do note though puffy paint is NOT edible! Our homemade finger paint is a good alternative for toddlers! Sponge brushes are a good alternative to regular paintbrushes for this project. Get kids to paint with paint brushes, sponges, or cotton swabs. If you want, once your page is painted sprinkle the puffy paint with additional glitter and allow to dry.

ENJOY HOMEMADE PUFFY PAINT FOR KIDS

Click on the image below or on the link for tons of easy painting ideas for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to make homemade puffy paint with our easy puffy paint recipe. Plus simple and fun ways to use your puff paints for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Want to know how to make homemade puffy paint? It is easy to make yourself or better yet show your kiddos how to mix up this super simple DIY puffy paint recipe. Kids will love the texture of this puffy paint with shaving cream, and this recipe makes for a fantastic and sensory-rich art experience for kids of all ages. We love easy art projects for kids!

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

WHAT IS PUFFY PAINT

Puffy paint is a light and textured homemade paint that kids are sure to love! Only a few simple ingredients, shaving cream and glue, are needed to make puffy paint. Get creative with homemade shaving cream paint the kids will love to mix up with you. From a glow in the dark moon to shivery snow puffy paint, we have lots of fun puffy paint ideas. Our art activities are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home! Find out how to make your own puffy paint below with our easy puffy paint recipe. Let's get started! Have extra shaving cream left? You will want to try our amazing fluffy slime recipe!

PUFFY PAINT IDEAS

Once you have mixed up your puffy paint here are a few things you can do with it.

Add one extra ingredient to your puffy paint and make your own glow in the dark moon craft.

Leave out the food coloring to create a winter wonderland with snow puffy paint that's not cold at all.

Make puffy paint you can use outdoors as the weather gets nicer! Our sidewalk paint recipe uses flour instead of glue for easy clean up.

Make puffy paint in the colors of the rainbow. Free printable rainbow template included!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT LAST

Homemade puffy paint will last for about 5 days. After that the shaving foam will lose its puffiness and the texture of your mixture will change. One way to store your puffy paint is in small plastic containers with lids, like what we use for storing homemade slime. Or you can even store your puffy paint in ziplock bags. Add tape if you are concerned that the kids will squeeze them open.

HOW TO GET PUFFY PAINT OUT OF CLOTHES

Get puffy paint on clothes? No worries, homemade puffy paint will wash off clothes easily with water!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT TAKE TO DRY

A thin layer of puffy paint generally takes about 4 hours to dry. If the paint is thicker, it will take 24 to 36 hours to dry.

PUFFY PAINT RECIPE

Want to make more homemade paint? From flour paint to edible paint, check out all the easy ways you can make paint for kids.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 to 2 cups shaving cream (not gel), depending on how fluffy you want the paint

Food coloring (for color), optional

Essential oils (for fragrance), optional

Glitter (for sparkle), optional

Construction paper or cardstock

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

STEP 1. In a large bowl, whisk together glue and shaving cream until combined. STEP 2. If desired, add food coloring, essential oil, or glitter and stir to distribute. Tip: If you want to make a few different colors, put some puffy paint in small containers and then add a few drops of food coloring and mix with a small spoon or Popsicle stick.

STEP 3. Your homemade puffy paint is now ready to use. Painting with homemade puffy paint is a fun project for kids as young as toddler age and all the way up to teens. Do note though puffy paint is NOT edible! Our homemade finger paint is a good alternative for toddlers! Sponge brushes are a good alternative to regular paintbrushes for this project. Get kids to paint with paint brushes, sponges, or cotton swabs. If you want, once your page is painted sprinkle the puffy paint with additional glitter and allow to dry.

ENJOY HOMEMADE PUFFY PAINT FOR KIDS

Click on the image below or on the link for tons of easy painting ideas for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to make homemade puffy paint with our easy puffy paint recipe. Plus simple and fun ways to use your puff paints for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Want to know how to make homemade puffy paint? It is easy to make yourself or better yet show your kiddos how to mix up this super simple DIY puffy paint recipe. Kids will love the texture of this puffy paint with shaving cream, and this recipe makes for a fantastic and sensory-rich art experience for kids of all ages. We love easy art projects for kids!

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

WHAT IS PUFFY PAINT

Puffy paint is a light and textured homemade paint that kids are sure to love! Only a few simple ingredients, shaving cream and glue, are needed to make puffy paint. Get creative with homemade shaving cream paint the kids will love to mix up with you. From a glow in the dark moon to shivery snow puffy paint, we have lots of fun puffy paint ideas. Our art activities are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home! Find out how to make your own puffy paint below with our easy puffy paint recipe. Let's get started! Have extra shaving cream left? You will want to try our amazing fluffy slime recipe!

PUFFY PAINT IDEAS

Once you have mixed up your puffy paint here are a few things you can do with it.

Add one extra ingredient to your puffy paint and make your own glow in the dark moon craft.

Leave out the food coloring to create a winter wonderland with snow puffy paint that's not cold at all.

Make puffy paint you can use outdoors as the weather gets nicer! Our sidewalk paint recipe uses flour instead of glue for easy clean up.

Make puffy paint in the colors of the rainbow. Free printable rainbow template included!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT LAST

Homemade puffy paint will last for about 5 days. After that the shaving foam will lose its puffiness and the texture of your mixture will change. One way to store your puffy paint is in small plastic containers with lids, like what we use for storing homemade slime. Or you can even store your puffy paint in ziplock bags. Add tape if you are concerned that the kids will squeeze them open.

HOW TO GET PUFFY PAINT OUT OF CLOTHES

Get puffy paint on clothes? No worries, homemade puffy paint will wash off clothes easily with water!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT TAKE TO DRY

A thin layer of puffy paint generally takes about 4 hours to dry. If the paint is thicker, it will take 24 to 36 hours to dry.

PUFFY PAINT RECIPE

Want to make more homemade paint? From flour paint to edible paint, check out all the easy ways you can make paint for kids.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 to 2 cups shaving cream (not gel), depending on how fluffy you want the paint

Food coloring (for color), optional

Essential oils (for fragrance), optional

Glitter (for sparkle), optional

Construction paper or cardstock

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

STEP 1. In a large bowl, whisk together glue and shaving cream until combined. STEP 2. If desired, add food coloring, essential oil, or glitter and stir to distribute. Tip: If you want to make a few different colors, put some puffy paint in small containers and then add a few drops of food coloring and mix with a small spoon or Popsicle stick.

STEP 3. Your homemade puffy paint is now ready to use. Painting with homemade puffy paint is a fun project for kids as young as toddler age and all the way up to teens. Do note though puffy paint is NOT edible! Our homemade finger paint is a good alternative for toddlers! Sponge brushes are a good alternative to regular paintbrushes for this project. Get kids to paint with paint brushes, sponges, or cotton swabs. If you want, once your page is painted sprinkle the puffy paint with additional glitter and allow to dry.

ENJOY HOMEMADE PUFFY PAINT FOR KIDS

Click on the image below or on the link for tons of easy painting ideas for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to make homemade puffy paint with our easy puffy paint recipe. Plus simple and fun ways to use your puff paints for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Want to know how to make homemade puffy paint? It is easy to make yourself or better yet show your kiddos how to mix up this super simple DIY puffy paint recipe. Kids will love the texture of this puffy paint with shaving cream, and this recipe makes for a fantastic and sensory-rich art experience for kids of all ages. We love easy art projects for kids!

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

WHAT IS PUFFY PAINT

Puffy paint is a light and textured homemade paint that kids are sure to love! Only a few simple ingredients, shaving cream and glue, are needed to make puffy paint. Get creative with homemade shaving cream paint the kids will love to mix up with you. From a glow in the dark moon to shivery snow puffy paint, we have lots of fun puffy paint ideas. Our art activities are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home! Find out how to make your own puffy paint below with our easy puffy paint recipe. Let's get started! Have extra shaving cream left? You will want to try our amazing fluffy slime recipe!

PUFFY PAINT IDEAS

Once you have mixed up your puffy paint here are a few things you can do with it.

Add one extra ingredient to your puffy paint and make your own glow in the dark moon craft.

Leave out the food coloring to create a winter wonderland with snow puffy paint that's not cold at all.

Make puffy paint you can use outdoors as the weather gets nicer! Our sidewalk paint recipe uses flour instead of glue for easy clean up.

Make puffy paint in the colors of the rainbow. Free printable rainbow template included!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT LAST

Homemade puffy paint will last for about 5 days. After that the shaving foam will lose its puffiness and the texture of your mixture will change. One way to store your puffy paint is in small plastic containers with lids, like what we use for storing homemade slime. Or you can even store your puffy paint in ziplock bags. Add tape if you are concerned that the kids will squeeze them open.

HOW TO GET PUFFY PAINT OUT OF CLOTHES

Get puffy paint on clothes? No worries, homemade puffy paint will wash off clothes easily with water!

HOW LONG DOES PUFFY PAINT TAKE TO DRY

A thin layer of puffy paint generally takes about 4 hours to dry. If the paint is thicker, it will take 24 to 36 hours to dry.

PUFFY PAINT RECIPE

Want to make more homemade paint? From flour paint to edible paint, check out all the easy ways you can make paint for kids.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 to 2 cups shaving cream (not gel), depending on how fluffy you want the paint

Food coloring (for color), optional

Essential oils (for fragrance), optional

Glitter (for sparkle), optional

Construction paper or cardstock

HOW TO MAKE PUFFY PAINT

STEP 1. In a large bowl, whisk together glue and shaving cream until combined. STEP 2. If desired, add food coloring, essential oil, or glitter and stir to distribute. Tip: If you want to make a few different colors, put some puffy paint in small containers and then add a few drops of food coloring and mix with a small spoon or Popsicle stick.

STEP 3. Your homemade puffy paint is now ready to use. Painting with homemade puffy paint is a fun project for kids as young as toddler age and all the way up to teens. Do note though puffy paint is NOT edible! Our homemade finger paint is a good alternative for toddlers! Sponge brushes are a good alternative to regular paintbrushes for this project. Get kids to paint with paint brushes, sponges, or cotton swabs. If you want, once your page is painted sprinkle the puffy paint with additional glitter and allow to dry.

ENJOY HOMEMADE PUFFY PAINT FOR KIDS

Click on the image below or on the link for tons of easy painting ideas for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to make homemade puffy paint with our easy puffy paint recipe. Plus simple and fun ways to use your puff paints for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Looking to forgo store-bought bubbles this year? Creating the best homemade bubble solution can be a fun and rewarding activity for kids of all ages. Making large, sturdy, and long-lasting bubbles requires a little experimentation with ingredients. In this bubble-making guide, we'll cover everything you need to know to make the perfect bubble solution for kids to blow giant bubbles. Test out two homemade bubble recipes and see which bubble mixture you like better. You can even turn it into a science experiment for older kids.

Easy Bubble Science for Kids

Before we try out an easy recipe for DIY bubble solution, let's understand the science behind bubbles. Bubbles are formed when a thin film of liquid (in this case, your bubble solution) traps a pocket of air inside it. The surface tension of the liquid film is what holds the bubble together. To create bigger and more durable bubbles, we need to improve the surface tension of the bubble solution.

DIY bubbles are fascinating and delightful for kids to explore, and they offer a perfect opportunity to introduce basic scientific concepts in a fun and interactive way. Instead of heading to the dollar store this summer for bubble solution, make a homemade solution!

What affects bubble size and longevity?

Blowing different types of bubbles: Kids can have fun blowing bubbles of various sizes and shapes. For larger bubbles, use a giant bubble wand or create your own using a loop of string attached to two sticks.

For smaller bubbles, use a traditional wand-experiment with blowing bubbles inside other bubbles or creating bubble snakes using a sock and a plastic bottle.

Why do bubbles have rainbows?

When light passes through a bubble, it can create vibrant colors on the surface of the bubble. This phenomenon, known as "interference," happens when light waves bounce off the inner and outer surfaces of the bubble's film. Kids can observe these colors by holding bubbles up to the sunlight.

Make bubble sculptures:

Encourage kids to experiment with creating bubble sculptures by using various materials to shape and mold the bubbles. For instance, a bubble can be trapped inside a straw or on the edge of a pipe cleaner, forming different shapes. Try these bubble tower cups!

Make Bubble Wands or Bubble Shapes:

Can you make different shape bubbles? Try this fun bubble STEM activity! Make geometric shape DIY bubble wands, and then try these 3D bubble shape frames.

Try bubble painting:

Kids can use colored bubble solutions or add food coloring to their bubbles to create beautiful bubble art on paper. They can blow bubbles directly onto the paper, catch them on the bubble wand, and then press them onto it. Add this bubble activity to your summer bucket list!

Bubble volcanoes:

Create a fun bubble volcano by mixing baking soda and vinegar inside a container. Add bubble solution to the mix, creating a bubbly eruption like a real volcano. Take it outside too!

Through bubble science, kids can explore concepts like surface tension, water evaporation, light interference, and more in a playful and hands-on way. Encourage them to ask questions, make predictions, and conduct simple experiments to deepen their understanding of the science behind bubbles. Most importantly, let them have fun while learning and exploring this magical world of bubbles!

Now, let's make a homemade bubble solution!

Is Glycerin or Corn Syrup Better for Bubble Solution

Using either glycerin or corn syrup as an extra ingredient in your own homemade bubble solution can enhance the quality of the bubbles, but each has its advantages and disadvantages. Here's why you might choose glycerin over corn syrup:

1. Bubble Strength and Longevity: For strong bubbles, glycerin is generally more effective than corn syrup in increasing the strength and longevity of bubbles. Glycerin is a clear, odorless liquid that is highly viscous. Adding to the bubble solution increases the thickness (viscosity) of the liquid film, making the bubbles more durable and less prone to popping quickly. This is especially important for creating big bubbles that can withstand gentle handling and last longer before evaporating.

2. Non-Sticky Solution: One advantage of glycerin is that it leaves less residue compared to corn syrup. Corn syrup can make the bubble solution slightly sticky, which may be undesirable for some users, especially when bubbles land on surfaces or skin. Glycerin, on the other hand, is less likely to leave a sticky residue, resulting in a cleaner and more pleasant bubble-blowing experience.

3. Better Performance in Dry Conditions: Glycerin-based bubble solutions tend to perform better in dry weather or low humidity conditions. When the air is dry, bubbles made with glycerin are less likely to evaporate quickly, allowing them to last longer and float in the air gracefully. In contrast, corn syrup might not provide the same level of performance in dry conditions due to its stickiness and lower viscosity.

4. Easy to Find and Mix: Glycerin is widely available in most drugstores, supermarkets, or online, making it easily accessible for creating bubble solutions. It also blends well with water and dish soap, resulting in a smooth mixture without much effort.

While glycerin has these advantages, it's important to note that corn syrup can still be a viable option for making bubble solutions. Corn syrup is readily available and can also improve the strength of bubbles, although to a slightly lesser extent compared to glycerin.

Additionally, some people prefer using corn syrup because it is food-safe and non-toxic, which may be a consideration if young children are involved in bubble play.

Ultimately, the choice between glycerin and corn syrup comes down to personal preference and the desired properties of the bubble solution. Both ingredients can enhance the homemade bubble recipe, and it's fun to experiment with different proportions to find the best recipe for your kids to blow the biggest bubbles!

Make a Bubble Science Fair Project

Experiment with both types of bubble solution and use your finding to create a science fair project or presentation. Learn more about setting up science fair projects and creating science fair boards to get started.

How to Make Bubble Solution with Glycerin

Glycerin helps create strong, long-lasting bubbles that are perfect for bubble play. Here's a simple recipe to make your own bubble solution using glycerin:

Basic Ingredients and Supplies Needed:

1 cup water

1/4 cup dishwashing liquid (mild and free from additives like moisturizers)

2 tablespoons glycerin

Mixing container

Measuring cups or spoons

Bubble wands or blowers

Instructions:

1. Gather your ingredients and equipment.

2. Measure the water and pour it into the mixing container.

3. Add the dish soap to the water. Make sure to choose a mild dish soap without any added moisturizers or lotions, as these can affect bubble formation.

4. Measure the glycerin and add it to the mixture. Glycerin is often found in the baking or pharmacy section of stores.

5. Gently stir the ingredients together. Avoid creating too many bubbles or foam while stirring, as this can affect the quality of your bubble solution.

6. Let the bubble solution rest for at least an hour or even overnight. Allowing the ingredients to blend and settle improves the performance of the bubbles.

7. Test the bubble solution by using your bubble wands or blowers to blow bubbles. Check if the bubbles are sturdy and long-lasting.

8. If the bubbles don't meet your expectations, you can adjust the proportions of the ingredients. For stronger bubbles, you can add a bit more glycerin. For larger bubbles, you can experiment with adding more soap.

9. Once you are satisfied with the bubble solution, store any leftover bubble solution mixture in an airtight container. Label the container and keep it in a cool, dry place for future use.

10. Before each use, give the container a gentle shake to remix the ingredients.

How to Make Bubble Solution with Corn Syrup

Making a homemade bubble solution with corn syrup is another excellent option for creating sturdy and long-lasting bubbles. Corn syrup adds viscosity to the solution, making the bubbles more robust and less prone to popping quickly. Here's a simple recipe for making a bubble solution using corn syrup:
Watch the video tutorial here for bubble solution with corn syrup.
Basic Ingredients and Supplies Needed:

1 cup water

1/4 cup dishwashing liquid (mild and free from additives like moisturizers)

2 tablespoons corn syrup

Mixing container

Measuring cups or spoons

Bubble wands or blowers

Instructions:

1. Gather your ingredients and equipment.

2. Measure the water and pour it into the mixing container.

3. Add the dish soap to the water. Choose a mild dish soap without any added moisturizers or lotions for the best bubble performance.

4. Measure the corn syrup and add it to the mixture. Corn syrup is readily available in most grocery stores.

5. Gently stir the ingredients together. Be careful not to create too many bubbles or foam while stirring, as this can affect the quality of your bubble solution.

6. Let the bubble solution rest for at least an hour or even overnight. Allowing the ingredients to blend and settle will improve the bubbles' performance.

7. Test the bubble solution by using your bubble wands or blowers to blow bubbles. Check if the bubbles are strong and long-lasting.

8. If the bubbles are not up to your expectations, you can adjust the proportions of the ingredients. For more durable bubbles, you can add a bit more corn syrup. For larger bubbles, you can experiment with adding more dish soap.

9. Once you are satisfied with the bubble solution, store any leftover mixture in an airtight container. Label the container and keep it in a cool, dry place for future use.

10. Before each use, give the container a gentle shake to remix the ingredients.

Tips for Homemade Bubble Solution Recipes

Follow these tips for the best results when making a DIY bubble solution recipe:

If possible, use distilled water, as plain water (tap) may contain impurities affecting bubble performance.

Experiment with different bubble wands or an unusual bubble blower to create various sizes and shapes.

Encourage kids to blow bubbles gently to avoid popping them too quickly.

Bubble solutions tend to perform better on humid days since moisture in the air helps maintain their shape and prevents them from drying out too quickly.

For added fun, add food coloring to the bubble solution to create colorful bubbles.

Remember that bubble solutions work best when they are fresh. If you notice the bubbles losing their quality over time, it might be time to make a new batch.

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you're looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

90+ classic science activities with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information. NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!

Best science practices posters and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!

Be a Collector activities pack introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?

Know the Words Science vocabulary pack includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!

My science journal writing prompts explore what it means to be a scientist!!

Bonus STEAM Project Pack: Art meets science with doable projects!

Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to make homemade bubble solution recpes two ways! Should you use Glycerin or corn syrup to make giant bubbles?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Geometric Bubble Activity

A few quick supplies and you are good to go. You can use a pre-made bubble solution or make your own homemade bubble solution recipe.

YOU WILL NEED

HOW TO MAKE BUBBLE SHAPES

Can you blow geometric shape bubbles? Let's find out!

Use your pipe cleaners to form different shapes from bubbles. You can either make your shapes 2D or 3D.
See how to make 3D bubble wands here.
If you make your shapes 3D, you can use them as a structure for making shaped bubbles, otherwise...

Bubbles will come out round no matter what shape the wand is.

Want to make bouncing bubbles?

Want to stick a skewer through a bubble without popping it?

Want to blow bubbles out of weird objects?

Ask your kids if they think the bubbles will all come out the same shape or if they think they will come out in different shapes. Most young kids will say that the bubbles will come out in the same shape as the bubble wand.

Science with young kids is all about asking questions! Encourage questions, exploration, and self-discovery!

What are Geometric Shapes?

Kids are introduced to Geometric shapes as basic two-dimensional figures early on to help them understand spatial relationships, symmetry, and basic mathematical concepts.

Here are some popular geometric shapes for kids:

Circle: A simple closed curve where all points are equidistant from the center.

Square: A four-sided polygon with all sides of equal length and all interior angles at 90 degrees.

Triangle: A three-sided polygon with various types, including equilateral (all sides and angles equal), isosceles (two sides and two angles equal), and scalene (all sides and angles different).

Rectangle: A four-sided polygon with opposite sides of equal length and all interior angles at 90 degrees.

Oval: Similar to a circle but stretched horizontally or vertically, creating an elongated shape.

Pentagon: A five-sided polygon with five interior angles and five sides.

Hexagon: A six-sided polygon with six interior angles and six sides.

Octagon: An eight-sided polygon with eight interior angles and eight sides.

Heart: A symmetrical shape that resembles a heart symbol.

Star: A shape with five or more points and symmetrical arms extending from a central point.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Geometric Bubble Activity - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Set up a fun geometric bubble activity for the kids using everyday items. Can you make different shape bubbles? Easy STEM challenge for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Can you paint with bubbles? Absolutely! Bubble painting is a super fun process art activity that kids of all ages can enjoy. This creative art activity involves blowing bubbles through a straw or a bubble wand onto paper! No two paintings will be alike! You can use our homemade bubble solution or store-bought solution. It's a fantastic way to explore colors and textures. We love easy painting ideas for kids!

What Is Process Art?

Bubble painting is process art! Process art focuses on the creative process rather than the final product or outcome. It emphasizes exploration, experimentation, and self-expression, allowing kids to freely engage with art materials without producing something specific. In process art, the journey of creating is more important than the destination, and there is no right or wrong way to do it.

Emphasis on Exploration: Process art encourages children to explore various art materials, tools, and techniques without rigid guidelines or rules. This exploration allows kids to discover new possibilities and better understand art materials and their properties.

Open-Ended Projects: Process art projects are typically open-ended, meaning no specific instructions or end goals exist. Kids can interpret the activity in their own way, leading to a wide range of unique outcomes encouraging self-confidence and individuality!

Focus on the Journey, Not the Destination: Unlike product-focused art activities where the end result is the primary focus, process art prioritizes the journey of creating. The focus is on the joy throughout the artistic process.

Mess and Experimentation: Process art often involves messy materials and allows kids to experiment with different techniques and materials. This fosters a sense of exploration and a willingness to take risks in their creative endeavors.

Process-Oriented Language: You can use process-oriented language, such as "Tell me about your artwork" or "How did you create this?" rather than evaluating or judging the artwork.

Watch this Process Art Video Tutorial:

Bubble Painting

Want to have more fun with bubbles? Check out our awesome bubble science experiments!

Supplies:

NOTE: For more colorful bubbles, use liquid watercolors, tempera paint, or acrylic paint. Make sure you use washable paint colors!

Bubble Solution (Here's our homemade bubble solution recipe)

Food Dye or Coloring

Bubble Wands or Straws

Paper (Card stock or watercolor paper is preferable)

Bowls or Plastic Cups

Tip: For mixing up different colors, try using a muffin pan!

How To Paint With Bubbles

TIP: Cover your workspace with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth (shower curtain) to protect it from any paint spills or splatters. Bubble painting can get a bit messy, so it's a good idea to be prepared with a towel or paper towel. Wear old clothes if possible.

STEP 1: Pour bubble solution into a shallow bowl (use plastic cups, a muffin pan, or whatever else is handy).

STEP 2: Add about 10 drops of food coloring and mix! Remember, for brighter colors, you can use washable tempera or acrylic paint.

NOTE: Mix the bubble solution and color gently so that you don't create too many bubbles.

STEP 3: Use a bubble wand or the end of the straw to blow bubbles onto a sheet of paper! While card stock (or watercolor paper) is preferable because it will hold up to the liquid, you can still have lots of fun with plain computer printer paper. When the bubbles pop, they leave behind fun patterns and designs.

TIP: You can gently push down on the top of the bubbles to pop them quicker and create splatters!

Bubble Painting Tips

1. Encourage experimentation: Let kids try different blowing techniques and explore how the bubble patterns change with varying amounts of paint and soap in the solution.

2. Explore other surfaces: Bubble painting can be done on various surfaces, such as fabric, cardboard, or even rocks. This allows kids to experiment with different textures and materials.

3. Use different bubble wands: Instead of using standard drinking straws, use other bubble wands with various shapes and sizes to create unique patterns.

4. Incorporate learning: You can turn bubble painting into a learning activity by discussing colors, mixing primary colors to create secondary colors, or discussing the science behind bubbles and how they form.

More Fun Bubble Activities to Try

Helpful Art Resources

Here are a few resources to help you introduce process art more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

More Fun Art Projects

Click on the image below or on the link for fun and doable painting ideas for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to make your own bubble paint and do some bubble painting for an aweseome kids craft or process art activity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is it about blowing bubbles? You can blow bubbles year round, indoors or outdoors too! Making bubbles is definitely on our list of simple science experiments for kids. Mix up your own inexpensive bubble solution, and blow out a gigantic bubble snake! How big can you get it? Take the fun outdoors this summer as you learn all about the science behind bubbles for kids.

Make Bubble Snakes For Summer

This simple to set up bubble activity is one of our favorite summer science activities that you can do outdoors! There is so many fun things you can do with bubble mixture!

Try bubble painting, make 3D bubble shapes and even have a go at bouncing bubbles!

Bubbles are fascinating and fun to play with, especially when we blow them through a sock! But have you ever wondered how these magical bubbles are formed? Read on to find out...

Bubble Science

The science behind how bubbles are made is quite simple. When we dip the sock into a soapy solution and blow into it, we create a thin film of soapy water on the surface of the sock.

This film is made up of soap molecules, which have a special property called surface tension. Surface tension is like a stretchy skin that holds the soapy water together. You can learn more about surface tension here.

When we blow air through the sock, it creates hundreds of small pockets of air inside the film
as it passes through the fabric. The surface tension keeps the bubble from popping right away, allowing it to create one giant long bubble snake!

Helpful Science Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

This free printable summer science guide comes with handy links to bookmark and a summer-themed science process pack with science journal pages. Hang it on the fridge or bulletin board for a reminder for fun things to do this summer!

Bubble Snakes

Supplies:

Instructions:

STEP 1: Cut the bottom off your plastic bottle.

STEP 2: Put the sock on the bottom of the bottle, securing it with the rubber band.

STEP 3: Mix a bubble solution of 1/2 cup of dish soap, 1 1/2 cups of water, and 2 teaspoons sugar.
Also check out how to make bubble solution with glycerin or corn syrup.
STEP 4: Dip your sock into the bubble solution and blow!

How big can you get your bubble snakes?

What is it that keeps all those bubbles clinging to one another for so long? Surface tension, of course!

More Fun Things To Do Outdoors

Make a erupting watermelon volcano.

Take the baking soda and vinegar into the sandbox.

Build your own solar oven and toast s'mores.

Enjoy ice cream in a bag or a slushie sorbet!

Make an exploding coke and mentos reaction.

From under the sea to deep space...4th of July to backyard art, we have a ton of summer activities and experiments you can do inside or outside!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mix up your own inexpensive bubble solution, and blow out a gigantic bubble snake! How big can you get it?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kids love blowing bubbles, so learning while you play, doesn't get any better with this easy-to-set-up 3D bubble shapes activity-a fantastic STEM project for kids using a few simple ingredients. Follow our easy bubble solution recipe and make your own homemade 3D bubble shapes too! There's nothing better than fun science any time of the year!

Blowing Bubbles

Bubbles, bubble blowing, homemade bubble wands, and 3D bubble structures are all incredible ways to explore bubble science any day of the year. Make your own homemade bubble solution or use a store-bought bubble solution.

Have fun crafting these 3D bubble shape structures and flex those geometry and STEM skills. Can you make a 3D bubble? How do bubbles work?
ALSO, CHECK OUT:
Make 3D Bubble Shapes Activity

A few quick supplies and you are good to go. You can use a pre-made bubble solution or make your own homemade one. We have the BEST Bubble Solution Recipe here with plenty of commonly asked questions, answered for you!

YOU WILL NEED

CAN YOU MAKE DIFFERENT BUBBLE SHAPES?

Can you make and blow 3D shape bubbles? Let's find out!

Use your pipe cleaners and straws to form 3D shapes such as a pyramid or cube. You can also hot glue straws together if you don't want to use pipe cleaners to join the straws.

You can either make your shapes 2D or 3D. See how to make 2D bubble wands here.

3D Shapes Facts for Kids

If you make your bubble wand shapes 3D, you can use them as a structure for making shaped bubbles but...
ASK IT: Will the bubble shapes remain the same spherical shape or not?
Ask your kids if they think the bubbles will all come out the same every time or if they think they will come out in different shapes. Most young kids will say that the bubbles will come out in different shapes depending on their bubble wand.

What are 3D shapes?

A 3D shape, also known as a three-dimensional shape, is a geometric figure that has three dimensions: length, width, and height. It is an object that takes up space and has volume. For kids, understanding 3D shapes can be made easier by relating them to real-life objects they encounter daily. Here are some common 3D shapes:

Cube: A cube has six equal square faces, and all its edges are the same length. It's like a box or a dice.

Sphere: A sphere is a perfectly round shape, like a ball or a globe.

Cylinder: A cylinder has two circular faces connected by a curved surface. It looks like a can or a tube.

Cone: A cone has a circular base and a pointed tip. It resembles an ice cream cone.

Pyramid: A pyramid has a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a single point on top. Think of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Rectangular Prism: This has six rectangular faces, and opposite faces are equal in size and shape. It's similar to a rectangular box.

Triangular Prism: A triangular prism has two triangular bases connected by three rectangular faces.

When teaching 3D shapes to kids, hands-on activities and visual aids can be helpful like this bubble activity! You can also make this fun shape ornaments.

Invite the kids to experiment with the homemade bubble structures, wands, and shapes to explore bubble science.

Can Bubble Be Different Shapes?

Did you find that your bubbles always ended up being blown into a sphere shape? Why is that? It's all due to surface tension.

A bubble is formed when air gets trapped inside the bubble solution. The air tries to push its way out of the bubble, but the liquid in the bubble solution wants the least amount of surface area due to the clinging properties of liquid molecules.

Water molecules prefer bonding with other water molecules, so water gathers in drops instead of spreading out.

A sphere is the least amount of surface area for the volume of what is contained inside the sphere (in this case, air). So bubbles will always form circles no matter the shape of the bubble wand.
Want to learn more about Bubble Science? Click here!
More Fun Science Activities

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Can you make bubbles different shapes? Find out how to make your own cool 3D bubble wands and explore the science of bubbles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
LEGO and math go together perfectly, and these easy-to-print and free LEGO Math challenge cards are a natural way to explore math! Kids love to build and play with LEGO! Basic bricks are fantastic for this kindergarten and early elementary LEGO math activity. Pack it all up in a bag or add them to a ring, and you have the perfect quiet time, early finisher, math center, or on-the-go activity, too! We love simple LEGO learning. It is easy with these building ideas!

LEGO MATH CHALLENGE CARDS FOR BASIC BRICKS

Learning is way more fun when you can use hands-on materials, especially materials your kid already loves. We LOVE LEGO! Why not turn those basic bricks into a fun and accessible hands-on math activity? These LEGO math cards are perfect for kids working on adding, subtracting, building towers, and more.

There are endless ways to learn with LEGO, and we have the best brick building LEGO activities to prove it.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Magnetic LEGO Tray and Building Challenge Cards

Why Use LEGO for Learning Math?

Incorporating LEGO into math lessons can make math more accessible, enjoyable, and memorable for children. It promotes a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and encourages a positive attitude toward the subject, which can be valuable for their educational development.

Hands-On Learning: LEGO bricks provide a tangible, hands-on experience that helps children grasp abstract mathematical concepts more effectively. They can physically manipulate and arrange bricks to visualize math problems and solutions.

Engagement and Motivation: Many children find LEGO building highly engaging and enjoyable. Incorporating LEGO into math lessons can make the subject more appealing and motivate students to participate actively in their learning.

Concrete Representation: LEGO models can represent mathematical ideas and problems in a concrete way. For example, children can use bricks to represent quantities, fractions, or geometric shapes, making these concepts more accessible.

Problem Solving: LEGO encourages problem-solving and critical thinking. Kids can use bricks to solve math problems, create puzzles, or devise their own mathematical challenges, fostering a deeper understanding of math.

Visualization: LEGO can help children visualize abstract mathematical concepts like multiplication, division, and geometry. It allows them to see the relationships between numbers, shapes, and measurements.

Math in Real Life: Integrating LEGO into math lessons allows students to apply math to real-world scenarios. They can use LEGO to measure, calculate, and solve problems that they might encounter in everyday life.

LEGO Math Printable

Click on the big box below or here to download your copy of our LEGO math challenge cards! Plus you can download your copy of our travel building challenge cards here.

Print them in color or black and white. You can cut and laminate them too! Add everything to a pencil bag, and you have a great activity to toss in your bag for on the go.
Grab the FREE LEGO Math Challenge Pack Here!
YOU WILL NEED:

I suggest adding 20 bricks of each of the five basic colors to your bag or having them ready in a bin. Plus, you have an excellent number of 100 for kids to count, too!

You can purchase bricks straight from LEGO.com here, or you can buy LEGO Classic sets, like this one, which is a fantastic way to supplement your loose brick collection.

20 red bricks

20 green bricks

20 blue bricks

20 orange bricks

20 yellow bricks

This LEGO math activity will keep your kids learning and having fun while doing it! If you need to keep up skills over a school vacation or homeschool and have access to create your own learning activities, the LEGO math challenge cards will be a great addition! Add them to a hundred chart activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LEGO Math Challenge Cards | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LEGO and math pair perfectly! FREE LEGO math challenge cards are a great way to practice math skills for hands-on learning!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
LEGO and math go together perfectly, and these easy-to-print and free LEGO Math challenge cards are a natural way to explore math! Kids love to build and play with LEGO! Basic bricks are fantastic for this kindergarten and early elementary LEGO math activity. Pack it all up in a bag or add them to a ring, and you have the perfect quiet time, early finisher, math center, or on-the-go activity, too! We love simple LEGO learning. It is easy with these building ideas!

LEGO MATH CHALLENGE CARDS FOR BASIC BRICKS

Learning is way more fun when you can use hands-on materials, especially materials your kid already loves. We LOVE LEGO! Why not turn those basic bricks into a fun and accessible hands-on math activity? These LEGO math cards are perfect for kids working on adding, subtracting, building towers, and more.

There are endless ways to learn with LEGO, and we have the best brick building LEGO activities to prove it.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Magnetic LEGO Tray and Building Challenge Cards

Why Use LEGO for Learning Math?

Incorporating LEGO into math lessons can make math more accessible, enjoyable, and memorable for children. It promotes a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and encourages a positive attitude toward the subject, which can be valuable for their educational development.

Hands-On Learning: LEGO bricks provide a tangible, hands-on experience that helps children grasp abstract mathematical concepts more effectively. They can physically manipulate and arrange bricks to visualize math problems and solutions.

Engagement and Motivation: Many children find LEGO building highly engaging and enjoyable. Incorporating LEGO into math lessons can make the subject more appealing and motivate students to participate actively in their learning.

Concrete Representation: LEGO models can represent mathematical ideas and problems in a concrete way. For example, children can use bricks to represent quantities, fractions, or geometric shapes, making these concepts more accessible.

Problem Solving: LEGO encourages problem-solving and critical thinking. Kids can use bricks to solve math problems, create puzzles, or devise their own mathematical challenges, fostering a deeper understanding of math.

Visualization: LEGO can help children visualize abstract mathematical concepts like multiplication, division, and geometry. It allows them to see the relationships between numbers, shapes, and measurements.

Math in Real Life: Integrating LEGO into math lessons allows students to apply math to real-world scenarios. They can use LEGO to measure, calculate, and solve problems that they might encounter in everyday life.

LEGO Math Printable

Click on the big box below or here to download your copy of our LEGO math challenge cards! Plus you can download your copy of our travel building challenge cards here.

Print them in color or black and white. You can cut and laminate them too! Add everything to a pencil bag, and you have a great activity to toss in your bag for on the go.
Grab the FREE LEGO Math Challenge Pack Here!
YOU WILL NEED:

I suggest adding 20 bricks of each of the five basic colors to your bag or having them ready in a bin. Plus, you have an excellent number of 100 for kids to count, too!

You can purchase bricks straight from LEGO.com here, or you can buy LEGO Classic sets, like this one, which is a fantastic way to supplement your loose brick collection.

20 red bricks

20 green bricks

20 blue bricks

20 orange bricks

20 yellow bricks

This LEGO math activity will keep your kids learning and having fun while doing it! If you need to keep up skills over a school vacation or homeschool and have access to create your own learning activities, the LEGO math challenge cards will be a great addition! Add them to a hundred chart activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LEGO Math Challenge Cards | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LEGO and math pair perfectly! FREE LEGO math challenge cards are a great way to practice math skills for hands-on learning!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
LEGO and math go together perfectly, and these easy-to-print and free LEGO Math challenge cards are a natural way to explore math! Kids love to build and play with LEGO! Basic bricks are fantastic for this kindergarten and early elementary LEGO math activity. Pack it all up in a bag or add them to a ring, and you have the perfect quiet time, early finisher, math center, or on-the-go activity, too! We love simple LEGO learning. It is easy with these building ideas!

LEGO MATH CHALLENGE CARDS FOR BASIC BRICKS

Learning is way more fun when you can use hands-on materials, especially materials your kid already loves. We LOVE LEGO! Why not turn those basic bricks into a fun and accessible hands-on math activity? These LEGO math cards are perfect for kids working on adding, subtracting, building towers, and more.

There are endless ways to learn with LEGO, and we have the best brick building LEGO activities to prove it.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Magnetic LEGO Tray and Building Challenge Cards

Why Use LEGO for Learning Math?

Incorporating LEGO into math lessons can make math more accessible, enjoyable, and memorable for children. It promotes a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and encourages a positive attitude toward the subject, which can be valuable for their educational development.

Hands-On Learning: LEGO bricks provide a tangible, hands-on experience that helps children grasp abstract mathematical concepts more effectively. They can physically manipulate and arrange bricks to visualize math problems and solutions.

Engagement and Motivation: Many children find LEGO building highly engaging and enjoyable. Incorporating LEGO into math lessons can make the subject more appealing and motivate students to participate actively in their learning.

Concrete Representation: LEGO models can represent mathematical ideas and problems in a concrete way. For example, children can use bricks to represent quantities, fractions, or geometric shapes, making these concepts more accessible.

Problem Solving: LEGO encourages problem-solving and critical thinking. Kids can use bricks to solve math problems, create puzzles, or devise their own mathematical challenges, fostering a deeper understanding of math.

Visualization: LEGO can help children visualize abstract mathematical concepts like multiplication, division, and geometry. It allows them to see the relationships between numbers, shapes, and measurements.

Math in Real Life: Integrating LEGO into math lessons allows students to apply math to real-world scenarios. They can use LEGO to measure, calculate, and solve problems that they might encounter in everyday life.

LEGO Math Printable

Click on the big box below or here to download your copy of our LEGO math challenge cards! Plus you can download your copy of our travel building challenge cards here.

Print them in color or black and white. You can cut and laminate them too! Add everything to a pencil bag, and you have a great activity to toss in your bag for on the go.
Grab the FREE LEGO Math Challenge Pack Here!
YOU WILL NEED:

I suggest adding 20 bricks of each of the five basic colors to your bag or having them ready in a bin. Plus, you have an excellent number of 100 for kids to count, too!

You can purchase bricks straight from LEGO.com here, or you can buy LEGO Classic sets, like this one, which is a fantastic way to supplement your loose brick collection.

20 red bricks

20 green bricks

20 blue bricks

20 orange bricks

20 yellow bricks

This LEGO math activity will keep your kids learning and having fun while doing it! If you need to keep up skills over a school vacation or homeschool and have access to create your own learning activities, the LEGO math challenge cards will be a great addition! Add them to a hundred chart activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LEGO Math Challenge Cards | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LEGO and math pair perfectly! FREE LEGO math challenge cards are a great way to practice math skills for hands-on learning!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
20 Early Learning Tips for Everyone!

Make sure to check out this early learning resource tips page to find incredible math, literacy, science, and fine motor activities for young learners.

Whether you are distance learning, homeschooling, or setting up your lesson plans, I havelearning tips and ideas you will love and will help kids enjoy math in a playful and hands-on way!

Make sure to incorporate these easy ideas with our printable math worksheets below.

1. Build numbers with loose parts or playdough.

2. Go on a number hunt or counting hunt (silverware or junk drawer).

3. Measure things with a ruler or try out non-standard measurement. Go on a math scavenger hunt.

4. Practice one-to-one counting with loose change.

5. Explore more and less with groups of favorite toys.

6. Investigate what's heavier with items around the house.

7. Make a math sensory bin; pull out the measuring cups and water or rice.

8. What is longer? Measure the lengths and comaper different objects with this free printable.

9. What is heavier? Explore comparing weight with this free printable math worksheet.

10. Free printable ten frame pack and activities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
First Grade Math Worksheets - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find fun ways to explore math! Our math worksheets are the perfect addition to your lesson plans for PreK, K, and 1st grade.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Explore number sense from 1 to 10, and kindergarten math activities all using this free ten frame printable sheet and favorite counters like LEGO bricks! What is number sense? What is a ten frame math grid? How do you use ten frame printable sheets? Find all the answers below as well as free ten frame printable pack to get you started!

What is Number Sense?

Number sense is crucial for kids learning math because it forms the foundation for future math success. As a result, kids with good number sense ultimately have a more intuitive feel for numbers and math concepts.

Here are some reasons why number sense is so important for kids:

1. Basic Understanding of Numbers: Number sense helps kids grasp the basicl concept of quantity and the meaning behind numbers. It allows them to recognize that "3" represents three items, whether they are apples, fingers, or any other objects.

2. Flexible Thinking: When kids develop number sense, they can think flexibly about numbers. They understand that numbers can be composed and decomposed in various ways. For example, they recognize that the number 8 can be made up of 5 and 3, 2 and 6, or 4 and 4.

3. Mental Math Skills: Strong number sense enables children to perform mental calculations easily. They can more easily add, subtract, multiply, or divide numbers mentally.

4. Estimation: Number sense allows children to estimate quantities quickly and accurately. They can make reasonable guesses about the size of a group of objects without counting them individually.

5. Problem-Solving: When children have a solid understanding of numbers, they can approach various math problems with confidence. Number sense helps them choose appropriate strategies and make sense of solutions.

6. Mathematical Relationships: Number sense lays the groundwork for understanding mathematical relationships, such as greater than, less than, and equal to.

7. Real-World Applications: Number sense has practical applications in everyday life, such as cooking and baking or saving money to buy something special. Of course, later in life, finances and budgeting are important too.

8. Mathematical Fluency: Number sense contributes to mathematical fluency, which means quickly and accurately recalling basic math facts. This is super important as math concepts increase in difficulty.

9. Reduces Math Anxiety: Developing number sense early on can help reduce math anxiety in kids. When they feel confident in their understanding of numbers, they are more likely to associate positive feelings with math.

10. Critical for Higher Math Concepts: As children progress to higher levels of math, such as algebra, geometry, and calculus, a strong number sense becomes even more critical.

What is a Math Grid?

A ten frame printable math grid is a visual tool used to help young kids develop number sense, counting skills, and basic math concepts.

It consists of a grid with two rows, each containing five boxes, for a total of ten boxes. These boxes are designed to represent numbers from 1 to 10 in a structured and organized manner.

Each box in the grid represents one object, such as a dot, a circle, a counter, or any other symbol that children can easily manipulate. Here we are using LEGO or Duplo bricks, a favorite!

The ten frame helps kids visualize numbers, understand number relationships, and perform basic operations like addition and subtraction.

You can use ten frame printable math grids in various, hands-on math activities to engage young kids. Plus, you can add fun themes for holidays and seasons depending on the items you choose to count with!

You'll find several types of ten frame printable sheets or math grids below, for numbers 1-10, to work on number sense, comparing numbers, adding, and substracting!

How to Use a Ten Frame Printable

Using a ten frame math grid is an excellent way to introduce young kids to basic math concepts, particularly for counting, addition, and subtraction. Ten frames provide a visual and hands-on tool that helps children develop a strong foundation in number sense. Here's how you can use a ten frame math grid with young kids:

Introduce the Ten Frame

Introduce the concept of ten frames to kids and show them how they work.

STEP 1: Explain that it is a grid with two rows, each containing five boxes. The boxes are meant to represent numbers from 1 to 10.

STEP 2: Place your counters in the boxes to demonstrate using a ten frame.

STEP 3: Then, have them practice placing counters or objects as you call out a number or use the free printable pack with numbered sheets to practice.

TIP: Use fun counters for different holidays and seasons to keep it fresh and engaging for kids.

Ten Frame Activity Ideas

Counting: Use the ten frame to help kids count numbers. For example, fill in the boxes from 1 to 10 sequentially, pointing at each box as you count. This helps children understand the relationship between numbers and the arrangement of ten frames.

Subitizing: Subitizing is recognizing the number of objects in a set without counting. Use the ten frame to show different arrangements of counters or objects and ask kids to quickly identify the number without counting.

Addition: Introduce addition using the ten frame. For example, to add 3 + 2, place 3 counters in one row and 2 counters in the second row. Help kids count all the objects together, emphasizing that the full ten frame grid represents the total (in this case, 5).

Subtraction: Similarly, use the ten frame grid for subtraction. For 8 - 3, fill the ten frame with 8 counters and then have kids remove three counters, counting how many are left.

Visualizing Numbers: Ten frames help children visualize numbers and understand their composition. For example, show them that 6 counters can be represented as 5 + 1 or 2 + 4, reinforcing the idea of number combinations.

Playing Games: Make learning fun by turning activities into games. For instance, have kids roll a die and represent the number rolled using the ten frame. If using two dice, grab an additional ten frame.

Comparing Numbers: You can also use ten frames to compare numbers. For instance, use two ten frames with different numbers of counters and ask kids to determine which one is greater or smaller.

Free Ten Frame Printable Math Grids

Use the sheets included in the printable ten frame math grid pack for the following activities:

Practice Number Sense

Practice Counting

Practice Adding and Subtracting

Practice Comparing Numbers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ten Frame Printable (Free) | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use this free ten frame printable pack with math grids to explore number sense, counting, adding, subtracting, and comparing numbers!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free LEGO Tower Game | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grab this FREE LEGO tower game you can print and play. Perfect for math activities as well as a LEGO challenge game for an indoor day!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free LEGO Tower Game | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grab this FREE LEGO tower game you can print and play. Perfect for math activities as well as a LEGO challenge game for an indoor day!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free LEGO Tower Game | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grab this FREE LEGO tower game you can print and play. Perfect for math activities as well as a LEGO challenge game for an indoor day!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most of these homemade recipes use only two or three common household ingredients! Click on the links below to go straight to the full recipe.

Clean mud is a crazy combination of soap, toilet paper, and water, but it is a cool sensory recipe! Learn how to make clean mud for a messy activity!

Take the classic oobleck recipe and give it a twist! Go ahead and add these very realistic fake worms for sensational sensory play! This is definitely a messy play activity for kids.

Best sensory recipe with flour and oil! Cloud dough has an amazing texture, crumbly and moldable simultaneously, and it's so easy to make! It can be messy but cleans up easily and feels amazing on the hands. One of our favorite two-ingredient sensory recipes! Plus you can make it taste-safe if needed.

MORE FUN CLOUD DOUGH RECIPES

So easy and fun to make, this sensory recipe is very similar to our cloud dough recipe. This sand dough uses just three simple ingredients and has a cool new texture. It also makes a great sensory bin filler too!

Have fun with this quick and easy sensory recipe, and learn how to make oobleck! Great for both young and older kids, with just two ingredients! The classic Oobleck recipe is a must-try sensory and science activity for all ages!

FUN VARIATIONS OF OOBLECK

Slime is one of our top sensory activities of all time! We have many homemade slime recipes to check out, ranging from the traditional borax or liquid starch slime to taste-safe/borax-free recipes. Learn everything you need to know about making the best slime out there!

OUR BASIC SLIME RECIPES

Taste-safe, borax-free, and somewhat edible (not snack-able) slime recipes are a great resource for kids who love to make homemade slime!

Edible slime is non-toxic and chemical-free. However, is it a slimy snack for your kids to chow down on? NO. Although everything is labeled edible, I think these slime recipes are TASTE-SAFE.

If your kids taste it, they will be safe. That said, some of these recipes will be tastier than others. Some kiddos will naturally want to taste slime, and some won't. Always keep the needs of your kids in mind when making slime!

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE EDIBLE SLIME RECIPES

Playdough is heaps of fun for young kids to play with. Simple and easy to make, and inexpensive is a plus too! Our homemade playdough recipes are easy to customize to suit your kids' interests, seasonal themes, or holidays!

FAVORITE PLAYDOUGH RECIPES:

FUN PLAYDOUGH MATS

Are you looking for fun things to do with playdough and easy-to-print recipes? Check out our Printable Playdough Pack!

Kinetic sand is a neat sensory play material because it has a bit of movement. It's still moldable, shapeable, and squishable! Find out how to make your own kinetic sand at home with our kinetic sand recipe.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Colored Kinetic Sand
There's nothing better than quick and easy sand foam sensory play! My favorite sensory activities are ones I can create with what I already have in the house. This super simple sensory recipe only uses two easy ingredients, shaving cream, and sand!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Easy Sensory Recipes for Messy Play Activities - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Simple sensory recipes that only use a few common ingredients. Find most of what you need for these homemade play recipes in the kitchen pantry.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We are just getting into the smaller sized LEGO here. Although my son loves to put together LEGO sets, we have a lot of fun with our own LEGO building ideas. Think outside the box, and try some new LEGO activities with classic bricks. There are so many early learning ideas built into these easy LEGO builds.

EASY THINGS TO BUILD WITH LEGO

LEGO BUILDING IDEAS

I am super excited that we are starting the journey into LEGO land. We love to sit and just build with a big box of classic bricks, but we also enjoy creating new LEGO builds like the ones below. Because LEGO is so versatile, you can really try out so many unique ideas. We have a great list of cool things to build with LEGO that are easy!
ALSO CHECK OUT: Unique LEGO Gifts For Kids
There are so many benefits to playing with LEGO!

Work on fine motor skills fitting together bricks and specialty pieces.

Develop visual and spatial skills through building projects and following directions.

Increase creativity through imaginative building ideas, no instructions needed.

Work on beginning engineering skills by testing ideas for different projects.

Practice simple math counting bricks, comparing sizes, and making patterns.

Improve confidence through exploring new ideas.

We even enjoy Lego STEM activities!

20 EASY LEGO BUILDS FOR KIDS

Click on the links below to access the simple LEGO instructions for each build.

Ever thought of building a picture of yourself using only LEGO bricks? All you need is a base plate and a handful of basic bricks. Make it as easy or complicated as your imagination wants.

Build a LEGO car that goes, with a fun Batman inspired building project. You can also make a rubber band car without LEGO.

Build an awesomeLEGO catapult using basic bricks for an easy STEM and physics activity. This is a fun homemade catapult just about everyone will want to make!

Try this simple and fun paper football game for both kids and adults. Make a paper football and add in some LEGO goal posts.

Build a robot, use LEGO bricks and the binary alphabet to code words and play a coding game. There are several fun ways to combine LEGO and simple screen free coding activities.

Make these cool LEGO Star Wars building ideas using basic bricks! Perfect for the Stars Wars fan!

Inspired by the Minion movies, build your own yellow Minions.

LEGO Tic Tac Toe! Who will win the treasure chest? Will it be the skeletons or the pirates? Make your own homemade LEGO tic tac toe board and find out.

I bet you never thought to pair your LEGO basic blocks with a cool chemical reaction. This is the perfect volcano experiment for hands-on learning that will keep your kids busy anytime.

Build a LEGO heart for Valentine's Day STEM. Learn about symmetry with an easy LEGO build. Also make a heart shaped marble maze for another building challenge!

Have you ever played skittles? How about a homemade skittles game made from LEGO? We did and we had a blast playing with it too!

Make some homemade slime and add in LEGO mini-figs for a fun search and find activity.

This fun LEGO snowflake ornament is easy to make and is great for an easy winter Lego building idea.

There really are so many fun ways to play with LEGO besides building with LEGO sets. This LEGO parachute for a mini-figure is an awesome indoor activity and a mini science lesson too!

Build a LEGO zip line to carry your favorite mini-fig. Try it with a pulley system added or with only LEGO bricks.

Make two simple Hex Bugs Lego habitats with your kids anytime!

Build a DIY LEGO marble maze. Can you make it through the maze from one end to the other?

Combine simple science and engineering with LEGO building for STEM activities that will provide hours of fun and laughs. Build a LEGO balloon car that really goes!

Put LEGO on a new level. The side of the fridge to be exact with a DIY LEGO board! Make a quick and easy magnetic board out of a LEGO baseplate to put on the refrigerator. Build vertically!

Here is another take on our marble maze. Build a LEGO marble runfor a simple STEM activity using basic bricks.

Which easy LEGO build will you try today?
EXPLORE. CREATE. BUILD. DISCOVER How do you store your LEGO Collection? Here's some ideas!
Have kids who love building? Click on the image below or on the link for awesome and easy building activities for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
20 Easy LEGO Builds - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fun Lego building ideas for Lego week or anytime! Easy Lego builds have so many benefits for kids. Try a new play idea!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We are just getting into the smaller sized LEGO here. Although my son loves to put together LEGO sets, we have a lot of fun with our own LEGO building ideas. Think outside the box, and try some new LEGO activities with classic bricks. There are so many early learning ideas built into these easy LEGO builds.

EASY THINGS TO BUILD WITH LEGO

LEGO BUILDING IDEAS

I am super excited that we are starting the journey into LEGO land. We love to sit and just build with a big box of classic bricks, but we also enjoy creating new LEGO builds like the ones below. Because LEGO is so versatile, you can really try out so many unique ideas. We have a great list of cool things to build with LEGO that are easy!
ALSO CHECK OUT: Unique LEGO Gifts For Kids
There are so many benefits to playing with LEGO!

Work on fine motor skills fitting together bricks and specialty pieces.

Develop visual and spatial skills through building projects and following directions.

Increase creativity through imaginative building ideas, no instructions needed.

Work on beginning engineering skills by testing ideas for different projects.

Practice simple math counting bricks, comparing sizes, and making patterns.

Improve confidence through exploring new ideas.

We even enjoy Lego STEM activities!

20 EASY LEGO BUILDS FOR KIDS

Click on the links below to access the simple LEGO instructions for each build.

Ever thought of building a picture of yourself using only LEGO bricks? All you need is a base plate and a handful of basic bricks. Make it as easy or complicated as your imagination wants.

Build a LEGO car that goes, with a fun Batman inspired building project. You can also make a rubber band car without LEGO.

Build an awesomeLEGO catapult using basic bricks for an easy STEM and physics activity. This is a fun homemade catapult just about everyone will want to make!

Try this simple and fun paper football game for both kids and adults. Make a paper football and add in some LEGO goal posts.

Build a robot, use LEGO bricks and the binary alphabet to code words and play a coding game. There are several fun ways to combine LEGO and simple screen free coding activities.

Make these cool LEGO Star Wars building ideas using basic bricks! Perfect for the Stars Wars fan!

Inspired by the Minion movies, build your own yellow Minions.

LEGO Tic Tac Toe! Who will win the treasure chest? Will it be the skeletons or the pirates? Make your own homemade LEGO tic tac toe board and find out.

I bet you never thought to pair your LEGO basic blocks with a cool chemical reaction. This is the perfect volcano experiment for hands-on learning that will keep your kids busy anytime.

Build a LEGO heart for Valentine's Day STEM. Learn about symmetry with an easy LEGO build. Also make a heart shaped marble maze for another building challenge!

Have you ever played skittles? How about a homemade skittles game made from LEGO? We did and we had a blast playing with it too!

Make some homemade slime and add in LEGO mini-figs for a fun search and find activity.

This fun LEGO snowflake ornament is easy to make and is great for an easy winter Lego building idea.

There really are so many fun ways to play with LEGO besides building with LEGO sets. This LEGO parachute for a mini-figure is an awesome indoor activity and a mini science lesson too!

Build a LEGO zip line to carry your favorite mini-fig. Try it with a pulley system added or with only LEGO bricks.

Make two simple Hex Bugs Lego habitats with your kids anytime!

Build a DIY LEGO marble maze. Can you make it through the maze from one end to the other?

Combine simple science and engineering with LEGO building for STEM activities that will provide hours of fun and laughs. Build a LEGO balloon car that really goes!

Put LEGO on a new level. The side of the fridge to be exact with a DIY LEGO board! Make a quick and easy magnetic board out of a LEGO baseplate to put on the refrigerator. Build vertically!

Here is another take on our marble maze. Build a LEGO marble runfor a simple STEM activity using basic bricks.

Which easy LEGO build will you try today?
EXPLORE. CREATE. BUILD. DISCOVER How do you store your LEGO Collection? Here's some ideas!
Have kids who love building? Click on the image below or on the link for awesome and easy building activities for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
20 Easy LEGO Builds - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fun Lego building ideas for Lego week or anytime! Easy Lego builds have so many benefits for kids. Try a new play idea!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A couple of weekends ago we were driving through Downeast Maine when the beauty of the fall leaves really hit me. The gorgeous colors mixed with the stately spruces were absolutely stunning, to say the least. Sometimes my greatest inspirations for our homemade slime recipes come from what is happening around us. I just had to make leaves fall slime recipe celebrating the changing colors of the fall leaves.

GORGEOUS CHANGING LEAVES FALL SLIME RECIPE FOR KIDS!

If you haven't noticed by now we LOVE our homemade slime recipes and really enjoy making new themes for the seasons and holidays. Colors, glitter, confetti all can create very fun themes when mixed into any of our easy to make slime recipes.

We do LOVE all things STEM-related too and maybe you didn't know that slime can also be used for a cool science demonstration with the kids. You will be the coolest adult around after this! Making basic slime is all about chemistry, and this is a great hands-on learning experience.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Easy Fluffy Slime For Fall
WHAT IS HOMEMADE SLIME ALL ABOUT?

What's the science behind the slime? The borate ions in the starch {or borax powder or boric acid} mixes with the PVA {polyvinyl-acetate} glue and forms this cool stretchy substance. This is called cross-linking!

The glue is a polymer and is made up of long, repeating, and identical strands or molecules. These molecules flow past one another keeping the glue in a liquid state.

The addition of water is important to this process. Think about when you leave a gob of glue out, and you find it hard and rubbery the next day.

When you add the borate ions to the mixture, it starts to connect these long strands together. They begin to tangle and mix until the substance is less like the liquid you started with and is thicker and rubberier like slime!

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BASICS OF SLIME SCIENCE FOR KIDS

HOW DO YOU MAKE OUR LEAVES FALL SLIME RECIPE?

YOU WILL NEED:

Clear Elmer's Washable School Glue

Saline Solution {active ingredients to include sodium borate and/or boric acid}

Food Coloring {generic or specialty both work fine}

Glitter

Leaf Confetti

Bowl, Spoon, Measuring Cups

Reusable Container {for storage}

SALINE SOLUTION SLIME RECIPE FOR MAKING FALL SLIME

STEP 1: Add 1/2 cup of Clear Elmers Glue to your bowl (add more glitter if desired).

STEP 2: Mix with a 1/2 cup of water.

STEP 3: Add food coloring and glitter

STEP 4: Stir in 1/2 tsp baking soda

STEP 5: Mix in 1 tbsp saline solution and stir until slime forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This is exactly how much you will need with the Target Sensitive Eyes brand!

If your slime still feels too sticky, you may need a few more drops of saline solution. As I mentioned above, start by squirting a few drops of the solution onto your hands and kneading your slime longer. You can always add but you can't take away. Saline solution is preferred over contact solution.

NOTE: We have found that the Elmers Glitter Glue tends to be a bit stickier than their regular clear glue and we prefer our 2 ingredient slime recipe for this glue.

CHECK OUT MORE FALL THEME SLIMES

Slime lasts quite awhile! I get a lot of questions regarding how I store my slime. We use reusable containers in either plastic or glass. Make sure to keep your slime clean and it will last for several weeks. I love the deli-style containers in my recommended slime supplies list here.

If you want to send kids home with a bit of slime from a camp, party, or classroom project, I would suggest packages of reusable containers from the dollar store or grocery store, or even Amazon. For large groups, we have used condiment containers as seen .

MORE SLIME MAKING RESOURCES!

Everything you need to know about making slime is below! Did you know we also have fun with science activities too? Click on all the pictures below to learn even more great ideas for slime making.
OUR TOP SLIME RECIPE IDEAS YOU NEED TO MAKE! BASIC SLIME SCIENCE KIDS CAN UNDERSTAND!
COLORFUL LEAVES FALL SLIME RECIPE IS A MUST TRY FOR THE SEASON!
WATCH OUR AMAZING SLIME VIDEOS
Check out more of our awesome fall slime and science ideas to take you right through Thanksgiving! Click on the photos below for more information.
READER QUESTIONS ANSWERED! BEST INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING SLIME! THE AMAZING BENEFITS THAT COME OUT OF SLIME MAKING WITH KIDS!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Simple Leaves Fall Slime Recipe Celebrating the Changing Colors of Fall

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Celebrate the colors of the fall season with our super simple, easy to make leaves fall slime recipe! The changing colors of leaves in homemade slime.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Pumpkin slime in a pumpkin made from pumpkin guts! I wish I had done this sooner. At the first hint of the Fall season, this pumpkin slime has been top on my list, and we have been just waiting for pumpkins to come out in stores.

Check out our slime recipe below for how to make pumpkin slime quickly and easily. Stop at the grocery store for the ingredients and you have a great Fall STEM activity for your kiddos to enjoy!

Make Slime For Fall Science

This little pumpkin has been patiently sitting and waiting as well as my son who loves to make slime. Make pumpkin slime in 5 minutes or less with any of our classic homemade slime recipes!

We have had fun with erupting Pumpkin volcano, Pumpkin geoboard and many more fun pumpkin activities. BUT we haven't made pumpkin slime! Till now!

Here, I have used my favorite slime recipe! Liquid starch slime is quick and easy to make, and we have found so many fun themes to add with it. Trust me, it's easy!

Basic Slime Recipes

Our easy, "how to make" slime recipes show you how to master slime in 5 minutes or less! We have spent years tinkering with our favorite basic slime recipes to make sure you can make the BEST slime every time!

We believe slime shouldn't be disappointing or frustrating! That's why we want to take the guesswork out of making slime!

Discover the best slime ingredients and get the right slime supplies the first time!

Make easy slime recipes that really work!

Achieve awesome slimy consistency the kids' love!

Which Slime Recipe To Use?

We have several basic slime recipes that can all be used for this fruity scented slime recipe. You decide which one works best for you depending on what slime activator you want to use. This allows for some flexibility depending on where you live in the world! Not everyone has access to the same ingredients!

Each of the basic slime recipes below have the full step by step photos, directions, and even videos to help you along the way!

In the recipe below, we used our Liquid Starch Slime Recipe. Awesome stretchy slime in no time is my motto!

Helpful Slime Making Resources To Get Your Started

These are the best resources to look through before, during, and after making your awesome pumpkin slime! We talk more about slime science below too.

The Science Of Pumpkin Slime

We always like to include a bit of homemade slime science around here. Slime really does make for an excellent chemistry demonstration and kids love it too! Mixtures, substances, polymers, cross-linking, states of matter, elasticity, and viscosity are just a few of the science concepts that can be explored with homemade slime!

What's the science behind the slime? The borate ions in the slime activators (sodium borate, borax powder, or boric acid) mix with the PVA (polyvinyl-acetate) glue and form this cool stretchy substance. This is called cross-linking!

The glue is a polymer and is made up of long, repeating, and identical strands or molecules. These molecules flow past one another keeping the glue in a liquid state. Until...

When you add the borate ions to the mixture, it starts to connect these long strands together. They begin to tangle and mix until the substance is less like the liquid you started with and thicker and rubberier like slime! Slime is a polymer.

Picture the difference between wet spaghetti and leftover spaghetti the next day. As the slime forms, the tangled molecule strands are much like the clump of spaghetti!

Is slime a liquid or solid? We call it a Non-newtonian fluid because it's a little bit of both!
Read more about slime science here!
Pumpkin Slime Recipe

TIP: Turn into a Halloween activity for kids. For even more fun why not carve a face in the pumpkin!

** For a taste safe alternative to our liquid starch slime recipe below that is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, check out our pumpkin oobleck recipe.

Supplies:

Small baking Pumpkin

1/4 Cup Liquid Starch {laundry detergent aisle}

1/2 Cup Clear PVA Washable School Glue

1/2 Cup Water

Measuring cup, spoon, and knife {adults only!}

How To Make Pumpkin Slime

Step 1: Cut the top off the pumpkin.

Step 2: Make room in the pumpkin by loosing up all the seeds and guts. I did take some out to make room but the whole idea is to incorporate the parts of the pumpkin into the slime.

Step 3: Mix 1/2 cup room temp water with 1/2 cup of clear Washable School Glue in a separate bowl. {You can use white but you won't see as much of the pumpkin}. Stir to fully incorporate.

Step 4: Measure a 1/4 cup of liquid starch and pour directly into the pumpkin.

Step 5: Pour the glue and water mixture into pumpkin.

Step 6: Get your hands in there and mix. The image below shows all the ingredients in the pumpkin.

SLIME MAKING TIP: We always recommend kneading your slime well after mixing. Kneading the slime really helps to improve it's consistency. The trick with liquid starch slime is to put a few drops of the liquid starch onto your hands before picking up the slime.

You can knead the slime in the bowl before you pick it up as well. This slime is stretchy but can be stickier. However, keep in mind that although adding more liquid starch reduces the stickiness, it will eventually create a stiffer slime.

Below is the immediate reaction of the glue and starch! It doesn't take long to make slime!

Enjoy playing with your pumpkin slime! Wash hands thoroughly when you finished playing with your homemade slime recipe. Also make sure to wipe down surfaces thoroughly.

How Long Will Slime Last?

I have not tested the length of time this slime will last. My homemade slime recipes can last over 4 weeks if placed in a plastic storage container with lid.

I am sure this slime will last a few days but will probably not be something you want to keep for very long. You can always clean the pumpkin out and then use it for a pumpkin volcano the next day!

What To Do With The Insides Of The Pumpkin?

This is a great opportunity to engage the 5 senses and talk about the parts of the pumpkin too. With some of the leftovers, why not set up a pumpkin investigation tray for an easy science activity.

Tip over your pumpkin and watch the slime ooze out! Make a pumpkin squish bag for mess free play.

Pair it with our printable life cycle of a pumpkin and parts of a pumpkin worksheets.

This is fabulous Fall sensory and science fun! I wish I had made this pumpkin slime sooner. Still plenty of Fall season left to try your own. Everyone loves slime even the adults because most of all, it is super fun to make and play with.

Pumpkin Art & Craft Activities

Click on each image below to enjoy pumpkin art and craft projects this season. Each pumpkin activity includes a free printable too!

Explore More Fall Science

Click on the images below for more Fall theme science activities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pumpkin Slime with a Real Pumpkin - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make this easy pumpkin slime recipe with liquid starch! Quick to make, and you can combine with real pumpkin play.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A couple of weekends ago we were driving through Downeast Maine when the beauty of the fall leaves really hit me. The gorgeous colors mixed with the stately spruces were absolutely stunning, to say the least. Sometimes my greatest inspirations for our homemade slime recipes come from what is happening around us. I just had to make leaves fall slime recipe celebrating the changing colors of the fall leaves.

GORGEOUS CHANGING LEAVES FALL SLIME RECIPE FOR KIDS!

If you haven't noticed by now we LOVE our homemade slime recipes and really enjoy making new themes for the seasons and holidays. Colors, glitter, confetti all can create very fun themes when mixed into any of our easy to make slime recipes.

We do LOVE all things STEM-related too and maybe you didn't know that slime can also be used for a cool science demonstration with the kids. You will be the coolest adult around after this! Making basic slime is all about chemistry, and this is a great hands-on learning experience.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Easy Fluffy Slime For Fall
WHAT IS HOMEMADE SLIME ALL ABOUT?

What's the science behind the slime? The borate ions in the starch {or borax powder or boric acid} mixes with the PVA {polyvinyl-acetate} glue and forms this cool stretchy substance. This is called cross-linking!

The glue is a polymer and is made up of long, repeating, and identical strands or molecules. These molecules flow past one another keeping the glue in a liquid state.

The addition of water is important to this process. Think about when you leave a gob of glue out, and you find it hard and rubbery the next day.

When you add the borate ions to the mixture, it starts to connect these long strands together. They begin to tangle and mix until the substance is less like the liquid you started with and is thicker and rubberier like slime!

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BASICS OF SLIME SCIENCE FOR KIDS

HOW DO YOU MAKE OUR LEAVES FALL SLIME RECIPE?

YOU WILL NEED:

Clear Elmer's Washable School Glue

Saline Solution {active ingredients to include sodium borate and/or boric acid}

Food Coloring {generic or specialty both work fine}

Glitter

Leaf Confetti

Bowl, Spoon, Measuring Cups

Reusable Container {for storage}

SALINE SOLUTION SLIME RECIPE FOR MAKING FALL SLIME

STEP 1: Add 1/2 cup of Clear Elmers Glue to your bowl (add more glitter if desired).

STEP 2: Mix with a 1/2 cup of water.

STEP 3: Add food coloring and glitter

STEP 4: Stir in 1/2 tsp baking soda

STEP 5: Mix in 1 tbsp saline solution and stir until slime forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This is exactly how much you will need with the Target Sensitive Eyes brand!

If your slime still feels too sticky, you may need a few more drops of saline solution. As I mentioned above, start by squirting a few drops of the solution onto your hands and kneading your slime longer. You can always add but you can't take away. Saline solution is preferred over contact solution.

NOTE: We have found that the Elmers Glitter Glue tends to be a bit stickier than their regular clear glue and we prefer our 2 ingredient slime recipe for this glue.

CHECK OUT MORE FALL THEME SLIMES

Slime lasts quite awhile! I get a lot of questions regarding how I store my slime. We use reusable containers in either plastic or glass. Make sure to keep your slime clean and it will last for several weeks. I love the deli-style containers in my recommended slime supplies list here.

If you want to send kids home with a bit of slime from a camp, party, or classroom project, I would suggest packages of reusable containers from the dollar store or grocery store, or even Amazon. For large groups, we have used condiment containers as seen .

MORE SLIME MAKING RESOURCES!

Everything you need to know about making slime is below! Did you know we also have fun with science activities too? Click on all the pictures below to learn even more great ideas for slime making.
OUR TOP SLIME RECIPE IDEAS YOU NEED TO MAKE! BASIC SLIME SCIENCE KIDS CAN UNDERSTAND!
COLORFUL LEAVES FALL SLIME RECIPE IS A MUST TRY FOR THE SEASON!
WATCH OUR AMAZING SLIME VIDEOS
Check out more of our awesome fall slime and science ideas to take you right through Thanksgiving! Click on the photos below for more information.
READER QUESTIONS ANSWERED! BEST INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING SLIME! THE AMAZING BENEFITS THAT COME OUT OF SLIME MAKING WITH KIDS!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Simple Leaves Fall Slime Recipe Celebrating the Changing Colors of Fall

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Celebrate the colors of the fall season with our super simple, easy to make leaves fall slime recipe! The changing colors of leaves in homemade slime.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Using shadows and reflections for science play is a great way for kids to explore the physical sciences, and add in some much-needed gross motor play! When kids use their bodies to explore shadows, they're having a fun learning experience that costs nothing more than getting outside and being active. Find out how to set up cost free, fun and playful preschool science activities!

Shadow Play For Preschool Science

Exploring shadows with body movements is a great way to get kids active and excited about learning; it's a full-body experience! See our list of fun exercises for kids!

You may even want to try this at different times of the day to catch the sun in different positions. If it's a rainy day, try a flashlight indoors instead!

Explore shadows with preschoolers for fun and playful learning. Plus, we have some more easy shadow activity suggestions at the end for you.

Helpful Science Resources To Get Your Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

What Is A Shadow?

Many objects make shadows, including our bodies! Since light cannot pass through a body, it creates a shadow. A shadow is simply a dark area which is made by an object coming between rays of light and the surface.

Outside enjoying this body shadow science activity, the sun is our light. If you are indoors, you can use a flashlight as the source of light to create shadows.

You will notice at different times of the day; shadows are different. Longer, shorter, or no shadow at all. So the size of the shadow depends on the angle of the light shining.

We know the sun moves to different positions over the course of the day. When you move, your shadow moves with you because you change the shape of the area the light passes through.

Can you find other things outside and inside that have shadows? What happens if light can pass through an object; is there still a shadow?

A sundial is another fun activity for exploring shadows and a great extension to our outdoor shadow activity! See how to make a sundial from a paper plate!

Make Shadows With Your Body

What better way to make shadows for a simple shadow activity than with your body! Plus, it's a great body awareness activity too!

Supplies:

Your body

A sunny outdoor day

Flashlights if you can't get outside

Options:

1. Shadow Games

You can play fun shadow games by calling out different shapes, letters, or numbers and inviting the kids to do their best to create them in shadow.

Or, call out movements like standing on one foot, reaching up high to touch the sky, and walking on all fours. Also, choose kids to lead the activity and come up with ideas!

2. Music

Dancing around with your shadow is also fun! All of these movements will help develop body awareness.

We incorporated one of our favorite silly songs into our shadow play, which made the shadow movements extra funny. Sing the song: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes to get your kids moving and examining their shadows.

3. Drawing Shadows

Take a few pictures of the shadows they made for the kids to look at afterward. Then invite the kids to draw a picture of themselves with their shadows. What a great STEAM activity!

Alternatively, grab some sidewalk chalk and pair up if you have the space. Outline your partner's shadow and then swap places.

If you want to make some observations about shadows and daylight, draw outlines at different times of the day!

More Fun Ways To Teach Kids About Shadows

Shadow Puppets

Make these printable animal puppets that kids can use to explore shadows. Or make these fun groundhog day puppets!

A fun shadow activity that incorporates a bit of brick building too!

More Fun Pre-K Learning Activities

You asked, and we answered! This year we will be featuring preschool thematic units designed with the help of a preschool teacher!

Who Are These Packs For?

These packs are perfect for kiddos ages 3-5 (older and younger as needed)! Teachers, parents, caregivers, and group leaders can use these activities easily.

What's Included:

There are 4 fun preschool themes to get you started. This is an " I can explore" series!

Each unit contains approximately 15 activities, with instructions and templates as needed. Hands-on activities are provided to keep it fun and exciting. This includes sensory bins, experiments, games, and more! Easy supplies keep it low cost and book suggestions add the learning time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Shadow activities for preschoolers, including this fun outdoor shadow activity, making shadows with your body.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Exploring volume for science is a fun activity to do with young kids! We enjoy using everyday items to test out our science ideas and here is an easy way to teach preschoolers about volume. Grab some different size containers, and a pitcher of water to get started. Enjoy fun and playful learning with easy preschool science activities!

Learn About Volume For Preschool Science

Simple STEM activities like this volume activity are a wonderful way to get kids thinking, exploring, problem solving, and observing what is happening around them.

All you need are an assortment of containers, a pitcher of water and you are ready to go! Take the learning outdoors if the weather allows for easy clean up. Alternatively, for indoor play and learning, place everything on a large tray or in a plastic bin.

Here is a fun and easy way to introduce our preschoolers to the concept of volume or capacity in science. Extend the activity with some simple math. We used a 1 cup measurement to calculate our volume. Also check out the fun suggestions below if you don't want to use water.

Why Is Science Important For Preschoolers?

Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, check things out, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change as they change!

Indoors or outdoors, science is amazing! Let's introduce our younger kiddos to science at a time in their development when they have so much curiosity about the world around them!

Science surrounds us, inside and out. Preschoolers love looking at things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and of course exploring stored energy! Check out 50 awesome preschool science projects to get started!

There lots of easy science concepts that you can introduce kids to very early on! You might not even think about science when your toddler or preschooler pushes a car down a ramp, plays in front of the mirror, fills a container with water, or bounces balls over and over again.

See where I am going with this list! What else can you add if you stop to think about it? Science starts early, and you can be a part of that with setting up science at home with everyday materials.

Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. Check out our helpful science resources below.

Helpful Science Resources To Get Your Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

What Is Volume For Kids?

Young kids learn by exploring, observing, and figuring out the way things work by doing. This volume activity encourages all of the above.

Kids will learn that volume in science is the amount of space a substance (solid, liquid or gas) takes up or the 3 dimensional space a container encloses. Later on, they will learn that mass in contrast is how much matter a substance contains.

Kids will be able to observe the differences and similarities of containers' volumes when they pour the water in each and compare the results. Which do container do they think will have the biggest volume? Which one will have the smallest volume?

A great resource to support learning with water is the book Exploring Water with Young Children by Chalufour.

Tips For Exploring Volume

You can also try this activity with a number of materials including small blocks, shells, gems, sand, and rocks. Setting up two stations, one for liquids and one for solids, is a great way for kids to explore volume with a variety of materials.

See another version that uses colored rice instead of water.

We also tried out our activity two ways. First my son poured water from the pitcher into the measuring cup to the one cup mark. We chose to use a one cup measurement for our volume activity. Try out other measurements as well for added math practice.

He carefully poured the one cup of water into the first water bottle with the help of a funnel. He then decided to pour that water bottle into the next smaller water bottle. This continued for all 6 containers.

Next, he chose to pour one cup at a time from the pitcher into each container. This is a great way to be able to observe the volume of the containers all at once. Kids can easily compare and contrast the results and discuss what they see in regards to the volume of each container.

Volume Activity
Why not pair this simple volume activity with one of these other fun water experiments!
Supplies:

Plastic 1 or 2 Cup Measuring Container

Plastic Pitcher of Water

Funnel

Food Coloring

Variety of Containers in Different Sizes and Shapes

Tray and Paper Towels (To Catch Spills)

Instructions:

STEP 1. Fill a plastic pitcher with enough water so the kids can manage pouring. Refill the pitcher during the activity if needed.

STEP 2. Add food coloring as desired.
TIP: Adding a bit of color is always fun for kids, and it helps them to see the volume of water in each container better.
STEP 3. Place a variety of containers on a tray or table. I also set out a funnel to use with the water bottles. Water bottles, food storage containers, party cups, or any sort of clear container works great for this activity.

STEP 4. Pour water from the pitcher into the containers. Alternatively, fill up the water bottle and use that to transfer water.
TIP: Add in some math practice by measuring the amount of water you add to your container. Alternatively, fill the container with water and pour into a measuring jug to work out the volume.
More Hands-on Math Activities

We love helping our kiddos learn in a multi-sensory way with one of these fun, hands-on activities below. See our list of preschool math activities.

Compare the weights of different objects with a balance scale.

Use a balance scale to measure the weight of your favorite candy.

Explore what weighs more.

Have fun with this measuring length activity.

Practice measuring your hands and feet using simple cube blocks.

Try this fun Fall measuring activity with pumpkins. Pumpkin math worksheet included.

More Fun Pre-K Learning Activities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Exploring volume for science is a fun activity to do with young kids! We enjoy using everyday items to test out our science ideas.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Exploring magnet science is easy to set up for young kids! We like using everyday items to test out our science ideas. This what's magnetic and magnetic activity is a hands-on way to teach preschoolers about magnets using simple materials. Grab some ordinary everyday items and a large magnet to get started! Enjoy fun and playful learning with our preschool science activities!

Teaching Preschoolers About Magnets

Magnet play is one of the first simple science activities kids can experience because magnets are easy to use, fun, and familiar! What do you have on your fridge right now? Magnets! What is magnetic? What isn't? Hands-on playful learning, too!

Exploring magnets makes for an excellent early-learning science activity! Lay the materials on a discovery table or large bin for as much independent discovery and exploration as possible. Magnets are fascinating science, and kids love to play with them!

Simple science activities such as using magnets is a beautiful way to get kids thinking, problem-solving, and experimenting with everyday items.

There are many ways you can explore magnets. Why not let your kids take the magnetic wand around the house or classroom and see what they can find that is magnetic? This is a fun way to add movement to your science activity!

Why Is Science Important For Preschoolers?

Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, check things out, and experiment to discover why things do what they do, move as they move, or change as they change!

Indoors or outdoors, science is amazing! Let's introduce our younger kiddos to science at a time in their development when they are curious about the world around them!

Science surrounds us, inside and out. Preschoolers love looking at things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and exploring stored energy! Check out 50 awesome preschool science projects to get started!

There are lots of easy science concepts that you can introduce kids to very early on! You might not even think about science when your toddler or preschooler pushes a car down a ramp, plays in front of the mirror, plays with a magnetic wand, or bounces balls repeatedly.

See where I am going with this list! What else can you add if you stop to think about it? Science starts early; you can be a part of that by setting up science at home with everyday materials or preschool science centers in the classroom.

Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. Check out our helpful science resources below.

Helpful Science Resources To Get Your Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

What Are Magnetic Objects?

Magnets are a type of rock or a piece of metal that can produce a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but we can see how it can attract or pull specific types of metal toward itself.

The force of a magnet, called magnetism, is a common force of nature, just like electricity or gravity. Kids will discover a magnetic field is concentrated around the ends of magnets which are called poles.

Iron is a metal that is highly magnetic. Not all metals are magnetic! Aluminum, copper and gold are metals that are not magnetic.

Magnets don't need to touch other objects for them to work. Even from a distance magnets can find each other because of their magnetic field. Try it out and see for yourself!

What's Magnetic and What's Not Activity

Supplies:

Magnetic wands or bar magnets

Assorted items from around the house or classroom

A bin or container to hold the items

2 smaller containers to sort items into magnetic and non-magnetic

Free printable magnet activity worksheets (optional)

TIP: Examples of everyday magnetic objects could include metal paper clips, hair clips spoons or forks, keys, nuts, bolts or nails, pipe cleaners, wire, and jar lids made from steel.
Magnet Activity Instructions:

STEP 1. Set out a container of assorted items for kids to explore. Get kids to predict what items they think will be magnetic.
TIP: You can even add a few items that are not all magnetic but have a magnetic part to encourage observation and problem solving skills.
STEP 2. Use the magnetic wand to test what items are magnetic and what items aren't. Have them place the item in the bin or tray that is labeled "magnetic" or "non-magnetic." {Labels "yes" and "no" work well, too.} Repeat with all the items until the container is empty.

STEP 3. Make sure to ask questions and discuss their observations. Is the item magnetic or not magnetic? What do you think those objects might be made of?

More Fun Magnet Activities For Preschoolers

We love helping our kiddos learn in a multi-sensory way with one of these fun hands-on activities below. See our list of preschool magnet activities.

More Fun Pre-K Learning Activities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magnet science is fun for young kids with this yes or no magnet activity! Use everyday items to test out what's magnetic and what's not.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Let's take the learning outdoors for our younger kids! Find out how to set up a nature investigation table for preschool science. Give your kids opportunity to experiment and observe the natural world around them with simple materials. All at their pace for fun and playful preschool science activities!

Explore Nature For Outdoor Science

A nature investigation table can be set up almost anytime of the year and would be a fun way to incorporate seasonal changes into your science lessons. Get kids outdoors, and exploring the world around them.

Set them up to collect samples of non-living and living things they find, from parts of plants to rocks and soil. We used test tubes for our nature investigation table but small cups also work well too!

You may want to have a rule about whether kids can collect bugs, and other animals. Or whether they simply observe them in their home, and don't disturb them!

Kids have their own way of investigating, experimenting, and exploring nature. A simple science table set up outdoors can lead to many wonderful discoveries.

Why Science Is Important Preschoolers

Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, check things out, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change as they change!

Indoors or outdoors, science is amazing! Let's introduce our younger kiddos to science at a time in their development when they have so much curiosity about the world around them!

Science surrounds us, inside and out. Preschoolers love looking at things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and of course exploring stored energy! Check out 50 awesome preschool science projects to get started!

There lots of easy science concepts that you can introduce kids to very early on! You might not even think about science when your toddler or preschooler pushes a car down a ramp, plays in front of the mirror, plays with a magnetic wand, collects leaves and flowers, or bounces balls over and over again.

See where I am going with this list! What else can you add if you stop to think about it? Science starts early, and you can be a part of that with setting up science at home with everyday materials.

Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. Check out our helpful science resources below.

Helpful Science Resources To Get Your Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

Get Your Free Printable Nature Activities Guide!

How To Set Up A Nature Table

Kids will enjoy exploring nature with a simple outdoor science table.

Supplies:

Magnifying Glass

Test Tubes and Test Tube Racks {or Small Plastic Cups}

Pipettes and Container of Water

Paper, Pencils, and Crayons

Tongs or Tweezers

Instructions:

STEP 1. Keep it simple! Set your materials and supplies on an outdoor table. Use a log or tree stump! Or you can place the items on a picnic table or even the ground. You could even re-purpose an indoor water table.

STEP 2. The first activity is to simply explore nature! What do you see? What do you feel?

Allow kids to investigate their outdoor area and gather samples that interest them with their test tubes, and tongs or tweezers.

Nature samples can include rocks, dirt, twigs, leaves, pine needles, and what ever else is common to your area.

Also, if you don't have test tubes, use small plastic cups to gather samples.

STEP 3. Next, kids can explore how their chosen samples interact with water, and they can even practice fine motor skills using pipettes!

Encourage kids to carefully observe any changes that might be happening as the water is added.

STEP 4. Make drawings of the items they have collected. This is a great time to take out paper and colored pencils or markers, and draw their observations!

Drawing their observations is a great way for kids to learn how to begin recording scientific data and learning how to draw conclusions from the data. Learn more about the scientific method for kids.

Ask questions! What happens when soil and water mix? What floats in water? What sinks in water?

Learning how to observe and collect data, even through very simple and playful science activities like this, is very important for young kids and helps to develop critical thinking skills early on.

Extend The Learning

Measure A Tree

Extend the learning by showing kids how to measure the circumference of a tree with a soft measuring tape or even string!

Challenge your kids to find the biggest and smallest tree. This is a great way to incorporate math into your outdoor science lesson!

Nature Art

Another terrific outdoor activity that combines art and science is taking tree rubbings. Show kids how to use paper and crayons to make rubbings from the bark of trees. Try to find different species of trees and compare the markings.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Leaf Rubbing Art For Kids
More Fun Pre-K Learning Activities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Take the learning outdoors and find out how to set up a nature investigation table for fun preschool science.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Design and construct your own bridge from simple supplies. Building bridges is a fun STEM project for all ages!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kids LOVE to send cars down ramps! The faster the better! But did you know that this favorite playtime activity is also an awesome science lesson for kids of all ages. Explore friction with just a few simple materials. Enjoy fun playful learning with our preschool science activities!

Explore Friction With Toy Cars

Simple physics activities like this toy car friction experiment are a wonderful way to get kids thinking, exploring, problem solving, and observing what is happening around them.

All you need are some simple ramps, textured materials and toy cars, and you are ready to go! Take the learning outdoors if the weather allows for easy play and learning.

Here is a fun way to introduce our preschoolers to the concept of friction in science. Extend the activity by applying the scientific method. Get kids to make predictions about which surface will be faster or slower, measure it with a stop watch and make conclusions.

There are many ways you can explore ramps, angles, slopes, and friction. Get creative with the supplies you have on hand and you can set up this easy science activity today!

Why Science Is Important For Preschoolers

Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, check things out, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change as they change!

Indoors or outdoors, science is amazing! Let's introduce our younger kiddos to science at a time in their development when they have so much curiosity about the world around them!

Science surrounds us, inside and out. Preschoolers love looking at things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and of course exploring stored energy! Check out 50 awesome preschool science projects to get started!

There lots of easy science concepts that you can introduce kids to very early on! You might not even think about science when your toddler or preschooler pushes a car down a ramp, plays in front of the mirror, plays with a magnetic wand, or bounces balls over and over again.

See where I am going with this list! What else can you add if you stop to think about it? Science starts early, and you can be a part of that with setting up science at home with everyday materials.

Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. Check out our helpful science resources below.

Helpful Science Resources To Get Your Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

Tips For Exploring Ramps (Incline Planes)

Allow your kids to explore the bare ramp as they wish. They are going to be super excited to play that it is often best to let them explore the activity freely for a bit first!

You can also test out angles at this point. Change the position of the ramp and test out which ramp angles are faster or slower.

Which toy cars move faster? Heavier, lighter, longer, or shorter cars move at different speeds. This is a great way to get them thinking about the way things move!

Note: You may want to split this activity into two learning times since exploring the ramps or inclined planes is great fun all in itself and is still a simple physics lesson!

When the kids are ready, move on to your textured ramps. Let the kids feel the textures and describe them to you.

This is a great time to introduce the term friction if you would like! Read a little bit about friction below and keep it simple for young kids!

Toy Car Friction Experiment
For older kiddos, learn more about friction with Floating Rice Friction Experiment and Screaming Balloon Experiment.
Supplies:

Materials to make ramps. You can use cardboard or wood planks!

Toy cars

Variety of textured materials to create friction. There are so many ideas! We used a hand towel, sand paper, and rubber grippy mats. You could also use tin foil or parchment paper, a piece of rug, or even dirt.

Tape to secure materials if necessary so they do not slip off the ramps.

Stopwatch and measuring tape. These are optional but a fun way to extend the activity and encourage making predictions.

Instructions:

STEP 1. Choose the number and type of materials you want to test, and how many ramps you want to have available.

STEP 2. This is fun inside or outside! Leave one ramp free of materials as a test ramp. Secure your materials to the other ramps as needed.

STEP 3. Set up your ramps on an incline from same height. We used stairs, but you can also stack books.

STEP 4. Gather your cars and kids!

Ask lots of questions! Before they test out the cars, have the kids guess which texture might slow down the car or speed it up as it goes down the ramp. Make predictions on which cars will go faster or slower. Learn more about the scientific method for kids.

Let the kids race cars down the different ramps. If appropriate, you can use a measuring tape to see how far the cars travel off the ramp.

Which car goes the farthest? Which car is the slowest? Which car crashes, falls off the ramp, or doesn't make it to the end?

More Fun Pre-K Learning Activities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This toy car friction experiment is fun and easy to do. Explore friction and inclined planes with a few simple supplies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.

However, you wouldn't see this change happen without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around, a color explosion.

The soap lowers the surface tension of the milk. When the soap molecules head for the fats, they form spherical micelles. This causes movement and creates cool bursts and swirls of color. After all the fat molecules have been found and equilibrium has been reached, there is no more movement. Are there any more hiding?

Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What did you notice before and after?

2. What happened when you put the cotton swab in the milk?

3. Why do you think that happened?

4. Why do you think the colors stopped moving?

5. What else did you observe?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Magic Milk Science Experiment | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magic milk is a cool science experiment for kids of all ages! Learn how different molecules in milk interact with soap!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.

However, you wouldn't see this change happen without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around, a color explosion.

The soap lowers the surface tension of the milk. When the soap molecules head for the fats, they form spherical micelles. This causes movement and creates cool bursts and swirls of color. After all the fat molecules have been found and equilibrium has been reached, there is no more movement. Are there any more hiding?

Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What did you notice before and after?

2. What happened when you put the cotton swab in the milk?

3. Why do you think that happened?

4. Why do you think the colors stopped moving?

5. What else did you observe?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Magic Milk Science Experiment | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magic milk is a cool science experiment for kids of all ages! Learn how different molecules in milk interact with soap!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.

However, you wouldn't see this change happen without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around, a color explosion.

The soap lowers the surface tension of the milk. When the soap molecules head for the fats, they form spherical micelles. This causes movement and creates cool bursts and swirls of color. After all the fat molecules have been found and equilibrium has been reached, there is no more movement. Are there any more hiding?

Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What did you notice before and after?

2. What happened when you put the cotton swab in the milk?

3. Why do you think that happened?

4. Why do you think the colors stopped moving?

5. What else did you observe?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Magic Milk Science Experiment | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magic milk is a cool science experiment for kids of all ages! Learn how different molecules in milk interact with soap!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's never too early to introduce awesome science vocabulary words to kiddos of all ages. In fact, kids have a lot of fun learning, and even saying big words. Don't underestimate the power of a young mind! You're definitely going to want to incorporate these simple science terms into your next science lesson! Let's think and talk like a scientist!

SIMPLE SCIENCE TERMS FOR KIDS

SCIENCE VOCABULARY

Experiment like a scientist, talk like a scientist and write like a scientist. No science vocabulary word is too big or too small, try them all!

You will be amazed at how quickly kiddos will pick up on and use these science terms once you start incorporating them into your science activities, demonstrations, and experiments.

ACIDS and BASES: An acid is any substance that increases the concentration of the hydrogen (H +) ions when it dissolves in water. A base is any substance that increases the concentration of the hydroxide (OH-) ions.

Both acids and bases can be weak. Many fruit juices such as cranberry juice, apple juice, and orange juices are weak acids. Acids taste sour. Vinegar is a slightly stronger acid.

Acids and bases are strong if they release a lot of ions in water. Bases are usually slippery feeling or bitter tasting. Many vegetables have weak bases in them. A stronger base would be household ammonia.

Pure water is neither an acid or a base. Scientists measure the strength of an acid or base using a scale called pH. Distilled water has a pH of 7. Acids have a lower pH and bases have a higher pH. Learn more about the pH scale.

ATOMS: Atoms are the smallest units of an identifiable pure substance or a substance known as an element. Everything is made up of atoms.

Imagine you kept making an iron bar smaller and smaller until it was the size of a grain of sand. Well, an atom is much smaller than that so we can't see it even with a magnifying glass!

If you break up an atom and make the pieces smaller the pieces cannot be identified as a substance or element. For example, you cannot have a piece of an Iron or Gold atom that is smaller than the atom and still call it Iron or Gold.

BUOYANCY: The ability of fluids to exert an upward force on the objects immersed in them.

CAPILLARY ACTION: The ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the help of an outside force, like gravity.

Capillary action happens because of several forces at work. This includes the forces of adhesion (water molecules are attracted and stick to other substances), cohesion, and surface tension (water molecules like to stay close together).

Plants and trees couldn't survive without capillary action. Think about how large tall trees are able to move a lot of water so far up to their leaves without a pump of any kind.

CARBON DIOXIDE (CO₂): A colorless gas made up of molecules of one carbon atom joined with two oxygen atoms. It occurs naturally in the Earth's atmosphere.

Plants take in carbon dioxide from the air and use it along with energy from the sun to make food. We breathe out more carbon dioxide than we breathe in because our bodies release it when we use food for our own energy. This is called the carbon cycle.

CHEMICAL REACTION: A chemical reaction is a process where two or more substances react together to form a new chemical substance. This might look like a gas being formed, cooking or baking, or milk souring.

Some chemical reactions take energy to get started in the form of heat while others produce heat when the substances react with each other.

Chemical reactions take place all around us. Cooking food is an example of a chemical reaction. Burning a candle is another example. Can you think of a chemical reaction you have seen? See more examples of chemical changes.

COHESION: The "stickiness" of like molecules to one another. It is caused by the cohesive attractive force between like molecules.

Cohesion is what makes water form drops. Because the water molecules are more strongly attracted to each other than to other molecules, they form droplets on surfaces (e.g., dew drops) and form a dome when filling a container before spilling over the sides.

DATA: A collection of information that is useful for analyzing and interpreting to answer scientific questions.

DENSITY: The compactness of stuff in space or the amount of material that is in a set size. Denser materials of the same size are heavier because there is more material in the same size space.

Density refers to the mass of a substance (the amount of matter in the substance) compared to its volume (how much space a substance takes up). For example, a block of lead will weigh much more than an equal volume of wood which means that the lead is denser than wood.

DISSOLVE: To cause a solid or a gas (the solute) to pass into a liquid and form a solution. For example, sugar dissolves in water to form a sugar solution. Soda water is an example of a gas (carbon dioxide) dissolved in water.

When a solution forms the two substances stay the same and there is no chemical reaction. This is why if you dissolve sugar or salt in a glass of water and let the water dry out or evaporate the salt or sugar will be left behind in the glass.

EMULSIFICATION: A process by which two liquids, which can't dissolve in each other are forced to combine in a liquid mixture (emulsion). Salad dressing is an emulsion of oil and vinegar.

EXPERIMENT: A test or investigation done under controlled conditions to find out something.

FATS: Nutrients in food that are made up of special carbon and hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The body uses fats and they are very important to build nerve tissue (including the brain and nerves) and hormones. The body also uses fat as fuel. Extra fat that you eat can be stored the body below the skin.

Fat has more energy in it than other foods. This is why the body uses fat to store food energy. Too much fat is bad for your health.

There are many types of fats. Oils such as olive oil and vegetable oil are fast. The fats we see on meat are made up of many different types. Some fats like oils are liquids, others such as the fat we see in meat are solid at room temperature.

FLOAT: To rest on top of a liquid. Items that are more solid have molecules that are packed tighter together and will sink. Items that are less solid are made up of molecules that are not as tightly packed together and will float! If the object is denser than water, it will sink. If it's less dense, it will float!

FRICTION: A force that acts when two objects are in contact with each other. It slows or stops movement when those two surfaces are sliding or trying to slide across each other. Friction can occur between all kinds of objects - solids, liquids and gases.

GAS: One of the three states of matter, along with solid and liquid. In a gas the particles move freely from one another. You can also say they vibrate! Gas particles spread out to take the shape of the container they are put in. Steam or water vapor is an example of a gas.

GRAVITY: A pulling force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center. Gravity is what keeps all the planets in orbit around the sun. The force of gravity keeps us close to the ground.

Our moon has less gravity than the Earth because it is smaller. If you went to the moon you could jump about 6 times higher than on the Earth. That means if you can jump one foot off the ground now, you could jump 6 feet high on the moon because the moon has less force pulling you down.

KINETIC ENERGY: The energy an object has due to its motion. The faster or heavier a moving object is, the more kinetic energy it has.

A cannon ball that is moving at the same speed as a tennis ball has more kinetic energy because the cannon ball has more mass (weight).

A golf ball going 100 miles an hour has more kinetic energy than a tennis ball slowly rolling down the floor because the speed of the ball also gives it more kinetic energy.

LEVER: A long, sturdy body that rests on a support called a fulcrum. A lever can be used to move things. A see-saw is a lever that rests on a fulcrum in the middle.

LIQUID: One of the three states of matter, along with solid and gas. In a liquid, the particles have some space between them with no pattern and so they are not in a fixed position. A liquid has no distinct shape of its own but will take the shape of a container that it is put into. Water is an example of a liquid.

MAGNET: A magnet is a rock or a piece of metal that can pull certain types of metal toward itself. The force of magnets, called magnetism, is a force, like electricity and gravity.

Magnetism works over a distance. This means that a magnet does not have to be touching an object to pull it. Try it out and see for yourself!

MASS: The amount of matter in a substance. The amount of mass in a set area is called density.

MATTER: Any object that takes up space and has mass.

MINERALS: Solid substances that occur naturally. They do not come from animals, plants, or other living organisms.

MIXTURE: A material made up of two or more substances mixed together. No chemical reaction takes place and you could separate the substances in the mixture. It is possible to produce a mixture of liquids, solids, or gases.

MOLECULES: The smallest unit of a substance called a compound that has all the properties of that substance. Molecules are made of at least 2 atoms joined together.

MOTION: The act of changing location from one place to another. The opposite of motion is rest.

NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID: A fluid in which the viscosity changes with the force applied. The fluid gets thicker depending on how it moves or is pressed on. It can be picked up like a solid, but it also will flow like a liquid. Slime is an example of a non-Newtonian fluid.

OBSERVATION: Noticing what's happening through our senses or with tools like a magnifying glass. Observation is used to collect and record data, which enables scientists to construct and then test hypotheses and theories.

POLYMER: Something made of very big molecules of the same type. Often there are many smaller molecules layered together in a repeating pattern. Many plastics are polymers. Silk and wool are also polymers.

Polymers can be hard but may be flexible. How hard or flexible they are depends upon how the molecules are arranged. The word "poly" means many.

POTENTIAL ENERGY: The stored energy an object has because of its position or state. Objects that are sitting in one place have potential energy.

A ball up high on a shelf has potential energy because if you push it off the shelf it will fall. A falling ball has kinetic energy.

Water in a closed dam on a lake or river has potential energy because it is not moving past the dam. When the water is released the stored or potential energy can be used to power machines or even turn a machine to make electricity.

PREDICTION: A guess at what might happen in an experiment based on observation or other information.

PROTEIN: A molecule in food. Protein is a nutrient found in food (such as meat, milk, eggs, and beans) that is made up of many smaller molecules called amino acids. These amino acids are joined together in different patterns to make many different proteins.

Protein is a necessary part of the diet and is essential for normal cell structure and function. You need protein for your muscles, bones, and teeth to grow normally.

There are many different proteins but once they are in your body they all turn back into the amino acids that are used by your body to make your body strong. Egg whites are made of a protein called albumin. Milk has a protein in it called casein.

REST: Scientists use the word "rest" to mean when something is not moving. The opposite of "rest" is motion.

SINK: To fall below the surface of a liquid. The opposite of float.

SOLID: One of the three states of matter, the others are liquid and gas. A solid has tightly packed particles in a specific pattern, which are not able to move about. You will notice a solid keeps its own shape. Ice or frozen water is an example of a solid.

SOLUTION: A specific type of mixture where one substance (solute) is dissolved into another (solvent). In a solution, the ingredients mix. When a solution forms, the two substances stay the same and there is no chemical reaction.

This is why if you dissolve sugar or salt in a glass of water and let the water dry out or evaporate the salt or sugar will be left in the glass.

STRATIFICATION: The arrangement of something into different groups.

SURFACE TENSION: A force that exists on the surface of water because water molecules like to stick to each other. This force is so strong that it can help things sit on top of the water instead of sinking into it.

It is the high surface tension of water that allows a paper clip, with much higher density, to float on water. It also causes drops of rain to stick to your windows and is why bubbles are round.

VARIABLE: A factor that can be changed in a science experiment. Three types of variables are: independent, dependent, and controlled.

The independent variableis the one that is changed in the experiment and will affect the dependent variable. The dependent variable is the factor that is observed or measured in the experiment. See examples of independent and dependent variables.

The controlled variable stays constant in the experiment. Experiments are repeated a number of times to find out how a change in the independent variable affects the results.

VISCOSITY: How thick a fluid is. A liquid with high viscosity - that is thick, like molasses- will flow very slowly. A liquid with low viscosity, or that's thin, like water, will flow quickly.

SCIENCE PRACTICES

A new approach to teaching science is called the Best Science Practices. These eight science and engineering practices are less structured and allow for a more free - flowing approach to problem-solving and finding answers to questions. These skills are critical to developing future engineers, inventors, and scientists!

SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS

Sometimes the best way to introduce science vocabulary words is through a colorfully illustrated book with characters your kids can relate to! Check out this fantastic list of science books that are teacher approved and get ready to spark curiosity and exploration!
Check out our recommended book lists:
WHAT IS A SCIENTIST

Think like a scientist! Act like a scientist! Scientists, like you and me, are also curious about the world around them. Learn about the different types of scientists and what they do to increase their understanding about their specific area of interest. Read What Is A Scientist

FUN SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS TO TRY

Don't just read about science, go ahead and enjoy one of these fantastic kids science experiments!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's never too early to introduce awesome science vocabulary words to kiddos of all ages. Think and talk like a scientist!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make a mini paddle boat that actually moves through the water! This is an awesome STEM challenge for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make a mini paddle boat that actually moves through the water! This is an awesome STEM challenge for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make a mini paddle boat that actually moves through the water! This is an awesome STEM challenge for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What makes ice melt faster? Let's investigate with a simple ice melting experiment that kids of varying ages can enjoy. Preschool science, kindergarten science, and elementary-age science can use ice experiments as part of a fun science curriculum for kids. We love simple science experiment for kids!

WHAT MAKES ICE MELT FASTER AND OTHER ICE MELTING EXPERIMENTS

EXAMPLES OF PHYSICAL CHANGE

Get ready to add these simple ice experiments to your science lesson plans this season. If you want to investigate what makes ice melt the fastest, let's dig in! Ice is a great way to explore physical change, specifically changes in states of matter, from liquid to solid.

Check out more fun states of matter experiments and examples of physical change!

Our science experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun. Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

Below you will explore:

Comparing solids: What makes ice melt the fastest?

Why does salt melt ice?

Keep it cool: Can you keep ice from melting?

Ice race: How quickly can you melt a pile of ice cubes?

Any of these ice melting experiments would make for an awesome science fair project. If you want to get started, check out these resources...

SCIENCE FOR KIDS

So what exactly is a scientist and how can you encourage your kids to be good scientists without a whole lot of effort, fancy equipment, or too difficult activities that create confusion rather than curiosity?

A scientist is a person who seeks to acquire knowledge about the natural world. Guess what? Kids do that naturally because they are still learning and exploring the world around them. All that exploring brings up a lot of questions!

A good scientist asks questions as they explore the natural world, and we can further encourage this with these super simple science experiments. Knowledge is gained through all of these questions, explorations, and discoveries! Let's help them with fun science activities that really spark their inner scientist.

Check out these helpful resources...

ICE MELTING EXPERIMENTS

Let's get right to learning all about ice. Head to the kitchen, open the freezer and be prepared to experiment with these different ice projects.

PROJECT #1: WHAT MAKES ICE MELT FASTER?

In this experiment, you will investigate what makes ice melt faster, by adding several different solids to your ice.

SUPPLIES:

Ice cubes

Muffin tin, jars, or containers

Various solids. You can start with salt and sugar, but also include different types of salt, baking soda, sand or dirt etc.

Stopwatch or clock to determine the time of the experiment

MELTING ICE SET UP:

STEP 1: Add 4 to 5 ice cubes to 6 cupcake cups. Make sure the same amount of ice is in each one.

STEP 2: Add 3 tablespoons of each solid to a separate container of ice.

Add 3 tablespoons of baking soda to cup #1.

Add 3 tablespoons of salt to cup #2.

Add 3 tablespoons of sand to cup #3.

Cup #4, cup #5 and cup #6 are your controls and will have nothing added to the ice.

STEP 3: Set the timer to check back on the ice cubes every 10 minutes over 1/2 hour and record your results. Then draw your conclusions.

What did you find caused the ice to melt fastest?

EXTENSION: Use a timer and record how long it took each material to melt the ice. Record the results. Try adding solids of your own choice and record that data too. Now, turn the data into a graph!

WHY DOES SALT MELT ICE?

It's no surprise that adding salt made the ice melt fastest. Baking soda was second as it's a type of salt and can lower the freezing point of water. However it is a powder. Sand did not do much! So why does salt melt ice?

Salt works to lower the freezing or melting point of water. The salt interferes with the ice crystals and by mixing with the liquid water on the melting ice it speeds up the melting process.

PROJECT #2: HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU MELT ICE?

In this experiment, you will explore how quickly you can melt a pile of ice cubes! At what temperature does ice melt? Read on to learn more!

The challenge is to see how quickly you can melt the ice cubes. This can be done individually or in small groups. If you do choose to use the small group format, make sure to allow for a few minutes for the kids to brainstorm ideas together.

SUPPLIES:
SUGGESTED ITEMS:
EXPERIMENT SET UP:

STEP 1: Give each kiddo or group of kids the materials which include paper towels and a specific number of ice cubes on a plate.

STEP 2: Encourage the kids to use the materials to try and melt the ice quickly!

STEP 3: When the race is over (set a specific amount of time that works for you), ask groups to share the steps of their melting process. Discuss what worked and why? Also, discuss what you would do differently the next time!

EXTENSION: Use a timer and record how long it took each kiddo or group of kids to melt the ice. Record the results. Try two more times and record that data too. Now, turn the data into a graph!

AT WHAT TEMPERATURE DOES ICE MELT?

At what temperature does ice melt? Water not only freezes at 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it also melts at the same temperature! This is why we call this temperature the FREEZING and MELTING point of water!

Freezing occurs at this temperature as heat is removed from the water to form ice crystals. In order to melt ice, you have to use heat energy. The heat energy first goes to break down the ice before it raises the temperature of the water.

Ice at the freezing point of water actually has less energy or heat in it than water at the same temperature!

Learn about the freezing point of water with our freezing water experiment.

MORE WAYS TO MELT ICE CUBES

There are many possible ways to melt ice. The simplest way is to just leave the ice to melt at room temperature. The heat energy in the warmer room works to break up the ice structure to turn it to water. We see this all the time with the ice cubes in our drink glasses or if we accidentally leave one out on the counter.

To speed up the melting process you could hold the ice cube in your hand (brrr, chilly) since your body is usually warmer than the room. To make it melt even faster this way, try rubbing your hands together really fast before holding the ice cube. When you rub your hands together fast, you create friction which adds more heat through an increased temperature!

Another way you can generate more heat and a higher temperature is to rub the ice cube on a piece of cloth.

How about placing the ice cube on a dark piece of cloth or paper and placing it in sunlight? Dark colors retain heat from sunlight better than light colors which is why you might feel hotter wearing a dark t-shirt in the middle of a hot summer day!

Finally, we know another way to melt ice quickly is with salt which we discovered in the first experiment above!
Click below to get your quick and easy scientific method sheets.
PROJECT #3: How Do You Keep Ice From Melting?

In this third experiment, you will investigate how you can keep ice from melting. Instead of seeing how fast ice melts, let's try to keep it cool instead!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Blubber Experiment
The challenge is to see how slowly you can keep the ice from melting by reducing the amount of heat or energy that surrounds the ice. This can also be done individually or in small groups. Remember, if you do choose to use the small group format, make sure to allow for time for the kids to brainstorm ideas together.

SUPPLIES:

Ice cubes

Small zip-top bags

Small plastic containers (as close to the same size as possible so they are uniform)

SUGGESTED ITEMS:
There are quite a few items that can be potentially used for this ice STEM challenge! Check out the recycling bin, junk drawer, garage, and more. This is also where our dollar store engineering kit comes in handy. You can use the items you have available for a budget-friendly STEM challenge.

EXPERIMENT SET UP:

STEP 1: Brainstorm. What are the best materials available to keep the ice from melting?

STEP 2: Decide what materials or combination of materials you want to use to keep your ice cubes from melting by insulating them! Create one or more insulated containers to test your ideas. You can choose a specific amount of time for this portion of the project or split the STEM challenge up over several days.

STEP 3: When all the insulated containers are finished, place an ice cube in a small zip-top plastic bag and then place it in the insulated container. Make sure to put the lids on!

TIP: As a control, you will want to place a zip-top bag, with an ice cube into it, in a similar container that is not insulated. This control container is for comparison. By creating a control, you make it possible to determine whether the materials (variables) you chose are responsible for the outcome!

STEP 4: Place all the containers in a cool dry place away from a heat source or direct sunlight. No extra energy is needed here!

STEP 5: Check your containers every 10 minutes. Notice any differences Record your o0bservationsuntil all of the ice is completely melted. Make sure you do not handle the ice or remove the ice from the container while you make your observations.

Think about what materials worked best and why. How can you improve your results?

EXTENSION: Choose one thing to change (a variable) such as a smaller or larger container or a larger or smaller ice cube.

TALK ABOUT IT: A great discussion topic would be to talk about where insulation is used in our homes or in machines such as cars?

QUICK SCIENCE

Everyone knows that when you remove ice from the freezer, it will melt over time. However, most of us don't think about why it happens. The air around the ice cubes is usually warmer than the ice and it causes the ice (solid) to change into water (liquid). States of matter too!

So, if you do not want the ice to melt, you need to keep the warm air (heat energy) away from the ice by using an insulating material. Some great insulators just for a hint are felt, newspaper, and wool. Insulation prevents the transfer of heat to the ice so the ice crystals stay icy and cold longer.

Insulation is also used to keep our houses warm in the winter in cold parts of the world by keeping the cold out! Additionally, insulation can keep the heat out of a house on a hot day too! Insulation can keep up comfortably when the temperature drops and when it rises!

More STEM Challenges to Try

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about the melting point of water and what makes ice melt faster with this 3 simple and fun ice melting experiments for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What makes ice melt faster? Let's investigate with a simple ice melting experiment that kids of varying ages can enjoy. Preschool science, kindergarten science, and elementary-age science can use ice experiments as part of a fun science curriculum for kids. We love simple science experiment for kids!

WHAT MAKES ICE MELT FASTER AND OTHER ICE MELTING EXPERIMENTS

EXAMPLES OF PHYSICAL CHANGE

Get ready to add these simple ice experiments to your science lesson plans this season. If you want to investigate what makes ice melt the fastest, let's dig in! Ice is a great way to explore physical change, specifically changes in states of matter, from liquid to solid.

Check out more fun states of matter experiments and examples of physical change!

Our science experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun. Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

Below you will explore:

Comparing solids: What makes ice melt the fastest?

Why does salt melt ice?

Keep it cool: Can you keep ice from melting?

Ice race: How quickly can you melt a pile of ice cubes?

Any of these ice melting experiments would make for an awesome science fair project. If you want to get started, check out these resources...

SCIENCE FOR KIDS

So what exactly is a scientist and how can you encourage your kids to be good scientists without a whole lot of effort, fancy equipment, or too difficult activities that create confusion rather than curiosity?

A scientist is a person who seeks to acquire knowledge about the natural world. Guess what? Kids do that naturally because they are still learning and exploring the world around them. All that exploring brings up a lot of questions!

A good scientist asks questions as they explore the natural world, and we can further encourage this with these super simple science experiments. Knowledge is gained through all of these questions, explorations, and discoveries! Let's help them with fun science activities that really spark their inner scientist.

Check out these helpful resources...

ICE MELTING EXPERIMENTS

Let's get right to learning all about ice. Head to the kitchen, open the freezer and be prepared to experiment with these different ice projects.

PROJECT #1: WHAT MAKES ICE MELT FASTER?

In this experiment, you will investigate what makes ice melt faster, by adding several different solids to your ice.

SUPPLIES:

Ice cubes

Muffin tin, jars, or containers

Various solids. You can start with salt and sugar, but also include different types of salt, baking soda, sand or dirt etc.

Stopwatch or clock to determine the time of the experiment

MELTING ICE SET UP:

STEP 1: Add 4 to 5 ice cubes to 6 cupcake cups. Make sure the same amount of ice is in each one.

STEP 2: Add 3 tablespoons of each solid to a separate container of ice.

Add 3 tablespoons of baking soda to cup #1.

Add 3 tablespoons of salt to cup #2.

Add 3 tablespoons of sand to cup #3.

Cup #4, cup #5 and cup #6 are your controls and will have nothing added to the ice.

STEP 3: Set the timer to check back on the ice cubes every 10 minutes over 1/2 hour and record your results. Then draw your conclusions.

What did you find caused the ice to melt fastest?

EXTENSION: Use a timer and record how long it took each material to melt the ice. Record the results. Try adding solids of your own choice and record that data too. Now, turn the data into a graph!

WHY DOES SALT MELT ICE?

It's no surprise that adding salt made the ice melt fastest. Baking soda was second as it's a type of salt and can lower the freezing point of water. However it is a powder. Sand did not do much! So why does salt melt ice?

Salt works to lower the freezing or melting point of water. The salt interferes with the ice crystals and by mixing with the liquid water on the melting ice it speeds up the melting process.

PROJECT #2: HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU MELT ICE?

In this experiment, you will explore how quickly you can melt a pile of ice cubes! At what temperature does ice melt? Read on to learn more!

The challenge is to see how quickly you can melt the ice cubes. This can be done individually or in small groups. If you do choose to use the small group format, make sure to allow for a few minutes for the kids to brainstorm ideas together.

SUPPLIES:
SUGGESTED ITEMS:
EXPERIMENT SET UP:

STEP 1: Give each kiddo or group of kids the materials which include paper towels and a specific number of ice cubes on a plate.

STEP 2: Encourage the kids to use the materials to try and melt the ice quickly!

STEP 3: When the race is over (set a specific amount of time that works for you), ask groups to share the steps of their melting process. Discuss what worked and why? Also, discuss what you would do differently the next time!

EXTENSION: Use a timer and record how long it took each kiddo or group of kids to melt the ice. Record the results. Try two more times and record that data too. Now, turn the data into a graph!

AT WHAT TEMPERATURE DOES ICE MELT?

At what temperature does ice melt? Water not only freezes at 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it also melts at the same temperature! This is why we call this temperature the FREEZING and MELTING point of water!

Freezing occurs at this temperature as heat is removed from the water to form ice crystals. In order to melt ice, you have to use heat energy. The heat energy first goes to break down the ice before it raises the temperature of the water.

Ice at the freezing point of water actually has less energy or heat in it than water at the same temperature!

Learn about the freezing point of water with our freezing water experiment.

MORE WAYS TO MELT ICE CUBES

There are many possible ways to melt ice. The simplest way is to just leave the ice to melt at room temperature. The heat energy in the warmer room works to break up the ice structure to turn it to water. We see this all the time with the ice cubes in our drink glasses or if we accidentally leave one out on the counter.

To speed up the melting process you could hold the ice cube in your hand (brrr, chilly) since your body is usually warmer than the room. To make it melt even faster this way, try rubbing your hands together really fast before holding the ice cube. When you rub your hands together fast, you create friction which adds more heat through an increased temperature!

Another way you can generate more heat and a higher temperature is to rub the ice cube on a piece of cloth.

How about placing the ice cube on a dark piece of cloth or paper and placing it in sunlight? Dark colors retain heat from sunlight better than light colors which is why you might feel hotter wearing a dark t-shirt in the middle of a hot summer day!

Finally, we know another way to melt ice quickly is with salt which we discovered in the first experiment above!
Click below to get your quick and easy scientific method sheets.
PROJECT #3: How Do You Keep Ice From Melting?

In this third experiment, you will investigate how you can keep ice from melting. Instead of seeing how fast ice melts, let's try to keep it cool instead!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Blubber Experiment
The challenge is to see how slowly you can keep the ice from melting by reducing the amount of heat or energy that surrounds the ice. This can also be done individually or in small groups. Remember, if you do choose to use the small group format, make sure to allow for time for the kids to brainstorm ideas together.

SUPPLIES:

Ice cubes

Small zip-top bags

Small plastic containers (as close to the same size as possible so they are uniform)

SUGGESTED ITEMS:
There are quite a few items that can be potentially used for this ice STEM challenge! Check out the recycling bin, junk drawer, garage, and more. This is also where our dollar store engineering kit comes in handy. You can use the items you have available for a budget-friendly STEM challenge.

EXPERIMENT SET UP:

STEP 1: Brainstorm. What are the best materials available to keep the ice from melting?

STEP 2: Decide what materials or combination of materials you want to use to keep your ice cubes from melting by insulating them! Create one or more insulated containers to test your ideas. You can choose a specific amount of time for this portion of the project or split the STEM challenge up over several days.

STEP 3: When all the insulated containers are finished, place an ice cube in a small zip-top plastic bag and then place it in the insulated container. Make sure to put the lids on!

TIP: As a control, you will want to place a zip-top bag, with an ice cube into it, in a similar container that is not insulated. This control container is for comparison. By creating a control, you make it possible to determine whether the materials (variables) you chose are responsible for the outcome!

STEP 4: Place all the containers in a cool dry place away from a heat source or direct sunlight. No extra energy is needed here!

STEP 5: Check your containers every 10 minutes. Notice any differences Record your o0bservationsuntil all of the ice is completely melted. Make sure you do not handle the ice or remove the ice from the container while you make your observations.

Think about what materials worked best and why. How can you improve your results?

EXTENSION: Choose one thing to change (a variable) such as a smaller or larger container or a larger or smaller ice cube.

TALK ABOUT IT: A great discussion topic would be to talk about where insulation is used in our homes or in machines such as cars?

QUICK SCIENCE

Everyone knows that when you remove ice from the freezer, it will melt over time. However, most of us don't think about why it happens. The air around the ice cubes is usually warmer than the ice and it causes the ice (solid) to change into water (liquid). States of matter too!

So, if you do not want the ice to melt, you need to keep the warm air (heat energy) away from the ice by using an insulating material. Some great insulators just for a hint are felt, newspaper, and wool. Insulation prevents the transfer of heat to the ice so the ice crystals stay icy and cold longer.

Insulation is also used to keep our houses warm in the winter in cold parts of the world by keeping the cold out! Additionally, insulation can keep the heat out of a house on a hot day too! Insulation can keep up comfortably when the temperature drops and when it rises!

More STEM Challenges to Try

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about the melting point of water and what makes ice melt faster with this 3 simple and fun ice melting experiments for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
STEM isn't complete until you have made your own sun oven or solar cooker for melting s'mores. No campfire needed with this engineering classic! Find out how to make a pizza box solar oven and what materials you need. It's super simple! Take this fun STEM project outdoors the next hot day you have this summer. Heatwave not included!

Build A Pizza Box Solar Oven For STEM

Add this simple DIY solar oven project to your STEM activities this season. If you want to find out how to build your own solar cooker, read on! While you're at it, make sure to check out more fun outdoor STEM activities.

Our engineering activities are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only a short time to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

What Is STEM For Kids?

So you might ask, what does STEM actually stand for? STEM is science, technology, engineering, and math. The most important thing you can take away from this, is that STEM is for everyone!

Yes, kids of all ages can work on STEM projects and enjoy STEM lessons. STEM activities are great for group work, too!

STEM is everywhere! Just look around. The simple fact that STEM surrounds us is why it's so important for kids to be a part of, use, and understand STEM.
Interested in STEM plus ART? Check out all our STEAM Activities!
From the buildings you see in town, the bridges that connect places, the computers we use, the software programs that go with them, and compasses for navigation, STEM is what makes it all possible.

Helpful STEM Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce STEM more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

How Does A Solar Oven Work

A solar oven uses energy from the sun to heat and cook food. How does a solar oven work? The simple answer is that it absorbs more heat than it releases.

Our DIY solar oven below is made out of a pizza box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and a sheet of black paper.

The aluminum foil is used to reflect sunlight into the box.

The plastic wrap covers an opening in the box and works like a greenhouse, allowing sunlight to pass into the box, while also keeping the heat in.

At the bottom of the box, you have black construction paper. The black paper will absorb sunlight and increase the temperature of your DIY solar cooker.

Now time to make up some yummy s' mores to cook in your new solar oven! Read on for the full instructions to make your own pizza box solar oven.

Solar Oven Science Project

Science projects are an excellent tool for older kiddos to show what they know about science! Plus, they can be used in all sorts of environments including classrooms, homeschool, and groups.

Kids can take everything they have learned about using the scientific method, stating a hypothesis, choosing variables, and analyzing and presenting data.

Want to turn this solar oven activity into an awesome science fair project? Check out these helpful resources.

DIY Solar Oven Project

Materials:

S'mores ingredients (marshmallows, Hershey's bars and graham crackers)

Cardboard pizza box (You could also try this with a shoebox!)

Black construction paper

Aluminum foil

Plastic wrap

Wooden skewer

Hot glue/hot glue gun

Scissors

Ruler

Sharpie

How To Make A Solar Oven

STEP 1. Trace your ruler around the top edges of the box to leave a even square and carefully cut out the top.

STEP 2. Wrap the cardboard square in foil and glue the edges to secure.

STEP 3. Open the box and glue the black construction paper to the bottom of the box.

STEP 4. On the inside on the lid, carefully glue a piece of plastic wrap over the opening.

STEP 5. Time to make your s'mores! Place four graham crackers down on the black paper, 3 chocolate squares and a marshmallows on top of each one.

STEP 6. Carefully close the plastic lid of the box and glue one side of the foil-wrapped cardboard on the top back of the box.

STEP 7. Glue a skewer on the top left corner of the foil-wrapped cardboard and place the other end through the plastic wrap to hold the foil-wrapped cardboard in place.

STEP 8. Place your DIY solar oven in the sun and wait 60 minutes to watch your marshmallows and chocolate melt.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to make a solar oven with a pizza box. Build a DIY solar oven for a fun summer STEM project for kids. Enjoy our solar s'mores!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Squirt guns or water guns instead of paintbrushes? Absolutely! Who says you can only paint with a brush and your hand? Have you ever tried pistol painting? Now's the chance to explore an awesome water art project with easy materials. We love simple and do-able process art projects for kids!

HOW TO PAINT WITH SQUIRT GUNS

THE FIRST WATER PISTOL

The inventor of the first water pistol, made in 1896, was a man named Russell Parker. It used a rubber bulb inside a metal gun frame. The pistol was marketed as "USA Liquid Pistol. Will stop the most vicious dog (or man) without permanent injury."

Why not use your water pistols to create a fun action painting! Action painting is a type of art where the artists see the canvas as a space for action. Famous artist, Jackson Pollock is the artist who best illustrates the techniques of action painting.

Create your own action painting by freely letting go and unleashing your feelings. Action paintings are usually abstract, which means it doesn't have a subject or central image. Tell a story instead by the movement, colors, and patterns of the paint.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Process Art For Kids
WHY DO ART WITH KIDS?

Children are naturally curious. They observe, explore, and imitate, trying to figure out how things work and how to control themselves and their environments. This freedom of exploration helps children form connections in their brain, it helps them learn-and it's also fun!

Art is a natural activity to support this essential interaction with the world. Kids need the freedom to explore and experiment creatively.

Art allows children to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life but also for learning. These include the aesthetic, scientific, interpersonal, and practical interactions that can be discovered through the senses, intellect, and emotions.
Making and appreciating art involves emotional and mental faculties!
Art, whether making it, learning about it, or simply looking at it - offers a wide range of important experiences.
In other words, it's good for them!

SQUIRT GUN PAINTING

A perfect water art project for kids of all ages. Messy and fun are the best combination!

SUPPLIES:

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: To make washable paint for water guns mix water and a few drops of food coloring in a separate bowls for each color.

STEP 2: Use your pipette to fill your water pistols.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Color Mixing Art Activities
STEP 3: Get outside and make a mess! Use your water pistol on canvas or paper for a creative art
experience. What happens with you mix the colors?

MORE FUN PAINTING IDEAS TO TRY

PAINTING WITH WATER GUNS FOR SUMMER ART

Click on the image below or on the link for more fun and simple art projects for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fun water art project for kids of all ages. Try water gun painting for an outdoor art project this summer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Squirt guns or water guns instead of paintbrushes? Absolutely! Who says you can only paint with a brush and your hand? Have you ever tried pistol painting? Now's the chance to explore an awesome water art project with easy materials. We love simple and do-able process art projects for kids!

HOW TO PAINT WITH SQUIRT GUNS

THE FIRST WATER PISTOL

The inventor of the first water pistol, made in 1896, was a man named Russell Parker. It used a rubber bulb inside a metal gun frame. The pistol was marketed as "USA Liquid Pistol. Will stop the most vicious dog (or man) without permanent injury."

Why not use your water pistols to create a fun action painting! Action painting is a type of art where the artists see the canvas as a space for action. Famous artist, Jackson Pollock is the artist who best illustrates the techniques of action painting.

Create your own action painting by freely letting go and unleashing your feelings. Action paintings are usually abstract, which means it doesn't have a subject or central image. Tell a story instead by the movement, colors, and patterns of the paint.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Process Art For Kids
WHY DO ART WITH KIDS?

Children are naturally curious. They observe, explore, and imitate, trying to figure out how things work and how to control themselves and their environments. This freedom of exploration helps children form connections in their brain, it helps them learn-and it's also fun!

Art is a natural activity to support this essential interaction with the world. Kids need the freedom to explore and experiment creatively.

Art allows children to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life but also for learning. These include the aesthetic, scientific, interpersonal, and practical interactions that can be discovered through the senses, intellect, and emotions.
Making and appreciating art involves emotional and mental faculties!
Art, whether making it, learning about it, or simply looking at it - offers a wide range of important experiences.
In other words, it's good for them!

SQUIRT GUN PAINTING

A perfect water art project for kids of all ages. Messy and fun are the best combination!

SUPPLIES:

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: To make washable paint for water guns mix water and a few drops of food coloring in a separate bowls for each color.

STEP 2: Use your pipette to fill your water pistols.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Color Mixing Art Activities
STEP 3: Get outside and make a mess! Use your water pistol on canvas or paper for a creative art
experience. What happens with you mix the colors?

MORE FUN PAINTING IDEAS TO TRY

PAINTING WITH WATER GUNS FOR SUMMER ART

Click on the image below or on the link for more fun and simple art projects for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fun water art project for kids of all ages. Try water gun painting for an outdoor art project this summer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LEGO Summer Challenges (FREE Printables) - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try a week of LEGO building challenges to get the STEM juices flowing. Great ideas for cool things to build with LEGO.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LEGO Summer Challenges (FREE Printables) - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try a week of LEGO building challenges to get the STEM juices flowing. Great ideas for cool things to build with LEGO.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LEGO Summer Challenges (FREE Printables) - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try a week of LEGO building challenges to get the STEM juices flowing. Great ideas for cool things to build with LEGO.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LEGO Summer Challenges (FREE Printables) - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try a week of LEGO building challenges to get the STEM juices flowing. Great ideas for cool things to build with LEGO.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What Makes Baking Soda Fizz?

Baking soda is made up of tiny particles called molecules. Each molecule of baking soda has three different elements: sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen.

Something exciting happens when baking soda comes into contact with an acid, like vinegar! The acid (vinegar) and the base (baking soda) react. The vinegar donates a hydrogen ion to the baking soda during this reaction.

The hydrogen ion combines with the bicarbonate ion in baking soda to form carbonic acid. This is unstable and quickly breaks into water and carbon dioxide gas.

The carbon dioxide gas is why baking soda starts to fizz and bubble. The gas tries to escape from the mixture, creating bubbles that rise to the surface. These bubbles make a fizzing sound and give the impression of a mini volcano eruption!

So, when you mix baking soda with an acid like vinegar, you get a fantastic fizzy reaction due to the production of carbon dioxide gas. It's truly an exciting and visually appealing demonstration of a chemical reaction!
You might also like: Cool Chemistry Projects for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We love simple Halloween science experiments like this bubbling brew experiment. Make a fizzy cauldron with a few simple household ingredients.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you want to try a little spooky science and sensory play this fall? Our Halloween Oobleck Recipe is perfect for your young mad scientists! Halloween is a fun time to try science experiments with a spooky twist. We love science and Halloween, so we have tons of fun Halloween activities to share with you.

HALLOWEEN THEME

Learning how to make oobleck is one of the easiest science activities you can do on a small budget with kids of all ages and in a class setting or at home. I love how versatile our main oobleck recipe truly is and it provides a neat science lesson along with great tactile sensory play!

Oobleck is a classic science activity that can be themed for a number of holidays or seasons! Of course it's easy to turn into a Halloween science experiment with a few creepy crawly spiders and a favorite theme color!

You can check out even more awesome Halloween science experiments towards the end, but I will share now that we have had a lot of fun with our bubbling brew and Halloween lava lamp this fall for some spooky science.

HALLOWEEN OOBLECK RECIPE

YOU WILL NEED:

2 cup cornstarch

1 cup water

Food Coloring (optional)

Halloween play accessories (optional)

Baking Dish, Spoon

HOW TO MAKE OOBLECK

Oobleck is made with a combination of cornstarch and water. You will want to keep additional cornstarch on hand if you need to thicken the mixture. Generally, the oobleck recipe is a ratio of 2:1, so two cups of cornstarch and one cup of water.

1. In your bowl or baking dish, add the cornstarch. You can start mixing the oobleck in a bowl and then transfer it to a baking dish if you prefer.

2. If you want to give your oobleck a color, add food coloring to your water first.

Remember that you have a whole lot of white cornstarch so you will need a good amount of food coloring if you want a more vibrant color. We added yellow food coloring for our Halloween theme!

3. You can try mixing up your oobleck with a spoon, but I guarantee you are going to need to get your hands in there at some point during the mixing process.

THE RIGHT OOBLECK CONSISTENCY

There is a gray area for the right oobleck consistency. First, you don't want it to be very crumbly, but you also don't want it to be very soupy either. If you have a reluctant kiddo, hand them a spoon to start! Let them warm up to the idea of this squishy substance. Never force them to touch it though.

Oobleck is a Non-newtonian fluid which means it is neither a liquid nor a solid. You should be able to pick up a chunk of oobleck and form it into a ball before it turns back to liquid and drops back down to the bowl.

Once you have your oobleck mixed to the desired consistency, you can add your accessories as desired and play!

TIP: If it's too soupy, add cornstarch. If it's too hard and dry, add water. Only add in small increments till you get the desired consistency.

More Halloween Science Fun!

Halloween Art Activities

Go ahead and add some of these favorite Halloween art activities to your countdown!

150+ Pages of Halloween-Themed Materials!

This Halloween project pack is suitable for home, school, and group use for kids in grades Kindergarten through elementary but is scaleable for many ages and abilities.

What's Included:

25+ Halloween theme science and STEM activities with printable sheets, instructions, and helpful information all using easy-to-source materials perfect for limited-time needs. Includes a Halloween engineering pack with fun, problem-based challenges for kids to solve!

The skeleton activity pack includes building a skeleton challenge and a coding challenge! Try a skeleton bone bridge-building STEM challenge!

Halloween theme brick printable activities for hands-on learning with math that is perfect for early finishers or home fun and reinforces basic math concepts.

Bonus fun pack includes games and activities to round out your Halloween theme, such as I Spy, bingo, matching, Would You Rather cards, scavenger hunt, word search, A-Z Halloween hunt, and a coloring page.

The Halloween STEAM Pack includes artist-inspired projects by Warhol, Lichtenstein, and more!

Free Printable Halloween Worksheet

Add this quick and free Witch's Brew printable to your activity! Instant download here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try a fun spooky twist on a classic science activity with our Halloween oobleck recipe. A few simple ingredients for this fun Halloween theme oobleck.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Turn an ice melting science activity into a creepy fun Halloween melting ice experiment this month! Super simple and super easy, this frozen hands activity is sure to be a big hit with kiddos of all ages! Just making the hands and unwrapping them is part of the fun too. Perfect for a Frankenstein theme, we take a classic science idea and give it a Halloween twist for simple science every day!

Enjoy Frozen Halloween Science

Get ready to add this simple Halloween science activity to your Halloween theme lesson plans this season. If you want to learn about the melting point of water, let's dig in! While you're at it, make sure to check out these other spooky Halloween science experiments.

Our science activities and experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

All Kids Can Be Scientists!

So what exactly is a scientist and how can you encourage your kids to be scientists without a whole lot of effort, fancy equipment, or difficult activities that create confusion rather than curiosity?

A scientist is a person who seeks to acquire knowledge about the natural world. Guess what? Kids do that naturally because they are learning and exploring the world around them. All that exploring brings up a lot of questions!

A good scientist asks questions as they explore the natural world, and we can further encourage this with simple science experiments. Knowledge is gained through all of these questions, explorations, and discoveries! Let's help them by providing fun science activities that really spark their inner curiosity.

Helpful Science Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

The Science of Melting Ice

At what temperature does ice melt? Water not only freezes at 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it also melts at the same temperature! This is why we call this temperature the FREEZING and MELTING point of water!

Freezing and melting are examples of phase changes. They are physical changes of water, not chemical changes.

Freezing occurs at this temperature as heat is removed from the water to form ice crystals. In order to melt ice, you have to use heat energy. The heat energy first goes to break down the ice before it raises the temperature of the water.

Ice at the freezing point of water actually has less energy or heat in it than water at the same temperature!

Check out more ways to experiment with water, as well as tons of ice play activities!

What Makes Ice Melt Faster?

Depending on the age and development of your kiddos, create your own melting ice experiment to investigate what makes ice melt faster. Read more... Scientific Method For Kids and Variables in Science.

Suggestions:

What happens when you add water to the ice at different temperatures? Eg tap water, cold water from the refrigerator and boiled water.

What happens to the ice when you add solids like sugar or salt? See our What makes ice melt faster experiment for ideas.

Halloween Frozen Hands Experiment

Let's get right to learning about what makes ice melt faster and the melting point of water with this Halloween theme science activity.

Supplies:

Disposable Gloves

Water

Rubber Bands

Food Coloring

Glitter

Halloween Items (spiders, eyeballs, and other plastic treasures)

Instructions:

STEP 1: Choose a handful of Halloween decorations you want to use.

STEP 2: Add the Halloween decorations and a few drops of food coloring to a disposable glove.

STEP 3: Fill up your glove with water, leaving enough space to tie off the end with a rubber band.

STEP 4: Make up several hands and lay them flat on a tray. Put the tray of hands in the freezer and leave overnight.

STEP 5: Once frozen, remove the hands and place them in a large container. This will help control the mess! Then peel off the rubber glove.

You now have some spooky Halloween hands ready to experiment with!

STEP 6: Set out a bowl of warm water and a choice of "tools" for melting the ice. We always love the classic meat baster from the dollar store. Eyedroppers and squeeze bottles work well too!

TIP: Once the ice has melted you may want to add a bit of warm water to keep everyone's hands from freezing. This will definitely create a more enjoyable experience!

More Spooky Halloween Experiments

Check out our complete list of spooky Halloween science experiments for kids!

Bonus Halloween Art Activities

Go ahead and add some of these favorite Halloween art activities to your countdown!

150+ Pages of Halloween-Themed Materials!

This Halloween project pack is suitable for home, school, and group use for kids in grades Kindergarten through elementary but is scaleable for many ages and abilities.

What's Included:

25+ Halloween theme science and STEM activities with printable sheets, instructions, and helpful information all using easy-to-source materials perfect for limited-time needs. Includes a Halloween engineering pack with fun, problem-based challenges for kids to solve!

The skeleton activity pack includes building a skeleton challenge and a coding challenge! Try a skeleton bone bridge-building STEM challenge!

Halloween theme brick printable activities for hands-on learning with math that is perfect for early finishers or home fun and reinforces basic math concepts.

Bonus fun pack includes games and activities to round out your Halloween theme, such as I Spy, bingo, matching, Would You Rather cards, scavenger hunt, word search, A-Z Halloween hunt, and a coloring page.

The Halloween STEAM Pack includes artist-inspired projects by Warhol, Lichtenstein, and more!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Turn an ice melting activity into a creepy Halloween frozen hands experiment! Create your own spooky frozen hands and explore how ice melts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Halloween is a fantastic time to explore classic chemistry for kids with a twist! Test out this self inflating balloon project with Halloween balloons! It's a must save science experiment for fizzing Halloween baking soda and vinegar science, Just a few simple ingredients from the kitchen and you have an amazing chemical reaction for kids at your fingertips. Check out Halloween science you can actually play with too!

GHOST BALLOON EXPERIMENT FOR HALLOWEEN

HALLOWEEN SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
It's easy to self-inflate balloons with this simple chemical reaction kids can easily do!
It's so easy to set up this Halloween science experiment with balloons, baking soda, and vinegar. Dip into the recycling bin for water bottles! Grab some fun novelty balloons and stock up on baking soda and vinegar.
Check our some of our other favorite fizzing experiments!
CHEMISTRY FOR KIDS

Let's keep it basic for our younger or junior scientists! Chemistry is all about the way different materials are put together, and how they are made up including atoms and molecules. It's also how these materials act under different conditions. Chemistry is often a base for physics so you will see overlap!

What might you experiment within chemistry? Classically we think of a mad scientist and lots of bubbling beakers, and yes there is a reaction between bases and acids to enjoy! Also, chemistry involves matter, changes, solutions, and the list goes on and on.

We will be exploring simple chemistry you can do at home or in the classroom that isn't too crazy, but is still lots of fun for kids! You can check out some more chemistry activities here.

HALLOWEEN BALLOON EXPERIMENT

YOU WILL NEED:
Tip: Don't have novelty Halloween balloons? Draw your own ghost faces with black markers!
HOW TO SET UP THE HALLOWEEN BALLOON EXPERIMENT

STEP 1. Blow up the balloon a bit to stretch it out some. Then use the funnel and teaspoon to add baking soda to the balloon. We started with 2 teaspoons and added an extra teaspoon for each balloon.
Tip: My son suggested we try different amounts of baking soda in our balloon experiment to see what would happen. Always encourage your kids to ask questions and wonder about what will happen if...
This is a great way to encourage inquiry, observation skills, and critical thinking skills. You can read more about teaching the scientific method for kids here.

STEP 2. Fill the containers with vinegar halfway.

STEP 3. When your balloons are all made attach to the containers making sure you have a good seal!

STEP 4. Lift up the balloon to dump the baking soda into the container of vinegar. Watch the balloon fill up!
TIP: To get the most gas out of it, swirl around the container a bit.
Make predictions! Ask questions! Share observations!

WHY DOES THE BALLOON EXPAND?

The science, behind this balloon baking soda experiment, is the chemical reaction between the base {baking soda} and the acid {vinegar}. When the two ingredients combine the balloon experiment gets it's lift!

That lift is the gas produced called carbon dioxide or CO2. The gas fills the space in the plastic container, and then moves up into the balloon because of the tight seal you have created. The balloon inflates because the gas has nowhere else to go!

BALLOON EXPERIMENT VARIATION

Here's an additional balloon experiment to try:

Inflate one balloon using the baking soda and vinegar reaction and tie it off.

Next, blow up another balloon using your own carbon dioxide to about the same size or as close as possible, and tie it off.

Hold both balloons at arm's length from your body. Let go!

What happens? Does one balloon fall at a different speed than the other? Why is this? Although both balloons are filled with the same gas, the one you blew up is not as concentrated with pure CO2 as the one blown up with baking soda and vinegar.

MORE FUN HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make ghostly Halloween balloons with this fun self inflating Halloween balloon experiment. All you need is a few simple supplies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Halloween Floam: Easy Halloween Slime Activity for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An Easy Halloween floam recipe is squishy for kids! Foam beads create a fun Halloween slime texture to make pumkins, ghosts, and monsters!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Spooky fun with the famous artist Wassily Kandinsky. This simple papercraft with a free haunted house template is perfect for many ages. Combine circular rings of color and the form of a tree to create fun Halloween art inspired by the famous artist Wassily Kandinsky. All you need is a watercolor tin, a sheet or two of art paper, and our free printable templates!

Who Is Wassily Kandinsky?

Famous artist Wassily Kandinsky was born in Moscow, Russia, on 16th December 1866. He grew up in the Russian city of Odessa, where he enjoyed music and learned to play the piano and the cello. Kandinsky would remark later that even as a child, the colors of nature dazzled him.

Both music and nature would have a big influence on Kandinsky's art as he grew older. Kandinsky would come to see that a painting did not need a particular subject but that shapes and colors could be art.

Over the coming years, he would begin to paint what is now known as abstract art. Kandinsky is considered one of the founders of abstract art.

Kandinsky circles are a great example of abstract art. Kandinsky believed the circle had symbolic significance relating to the mysteries of the cosmos, and he often used it as an abstract form in his artwork.

While you're at it, explore these Kandinsky art projects all year round:

Read on to find out how kids can experiment with their own Kandinsky-inspired Halloween watercolor painting. Make sure to grab the free printable art project to get started!

Why Study Famous Artists?

Studying the artwork of the masters not only influences your artistic style but even improves your skills and decisions when creating your own original work.

It is excellent for kids to be exposed to different styles of art and experiment with other mediums and techniques through our famous artist art projects.

Learn more about Watercolor Art here.

Kids may even find an artist or artists whose work they like and will inspire them to do more of their artwork.
Why is learning about art from the past important?

Kids who are exposed to art have an appreciation for beauty!

Kids who study art history feel a connection to the past!

Art discussions develop critical thinking skills!

Kids who study art learn about diversity at a young age!

Art history can inspire curiosity!

Helpful Art Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce art more effectively to your kids or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

Tips To Create A Kandinsky Haunted House

Tip 1: Easily color the circles any color you like, including blues and reds! It's your spooky haunted house!

Tip 2: Pick different art materials, such as markers, crayons, paints, watercolors, or pastels, to color the circles or take it a step further... Cut circles out of different papers and make a collage background!

Halloween Watercolor Project

Supplies:

Haunted house and circles printable template

Markers or watercolors

Glue

Scissors

Art paper or canvas

Instructions:

STEP 1. Print the templates.

STEP 2. Use markers or watercolors to color in the circles.

STEP 3. Cut out the tree and the circles.

STEP 4. Glue the pieces to paper or canvas to create your own colorful Kandinsky tree.

More Fun Halloween Art For Kids

Bonus Halloween Printable

Add this free printable 3D haunted house template to your STEAM lessons this month. Use it in the classroom, at home, or with clubs and groups!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use this fantastic Halloween watercolor art project to explore the work of Wassily Kandinsky for a spooky, creative Halloween craft.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Take the egg drop challenge for an awesome STEM project for young kids and older ones too! Your imagination is the limit with this cleverly styled egg drop as you investigate what makes for the best shock absorber for dropping an egg. We have tons more STEM activities for you to try! Read on to find out how the egg drop challenge works and what are the best materials for an egg drop.

Take the Egg Drop Challenge

Egg drop challenges are super cool and are terrific STEM activities! I have been waiting to do a classic egg drop project for some time with my son but felt like he was too young.

The goal of the egg drop challenge is to drop your egg from a height without it breaking when it hits the ground.

Most egg drop projects use many loose materials, design making, and tinkering that my son isn't ready for yet. I thought we could expand on it by using materials in our kitchen to protect the eggs including ziptop bags to control the mess.

What else can you do with eggs? Watch the video!

What Makes a Good STEM Project?

First, what is STEM? STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. It's the new word on the street because of our tech-rich society and the lean towards the sciences and getting kids engaged early.

A good STEM project will have a little of at least 2 of the 4 pillars of STEM and often you will find a solid experiment or challenge naturally uses bits and pieces of most of the pillars. As you can see these 4 areas are very intertwined.
LEARN MORE: What Is STEM?
STEM doesn't have to be boring, expensive, or time-consuming. We love to always try out neat STEM activities, and you can use super simple supplies to make great STEM projects.

Make it an Egg Drop Experiment.

Want to turn this fun science activity into a science fair project? Then, you will want to check out these helpful resources.

Here are some ideas to remember to change the variables for an egg drop science fair project.

Standard Egg Drop: Start with the classic challenge where students must design a contraption to protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height. They can experiment with different materials and shapes for their protective devices.

Materials Investigation: Have students investigate the properties of different materials. Ask them to design a container for the egg using various materials like paper, cardboard, plastic, and foam. Then, compare which material offers the best protection.

Shape Experiment: Explore the impact of the shape of the container on the egg's safety. Students can create different shapes, such as cubes, spheres, or pyramids, and see which one works best.

Parachute Design: Challenge students to design a parachute system that slows down the egg's descent. This adds an aerodynamics element to the project.

Weight Constraint: Introduce the maximum weight constraint for the entire contraption. This requires students to think about the trade-off between protection and weight.

Altitude Variations: Change the height from which the egg is dropped. Ask students to adjust their designs for different drop heights and explain how they made these adjustments.

Add These STEM Questions for Reflection

These Use these questions for reflection with your kids after they have completed the STEM challenge to STEM questions for reflection are perfect to use with older kiddos to talk about how the project went and what they might do differently next time around. encourage discussion of results and critical thinking.

-> Get the printable STEM questions list here.

1. What were some of the challenges you discovered along the way?

2. What worked well and what did not work well?

3. What part of your model or prototype do you really like? Explain why.

4. What part of your model or prototype needs improvement? Explain why.

5. What other materials would you like to use if you could do this challenge again?

6. What would you do differently next time?

7. What parts of your model or prototype are similar to the real world version?

What are the Best Materials for an Egg Drop?

We have two versions of this egg drop challenge below, one for older kids and one for younger kids. Do you need real eggs? Usually, I would say yes, but given the circumstances, how about candy-filled plastic eggs? If you don't want to waste food for any reason, don't! Find a workaround instead.

Egg Drop Ideas for Older Kids

Older kiddos will love coming up with ideas to protect the egg in an egg drop. Certainly, egg drop designs can be more involved the older a kid gets making this a great activity to try each year. Some materials they may want to use...

Packaging materials

Tissue

Old t-shirts or rags

Recycling container goodies

Styrofoam

String

Bags

And so much more!

Here's a past year's winner in the egg drop challenge! It even included a plastic bag parachute!

Egg Drop Ideas for Younger Kids

You will need eggs and plastic ziptop bags to contain the mess! How many is up to you. We had 7 bags left, so we came up with six items from around the kitchen to fill the bags and protect the eggs and one with nothing.

I tried to pick items that weren't too wasteful, and we had a few expired and unused items in the pantry. Some materials you could use to protect the egg...

How Does the Egg Drop Challenge Work?
Create your own egg drop designs to protect your egg from breaking when it is dropped from a height.
If using the zip lock bags, fill all your bags with packaging materials while carefully fitting an egg into each bag. You can tape the bags shut if you want. We did use tape for the bag of water.

Once your bags are completed, your egg drop challenge is ready for you to test. Make sure to drop the eggs from the same height each time.

Make predictions before you drop each bag and ask the kids why they think that will happen.
Note: I wasn't sure what my son was going to do with the cups, but it was up to him to decide. He thought of making a lid out of the big cup. That's the best part of a STEM challenge!
Check Our Our Egg Drop Experiment

The first egg drop challenge had to be the egg in the zip-top bag. We had to ensure the bag wasn't protecting the egg, right? Crash and splat went that egg drop. Since it's already in a bag, I might as well squish it around!

We continued with the egg drop challenge, testing each bag and then examining the contents. This egg drop project had some clear winners!

IDEAS THAT FAILED!

Obviously, the egg did not fair well with no protection. It also didn't make it through an egg drop in water or ice. Note: We tried the water twice! Once with 8 cups and once with 4 cups.

EGG DROP IDEAS THAT WORKED!

However, the egg drop did make it through the crazy cup contraption. We were all impressed. It also made it through a drop in a bag of cereal. The egg, however, did not fare well in the paper towels. He didn't think the towels were thick enough!

It would be a great egg drop project idea to explore: how to drop an egg without breaking it using paper!

We concluded the egg drop challenge, with a bag of flour mix. {This was very old gluten-free mix we will never use}. The flour was "soft" apparently making for great protection against the fall.

What is the Best Way to Protect an Egg in an Egg Drop?

We learned that there is no best way to protect an egg. There are multiple ways to do the egg drop successfully. What egg drop design ideas will you come up with?

We did love that clean-up was a snap with our eggs in the bag! The eggs and bags that didn't make it went right to the trash, and the other materials were easily put away. Although we taped the bag with water in it, it still got things a bit wet!

This egg drop style is great for young kids as it is quick and simple but fun. I also love that it encourages a bit of problem-solving and experimenting without being overwhelming.

More Egg Science Activities

Get the eggs ready for more simple science projects to explore chemistry, biology, and physics!

More Favorite STEM Challenges

Straw Boats Challenge - Design a boat made from nothing but straws and tape, and see how many items it can hold before it sinks.

How Strong Is An Egg - Test much weight one egg can hold before it breaks.

Strong Spaghetti - Get out the pasta and test our your spaghetti bridge designs. Which one will hold the most weight?

Paper Bridges - Similar to our strong spaghettti challenge. Design a paper bridge with folded paper. Which one will hold the most coins?

Paper Chain STEM Challenge - One of the simplest STEM challenges ever!

Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower - Build the tallest spaghetti tower that can hold the weight of a jumbo marshmallow.

Strong Paper - Experiment with folding paper in different ways to test its strength, and learn about what shapes make the strongest structures.

Marshmallow Toothpick Tower - Build the tallest tower using only marshmallows and toothpicks.

Penny Boat Challenge - Design a simple tin foil boat, and see how many pennies it can hold before it sinks.

ridge - Build a bridge from gumdrops and toothpicks and see how much weight it can hold.

Cup Tower Challenge - Make the tallest tower you can with 100 paper cups.

Paper Clip Challenge - Grab a bunch of paper clips and make a chain. Are paper clips strong enough to hold weight?

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best Egg Drop Project Ideas - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Take the Egg Drop challenge at school or home. Low mess and great learning with a simple egg drop project all ages can enjoy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Take the egg drop challenge for an awesome STEM project for young kids and older ones too! Your imagination is the limit with this cleverly styled egg drop as you investigate what makes for the best shock absorber for dropping an egg. We have tons more STEM activities for you to try! Read on to find out how the egg drop challenge works and what are the best materials for an egg drop.

Take the Egg Drop Challenge

Egg drop challenges are super cool and are terrific STEM activities! I have been waiting to do a classic egg drop project for some time with my son but felt like he was too young.

The goal of the egg drop challenge is to drop your egg from a height without it breaking when it hits the ground.

Most egg drop projects use many loose materials, design making, and tinkering that my son isn't ready for yet. I thought we could expand on it by using materials in our kitchen to protect the eggs including ziptop bags to control the mess.

What else can you do with eggs? Watch the video!

What Makes a Good STEM Project?

First, what is STEM? STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. It's the new word on the street because of our tech-rich society and the lean towards the sciences and getting kids engaged early.

A good STEM project will have a little of at least 2 of the 4 pillars of STEM and often you will find a solid experiment or challenge naturally uses bits and pieces of most of the pillars. As you can see these 4 areas are very intertwined.
LEARN MORE: What Is STEM?
STEM doesn't have to be boring, expensive, or time-consuming. We love to always try out neat STEM activities, and you can use super simple supplies to make great STEM projects.

Make it an Egg Drop Experiment.

Want to turn this fun science activity into a science fair project? Then, you will want to check out these helpful resources.

Here are some ideas to remember to change the variables for an egg drop science fair project.

Standard Egg Drop: Start with the classic challenge where students must design a contraption to protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height. They can experiment with different materials and shapes for their protective devices.

Materials Investigation: Have students investigate the properties of different materials. Ask them to design a container for the egg using various materials like paper, cardboard, plastic, and foam. Then, compare which material offers the best protection.

Shape Experiment: Explore the impact of the shape of the container on the egg's safety. Students can create different shapes, such as cubes, spheres, or pyramids, and see which one works best.

Parachute Design: Challenge students to design a parachute system that slows down the egg's descent. This adds an aerodynamics element to the project.

Weight Constraint: Introduce the maximum weight constraint for the entire contraption. This requires students to think about the trade-off between protection and weight.

Altitude Variations: Change the height from which the egg is dropped. Ask students to adjust their designs for different drop heights and explain how they made these adjustments.

Add These STEM Questions for Reflection

These Use these questions for reflection with your kids after they have completed the STEM challenge to STEM questions for reflection are perfect to use with older kiddos to talk about how the project went and what they might do differently next time around. encourage discussion of results and critical thinking.

-> Get the printable STEM questions list here.

1. What were some of the challenges you discovered along the way?

2. What worked well and what did not work well?

3. What part of your model or prototype do you really like? Explain why.

4. What part of your model or prototype needs improvement? Explain why.

5. What other materials would you like to use if you could do this challenge again?

6. What would you do differently next time?

7. What parts of your model or prototype are similar to the real world version?

What are the Best Materials for an Egg Drop?

We have two versions of this egg drop challenge below, one for older kids and one for younger kids. Do you need real eggs? Usually, I would say yes, but given the circumstances, how about candy-filled plastic eggs? If you don't want to waste food for any reason, don't! Find a workaround instead.

Egg Drop Ideas for Older Kids

Older kiddos will love coming up with ideas to protect the egg in an egg drop. Certainly, egg drop designs can be more involved the older a kid gets making this a great activity to try each year. Some materials they may want to use...

Packaging materials

Tissue

Old t-shirts or rags

Recycling container goodies

Styrofoam

String

Bags

And so much more!

Here's a past year's winner in the egg drop challenge! It even included a plastic bag parachute!

Egg Drop Ideas for Younger Kids

You will need eggs and plastic ziptop bags to contain the mess! How many is up to you. We had 7 bags left, so we came up with six items from around the kitchen to fill the bags and protect the eggs and one with nothing.

I tried to pick items that weren't too wasteful, and we had a few expired and unused items in the pantry. Some materials you could use to protect the egg...

How Does the Egg Drop Challenge Work?
Create your own egg drop designs to protect your egg from breaking when it is dropped from a height.
If using the zip lock bags, fill all your bags with packaging materials while carefully fitting an egg into each bag. You can tape the bags shut if you want. We did use tape for the bag of water.

Once your bags are completed, your egg drop challenge is ready for you to test. Make sure to drop the eggs from the same height each time.

Make predictions before you drop each bag and ask the kids why they think that will happen.
Note: I wasn't sure what my son was going to do with the cups, but it was up to him to decide. He thought of making a lid out of the big cup. That's the best part of a STEM challenge!
Check Our Our Egg Drop Experiment

The first egg drop challenge had to be the egg in the zip-top bag. We had to ensure the bag wasn't protecting the egg, right? Crash and splat went that egg drop. Since it's already in a bag, I might as well squish it around!

We continued with the egg drop challenge, testing each bag and then examining the contents. This egg drop project had some clear winners!

IDEAS THAT FAILED!

Obviously, the egg did not fair well with no protection. It also didn't make it through an egg drop in water or ice. Note: We tried the water twice! Once with 8 cups and once with 4 cups.

EGG DROP IDEAS THAT WORKED!

However, the egg drop did make it through the crazy cup contraption. We were all impressed. It also made it through a drop in a bag of cereal. The egg, however, did not fare well in the paper towels. He didn't think the towels were thick enough!

It would be a great egg drop project idea to explore: how to drop an egg without breaking it using paper!

We concluded the egg drop challenge, with a bag of flour mix. {This was very old gluten-free mix we will never use}. The flour was "soft" apparently making for great protection against the fall.

What is the Best Way to Protect an Egg in an Egg Drop?

We learned that there is no best way to protect an egg. There are multiple ways to do the egg drop successfully. What egg drop design ideas will you come up with?

We did love that clean-up was a snap with our eggs in the bag! The eggs and bags that didn't make it went right to the trash, and the other materials were easily put away. Although we taped the bag with water in it, it still got things a bit wet!

This egg drop style is great for young kids as it is quick and simple but fun. I also love that it encourages a bit of problem-solving and experimenting without being overwhelming.

More Egg Science Activities

Get the eggs ready for more simple science projects to explore chemistry, biology, and physics!

More Favorite STEM Challenges

Straw Boats Challenge - Design a boat made from nothing but straws and tape, and see how many items it can hold before it sinks.

How Strong Is An Egg - Test much weight one egg can hold before it breaks.

Strong Spaghetti - Get out the pasta and test our your spaghetti bridge designs. Which one will hold the most weight?

Paper Bridges - Similar to our strong spaghettti challenge. Design a paper bridge with folded paper. Which one will hold the most coins?

Paper Chain STEM Challenge - One of the simplest STEM challenges ever!

Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower - Build the tallest spaghetti tower that can hold the weight of a jumbo marshmallow.

Strong Paper - Experiment with folding paper in different ways to test its strength, and learn about what shapes make the strongest structures.

Marshmallow Toothpick Tower - Build the tallest tower using only marshmallows and toothpicks.

Penny Boat Challenge - Design a simple tin foil boat, and see how many pennies it can hold before it sinks.

ridge - Build a bridge from gumdrops and toothpicks and see how much weight it can hold.

Cup Tower Challenge - Make the tallest tower you can with 100 paper cups.

Paper Clip Challenge - Grab a bunch of paper clips and make a chain. Are paper clips strong enough to hold weight?

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best Egg Drop Project Ideas - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Take the Egg Drop challenge at school or home. Low mess and great learning with a simple egg drop project all ages can enjoy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Don't worry about buying it, homemade glow in the dark playdough is so easy to make, and is awesome for sensory play with your kiddos! This fun and easy recipe uses glow in the dark powder. Enjoy glowing playdough, with or without a black light! Check out how to make this glow dough, and follow our easy activity suggestions below.

Homemade Playdough

Playdough is an excellent addition to your preschool learning activities! Even create a busy box from a ball of homemade playdough, a small rolling pin, and cookie cutters.

Kids can explore shapes and fruit themes creatively with our homemade playdough. See below for playdough activity ideas and a free printable playdough mat.

There are so many fun variations of playdough to make and enjoy with young kids. Here are a few of our favorites...

Fun Things To Make With Playdough

Math Activities

Turn your playdough into a counting activity and add dice! Roll and place the correct amount of items on rolled out playdough! Use buttons, beads, or small toys for counting. You could even make it a game and the first one to 20, wins!

Add number playdough stamps and pair with the items to practice numbers 1-10 or 1-20.

Make a sorting activity. Roll out the soft playdough into different circles. Next, mix up the items in a small container. Then, have the kids sort the items by color or size or type to the different playdough shapes using the tweezers!

Practice Fine Motor Skills

Mix small items into your ball of playdough and add a pair of kid-safe tweezers or tongs for them to find things with.

Use kid-safe playdough scissors to practice cutting their playdough into pieces.

Simply using cookie cutters to cut out shapes, which is great for little fingers!

STEM Activities

Turn your playdough into a STEM activity for the book Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss! Challenge your kids to roll up 10 apples out of playdough and stack them 10 apples tall! See more ideas for 10 Apples Up On Top here.

Challenge kids to create different size playdough balls and put them in the correct order of size!

Add toothpicks and roll up "mini balls" out of the playdough and use them along with the toothpicks to create 2D and 3D shapes and structures.

Printable Playdough Mats

Tips For Making Glow In The Dark Playdough

Tip 1: Match the color of the food coloring to the color of the glow in the dark pigments. Lighter colors will glow better than darker colors!

Tip 2: A black light is unnecessary for this glow in the dark playdough but might enhance the experience!

Tip 3: The glow in the dark pigments must be charged in sunlight to glow in the dark. The longer they charge and the more pigments used, the longer the playdough will glow.

Tip 4: To avoid discoloring your hands, wear gloves when mixing the colors!

Glow In The Dark Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

How To Make Glow In The Dark Playdough

STEP 1. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cream of tartar.

STEP 2. Combine the oil with the boiling water. Stir the oil and water into the dry ingredients. Mix well.

STEP 3. Remove the dough and knead until it is no longer sticky. Divide into equal parts with one part for each color.

STEP 4. Indent each portion of dough to create a small hole. Add drops of food coloring and glow in the dark pigments to each portion.

STEP 5. Knead and twist the dough until the pigments and coloring are evenly distributed.

Enjoy your glow in the dark playtime!

How Long Does Playdough Last

Keep your playdough stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. Resealable plastic containers work well and are easy for little hands to open. You can also use zip-top bags.
TIP: Wash hands before using playdough to keep it as clean as possible and it will last longer!
More Fun Glow In The Dark Ideas

Have leftover pigment? Here are some more fun and easy ways to use it.

Bonus Sensory Play Recipes To Make

We have a few more recipes that are all time favorites! Easy to make, only a few ingredients and young kids love them for sensory play! Looking for more unique ways to engage the senses? Check out more fun sensory activities for kids!

Make kinetic sand that is moldable play sand for little hands.

Homemade oobleck is easy with just 2 ingredients.

Mix up some soft and moldable cloud dough.

Find out how simple it is to color rice for sensory play.

Try edible slime for a taste safe play experience.

Of course, playdough with shaving foam is fun to try!

Printable Playdough Recipes Pack

If you want an easy-to-use printable resource for all your favorite playdough recipes, including this one, and exclusive (only available in this pack) playdough mats, grab our printable Playdough Project Pack!

Homemade Playdough Recipes including traditional, no-cook, super soft, and even taste-safe ideas!

Playdough Mats with an Early Learning Theme, including space, seasons, volcanos, bees, and more!

Playdough tips, tricks, and ideas!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make this easy glow in the dark playdough for a glowing dough that is awesome for sensory play. Plus, fun things to make with playdough.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Find out why this rubber egg experiment is a classic must-try science activity you can set up in minutes in the classroom or at home! Read on to find out if you can make an egg bounce. What happens to the shell? Does light pass through it? So many questions and one easy experiment using everyday supplies. We think all science experiments should be exciting, easy, and fun!

Try this fun rubber egg experiment!

Get ready to add this simple egg-in-vinegar experiment to your science lesson plans this season. Let's dig in if you want to learn about a cool chemical reaction! While you're at it, make sure to check out these fun chemistry experiments.

Did you know that a rubber egg also explores concepts from biology, including osmosis? Read on to learn more about how osmosis works. Plus, you can explore our potato osmosis lab as well.

There are so many interesting egg experiments and STEM projects! This classic naked egg experiment is very cool and easy to set up. The only difficult part is waiting! A whole week is what you need to wait.

After you set up your naked egg experiment, why not try...

Easy Science Experiments For Kids

Science learning starts early; you can be a part of that by setting up science at home with everyday materials. Or you can bring easy science experiments to a group of kids in the classroom!

We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. All our science experiments use inexpensive, everyday materials you can find at home or from your local dollar store.

We even have a whole list of kitchen science experiments using basic supplies you will have in your kitchen. Check out our mega science supply list here to build your supplies kit!

You can set up your science experiments as an activity focusing on exploration and discovery. Make sure to ask kids questions at each step, discuss what is happening, and discuss the science behind it.

Alternatively, you can introduce the scientific method to older kids to record their observations and make conclusions. Read more about the scientific method for kids to help you get started.

Egg In Vinegar Science Project

For younger kids, this basic version below is perfect! It includes the right amount of play and learning. For older kids, apply the scientific method by using variables. For example...

Eggs - Are there differences in eggshells between brown and white eggs? How about organic eggs versus regular eggs?

Liquid - What happens when you put the rubber egg back in vinegar or another liquid? How about corn syrup? Test different liquids and explore osmosis once the shell is dissolved!

Want to turn this fun science experiment into a science project? Then check out these helpful resources.

Egg In Vinegar Experiment

This experiment is quick to set up but will need to be left for 48 to 72 hours to completely dissolve the shell, and get your bouncy egg!

Supplies:

Set Up:

STEP 1: Place an egg in the jar and cover with vinegar.

Optional: You can color the vinegar with food coloring for rainbow-colored rubber eggs too!

Notice the bubbles on the eggshell! The acid in the vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the shell. This reaction produces a gas called carbon dioxide!

STEP 3: After 48 hours, remove the egg and rinse it off. Ours had a layer of brown scum that was easily washed away!

The hard outer shell is gone and the egg white and yolk are surrounded by a thin membrane.

How Does The Egg In Vinegar Experiment Work?

Eggshells get their hardness from a mineral called calcium carbonate similar to our bones. When you place the egg into the vinegar, you will observe bubbles.

These bubbles are a chemical change happening because of the chemical reaction between the acid in the vinegar and the base in the calcium carbonate of the eggshell.

When an acid and a base mix, they form carbon dioxide, a gas. Try our seashells in vinegar experiment for another variation of this chemistry lesson. Learn more about acids and bases.

The eggshell breaks down, leaving a soft, bendable, squeeze-able, rubber egg. Does it bounce? Kids can gently squeeze the egg and bounce the egg. However, be prepared for the eggs to burst! It's also fun to take a flashlight to the egg and observe what you can see!

How does osmosis work?

You may have noticed that the egg gets larger as the shell disappears. The process of osmosis is the reason the inside of the egg increases in its size!

Osmosis is the movement of water through a semi-permeable cell membrane. The water from the vinegar moved inside the egg because of the tiny holes in the membrane.

However, the holes are not big enough to allow the egg to come out, so now the egg and water are inside the cell membrane together! The cell membrane is called semi-permeable because only some materials can pass through. Learn more about osmosis here!

Fun Things To Do With Your Naked Egg

Now for the fun part, exploring the naked egg with your child! We gathered a few supplies such as a magnifying glass and a large flashlight. However, first, we talked about what our naked egg felt and looked like. We had made a cool rubbery feeling egg!
Help your child learn to explore by asking questions to spark curiosity!
What does the egg feel like? What color is it? Is it hard or soft? Does it feel squishy?

All of these questions encourage exploration and hands-on learning. Have kids use their senses to observe! What does it smell like? What does it look like? There are so many ways to explore. Grab the magnifying glass too!

Can an egg bounce?

Yes!! How high can an egg bounce?

TEST IT: How high can your egg bounce before it breaks? Watch out! This might get messy!

Can you see through an egg?

In general, you can't see through a raw egg but what about a rubber egg? What happens when you put the naked egg up to a flashlight?

TEST IT: You can see through it! You can even see the yolk rolling around inside. Why is this? Because the hard outer shell is no longer there, you can see through the membrane of the egg.

Will a rubber egg eventually burst?

Of course, we were prompted to wonder what would happen if you burst the naked egg. WOW! With a quick prick from a skewer, the egg burst! We were all quite surprised. The images below show what the naked egg looked like afterward.

More Fun Experiments To Try

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Egg In Vinegar Experiment - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The egg in vinegar experiment is a classic. Explore chemistry and osmosis by making a rubber egg and turning it into a bouncing egg.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Find out why this rubber egg experiment is a classic must-try science activity you can set up in minutes in the classroom or at home! Read on to find out if you can make an egg bounce. What happens to the shell? Does light pass through it? So many questions and one easy experiment using everyday supplies. We think all science experiments should be exciting, easy, and fun!

Try this fun rubber egg experiment!

Get ready to add this simple egg-in-vinegar experiment to your science lesson plans this season. Let's dig in if you want to learn about a cool chemical reaction! While you're at it, make sure to check out these fun chemistry experiments.

Did you know that a rubber egg also explores concepts from biology, including osmosis? Read on to learn more about how osmosis works. Plus, you can explore our potato osmosis lab as well.

There are so many interesting egg experiments and STEM projects! This classic naked egg experiment is very cool and easy to set up. The only difficult part is waiting! A whole week is what you need to wait.

After you set up your naked egg experiment, why not try...

Easy Science Experiments For Kids

Science learning starts early; you can be a part of that by setting up science at home with everyday materials. Or you can bring easy science experiments to a group of kids in the classroom!

We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. All our science experiments use inexpensive, everyday materials you can find at home or from your local dollar store.

We even have a whole list of kitchen science experiments using basic supplies you will have in your kitchen. Check out our mega science supply list here to build your supplies kit!

You can set up your science experiments as an activity focusing on exploration and discovery. Make sure to ask kids questions at each step, discuss what is happening, and discuss the science behind it.

Alternatively, you can introduce the scientific method to older kids to record their observations and make conclusions. Read more about the scientific method for kids to help you get started.

Egg In Vinegar Science Project

For younger kids, this basic version below is perfect! It includes the right amount of play and learning. For older kids, apply the scientific method by using variables. For example...

Eggs - Are there differences in eggshells between brown and white eggs? How about organic eggs versus regular eggs?

Liquid - What happens when you put the rubber egg back in vinegar or another liquid? How about corn syrup? Test different liquids and explore osmosis once the shell is dissolved!

Want to turn this fun science experiment into a science project? Then check out these helpful resources.

Egg In Vinegar Experiment

This experiment is quick to set up but will need to be left for 48 to 72 hours to completely dissolve the shell, and get your bouncy egg!

Supplies:

Set Up:

STEP 1: Place an egg in the jar and cover with vinegar.

Optional: You can color the vinegar with food coloring for rainbow-colored rubber eggs too!

Notice the bubbles on the eggshell! The acid in the vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the shell. This reaction produces a gas called carbon dioxide!

STEP 3: After 48 hours, remove the egg and rinse it off. Ours had a layer of brown scum that was easily washed away!

The hard outer shell is gone and the egg white and yolk are surrounded by a thin membrane.

How Does The Egg In Vinegar Experiment Work?

Eggshells get their hardness from a mineral called calcium carbonate similar to our bones. When you place the egg into the vinegar, you will observe bubbles.

These bubbles are a chemical change happening because of the chemical reaction between the acid in the vinegar and the base in the calcium carbonate of the eggshell.

When an acid and a base mix, they form carbon dioxide, a gas. Try our seashells in vinegar experiment for another variation of this chemistry lesson. Learn more about acids and bases.

The eggshell breaks down, leaving a soft, bendable, squeeze-able, rubber egg. Does it bounce? Kids can gently squeeze the egg and bounce the egg. However, be prepared for the eggs to burst! It's also fun to take a flashlight to the egg and observe what you can see!

How does osmosis work?

You may have noticed that the egg gets larger as the shell disappears. The process of osmosis is the reason the inside of the egg increases in its size!

Osmosis is the movement of water through a semi-permeable cell membrane. The water from the vinegar moved inside the egg because of the tiny holes in the membrane.

However, the holes are not big enough to allow the egg to come out, so now the egg and water are inside the cell membrane together! The cell membrane is called semi-permeable because only some materials can pass through. Learn more about osmosis here!

Fun Things To Do With Your Naked Egg

Now for the fun part, exploring the naked egg with your child! We gathered a few supplies such as a magnifying glass and a large flashlight. However, first, we talked about what our naked egg felt and looked like. We had made a cool rubbery feeling egg!
Help your child learn to explore by asking questions to spark curiosity!
What does the egg feel like? What color is it? Is it hard or soft? Does it feel squishy?

All of these questions encourage exploration and hands-on learning. Have kids use their senses to observe! What does it smell like? What does it look like? There are so many ways to explore. Grab the magnifying glass too!

Can an egg bounce?

Yes!! How high can an egg bounce?

TEST IT: How high can your egg bounce before it breaks? Watch out! This might get messy!

Can you see through an egg?

In general, you can't see through a raw egg but what about a rubber egg? What happens when you put the naked egg up to a flashlight?

TEST IT: You can see through it! You can even see the yolk rolling around inside. Why is this? Because the hard outer shell is no longer there, you can see through the membrane of the egg.

Will a rubber egg eventually burst?

Of course, we were prompted to wonder what would happen if you burst the naked egg. WOW! With a quick prick from a skewer, the egg burst! We were all quite surprised. The images below show what the naked egg looked like afterward.

More Fun Experiments To Try

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Egg In Vinegar Experiment - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The egg in vinegar experiment is a classic. Explore chemistry and osmosis by making a rubber egg and turning it into a bouncing egg.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best Popsicle Stick Catapult For STEM - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to build a popsicle stick catapult for STEM. Our popsicle stick catapult instructions and video are easy!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best Popsicle Stick Catapult For STEM - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to build a popsicle stick catapult for STEM. Our popsicle stick catapult instructions and video are easy!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
STATES OF MATTER FOR KIDS

What is matter? In science, matter refers to any substance that has mass and takes up space. Matter consists of tiny particles called atoms and it has different forms depending on how the atoms are arranged. This is what we call states of matter.

WHAT ARE THE THREE STATES OF MATTER?

The three states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. Although a fourth state of matter exists, called plasma, it's not shown in any demonstrations.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE STATES OF MATTER?

Solid: A solid has tightly packed particles in a specific pattern, which are not able to move about. You will notice a solid keeps its own shape. Ice or frozen water is an example of a solid.

Liquid: In a liquid, the particles have some space between them with no pattern and so they are not in a fixed position. A liquid has no distinct shape of its own but will take the shape of a container that it is put into. Water is an example of a liquid.

Gas: In a gas the particles move freely from one another. You can also say they vibrate! Gas particles spread out to take the shape of the container they are put in. Steam or water vapor is an example of a gas.
WATCH THE STATES OF MATTER VIDEO!
CHANGES OF STATES OF MATTER

When matter changes from one state to another it's called a phase change. Phase changes are examples of a physical change. Learn more about physical changes here.

Some examples of phase changes are melting (changing from a solid to a liquid), freezing (changing from a liquid to a solid), evaporation (changing from a liquid to a gas), and condensation (changing from a gas to a liquid).

Does one phase take more energy than another? The change to gas takes up the most energy because in order to do so the bonds between the particles have to completely separate.

The bonds in a solid only have to loosen up a bit to change phase such as a solid ice cube changing to liquid water.

Check out our solid liquid gas experiment for an easy way to demonstrate phase change for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about states of matter and phase changes with these fun and easy states of matter experiments for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.

However, you wouldn't see this change happen without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around, a color explosion.

The soap lowers the surface tension of the milk. When the soap molecules head for the fats, they form spherical micelles. This causes movement and creates cool bursts and swirls of color. After all the fat molecules have been found and equilibrium has been reached, there is no more movement. Are there any more hiding?

Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What did you notice before and after?

2. What happened when you put the cotton swab in the milk?

3. Why do you think that happened?

4. Why do you think the colors stopped moving?

5. What else did you observe?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Magic Milk Science Experiment | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magic milk is a cool science experiment for kids of all ages! Learn how different molecules in milk interact with soap!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.

However, you wouldn't see this change happen without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around, a color explosion.

The soap lowers the surface tension of the milk. When the soap molecules head for the fats, they form spherical micelles. This causes movement and creates cool bursts and swirls of color. After all the fat molecules have been found and equilibrium has been reached, there is no more movement. Are there any more hiding?

Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What did you notice before and after?

2. What happened when you put the cotton swab in the milk?

3. Why do you think that happened?

4. Why do you think the colors stopped moving?

5. What else did you observe?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Magic Milk Science Experiment | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magic milk is a cool science experiment for kids of all ages! Learn how different molecules in milk interact with soap!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.

However, you wouldn't see this change happen without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around, a color explosion.

The soap lowers the surface tension of the milk. When the soap molecules head for the fats, they form spherical micelles. This causes movement and creates cool bursts and swirls of color. After all the fat molecules have been found and equilibrium has been reached, there is no more movement. Are there any more hiding?

Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What did you notice before and after?

2. What happened when you put the cotton swab in the milk?

3. Why do you think that happened?

4. Why do you think the colors stopped moving?

5. What else did you observe?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Magic Milk Science Experiment | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magic milk is a cool science experiment for kids of all ages! Learn how different molecules in milk interact with soap!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.

However, you wouldn't see this change happen without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around, a color explosion.

The soap lowers the surface tension of the milk. When the soap molecules head for the fats, they form spherical micelles. This causes movement and creates cool bursts and swirls of color. After all the fat molecules have been found and equilibrium has been reached, there is no more movement. Are there any more hiding?

Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What did you notice before and after?

2. What happened when you put the cotton swab in the milk?

3. Why do you think that happened?

4. Why do you think the colors stopped moving?

5. What else did you observe?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Magic Milk Science Experiment | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Magic milk is a cool science experiment for kids of all ages! Learn how different molecules in milk interact with soap!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PAPER CHAIN MAKING STEPS

Another thing I love about this quick STEM activity is the setup time! The supplies are easy to grab at a moment's notice so that you can try this STEM project immediately. Everyone gets a sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and tape.

But everyone gets only ONE sheet of paper, so make it count! However, you can always do multiple trials, whatever fits your needs!

STEP 1: Give out supplies to each person.

STEP 2: Give a minute or two for a planning phase (optional).

STEP 3: Set a time limit (15-20 minutes is ideal).

STEP 4: Once the time is up, have the kids lay out the chains on the table or floor to see which one is the longest.

Hint: Incorporate extra math in this step!

Grab a measuring tape to measure and record each one.

Count the links for the youngest kiddos.

Round the measurement to the nearest whole number or include the fractions.

Graph the results.

Make comparisons between the paper chains using < > =

Subtract the shortest from the longest.

Add all of the lengths together.

Estimate how many sheets of paper it would take to make a chain as long as the room using the type of chain you made. Bonus: try it!

STEP 5: If it works for you, have each kiddo share his/her thoughts on the challenge. A good engineer or scientist always shares his/her findings or results.

STEM Questions for Reflection
Ask a few questions:
Questions for reflection are a great way to start the conversation because sharing ideas and communicating findings is a huge part of the STEM process. You can grab the free printable list of STEM questions here.

What factors contribute to one chain being longer than the other if each is made of the same size sheet of paper?

What was the most challenging thing about the STEM project?

What would you do differently if you could try it again?

What worked well and what didn't work well during the challenge?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Amazing Paper Chain Challenge - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This simple Paper Chain Challenge will blow your mind with how awesome and practical it is for kids of all ages to test their STEM skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PAPER CHAIN MAKING STEPS

Another thing I love about this quick STEM activity is the setup time! The supplies are easy to grab at a moment's notice so that you can try this STEM project immediately. Everyone gets a sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and tape.

But everyone gets only ONE sheet of paper, so make it count! However, you can always do multiple trials, whatever fits your needs!

STEP 1: Give out supplies to each person.

STEP 2: Give a minute or two for a planning phase (optional).

STEP 3: Set a time limit (15-20 minutes is ideal).

STEP 4: Once the time is up, have the kids lay out the chains on the table or floor to see which one is the longest.

Hint: Incorporate extra math in this step!

Grab a measuring tape to measure and record each one.

Count the links for the youngest kiddos.

Round the measurement to the nearest whole number or include the fractions.

Graph the results.

Make comparisons between the paper chains using < > =

Subtract the shortest from the longest.

Add all of the lengths together.

Estimate how many sheets of paper it would take to make a chain as long as the room using the type of chain you made. Bonus: try it!

STEP 5: If it works for you, have each kiddo share his/her thoughts on the challenge. A good engineer or scientist always shares his/her findings or results.

STEM Questions for Reflection
Ask a few questions:
Questions for reflection are a great way to start the conversation because sharing ideas and communicating findings is a huge part of the STEM process. You can grab the free printable list of STEM questions here.

What factors contribute to one chain being longer than the other if each is made of the same size sheet of paper?

What was the most challenging thing about the STEM project?

What would you do differently if you could try it again?

What worked well and what didn't work well during the challenge?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Amazing Paper Chain Challenge - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This simple Paper Chain Challenge will blow your mind with how awesome and practical it is for kids of all ages to test their STEM skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PAPER CHAIN MAKING STEPS

Another thing I love about this quick STEM activity is the setup time! The supplies are easy to grab at a moment's notice so that you can try this STEM project immediately. Everyone gets a sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and tape.

But everyone gets only ONE sheet of paper, so make it count! However, you can always do multiple trials, whatever fits your needs!

STEP 1: Give out supplies to each person.

STEP 2: Give a minute or two for a planning phase (optional).

STEP 3: Set a time limit (15-20 minutes is ideal).

STEP 4: Once the time is up, have the kids lay out the chains on the table or floor to see which one is the longest.

Hint: Incorporate extra math in this step!

Grab a measuring tape to measure and record each one.

Count the links for the youngest kiddos.

Round the measurement to the nearest whole number or include the fractions.

Graph the results.

Make comparisons between the paper chains using < > =

Subtract the shortest from the longest.

Add all of the lengths together.

Estimate how many sheets of paper it would take to make a chain as long as the room using the type of chain you made. Bonus: try it!

STEP 5: If it works for you, have each kiddo share his/her thoughts on the challenge. A good engineer or scientist always shares his/her findings or results.

STEM Questions for Reflection
Ask a few questions:
Questions for reflection are a great way to start the conversation because sharing ideas and communicating findings is a huge part of the STEM process. You can grab the free printable list of STEM questions here.

What factors contribute to one chain being longer than the other if each is made of the same size sheet of paper?

What was the most challenging thing about the STEM project?

What would you do differently if you could try it again?

What worked well and what didn't work well during the challenge?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Amazing Paper Chain Challenge - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This simple Paper Chain Challenge will blow your mind with how awesome and practical it is for kids of all ages to test their STEM skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PAPER CHAIN MAKING STEPS

Another thing I love about this quick STEM activity is the setup time! The supplies are easy to grab at a moment's notice so that you can try this STEM project immediately. Everyone gets a sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and tape.

But everyone gets only ONE sheet of paper, so make it count! However, you can always do multiple trials, whatever fits your needs!

STEP 1: Give out supplies to each person.

STEP 2: Give a minute or two for a planning phase (optional).

STEP 3: Set a time limit (15-20 minutes is ideal).

STEP 4: Once the time is up, have the kids lay out the chains on the table or floor to see which one is the longest.

Hint: Incorporate extra math in this step!

Grab a measuring tape to measure and record each one.

Count the links for the youngest kiddos.

Round the measurement to the nearest whole number or include the fractions.

Graph the results.

Make comparisons between the paper chains using < > =

Subtract the shortest from the longest.

Add all of the lengths together.

Estimate how many sheets of paper it would take to make a chain as long as the room using the type of chain you made. Bonus: try it!

STEP 5: If it works for you, have each kiddo share his/her thoughts on the challenge. A good engineer or scientist always shares his/her findings or results.

STEM Questions for Reflection
Ask a few questions:
Questions for reflection are a great way to start the conversation because sharing ideas and communicating findings is a huge part of the STEM process. You can grab the free printable list of STEM questions here.

What factors contribute to one chain being longer than the other if each is made of the same size sheet of paper?

What was the most challenging thing about the STEM project?

What would you do differently if you could try it again?

What worked well and what didn't work well during the challenge?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Amazing Paper Chain Challenge - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This simple Paper Chain Challenge will blow your mind with how awesome and practical it is for kids of all ages to test their STEM skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Explore what happens to potato when you put them in concentration salt water and then pure water. Learn about osmosis when you try this fun potato osmosis experiment with the kids. We are always on the hunt for simple science experiments and this one is just super fun and easy!

OSMOSIS POTATO LAB FOR KIDS

WHAT HAPPENS TO A POTATO IN SALT WATER?

The process of moving water across a semi-permeable membrane from a low concentrated solution to a high concentrated solution is called osmosis. A semi-permeable membrane is a thin sheet of tissue or layer of cells acting as a wall that allows only some molecules to pass through.

In plants, water enters the roots by osmosis. The plants have a higher concentration of solutes in their roots than in the soil. This causes water to move into the roots. The water then travels up the roots to the rest of the plant.
ALSO CHECK OUT: How Water Travels Through A Plant
Osmosis works in both directions. If you put a plant into water with a higher salt concentration than the concentration inside its cells, water will move out of the plant. If this happens then the plant shrinks and will eventually die.

Potatoes are a great way to demonstrate the process of osmosis in our potato osmosis experiment below. Discuss whether you think the potato or the water in each glass will have the greatest concentration of solutes (salt).

Which potato pieces do you think will expand and which will shrink in size as the water moves from a low concentration to a high concentration?

POTATO OSMOSIS LAB

SUPPLIES:

Potato

Knife

2 tall glasses distilled water (or regular)

Salt

Tablespoon

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Peel and then cut your potato into four equal pieces about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide.

STEP 2: Fill your glasses half way with distilled water, or regular water if no distilled is available.

STEP 3: Now mix 3 tablespoons of salt into one of the glasses and stir.

STEP 4: Place two pieces of potato into each glass and wait. Compare the potatoes after 30 minutes and then again after 12 hours.

What happened to the potato pieces? Here you can see how a potato can demonstrate the process of osmosis. Make sure to go back and read all about osmosis!

If you thought the salt water would have a higher concentration of solutes than the potato, and the distilled water would have a lower concentration you would be correct. The potato in the salt water shrinks because water moves from the potato into the more concentrated salt water.

In contrast, water moves from the less concentrated distilled water into the potato causing it to expand.

MORE FUN EXPERIMENTS TO TRY

OSMOSIS IN POTATOES LAB FOR KIDS

Click on the image below or on the link for more easy science experiments for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Potato Osmosis Lab | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore what happens to potato when you put them in concentration salt water and then pure water. A fun potato osmosis experiment!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Penny Boat Challenge For STEM | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How many pennies will sink a tin foil boat? Design a boat and learn about buoyancy with this fun and simple STEM challenge for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Penny Boat Challenge For STEM | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How many pennies will sink a tin foil boat? Design a boat and learn about buoyancy with this fun and simple STEM challenge for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Penny Boat Challenge For STEM | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How many pennies will sink a tin foil boat? Design a boat and learn about buoyancy with this fun and simple STEM challenge for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Combine a fizzing baking soda and vinegar reaction with balloon play with this easy-to-set-up balloon science experiment for kids. Find out how to blow up a balloon with just baking soda and vinegar. Grab a few simple ingredients from the kitchen, and you have amazing chemistry for kids at your fingertips. The science you can play with too!

BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR BALLOON EXPERIMENT

EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS

Do you know this self-inflating balloon experiment was among our top 10 experiments? Check out more fun and simple science experiments for kids.

We love everything science and have been exploring ways to create fizzing reactions while having fun through play. Science that fizzes, pops, erupts, bangs, and explodes is awesome for kids of all ages!

One of the things that we strive to do here is to create science setups that are extremely hands-on, maybe a little messy, and a lot of fun. They may be somewhat open-ended, contain an element of play, and have a lot of repeatability!
We also have a fun Valentine balloon experiment and a Halloween balloon experiment for you to try!
All you need are a few common kitchen ingredients to make blow up balloons. Read on for the full supply list and setup.
It's so easy to inflate balloons with this simple chemical reaction kids can easily do!
HOW DOES THE BALLOON EXPERIMENT WORK?

The science behind this baking soda and vinegar balloon science experiment is a chemical reaction between an acid and base. The base is the baking soda and the acid is vinegar. When the two ingredients mix, the balloon baking soda experiment gets its lift!

That lift is gas, carbon dioxide, or CO2. As the gas tries to leave the plastic container, it goes up into the balloon because of the tight seal you have created. Check out states of matter experiments!

The gas has nowhere to go and is pushing against the balloon it blows it up. Similar to how we exhale carbon dioxide when we blow up balloons ourselves.

We love exploring simple chemistry you can do at home or in the classroom. Science that isn't too crazy but is still lots of fun for kids! You can check out more cool chemistry experiments.
Read more about the science behind baking soda and vinegar experiments.
WHAT IS THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD FOR KIDS?

The scientific method is a process or method of research. A problem is identified, information about the problem is gathered, a hypothesis or question is formulated from the information, and the hypothesis is tested with an experiment to prove or disprove its validity. Sounds heavy...

What in the world does that mean?!? The scientific method should be used as a guide to help lead the process. It's not set in stone.

You don't need to try and solve the world's biggest science questions! The scientific method is all about studying and learning things right around you.

As kids develop practices that involve creating, gathering data evaluating, analyzing, and communicating, they can apply these critical thinking skills to any situation.

Learn more about the scientific method and how to use it.

Even though the scientific method feels like it is just for big kids...

This method can be used with kids of all ages! Have a casual conversation with younger kiddos or do a more formal notebook entry with older kiddos!

BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR BALLOON EXPERIMENT

Don't have vinegar for this experiment? Try a citric acid like lemon juice, and check out our citric acid and baking soda experiment here.

SUPPLIES:

BLOW-UP BALLOON EXPERIMENT SETUP:

Step 1. Blow up the balloon a bit to stretch it out some, and use the funnel and teaspoon to add baking soda to the balloon. We started with two teaspoons and added a teaspoon for each balloon.

Step 2. Fill the container with vinegar halfway.

Step 3. When your balloons are all made up, attach them to the containers making sure you have a good seal!

Step 4. Next, lift up the balloon to dump the baking soda into the container of vinegar. Watch your balloon blow up!

To get the most gas out of it, we swirled around the container to get it all going!
Optional Art: Go ahead and use a sharpie to draw emojis, shapes, or fun pictures on your balloons before filling them with baking soda.
BALLOON EXPERIMENT TIPS

My son suggested we try different amounts of baking soda in our experiment to see what would happen. Also, will the balloon size grow bigger if more vinegar is in the bottle?

Always encourage your kids to ask questions and wonder what will happen if...

This is also a great way to encourage inquiry, observation, and critical thinking skills. You can read more about teaching the scientific method to kids here.

Make predictions! Ask questions! Share observations!

Be cautious with the amount of baking soda you add, as the reaction will get bigger each time. Safety goggles are always great for young scientists!

You could see the difference in the baking soda we put in the balloons! The red balloon with the least baking soda inflated the least. The blue balloon with the most inflated the most.

What else can you do with baking soda? Check out these unique baking soda experiments!

MORE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS WITH BALLOONS

Have leftover balloons? Why not try one of these fun and easy balloon science experiments below!

Printable Science Projects For Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Baking Soda and Vinegar Balloon Experiment - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Set up a baking soda and vinegar balloon science experiment for kids. Blow up balloons with a fun chemical reaction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Combine a fizzing baking soda and vinegar reaction with balloon play with this easy-to-set-up balloon science experiment for kids. Find out how to blow up a balloon with just baking soda and vinegar. Grab a few simple ingredients from the kitchen, and you have amazing chemistry for kids at your fingertips. The science you can play with too!

BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR BALLOON EXPERIMENT

EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS

Do you know this self-inflating balloon experiment was among our top 10 experiments? Check out more fun and simple science experiments for kids.

We love everything science and have been exploring ways to create fizzing reactions while having fun through play. Science that fizzes, pops, erupts, bangs, and explodes is awesome for kids of all ages!

One of the things that we strive to do here is to create science setups that are extremely hands-on, maybe a little messy, and a lot of fun. They may be somewhat open-ended, contain an element of play, and have a lot of repeatability!
We also have a fun Valentine balloon experiment and a Halloween balloon experiment for you to try!
All you need are a few common kitchen ingredients to make blow up balloons. Read on for the full supply list and setup.
It's so easy to inflate balloons with this simple chemical reaction kids can easily do!
HOW DOES THE BALLOON EXPERIMENT WORK?

The science behind this baking soda and vinegar balloon science experiment is a chemical reaction between an acid and base. The base is the baking soda and the acid is vinegar. When the two ingredients mix, the balloon baking soda experiment gets its lift!

That lift is gas, carbon dioxide, or CO2. As the gas tries to leave the plastic container, it goes up into the balloon because of the tight seal you have created. Check out states of matter experiments!

The gas has nowhere to go and is pushing against the balloon it blows it up. Similar to how we exhale carbon dioxide when we blow up balloons ourselves.

We love exploring simple chemistry you can do at home or in the classroom. Science that isn't too crazy but is still lots of fun for kids! You can check out more cool chemistry experiments.
Read more about the science behind baking soda and vinegar experiments.
WHAT IS THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD FOR KIDS?

The scientific method is a process or method of research. A problem is identified, information about the problem is gathered, a hypothesis or question is formulated from the information, and the hypothesis is tested with an experiment to prove or disprove its validity. Sounds heavy...

What in the world does that mean?!? The scientific method should be used as a guide to help lead the process. It's not set in stone.

You don't need to try and solve the world's biggest science questions! The scientific method is all about studying and learning things right around you.

As kids develop practices that involve creating, gathering data evaluating, analyzing, and communicating, they can apply these critical thinking skills to any situation.

Learn more about the scientific method and how to use it.

Even though the scientific method feels like it is just for big kids...

This method can be used with kids of all ages! Have a casual conversation with younger kiddos or do a more formal notebook entry with older kiddos!

BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR BALLOON EXPERIMENT

Don't have vinegar for this experiment? Try a citric acid like lemon juice, and check out our citric acid and baking soda experiment here.

SUPPLIES:

BLOW-UP BALLOON EXPERIMENT SETUP:

Step 1. Blow up the balloon a bit to stretch it out some, and use the funnel and teaspoon to add baking soda to the balloon. We started with two teaspoons and added a teaspoon for each balloon.

Step 2. Fill the container with vinegar halfway.

Step 3. When your balloons are all made up, attach them to the containers making sure you have a good seal!

Step 4. Next, lift up the balloon to dump the baking soda into the container of vinegar. Watch your balloon blow up!

To get the most gas out of it, we swirled around the container to get it all going!
Optional Art: Go ahead and use a sharpie to draw emojis, shapes, or fun pictures on your balloons before filling them with baking soda.
BALLOON EXPERIMENT TIPS

My son suggested we try different amounts of baking soda in our experiment to see what would happen. Also, will the balloon size grow bigger if more vinegar is in the bottle?

Always encourage your kids to ask questions and wonder what will happen if...

This is also a great way to encourage inquiry, observation, and critical thinking skills. You can read more about teaching the scientific method to kids here.

Make predictions! Ask questions! Share observations!

Be cautious with the amount of baking soda you add, as the reaction will get bigger each time. Safety goggles are always great for young scientists!

You could see the difference in the baking soda we put in the balloons! The red balloon with the least baking soda inflated the least. The blue balloon with the most inflated the most.

What else can you do with baking soda? Check out these unique baking soda experiments!

MORE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS WITH BALLOONS

Have leftover balloons? Why not try one of these fun and easy balloon science experiments below!

Printable Science Projects For Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Baking Soda and Vinegar Balloon Experiment - Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Set up a baking soda and vinegar balloon science experiment for kids. Blow up balloons with a fun chemical reaction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Easily an upcycled or repurposed project! Turn your jumbo box of broken and worn down bits of crayon into these new homemade crayons. Or use a box of new crayons if you want to test out the DIY crayon recipe and you don't have a stash. Fun to add to a space theme, give as a party favor, or pull out as a rainy day activity! We love simple science activities!

What To Do With Old Crayons?

Do you remember the delight you felt opening up a brand new box of crayons? Do you remember how sad you felt when that favorite crayon broke in half or was worn down so far you could barely use it?

Let's show the kiddos how to make these fantastic DIY crayons from old crayons instead of throwing away all those bits and pieces. These recycled crayons are a great way to show how you can take something used and re-purpose it into something fun again!
We also made a fun homemade playdough with crayons as well!
Think melting crayons is tricky, think again! It's super easy and safe to melt crayons in the oven. Also, as an alternative check out how you can melt crayons in the microwave too!
ALSO CHECK OUT: Recycling Projects For Kids
Plus, making crayons from old crayons is a simple science activity illustrating reversible change or physical changes. Read more below!

The Science Of Melting Crayons

There are two types of changes called reversible change and irreversible change. Melting crayons, like melting ice is a great example of reversible change. See more examples of physical change!

Reversible change occurs when something is melted or frozen for example, but the change can also be undone. Just like with our crayons! They can be melted into a liquid and reformed into solid new crayons.

Although the crayons have changed shape or form, they did not undergo a chemical process to became a new substance. The crayons are still usable as crayons and if melted again will form new crayons!

Baking bread or cooking something like an egg is an example of an irreversible change or chemical change. The egg can never go back to its original form because what it is made of has been changed. The change cannot be undone!

Can you think of any more examples of reversible change and irreversible change?
ALSO CHECK OUT: States Of Matter Experiments
Melting crayons to make new and much cooler crayons is also a great STEAM activity. What is STEAM? STEAM combines science, technology, and engineering, and math with art. If you want to learn about more STEAM activities, grab the free STEAM Activities Guide.

How To Make Crayons

There are so many different shapes of crayon molds out there! You can even get alphabet letter molds and pair the activity with a favorite book. See here how we used LEGO molds to make LEGO crayons!

We love to use silicon molds. Yes, silicon can go in the oven! Don't have silicon molds? Read below on variations for how to make crayons in muffin tins, with cookie cutters, and even in the microwave!

Supplies Needed

How To Melt Crayons In The Oven
Adult supervision is highly recommended. The melted crayons will get very hot!
STEP 1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

STEP 2. Peel the paper off the crayons and cut into tiny pieces.

STEP 3. Fill each crayon mold with different colors, anything goes! Similar shades will create a nice effect or try color mixing by combining blue and yellow!

STEP 4. Place in the oven for 7-8 minutes or until crayons are completely melted.

STEP 5. Remove the mold carefully from the oven and let it cool completely.

STEP 6. Once cooled, pop out of molds and have fun coloring!

How To Melt Crayons In The Microwave
Adult supervision highly recommended. The materials will be hot!
You will still want to peel the crayons and break into pieces. However, your best bet is to separate by color since you will be doing a melt and pour style of making crayons here.

Place the crayon pieces in paper cups and heat on high in the microwave. Ours took about 5 mins but you may want to start checking around four minutes depending on the microwave.

Then you will pour the melted crayons into your silicone molds! This is when you can combine colors if desired. Place molds in the freezer to speed the cooling process! 30 minutes should do the trick.

Alternatives To Silicon Molds

Can you melt crayons in muffin tins instead?

Absolutely! You don't need silicon candy molds to make crayons. Simply spray the muffin tins first with a cooking spray and use them the same way!

What about melting crayons in the oven with cookie cutters?

This is another great alternative to melting crayons in candy molds. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Lightly spray metal cookie cutters and place them on the tray. Add crayons and pop in the oven!

More Fun Activities For Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to melt crayons in the oven or microwave. It is so easy! Melting crayons makes for a fun reversible change.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Easily an upcycled or repurposed project! Turn your jumbo box of broken and worn down bits of crayon into these new homemade crayons. Or use a box of new crayons if you want to test out the DIY crayon recipe and you don't have a stash. Fun to add to a space theme, give as a party favor, or pull out as a rainy day activity! We love simple science activities!

What To Do With Old Crayons?

Do you remember the delight you felt opening up a brand new box of crayons? Do you remember how sad you felt when that favorite crayon broke in half or was worn down so far you could barely use it?

Let's show the kiddos how to make these fantastic DIY crayons from old crayons instead of throwing away all those bits and pieces. These recycled crayons are a great way to show how you can take something used and re-purpose it into something fun again!
We also made a fun homemade playdough with crayons as well!
Think melting crayons is tricky, think again! It's super easy and safe to melt crayons in the oven. Also, as an alternative check out how you can melt crayons in the microwave too!
ALSO CHECK OUT: Recycling Projects For Kids
Plus, making crayons from old crayons is a simple science activity illustrating reversible change or physical changes. Read more below!

The Science Of Melting Crayons

There are two types of changes called reversible change and irreversible change. Melting crayons, like melting ice is a great example of reversible change. See more examples of physical change!

Reversible change occurs when something is melted or frozen for example, but the change can also be undone. Just like with our crayons! They can be melted into a liquid and reformed into solid new crayons.

Although the crayons have changed shape or form, they did not undergo a chemical process to became a new substance. The crayons are still usable as crayons and if melted again will form new crayons!

Baking bread or cooking something like an egg is an example of an irreversible change or chemical change. The egg can never go back to its original form because what it is made of has been changed. The change cannot be undone!

Can you think of any more examples of reversible change and irreversible change?
ALSO CHECK OUT: States Of Matter Experiments
Melting crayons to make new and much cooler crayons is also a great STEAM activity. What is STEAM? STEAM combines science, technology, and engineering, and math with art. If you want to learn about more STEAM activities, grab the free STEAM Activities Guide.

How To Make Crayons

There are so many different shapes of crayon molds out there! You can even get alphabet letter molds and pair the activity with a favorite book. See here how we used LEGO molds to make LEGO crayons!

We love to use silicon molds. Yes, silicon can go in the oven! Don't have silicon molds? Read below on variations for how to make crayons in muffin tins, with cookie cutters, and even in the microwave!

Supplies Needed

How To Melt Crayons In The Oven
Adult supervision is highly recommended. The melted crayons will get very hot!
STEP 1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

STEP 2. Peel the paper off the crayons and cut into tiny pieces.

STEP 3. Fill each crayon mold with different colors, anything goes! Similar shades will create a nice effect or try color mixing by combining blue and yellow!

STEP 4. Place in the oven for 7-8 minutes or until crayons are completely melted.

STEP 5. Remove the mold carefully from the oven and let it cool completely.

STEP 6. Once cooled, pop out of molds and have fun coloring!

How To Melt Crayons In The Microwave
Adult supervision highly recommended. The materials will be hot!
You will still want to peel the crayons and break into pieces. However, your best bet is to separate by color since you will be doing a melt and pour style of making crayons here.

Place the crayon pieces in paper cups and heat on high in the microwave. Ours took about 5 mins but you may want to start checking around four minutes depending on the microwave.

Then you will pour the melted crayons into your silicone molds! This is when you can combine colors if desired. Place molds in the freezer to speed the cooling process! 30 minutes should do the trick.

Alternatives To Silicon Molds

Can you melt crayons in muffin tins instead?

Absolutely! You don't need silicon candy molds to make crayons. Simply spray the muffin tins first with a cooking spray and use them the same way!

What about melting crayons in the oven with cookie cutters?

This is another great alternative to melting crayons in candy molds. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Lightly spray metal cookie cutters and place them on the tray. Add crayons and pop in the oven!

More Fun Activities For Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out how to melt crayons in the oven or microwave. It is so easy! Melting crayons makes for a fun reversible change.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easy and fun simple machine projects! Learn about six simple machines, and how they make work easier. Plus, everyday examples.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easy and fun simple machine projects! Learn about six simple machines, and how they make work easier. Plus, everyday examples.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ever noticed how when you rub a balloon against your hair, it sticks to the wall? That's static electricity in action! Learn more about this fun science concept with simple static electricity experiments, and everyday examples of static electricity. Enjoy hands-on physics experiments for kids!

Explore Static Electricity For Physics

Static electricity happens when tiny particles called electrons build up on an object, making it either positively or negatively charged.

When these charged objects get near each other, they can do some pretty cool things, like making your hair stand on end or attracting small things, like pieces of paper or confetti.

So, static electricity is all about the invisible forces that make objects stick together or repel each other, and it's a fun and fascinating part of science that you can explore with simple static electricity experiments below.

For more ways to explore physics with kids, check out our list of easy physics experiments.

What Is Static Electricity?

Think of tiny invisible particles called electrons as little magnets. Everything around us, like your hair, a balloon, or even a piece of cloth, is made up of these particles. Learn more about electrons here.

Sometimes, when two things rub against each other, like when you rub a balloon against your hair, the electrons can get all jumbled up and move from one thing to the other.

When this happens, one thing gets extra electrons, and the other thing loses some. The one with extra electrons becomes negatively charged, like a minus sign, and the one that lost some becomes positively charged, like a plus sign.

These opposite charges make things stick together or repel each other, like magnets with opposite ends.

So, when you rub the balloon on your hair, it's taking some of your hair's electrons, making the balloon negatively charged.

That's why the balloon can stick to the wall or make your hair stand up-all because of those jumbled-up electrons creating static electricity. It's like a tiny invisible magic show happening all around us!

Get your FREE printable science worksheets!

Static Electricity Experiments For Kids

Here are some simple and fun examples of static electricity experiments and demonstrations that are great for learning at home or in the classroom.

Static Electricity with Balloons

Rub a balloon against your hair or a piece of wool cloth, and then place it near small pieces of paper. The paper should be attracted to the balloon, demonstrating the effect of static electricity. What happens when you use different types of cloth?

We've tested lightweight paper, tissue paper, and tinsel! What else can you test?

Static Electricity with a Plastic Straw

Rub a plastic straw with a piece of cloth or fur and then use it to pick up small pieces of paper or confetti. The static charge on the straw will make the paper pieces stick to it.

Static Electricity with a Plastic Bag

Inflate a plastic bag and rub it against your hair or a piece of fabric. Hold the bag near a wall, which should stick to the wall due to the static charge.

Static Electricity with a Balloon and Salt and Pepper

Rub a balloon against your hair and then bring it to a plate of salt and pepper. The salt and pepper will be attracted to the balloon, demonstrating the power of static electricity.

Static Electricity with a Comb and Water

Run a comb through your hair and bring it near a thin stream of water. The water will be attracted to the comb and bend towards it.
Check out the experiment details further below!
Make electric goop! Mix up a batch of cornstarch oobleck and test out the power of static electricity with a balloon.

Try This Static Electricity Experiment with a Comb

This comb and water static electricity experiment is a fun way to demonstrate the principles of static electricity to kids.

Supplies:

A plastic comb (the type with fine teeth works well)

A running faucet or a source of water

A small piece of dry paper or a small piece of tissue

A piece of dry cloth or wool (a piece of wool fabric or a wool sweater works great)

Instructions:

STEP 1. Take the dry comb and rub it vigorously against the dry cloth or wool for about 20-30 seconds. This rubbing creates a buildup of static electricity on the comb.

TIP: If the comb is not dry, be sure to dry it with a paper towel or cloth so that it's completely free of water.

STEP 2. Have a running faucet nearby or fill a small sink with a shallow layer of water.

STEP 3. Now, while still holding the comb, bring it near the running faucet or the water surface without actually touching the water.

You should see that the water stream bends toward the comb, as if the comb is magically attracting the water.

TIP: You can also try this with a small piece of tissue instead of running water. When you bring the charged comb close to the tissue, you'll notice that it's attracted to the comb.

What is happening?

When you rub the comb against the cloth or wool, it picks up extra electrons and becomes negatively charged. The water or tissue has a positive charge.

Opposite charges attract, so the negatively charged comb attracts the positively charged water or tissue. This is a simple demonstration of the principles of static electricity.

Make sure to explain this concept to the kids while conducting the experiment, and encourage them to try it themselves. It's a great way to make science fun and interactive for children.

Helpful Science Resources To Use

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

Science Experiments By Age Group

We've put together a few separate resources for different age groups, but remember that many experiments will cross over and can be re-tried at several different age levels. Younger kiddos can enjoy the simplicity and hands-on fun. At the same time, you can talk back and forth about what is happening.

As children get older, they can bring more complexity to the experiments, including using the scientific method, developing hypotheses, exploring variables, creating different tests, and writing conclusions from analyzing data.

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you're looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

90+ classic science activities with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information. NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!

Best science practices posters and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!

Be a Collector activities pack introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?

Know the Words Science vocabulary pack includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!

My science journal writing prompts explore what it means to be a scientist!!

Bonus STEAM Project Pack: Art meets science with doable projects!

Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Static electricity is a little like magic and a whole lot of science! Use these hands-on examples of static electricity experiments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ever noticed how when you rub a balloon against your hair, it sticks to the wall? That's static electricity in action! Learn more about this fun science concept with simple static electricity experiments, and everyday examples of static electricity. Enjoy hands-on physics experiments for kids!

Explore Static Electricity For Physics

Static electricity happens when tiny particles called electrons build up on an object, making it either positively or negatively charged.

When these charged objects get near each other, they can do some pretty cool things, like making your hair stand on end or attracting small things, like pieces of paper or confetti.

So, static electricity is all about the invisible forces that make objects stick together or repel each other, and it's a fun and fascinating part of science that you can explore with simple static electricity experiments below.

For more ways to explore physics with kids, check out our list of easy physics experiments.

What Is Static Electricity?

Think of tiny invisible particles called electrons as little magnets. Everything around us, like your hair, a balloon, or even a piece of cloth, is made up of these particles. Learn more about electrons here.

Sometimes, when two things rub against each other, like when you rub a balloon against your hair, the electrons can get all jumbled up and move from one thing to the other.

When this happens, one thing gets extra electrons, and the other thing loses some. The one with extra electrons becomes negatively charged, like a minus sign, and the one that lost some becomes positively charged, like a plus sign.

These opposite charges make things stick together or repel each other, like magnets with opposite ends.

So, when you rub the balloon on your hair, it's taking some of your hair's electrons, making the balloon negatively charged.

That's why the balloon can stick to the wall or make your hair stand up-all because of those jumbled-up electrons creating static electricity. It's like a tiny invisible magic show happening all around us!

Get your FREE printable science worksheets!

Static Electricity Experiments For Kids

Here are some simple and fun examples of static electricity experiments and demonstrations that are great for learning at home or in the classroom.

Static Electricity with Balloons

Rub a balloon against your hair or a piece of wool cloth, and then place it near small pieces of paper. The paper should be attracted to the balloon, demonstrating the effect of static electricity. What happens when you use different types of cloth?

We've tested lightweight paper, tissue paper, and tinsel! What else can you test?

Static Electricity with a Plastic Straw

Rub a plastic straw with a piece of cloth or fur and then use it to pick up small pieces of paper or confetti. The static charge on the straw will make the paper pieces stick to it.

Static Electricity with a Plastic Bag

Inflate a plastic bag and rub it against your hair or a piece of fabric. Hold the bag near a wall, which should stick to the wall due to the static charge.

Static Electricity with a Balloon and Salt and Pepper

Rub a balloon against your hair and then bring it to a plate of salt and pepper. The salt and pepper will be attracted to the balloon, demonstrating the power of static electricity.

Static Electricity with a Comb and Water

Run a comb through your hair and bring it near a thin stream of water. The water will be attracted to the comb and bend towards it.
Check out the experiment details further below!
Make electric goop! Mix up a batch of cornstarch oobleck and test out the power of static electricity with a balloon.

Try This Static Electricity Experiment with a Comb

This comb and water static electricity experiment is a fun way to demonstrate the principles of static electricity to kids.

Supplies:

A plastic comb (the type with fine teeth works well)

A running faucet or a source of water

A small piece of dry paper or a small piece of tissue

A piece of dry cloth or wool (a piece of wool fabric or a wool sweater works great)

Instructions:

STEP 1. Take the dry comb and rub it vigorously against the dry cloth or wool for about 20-30 seconds. This rubbing creates a buildup of static electricity on the comb.

TIP: If the comb is not dry, be sure to dry it with a paper towel or cloth so that it's completely free of water.

STEP 2. Have a running faucet nearby or fill a small sink with a shallow layer of water.

STEP 3. Now, while still holding the comb, bring it near the running faucet or the water surface without actually touching the water.

You should see that the water stream bends toward the comb, as if the comb is magically attracting the water.

TIP: You can also try this with a small piece of tissue instead of running water. When you bring the charged comb close to the tissue, you'll notice that it's attracted to the comb.

What is happening?

When you rub the comb against the cloth or wool, it picks up extra electrons and becomes negatively charged. The water or tissue has a positive charge.

Opposite charges attract, so the negatively charged comb attracts the positively charged water or tissue. This is a simple demonstration of the principles of static electricity.

Make sure to explain this concept to the kids while conducting the experiment, and encourage them to try it themselves. It's a great way to make science fun and interactive for children.

Helpful Science Resources To Use

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

Science Experiments By Age Group

We've put together a few separate resources for different age groups, but remember that many experiments will cross over and can be re-tried at several different age levels. Younger kiddos can enjoy the simplicity and hands-on fun. At the same time, you can talk back and forth about what is happening.

As children get older, they can bring more complexity to the experiments, including using the scientific method, developing hypotheses, exploring variables, creating different tests, and writing conclusions from analyzing data.

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you're looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

90+ classic science activities with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information. NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!

Best science practices posters and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!

Be a Collector activities pack introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?

Know the Words Science vocabulary pack includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!

My science journal writing prompts explore what it means to be a scientist!!

Bonus STEAM Project Pack: Art meets science with doable projects!

Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Static electricity is a little like magic and a whole lot of science! Use these hands-on examples of static electricity experiments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ever noticed how when you rub a balloon against your hair, it sticks to the wall? That's static electricity in action! Learn more about this fun science concept with simple static electricity experiments, and everyday examples of static electricity. Enjoy hands-on physics experiments for kids!

Explore Static Electricity For Physics

Static electricity happens when tiny particles called electrons build up on an object, making it either positively or negatively charged.

When these charged objects get near each other, they can do some pretty cool things, like making your hair stand on end or attracting small things, like pieces of paper or confetti.

So, static electricity is all about the invisible forces that make objects stick together or repel each other, and it's a fun and fascinating part of science that you can explore with simple static electricity experiments below.

For more ways to explore physics with kids, check out our list of easy physics experiments.

What Is Static Electricity?

Think of tiny invisible particles called electrons as little magnets. Everything around us, like your hair, a balloon, or even a piece of cloth, is made up of these particles. Learn more about electrons here.

Sometimes, when two things rub against each other, like when you rub a balloon against your hair, the electrons can get all jumbled up and move from one thing to the other.

When this happens, one thing gets extra electrons, and the other thing loses some. The one with extra electrons becomes negatively charged, like a minus sign, and the one that lost some becomes positively charged, like a plus sign.

These opposite charges make things stick together or repel each other, like magnets with opposite ends.

So, when you rub the balloon on your hair, it's taking some of your hair's electrons, making the balloon negatively charged.

That's why the balloon can stick to the wall or make your hair stand up-all because of those jumbled-up electrons creating static electricity. It's like a tiny invisible magic show happening all around us!

Get your FREE printable science worksheets!

Static Electricity Experiments For Kids

Here are some simple and fun examples of static electricity experiments and demonstrations that are great for learning at home or in the classroom.

Static Electricity with Balloons

Rub a balloon against your hair or a piece of wool cloth, and then place it near small pieces of paper. The paper should be attracted to the balloon, demonstrating the effect of static electricity. What happens when you use different types of cloth?

We've tested lightweight paper, tissue paper, and tinsel! What else can you test?

Static Electricity with a Plastic Straw

Rub a plastic straw with a piece of cloth or fur and then use it to pick up small pieces of paper or confetti. The static charge on the straw will make the paper pieces stick to it.

Static Electricity with a Plastic Bag

Inflate a plastic bag and rub it against your hair or a piece of fabric. Hold the bag near a wall, which should stick to the wall due to the static charge.

Static Electricity with a Balloon and Salt and Pepper

Rub a balloon against your hair and then bring it to a plate of salt and pepper. The salt and pepper will be attracted to the balloon, demonstrating the power of static electricity.

Static Electricity with a Comb and Water

Run a comb through your hair and bring it near a thin stream of water. The water will be attracted to the comb and bend towards it.
Check out the experiment details further below!
Make electric goop! Mix up a batch of cornstarch oobleck and test out the power of static electricity with a balloon.

Try This Static Electricity Experiment with a Comb

This comb and water static electricity experiment is a fun way to demonstrate the principles of static electricity to kids.

Supplies:

A plastic comb (the type with fine teeth works well)

A running faucet or a source of water

A small piece of dry paper or a small piece of tissue

A piece of dry cloth or wool (a piece of wool fabric or a wool sweater works great)

Instructions:

STEP 1. Take the dry comb and rub it vigorously against the dry cloth or wool for about 20-30 seconds. This rubbing creates a buildup of static electricity on the comb.

TIP: If the comb is not dry, be sure to dry it with a paper towel or cloth so that it's completely free of water.

STEP 2. Have a running faucet nearby or fill a small sink with a shallow layer of water.

STEP 3. Now, while still holding the comb, bring it near the running faucet or the water surface without actually touching the water.

You should see that the water stream bends toward the comb, as if the comb is magically attracting the water.

TIP: You can also try this with a small piece of tissue instead of running water. When you bring the charged comb close to the tissue, you'll notice that it's attracted to the comb.

What is happening?

When you rub the comb against the cloth or wool, it picks up extra electrons and becomes negatively charged. The water or tissue has a positive charge.

Opposite charges attract, so the negatively charged comb attracts the positively charged water or tissue. This is a simple demonstration of the principles of static electricity.

Make sure to explain this concept to the kids while conducting the experiment, and encourage them to try it themselves. It's a great way to make science fun and interactive for children.

Helpful Science Resources To Use

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

Science Experiments By Age Group

We've put together a few separate resources for different age groups, but remember that many experiments will cross over and can be re-tried at several different age levels. Younger kiddos can enjoy the simplicity and hands-on fun. At the same time, you can talk back and forth about what is happening.

As children get older, they can bring more complexity to the experiments, including using the scientific method, developing hypotheses, exploring variables, creating different tests, and writing conclusions from analyzing data.

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you're looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

90+ classic science activities with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information. NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!

Best science practices posters and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!

Be a Collector activities pack introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?

Know the Words Science vocabulary pack includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!

My science journal writing prompts explore what it means to be a scientist!!

Bonus STEAM Project Pack: Art meets science with doable projects!

Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Static electricity is a little like magic and a whole lot of science! Use these hands-on examples of static electricity experiments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you want to take your Easter egg dyeing activity to a whole new level this year, get ready for some fun with oil and vinegar science! If you have a science enthusiast on your hands, you need to learn how to make marbleized Easter eggs with oil and vinegar. Add it to your collection of easy Easter Science Activities for a real treat this season!

HOW TO MAKE MARBLE EASTER EGGS WITH OIL AND VINEGAR!

MARBLED EASTER EGGS

Get ready to add this simple Easter egg dyeing activity to your Easter science lesson plans this season. If you want to learn... how to dye eggs with oil and vinegar, let's get set up. While you're at it, make sure to check out these other fun Easter activities

Our science activities and experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

HOW TO MAKE MARBLEIZED EASTER EGGS

Let's get right to make these gorgeous and colorful marbled Easter eggs. Head to the kitchen, open the fridge and grab the eggs, food coloring, oil, and vinegar. Make sure to have a good workspace prepared and paper towels!

THE SIMPLE SCIENCE OF OIL AND VINEGAR DYED EGGS

The science behind these colorful marbled oil and vinegar eggs is in the dyeing process!

Your good old food coloring from the grocery is an acid-base dye and the vinegar traditionally used to dye eggs helps the food coloring to bond to the eggshell.

We know that oil is less dense than water thanks to some other nifty science projects like our homemade lava lamp. You will notice the oil floats on top in this activity too. When you put the egg in the final colored oil mixture, the oil keeps parts of the egg from bonding with the food coloring giving it a marbled appearance.

These marbleized oil and vinegar Easter eggs remind me of space or galaxy themes. They are perfect for space enthusiasts and for junior scientists everywhere!

EASY TO MAKE OIL AND VINEGAR DYED EGGS FOR EASTER SCIENCE!

Click on the link or on the image below for more fun Easter activities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Marbled Easter Eggs with Oil and Vinegar

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to make these cute marbled Easter eggs with a few simple kitchen ingredients. Dyeing eggs with oil and vinegar is a fun Easter activity for kids!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Fizzy chemistry and dying Easter eggs combine for a super fun and easy to do Easter science activity. If you are looking to try a few new egg coloring methods this year and encourage some hands-on learning, you need to learn about dyeing eggs with vinegar! Not only do you get to do a classic Easter egg activity but you can also pair it with a science lesson in one fun and simple Easter science activity!

DYEING EGGS WITH VINEGAR FOR EASY EASTER EGG ACTIVITY!

COLORING EASTER EGGS

Get ready to add this simple dyeing Easter egg activity to your science lesson plans this season. If you want to learn... how to dye eggs with vinegar, let's get this experiment set up! While you're at it, make sure to check out these other fun Easter activities

Our science activities and experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter and get FREE download

The science behind this fizzy baking soda and vinegar eggs are in the dyeing process!

Your good old food coloring from the grocery is an acid-base dye and the vinegar traditionally used to dye eggs helps the food coloring to bond to the eggshell.

When the baking soda and vinegar combine, you get a fun fizzy reaction. My son calls this an Easter volcano because these are the two traditional supplies used to create the classic volcano science experiment. Except for this time, we are using the chemical reaction between the acid and the base to dye our eggs.

The fizziness comes from a gas called carbon dioxide. When the baking soda and the vinegar mix, they let off this gas! You can see the gas in the form of bubbles and fizz. I bet if you put your hand close enough, you can feel the fizz too!

The gas pushes up in the cup which causes the volcano-like eruption every kid loves!

FIZZY BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR DYED EASTER EGGS FOR KIDS!

Click on the link or on the image below for more fun Easter activities.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter and get FREE download

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make bright colorful Easter eggs this Easter with this fizzy dyeing Easter eggs activity. Kids will love baking soda and vinegar volcano as they dye eggs with vinegar.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Famous Scientists for Kids

There have been so many amazing scientists and inventors throughout history, including those who are still with us today! Find a selection of free printable famous scientist projects below.
Additionally, you'll find all of the scientists below (with even more information and projects) included in our complete Famous Scientist Pack.
Famous scientist Isaac Newton discovered that light is made up of many colors. Learn more by making your own spinning color wheel!

Who is Mae Jemison? Mae Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Go ahead and build your own shuttle.

American computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner Margaret Hamilton was one of the first computer software programmers. She created the term software engineer to describe her work. Now it's your turn to play with Binary Code!

Mary Anning was a paleontologist and fossil collector who discovered several important fragments that led to the discovery of new dinosaurs! Her biggest and most notable discovery was when she discovered the first complete plesiosaurus! You can make fossils and re-discover dinosaurs!

"Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is one of 50 or 100 billion other galaxies in the universe. And with every step, every window that modern astrophysics has opened to our mind, the person who wants to feel like they're the center of everything, ends up shrinking." - Neil deGrasse Tyson. Paint a galaxy with watercolors and Neil!

Scientist Agnes Pockels discovered the science of surface tension of fluids simply doing the dishes in her own kitchen.

Despite her lack of formal training, Pockels was able to measure the surface tension of water by designing an apparatus known as the Pockels trough. This was a key instrument in the new discipline of surface science.

In 1891, Pockels published her first paper, "Surface Tension," on her measurements in the journal Nature. Explore surface tension with this magic pepper demonstration.

An ancient Greek scientist, Archimedes, was the first known person to discover the law of buoyancy through experimentation. Legend has it that he filled a bathtub and noticed that water spilled over the edge as he got in, and he realized that the water displaced by his body was equal to the weight of his body.

Archimedes discovered that when an object is placed in water, it pushes enough water out of the way to make room for itself. This is called water displacement. Additionally, you can explore Archimedes and build your own working version of the Archimedes Screw to test!

Marie Tharp was an American geologist and cartographer who along with Bruce Heezen, created the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. A cartographer is a person who draws or produces maps. Tharp's work revealed the ocean floor's detailed topography, physical features, and 3D landscape. Create your own ocean floor map with this STEAM project.

Build your own model of the Aquarius Reef Base, inspired by Indigenous astronaut John Herrington. John Herrington was the first American Indigenous person in space, and also spent 10 days living and working underwater on the Aquarius Reef Base.

Make a super simple DIY stethoscope that really works, inspired by Indigenous doctor Susan Picotte. Dr Picotte was one of the first American Indigenous peoples, and the first Indigenous woman, to earn a medical degree.

Jane Goodall

Famous for her work with the chimpanzees in the Tanzanian Rainforest, Jane Goodall helped to change the world's perception of these incredible creatures. Later in her life, she fought for the preservation of their habitats. Download her free coloring page here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These famous scientists for kids will inspire little minds to do big things! Learn all about inventors, engineers, paleontologists and more!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Famous Scientists for Kids

There have been so many amazing scientists and inventors throughout history, including those who are still with us today! Find a selection of free printable famous scientist projects below.
Additionally, you'll find all of the scientists below (with even more information and projects) included in our complete Famous Scientist Pack.
Famous scientist Isaac Newton discovered that light is made up of many colors. Learn more by making your own spinning color wheel!

Who is Mae Jemison? Mae Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Go ahead and build your own shuttle.

American computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner Margaret Hamilton was one of the first computer software programmers. She created the term software engineer to describe her work. Now it's your turn to play with Binary Code!

Mary Anning was a paleontologist and fossil collector who discovered several important fragments that led to the discovery of new dinosaurs! Her biggest and most notable discovery was when she discovered the first complete plesiosaurus! You can make fossils and re-discover dinosaurs!

"Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is one of 50 or 100 billion other galaxies in the universe. And with every step, every window that modern astrophysics has opened to our mind, the person who wants to feel like they're the center of everything, ends up shrinking." - Neil deGrasse Tyson. Paint a galaxy with watercolors and Neil!

Scientist Agnes Pockels discovered the science of surface tension of fluids simply doing the dishes in her own kitchen.

Despite her lack of formal training, Pockels was able to measure the surface tension of water by designing an apparatus known as the Pockels trough. This was a key instrument in the new discipline of surface science.

In 1891, Pockels published her first paper, "Surface Tension," on her measurements in the journal Nature. Explore surface tension with this magic pepper demonstration.

An ancient Greek scientist, Archimedes, was the first known person to discover the law of buoyancy through experimentation. Legend has it that he filled a bathtub and noticed that water spilled over the edge as he got in, and he realized that the water displaced by his body was equal to the weight of his body.

Archimedes discovered that when an object is placed in water, it pushes enough water out of the way to make room for itself. This is called water displacement. Additionally, you can explore Archimedes and build your own working version of the Archimedes Screw to test!

Marie Tharp was an American geologist and cartographer who along with Bruce Heezen, created the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. A cartographer is a person who draws or produces maps. Tharp's work revealed the ocean floor's detailed topography, physical features, and 3D landscape. Create your own ocean floor map with this STEAM project.

Build your own model of the Aquarius Reef Base, inspired by Indigenous astronaut John Herrington. John Herrington was the first American Indigenous person in space, and also spent 10 days living and working underwater on the Aquarius Reef Base.

Make a super simple DIY stethoscope that really works, inspired by Indigenous doctor Susan Picotte. Dr Picotte was one of the first American Indigenous peoples, and the first Indigenous woman, to earn a medical degree.

Jane Goodall

Famous for her work with the chimpanzees in the Tanzanian Rainforest, Jane Goodall helped to change the world's perception of these incredible creatures. Later in her life, she fought for the preservation of their habitats. Download her free coloring page here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These famous scientists for kids will inspire little minds to do big things! Learn all about inventors, engineers, paleontologists and more!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Famous Scientists for Kids

There have been so many amazing scientists and inventors throughout history, including those who are still with us today! Find a selection of free printable famous scientist projects below.
Additionally, you'll find all of the scientists below (with even more information and projects) included in our complete Famous Scientist Pack.
Famous scientist Isaac Newton discovered that light is made up of many colors. Learn more by making your own spinning color wheel!

Who is Mae Jemison? Mae Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Go ahead and build your own shuttle.

American computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner Margaret Hamilton was one of the first computer software programmers. She created the term software engineer to describe her work. Now it's your turn to play with Binary Code!

Mary Anning was a paleontologist and fossil collector who discovered several important fragments that led to the discovery of new dinosaurs! Her biggest and most notable discovery was when she discovered the first complete plesiosaurus! You can make fossils and re-discover dinosaurs!

"Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is one of 50 or 100 billion other galaxies in the universe. And with every step, every window that modern astrophysics has opened to our mind, the person who wants to feel like they're the center of everything, ends up shrinking." - Neil deGrasse Tyson. Paint a galaxy with watercolors and Neil!

Scientist Agnes Pockels discovered the science of surface tension of fluids simply doing the dishes in her own kitchen.

Despite her lack of formal training, Pockels was able to measure the surface tension of water by designing an apparatus known as the Pockels trough. This was a key instrument in the new discipline of surface science.

In 1891, Pockels published her first paper, "Surface Tension," on her measurements in the journal Nature. Explore surface tension with this magic pepper demonstration.

An ancient Greek scientist, Archimedes, was the first known person to discover the law of buoyancy through experimentation. Legend has it that he filled a bathtub and noticed that water spilled over the edge as he got in, and he realized that the water displaced by his body was equal to the weight of his body.

Archimedes discovered that when an object is placed in water, it pushes enough water out of the way to make room for itself. This is called water displacement. Additionally, you can explore Archimedes and build your own working version of the Archimedes Screw to test!

Marie Tharp was an American geologist and cartographer who along with Bruce Heezen, created the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. A cartographer is a person who draws or produces maps. Tharp's work revealed the ocean floor's detailed topography, physical features, and 3D landscape. Create your own ocean floor map with this STEAM project.

Build your own model of the Aquarius Reef Base, inspired by Indigenous astronaut John Herrington. John Herrington was the first American Indigenous person in space, and also spent 10 days living and working underwater on the Aquarius Reef Base.

Make a super simple DIY stethoscope that really works, inspired by Indigenous doctor Susan Picotte. Dr Picotte was one of the first American Indigenous peoples, and the first Indigenous woman, to earn a medical degree.

Jane Goodall

Famous for her work with the chimpanzees in the Tanzanian Rainforest, Jane Goodall helped to change the world's perception of these incredible creatures. Later in her life, she fought for the preservation of their habitats. Download her free coloring page here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These famous scientists for kids will inspire little minds to do big things! Learn all about inventors, engineers, paleontologists and more!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
STEM and holidays match perfectly with fun challenges that play with favorite themes! If you want to keep the kids busy and give them something to work on this spring, these printable Earth Day STEM challenges are the way to go! Plus, you can reuse and repurpose materials you already have on hand! Get the kids away from the screens and encourage them to invent, design, and engineer their own worlds. STEM activities are perfect all year round!

Printable Earth Day STEM Cards for Kids

Fun Earth Day STEM Activities!

Explore the changing seasons with STEM. These free spring theme STEM activities are perfect for engaging kids in science, technology, engineering, and math as they complete fun challenges!

I want these printable spring STEM activity cards to be a simple way to have fun with your kids. They can be used in the classroom as easily as they can be used at home. Print, cut, and laminate to use over and over again.

What do Earth Day STEM challenges look like?

STEM challenges are usually open-ended suggestions to solve an everyday problem or improve an everyday situation. They are meant to get your kids thinking about and using the design process.

What's the design process? I'm glad you asked! In many ways, it's a series of steps an engineer, inventor, or scientist would go through to solve a problem.

TIP: Read more about the engineering design process here.

Note: While these cards are Earth Day-themed selections, your kiddos can look around their communities, homes, and classrooms to come up with a problem that they would like to find a solution for instead.

Plus, you can have your kiddos do some research by asking questions. Enlist family and friends about a problem they would like to solve! This is a great way to get started with STEM challenges and explore ways to make the world better around you.

You'll find a simple problem listed on the challenge card and an idea to design and build. Some examples of the Earth Day STEM Challenges include:

Design and build a new trash grabber!

Design and build a new way for a vehicle to move!

Design and build a better recycling bin!

Design and build a better grocery bag!

STEM Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce STEM more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You'll find helpful free printables throughout.

How to set your kids up for Earth Day STEM challenges

You can use what you have and let your kids get creative with simple materials.

My pro tip is to grab a large, clean, and clear plastic tote or bin. Whenever you come across a cool item you would normally toss into recycling, toss it in the bin instead. This goes for packaging materials and items you may otherwise throw away.

Standard STEM materials to save include:

paper towel tubes

toilet roll tubes

plastic bottles

tin cans (clean, smooth edges)

old CDs

cereal boxes, oatmeal containers

bubble wrap

packing peanuts

Also, make sure to have the following:

colored craft tape

glue and tape

scissors

markers and pencils

paper

rulers and measuring tape

recycled goods bin

non-recycled goods bin

pipe cleaners

craft sticks (popsicle sticks)

play dough

toothpicks

pompoms

We have new challenges for each new season and holiday!

More Earth Day Printable Activities

More Earth Day Crafts

Earth Day Science & STEM Pack

We have that too! Our Earth Day Science & STEM pack has awesome activities you can print for your home, classroom, or group setting!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Earth Day STEM Challenges (FREE Printable) | Little Bins for Little Hands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
STEM and holidays match perfectly with fun challenges that play with favorite themes! If you want to keep the kids busy and give them something to work on this spring, these printable Earth Day STEM challenges are the way to go! Plus, you can reuse and repurpose materials you already have on hand!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What happens to plants when rain is acidic? Set up an easy acid rain science project with this flowers in vinegar experiment. Explore what causes acid rain and what can be done about it. A great project for Earth Day!

What Is Acid Rain?

You might already know that water is necessary for all living things on Earth. Rain provides much of the water for the planet. Check out our water cycle in a bag activity! What happens though when rainwater becomes acidic?

Most water, including the water we drink, has a neutral pH between 6.5 to 8.5. Acid rain is rainfall, and other forms of precipitation that are acidic, that is it has a pH lower than 6.5. Learn more about the pH scale.

What causes acid rain?

Some acid rain is caused by gases released from rotting vegetation and volcanic eruptions. Most acid rain is caused by chemicals released into the air from burning coal, petroleum, and other products.

The main gases that lead to acid rain are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. When these gases come into contact with water and oxygen they turn into acids. A chemical reaction takes place!

How does acid rain affect the environment?

Can acid rain hurt us? Acid rain is not acidic enough to directly burn our skin. However, acid rain has a harmful effect on forests, plants, soil, insects and other life-forms.

Acid rain is especially damaging for aquatic habitats, like streams, ponds, lakes and rivers as it affects the organisms that live in the water. See our ocean acidification experiment with seashells.

Fish, and other aquatic animals and plants are very sensitive to changes in the pH of the water. For example; at a pH of 5, fish eggs won't hatch. This in turn affects other organisms that feed on them.

How can we reduce acid rain?

Using renewable energy, such as power from windmills, water, and the sun ( solar) instead of fossil fuels helps to reduce the levels of acid rain in the environment.

You can help too by reducing your energy use at home and at school. Turn off lights, computers, TVs, video games, and other electrical equipment when you're not using them.

Acid Rain Science Fair Project

Science projects are an excellent tool for older kiddos to show what they know about science! Plus, they can be used in all sorts of environments including classrooms, homeschool, and groups.

Kids can take everything they have learned about using the scientific method, stating a hypothesis, choosing variables, and analyzing and presenting data.

Want to turn one of these experiments into an awesome science fair project? Check out these helpful resources.

Acid Rain Experiment

Let's explore the effect of acid rain on the environment with this simple experiment! This is a great hands-on STEM activity that is sure to get kids thinking!

This acid rain project asks a few questions!

What is acid rain?

What causes acid rain?

What impact does acid rain have on the environment?

Let's explore the answers together!

Supplies:

Instructions:

STEP 1: Add water to the three containers. First one full, second one 1/2 full, and third one 1/4 full.

STEP 2: Add vinegar to the second two, enough in each so that all three containers are equally full.

STEP 3: Add a flower into each container and wait.

Observe them for 24 hours. What do you see happen?

Acid Rain Experiment Explanation

When you add vinegar to the water, it lowers the pH and makes the solution acidic. Similar to acid rain.

Which flower looked the best after a day? You would have found the flower sitting in the water, which had a neutral pH was the freshest.

What does acid rain do to plants? Acid rain may damage the leaves of trees and plants, making it harder for them to photosynthesis. It also changes the pH of the soil, dissolving essential minerals that the plants need to grow.

More Environmental Science For Kids

Discover tons more fun and do-able Earth Day activities for kids, including art and crafts, slime recipes, science experiments and more. Like these ideas...

Explore the impact of stormwater runoff pollution for Earth Day.

Make this edible soil erosion model.

Explore ways to help the Earth by reducing your carbon footprint.

Learn about the effect of storms on coastal erosion and set up a beach erosion demonstration.

Here is a simple ocean science experiment you can set up with seashells in vinegar that explores the effect of ocean acidification.

Try this oil spill cleanup experiment to learn about ocean pollution right at home or in the classroom.

Printable Science Projects Pack

Find over 52 fantastic science projects ... complete with instructions, photos, and project-specific recording sheets. Plan a science fair and more!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easy acid rain science project with flowers in vinegar acid rain experiment. Explore what causes acid rain and what can be done about it.