# data[].attributes.headline
Melting and Boiling Lab (Online Simulator) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Melting and Boiling Lab (Online Simulator) 

# data[].attributes.body
This simulator allows you to see the temperature as the ice melts and the change in the movement of molecules. You can pause and rewind to see exact moment and how it changes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Microsoft Internet Explorer Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome Apple Safari

# data[].attributes.body
Make art and science at the same time!

https://www.billnye.com/home-demos/marvelous-marbling

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Home Demos > Physical Science

This experiment lets you make marbled paper. It can be art, but you need science to make it happen.

What You Need

1. white construction paper

2. food coloring

3. aluminum roasting pan

4. flat baking pan

5. clear cooking oil

6. plastic cups

7. fork

What You Do

1. Set out three plastic cups. Measure one tablespoon of cooking oil and one teaspoon of food coloring into each cup. Beat the mixture with the fork until the food coloring is well mixed. It takes time, about 3 minutes. Use one color, two colors, or more.

2. Fill the aluminum pan with water just a few millimeters deep

3. Pour some of the food coloring/oil mixture onto different areas of the water in the pan. Watch as the oil spreads out in bursts of color!

4. Lay a piece of the construction paper on top of the water. After thirty seconds or so, carefully lift it off.

5. Hang the marbled paper up with a clothespin and let it dry for a few hours.

6. Now that you've got marbled paper, why not use it to write one of your friends a letter?

What's Happening?

Oil floats on water. A barrel of oil weighs less than a barrel of water. That's why oil spills can be so bad for the environment - a little oil quickly spreads out to cover a great big area. It's also why the coloring and oil mixture spreads out in your pan. Then, the coloring sticks to the paper, leaving a swirl of color. How do you think the rocks we call "marble" got marbled?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Home Demos > Physical Science This experiment lets you make marbled paper. It can be art, but you need science to make it happen. white construction paper food coloring aluminum roasting pan flat baking pan clear cooking oil plastic cups fork Set out three plastic cups.

# data[].attributes.body
Chemistry, freezing, phases of matter, solutions, freezing point depression, emulsion, mixtures

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/ice-cream-bag

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Summary

Introduction

Have you ever made ice cream? It can be a lot of fun, and you end up with a tasty frozen treat! There is actually a lot of interesting chemistry that goes on behind making ice cream. For example, think about how you start out with refrigerated (or room-temperature) ingredients and then need to cool them down to turn them turn into ice cream. How do the ingredients change during this process? How important do you think it is that they are cooled to a certain temperature? In this science activity, you will make your own ice cream in a bag and explore the best way to chill the ingredients to make them become a creamy delicious treat!

This activity is not recommended for use as a science fair project. Good science fair projects have a stronger focus on controlling variables, taking accurate measurements, and analyzing data. To find a science fair project that is just right for you, browse our library of over 1,200 Science Fair Project Ideas or use the Topic Selection Wizard to get a personalized project recommendation.

Materials

Half-and-half. Alternatively, milk or heavy whipping cream may be used.

Salt. Different types of salts, such as table salt or rock salt, will all work, but may give slightly different results.

Small, sealable bags, such as pint-sized or sandwich-sized Ziplocs (2)

Gallon-sized sealable bags (2)

Oven mitts or a small towel

Instructions

1. In each small sealable bag, place one tablespoon of sugar, ½ cup of half-and-half (or milk or heavy whipping cream), and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Seal both bags well.

2. Add four cups of ice cubes to one of the large, gallon-sized bags. Then add ½ cup of salt to the bag.

What do you think the salt will do?

3. Put one of the small bags you prepared into the large bag with the ice cubes. Be sure both bags are sealed shut.

4. Put on oven mitts or wrap the bag in a small towel and then shake the bag for five minutes. Feel the smaller bag every couple of minutes while you shake it, and take a peek at it.

What happens to the ingredients over time? When five minutes are up, how do the ingredients look? What about the ice cubes - how do they change over time, and how do they look by the end?

5. Now add four cups of ice cubes to the other large, gallon-sized bag, but this time do not add any salt to it. What do you think will happen without using salt?

6. Put the other small bag you prepared into this large bag. Be sure both bags are sealed.

7. Put on oven mitts or wrap the bag in a small towel and then shake the bag for five minutes, as you did before. Again, feel the smaller bag every couple of minutes while you shake it, and take a peek at it.

What happens to the ingredients over time now? When five minutes are up, how do they look now compared to last time? What about the ice cubes - did they change in the same way?

8. You can also compare how cold the different ice cube bags feel. Does one feel much colder than the other?

9. If you successfully made some ice cream, you can enjoy it now as a tasty reward for your chemistry challenge! If one of your bags did not make ice cream, check out the Further Exploration section for tips on turning it into ice cream.

Cleanup

What Happened?

You should have seen that the ice cubes in the large bag with salt melted much more, and felt much colder, than the ice cubes in the large bag without salt. Because it was cold enough (several degrees below freezing), the ice cube bag with salt should have been able to cool the ingredients enough to harden them and turn them into ice cream. In contrast the ice cube bag without salt was not cold enough to do this and the ingredients should have remained fluid.

Do not worry, the second bag is not wasted - you can go back and turn the still liquid ingredients into ice cream! Simply put the small bag in the large bag that had ice cubes and salt and shake them for another five minutes.

If you have ever made ice cream with an old-fashioned hand-crank machine, you probably packed a mixture of ice and rock salt around the container holding the cream. The salt allows the ice and salt mixture to get colder than pure water ice. This extra-cold mixture of salt and ice is able to freeze the ingredients in the ice cream machine (and in the bags you used in this activity) and turn them into ice cream. (This is the same process that goes on when icy roads have salt spread on them to melt the ice.) While pure water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), water mixed with salt will freeze below 0 degrees Celsius.

In creating your ice cream you also made an emulsion. Emulsions are the combination of two liquids that normally do not mix well like fats and water. In your ice cream the fat molecules in the cream are perfectly mixed with water, ice crystals, sugar, and small pockets of air to form a delicious cold treat.

Digging Deeper

To understand how the salt causes the ice to melt and lowers the overall temperature in the bag, you need to learn a little more about ice. Ice is the crystallized form of water. In order for the crystals to form, the water molecules have to slow down and carefully line up in an orderly pattern. The warmer the surrounding temperature the more the molecules bounce around, and the harder it is to get them to line up. Basically they act like excited kids! As it gets colder the molecules slow down, their slower movements allow them to line up more carefully and thus form ice crystals. Even after ice is formed two things are constantly happening at the surface of the ice. One, the ice at the surface is melting. Two, the melted water is re-freezing. The rate at which these two things happen determines what you see.

In the case of the two ice cream bags, one with salt and ice and one with just ice, you have the same outside temperature, so the molecules are moving around at the same rate. The difference is the salt. As the ice cubes start to melt a little bit the water molecules mix with the salt molecules. Now you have salt and water molecules moving around together, the mixture makes it harder for the water molecules to make an orderly pattern - the salt molecules keep interfering. This means that the rate of the ice re-freezing at the surface goes down. So, overall the ice cubes start melting faster. As it is melting, the ice absorbs heat and thus lowers the temperature. As a result, the temperature inside the bag with ice and salt is colder than the temperature inside the bag with just the ice. In fact, because the salt molecules make the freezing process of water more difficult, it is possible for a mixture of salt and ice water to get below 0 degrees Celsius (the temperature water normally freezes at). In technical terms, the salt causes a freezing point depression. Meaning it makes the temperature at which water freezes lower than it is for pure water. Freezing point depression is not unique to mixtures made of water and salt; it can also happen with some other liquid mixtures.

Ask an Expert

For Further Exploration

If one of your bags did not make ice cream, try putting it back in the large bag that had ice cubes and salt and then shake them for five minutes. Did it turn into ice cream? Why do you think you got the results that you did?

Instead of half-and-half, you could use milk or heavy whipping cream to make ice cream in this activity. How does making ice cream with half-and-half compare to making it using milk or heavy whipping cream?

You can make ice cream in this activity using different types of salts, but you may get different results. How does ice cream made in a bag with table salt compare to ice cream made with rock salt or some other type of salt? Can you explain your results?

Project Ideas

Science Fair Project Idea

Have you ever made your own ice cream? If you have, you probably know that you need to get the ice cream mixture really cold to freeze it quickly. Ice cubes alone will not do the job, but if you add chemicals, such as salt or sugar, to the ice cubes that surround the ice cream container, the mixture gets cold enough to freeze. Why does that work? How does adding salt or sugar affect the freezing point of water? Find out with this ice-cold science project and use your results to make your own... Read more

Careers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make ice cream in a bag easily in just a few minutes while exploring how salt changes the freezing point of water.

# data[].attributes.headline
Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven (STEM activity)

# data[].attributes.subject
Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven (STEM activity)

# data[].attributes.body
Learn about the solar energy and how to target it to make something delicious!

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/solar-oven

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Summary

Introduction

Have you ever cooked something outside, like for a BBQ or while camping? It can be a lot of fun to be outdoors and enjoy eating the fruits - or burgers - of your cooking labors. Did you know that you can directly use solar power to cook food? This can be done using a solar oven, which is a low-cost, ecologically-friendly technology that seems to have everything going for it. In this science activity, you will build your very own simple solar oven out of a pizza box to gather the sun's rays and cook a tasty treat for you!

This activity is not recommended for use as a science fair project. Good science fair projects have a stronger focus on controlling variables, taking accurate measurements, and analyzing data. To find a science fair project that is just right for you, browse our library of over 1,200 Science Fair Project Ideas or use the Topic Selection Wizard to get a personalized project recommendation.

Materials

Pizza box. The larger the box, the better the oven should work.

Shipping tape or black electrical tape

A wooden skewer or pencil

To do some cooking with your solar oven, you will need sunlight and fairly warm outside temperatures (above 75 degrees Fahrenheit is recommended, and the hotter it is the better). It should also not be windy.

If you want to cook some s'mores in your solar oven, you will also need graham crackers, marshmallows, and a chocolate bar. You can use an aluminum pie pan or a small piece of aluminum foil as a tray. Optionally, you can try melting a small piece of butter to make sure your oven is working before cooking your s'mores.

Prep Work

1. If needed, clean out the pizza box so it is ready to become a solar oven. Remove any cardboard liner that the box came with.

2. Adult assistance is recommended for using the utility knife. Use caution when cooking with the solar oven as it can get quite hot!

Instructions

1. Line the inside of the cardboard flap with aluminum foil. Fold the edges of the foil over the flap to help hold the foil in place and glue the foil onto the flap. Keep the foil as smooth as possible.

What do you think the purpose of this foil is?

2. Line the inside of the box with aluminum foil so that when you shut the box, the entire interior is coated with foil. It is easiest to do this by covering the bottom of the box with foil, and then the covering the inside part of the lid (going around the plastic-covered opening) with foil too. Glue the foil in place. Why do you think you should coat the inside of the box with foil like this?

3. Glue or tape a sheet of black paper to the bottom of the box, centered there. This will act as your solar oven's heat sink.

How do you think it will help cook your food?

4. If you want to cook a s'more, break a graham cracker in half and place a marshmallow and small piece of chocolate between the cracker halves. Place the prepared s'more on a small square of aluminum foil (slightly larger than the s'more - this will serve as a tray) and put it in your solar oven, on top of the black sheet of paper. Put the solar oven outside where it will get full, direct sunlight for at least 30 minutes, and keep the oven turned so that the flap faces the sun. When the marshmallow is soft, your s'more should be ready to eat and enjoy!

How long does it take to cook the s'more in your solar oven? Does the oven get very warm?

What Happened?

In this activity, you built a simple box-type solar oven that should have been able to cook a s'more in sunny, warm conditions. In some trials using this type of solar oven, at about 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit on a sunny afternoon it took about 30 to 35 minutes for the marshmallow to get warm enough to become soft and melt some of the chocolate, and make a tasty, solar-powered treat! In ideal conditions, this solar oven can easily heat up to about 160 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Using full, direct sunlight is important for heating this solar oven.

Digging Deeper

Solar ovens use solar energy - light and heat emitted from the sun - to cook food, pasteurize water, or even sterilize instruments. How does a solar oven work? The simple answer is that it is designed to absorb more heat than it releases.

The solar oven you build in this activity is a relatively simple one made out of a pizza box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and a sheet of black paper. You cut a flap out of the pizza box's lid and line this flap with aluminum foil so that sunlight can be reflected off of the foil and into the box. You also seal the opening with plastic wrap to create a plastic "window" that works like a greenhouse roof, allowing (direct and reflected) sunlight to pass into the box, while also retaining heat. At the bottom of the box, you placed black paper to create a "heat sink." This heat sink works by absorbing direct and reflected sunlight to become warm so that it can then heat up food placed on top of it.

Ask an Expert

For Further Exploration

There are a lot of variables that you can try to tweak in your solar oven design to make it even better. Can you make your solar oven be more efficient by changing the angle of the reflector flap, using different materials to insulate the oven, or changing the shape or size of your oven?

One way to quantify how efficient your solar oven is is to use a thermometer to measure the temperature inside of your solar oven over time. How hot can your solar oven get? How does this compare to a real oven?

The weather outside can significantly affect how well a solar oven performs. How well does your solar oven cook on a warm day versus a very hot day? What about a sunny day versus an overcast day?

In this activity you made a very simple box-type solar oven, but you could build another solar oven using a more efficient design to make your solar oven get even hotter! Do some research online to find other solar oven designs. How efficient can you make a solar oven be?

Project Ideas

Science Fair Project Idea

Here is a project that uses direct solar power, gathering the sun's rays for heating/sterilizing water or cooking. It is a low-cost technology that seems to have everything going for it. Does it work? Can you find ways to improve it? Find out with this project. Read more

Links

Careers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven | STEM Activity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Build a simple box-type solar oven and use it to cook s'mores.

# data[].attributes.body
Learn about Charles’s Law with this simple experiment. As the candle burns, using up oxygen and heating the air in the glass, the water rises as if by magic

https://team-cartwright.com/rising-water-experiment/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ages: Preschool, PreK, Kindergarten, Elementary

Difficulty: Easy

Learning: STEM, Air Pressure, Ideal Gas Law, Charles's Law

Did you know you can make water rise without touching it?

Nope, it isn't magic. It's science. Surprisingly simple science in fact. This science experiment comes together in minutes, but it will captivate your children.

Here is how to do the raising water experiment, simple glass and candle STEM magic.

What's In This Post?

Rising Water Experiment

This experiment uses at-home materials and is fascinating! It does require adult help, but adults will love it too.

Supplies for your Glass and Candle Experiment

You only need a few items to make this magic water STEM experiment work. Here is what you need to gather up:

Glass or Jar

Small Votive Candle

Shallow Dish

Water

Food Coloring (Optional)

Matches or Lighter

How To Do the Rising Water Experiment

Before we even get started please remember that an adult needs to be present for this experiment. We are using fire, which can be dangerous, so be smart.

Step 1: Take a sallow dish and fill it with water. You want just enough to cover the bottom.

Step 2: If you want, add food coloring to the water. This just makes it easier to see and is fun, so totally optional.

Step 3: Place your small votive in the middle of the dish.

Step 4: Light the candle, then quickly place the empty glass over the flame, touching the water. Now wait while the candle burns out.

Step 5: Watch as the water rises up into the glass!

The number one safety tip here is to be careful with the flame! This experiment must be done with adult supervision at the bare minimum. With younger children, like preschoolers, this needs to be an adult-led experiment.

This STEM activity also uses glass, so it is a good idea to be careful in case it falls or breaks.

Clean-up for this activity is pretty simple. Slowly lift the bottle off of the candle.

Once the bottle is off, gently blow the candle out. Let the candle cool (or have an adult get it), remove it from the dish, and dump the water down the drain. That's it!
More must do activities!
How the Rising Water Experiment Works

This is a pretty cool experiment, but it is important to talk about what actually makes this happen. It's fun to say it is magic, but as my kids tell me, 'It's better. It's science.'

There are two main components of this experiment that cause the water to rise, a physical component and a chemical component. These two components work together to make this experiment happen.

The candle burning creates a chemical reaction. The flame burns both the paraffin (candle wax) and the oxygen under the glass. This reaction uses up oxygen and creates water and carbon dioxide as a result. Twice as much oxygen is burned than carbon dioxide produced, so the volume of air in the glass decreases.

(Note the total amount of matter in the jar remains the same. Conservation of matter tells us this. But some molecules are larger than others and take up more space in terms of volume.)

The Physical Component

The physical component is why the water level in the glass doesn't rise as soon as the candle is covered. The candle warms the air, and this increases the air volume inside the glass.

When the candle burns out (because all the oxygen is used up), the temperature cools quickly. This temperature decrease means the volume also decreases, which lets the water rise to fill up that space. This is called Charles's Law.

Charles's Law tells us that the ratio of volume to temperature must remain the same, so if one goes down the other goes down too.

These two parts of the experiment work together. Both the volume change and temperature also affect the pressure in the system we created. When temperature decreases (the physical component) and the size of the matter decreases (the chemical component), the pressure of the gas inside the glass decreases too.

This lower pressure inside means the water can rise as well. This is explained by the Ideal Gas Law.

The idea of air pressure can be a bit challenging for young children to understand. It isn't something they can clearly see, so that makes sense. But they can understand something changing size, in other words when volume changes.

If the air inside the glass takes up less space, it makes sense for the water to fill in that space and rise inside the glass.

What Should Children Take Away From This Science Experiment?

I understand that we went over a lot of more complicated concepts here. (And don't worry, I've listed the definitions for the terms below to help out.) Am I really expecting young kids to understand and retain all this?

No. I mean, it would be cool if they did. And some might. But realistically that is not the point of this kind of science. The purpose of giving these explanations is so that you as a caregiver can quickly get the reasoning behind this project and interpret it for your children.

It is helpful for your children to see these experiments. Even if they don't fully understand the details, this experience is adding to their understanding of how the world around them works. It builds their science base.

Using the vocabulary helps kids as well. First, it gives new words which are always helpful for communication skills. But I think, more importantly, it demystifies science later in life. Science can feel like a whole new language as we get older, and that can be very intimidating. If we have been exposed to these terms though, it's less scary. We might not know exactly what they mean but we know that we have heard them before. This helps kids feel like science belongs to them. Because it does.

Here are a few helpful definitions for the raising water experiment.

Conservation of Matter

The conservation of matter law states that matter is not destroyed or created. It can change forms, but the total amount stays the same.

Charles's Law tells us that the volume of a gas is directly proportional to the temperature of the gas. As the volume decreases, the temperature decreases, for example.

The Ideal Gas Law describes the conditions a gas is under and how those conditions will vary as compared to each other. The pressure of the gas multiplied by the volume will always equal the number of moles multiplied by the temperature and ideal gas law constant.

Since an adult is needed to run do this experiment with kids (fire safety!), it is a great time to talk through the scientific method! Here is a guideline of what that can look like with this STEM experiment.

(And don't forget to learn all the life lessons that come along with the scientific method here: Beyond the Science- What Kids Are Really Learning.)

Ask your child, what do they think is going to happen when we put the glass on the candle? The key here is to listen and let them think it through. No answer is too far out there or wrong at this step.

The observation step is key throughout any experiment, but take a moment and look at their components. What do they notice about them? How do they normally behave? What do they already know about them?

Narrow down your potential answers and decide on one or a couple of outcomes you think are most likely. This is your hypothesis.

Time to run the experiment! Encourage your children to keep watching what is happening. (In this particular observation, sight is going to be the key thing to focus on. Some touch is possible, watching out for the flame of course. And you can encourage smell and hearing for practice.

What did they observe? Now is the time for them to tell you everything they can about what just happened.

This is where we form the conclusions and apply the information we learned. Do they think this will always happen? How did the results match or differ from their hypothesis?

Real experiments always lead to more questions. What does your child want to try next? What would they change in the experiment? Does more water in the dish change anything? Can they try to suck up all the water? Would adding a different liquid change the results?

Even if you aren't able to complete any of their additional experiment ideas, it is a good idea to think of ways to explore more. Plus it is amazingly fun to hear all the ideas kids have.

Magic Water Science Experiment

This is a great experiment to do over and over. It's fast, cheap and full of fun learning. It's a must-do!
Let's find your next fun activity!
Free Printable Raising Water Experiment Instructions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rising Water Experiment - Magic Water Science Experiment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rising water experiment for kids! Fun & easy science experiment about ideal gas law, air pressure, and Charles's Law. Simple STEM for kids.

# data[].attributes.body
Online simulator allows you to explore static electricity virtually. As you move the balloons the charges change instantly.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grab a balloon to explore concepts of static electricity such as charge transfer, attraction, repulsion, and induced charge.

# data[].attributes.body
Step by steps instructions on how students can explore how oil spills effect the oceans and have an impact on the environment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I recently had another opportunity to observe a science program in an after school setting, this time at Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland, CA. The rising fifth graders have an hour and a half of STEM programming after lunch every afternoon, and the day I visited they did an activity about cleaning up oil in the ocean. They worked with trays filled a few inches with water, feathers, straws, cotton balls and sponges.

I think it's especially challenging to lead activities like this, where the materials you have to work with are analogies of what really happens in the real world. I was impressed with the ways the facilitator drew connections between the activity they were doing and what happens in the real world.

The facilitator started the activity by asking the kids what they already knew about oil spills. I was struck by how many hands went in the air, and details the kids knew including the catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The group discussed what kinds of engineers help solve the environmental problems caused by oil spills - chemical and environmental engineers.

In groups, the kids examined their 'oceans' of water, with oil floating on top. They discussed and wrote observations in their science notebooks.

The facilitator introduced some terms and definitions and then passed out materials the kids would use to try to clean up the oil.

As kids formulated their plans for working together to get the oil off the feathers and out of the 'ocean', the facilitator passed around photos of actual oil spills and the effects they have on wildlife. Then it was time to work together to figure out how to use materials to clean up the oil.

During the discussion after the activity, the kids all said that they enjoyed this activity even though it was very difficult to get all the oil out of the water and off of the feathers.

In order to help kids make connections between the science activities we do after school and science in the real world, here are some things we see quality programs doing:

Ask kids what they already know about related issues

Show kids pictures, news articles or videos

Introduce kids to a scientist who works on the problem in the field

Take a field trip

Participate in a citizen science project to help a scientist conduct a study on a related issue

Let us know some ways that your after school science program connects kids to real world science!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oil Spill! Connecting STEM activities to real world problems

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I recently had another opportunity to observe a science program in an after school setting, this time at Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland, CA. The rising fifth graders have an hour and a half of STEM programming after lunch every afternoon, and the day I visited they did an activity about cleaning up oil in the ocean.

# data[].attributes.body
Students can complete an online lab. They have the ability to change mass, volume, type of material. And they are also able to see the weight of each material. If materials are not available this is helpful or even to expand what you have.

# data[].attributes.body
This teaches students about plants and how water is carried through the roots and stems.

https://www.mychildcareacademy.com/5-easy-science-experiments-for-kids/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
My Child Care Academy | Daycare & Child care in Herriman, UT

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Are you looking for some fun science experiments for kids? Whether you're homeschooling or looking to have some fun at home, an enjoyable activity while learning about science sounds like a win! In this blog, we're going to talk into detail about the materials needed, how to perform the experiments, and how to explain the experiment to your child. While all of these experiments are safe, please do not let your child(ren) perform them without an adult present. Let's start learning!

1. Neon Flower: Experimenting with Transpiration, Cohesion, and Capillary Action

This fun experiment is a way to show your children exactly what plants do with the water we give them. They'll be able to see the flowers change colors and become more vibrant the longer they're placed in the water! Let's get started!

Here are the material you will need:

3-6 white flowers (we recommend thick-stemmed Gerbera Daisies)

Food coloring

4 glasses

Water

Now, here are the steps to dying your flowers:

1. Fill the four glasses with water.

2. Squeeze 30 drops of desired food coloring into the four glasses and stir.

3. Trim the flowers to fit in the glass.

4. Gently place your flowers in your die.

5. Watch your flowers change colors!

How To Explain the Science Behind Biocolor Flowers

Plants "drink" their water through their roots. Once inside the stem, tiny tubes that run up the stem called xylem serve as a transportation for the water to get to the plant's leaves and flowers. A few of the processes that help the water travel up through the xylem are: transpiration, cohesion, and capillary action.

There are two things that combine to move water through plants - transpiration and cohesion. Transpiration occurs when the water evaporating from the leaves, buds, and petals pulls water up the stem of the plant. Cohesion is when the water that evaporates from the leaves "pulls up" other water molecules behind it to fill the space it left. This water movement process where plants are able to defy gravity and pull water up and into their leaves and flowers through tiny tubes is called capillary action.

2. A Volcanic Eruption: Experimenting with Acids and Bases

Creating a volcanic eruption to talk about acids and bases? Count us in! This activity can have your child(ren) engaged and excited to learn all about the eruption process. After getting the experiment ready, make sure to "erupt" your volcano outside to avoid cleaning up a mess or potentially damaging things inside the home. Let's get learning!

Here are the materials to start this experiment:

10 ml of dish soap

100 ml of cold water

400 ml of white vinegar

Food coloring (whatever color)

Baking soda slurry (fill a cup about ½ with baking soda, then fill the rest of the way with water)

Empty 2 liter soda bottle

Now, let's talk about the steps to creating a volcanic eruption:

1. Combine the vinegar, water, dish soap and 2 drops of food coloring into the empty soda bottle.

2. Use a spoon to mix the baking soda slurry until it's all a liquid.

3. Pour the baking soda slurry into the soda bottle quickly and step back to see acids and bases react!

How To Explain the Science Behind This Volcanic Eruption

A chemical reaction is when one or more substances are combined to form one or more substances. In this case, when vinegar (one substance) and baking soda (another substance), combine, a chemical reaction takes place to produce a gas called carbon dioxide (resulting substance).

Have you ever experienced a coke getting too shook up so much that when you open it, the coke sprays everywhere? This is the same method! There isn't enough room in the bottle for the gas to spread out so it leaves through the opening super quick causing an eruption!

3. Growing A Bean: Experimenting with Germination

Growing a bean can certainly take time. This experiment will be a fun process for your child(ren) to check up on regularly! They'll love seeing the steps and watching their bean sprout every day. Once it gets to a certain point (around two weeks), you are more than welcome to transplant it into a garden or bigger pot. Give it a try!

The materials for this experiment are:

1 pinto bean

1 paper towel

1 Ziploc bag

Spray bottle for holding water

Here are the steps for growing your bean:

1. Dampen paper towel with spray bottle

2. Place wet paper towel in Ziploc Bag

3. Place your bean on top of wet paper towel

4. Close Ziploc Bag

5. Place Ziploc Bag in a warm, sunny spot (window seal is a good place)

6. Add water to paper towel when it dries out

7. Observe your plant growing in 3-5 days!

How To Explain the Science Behind Your Blossoming Bean

This experiment is all about germination! This means that the plant is sprouting it's roots. Usually when planting flowers or vegetables you can't see the sprouts because they're under ground in the soil. In this experiment, the bean is getting a moist place to grow plus some sun so you can see the whole process right before your eyes! If you want to observe more, place another bean sprout in a dark area to compare the two.

4. Crystal Candy: Experimenting with Crystallization

Looking for an experiment that's both educational and tasty? Try this crystallization experiment! Whether you make a necklace out of the crystals, observe them, or eat them, these magical growing crystals can be a hit for your child(ren).

The materials for this experiment are:

A piece of thick string, about 6 inches

A pencil or popsicle stick

A paper clip (or large plastic bead)

1 cup of water

2 cups of sugar

A mason jar

Here are the steps for your crystal candy:

1. Tie one end of the string to the middle of the popsicle stick or pencil.

2. Tie the other end around the paper clip or bead.

3. Next, lay the popsicle stick or pencil across the top of a jar so that the string hangs down the middle of the jar. Make sure that it's not touching the bottom (but close) or the sides of the jar. The string will act as a seed for the crystal. After this, remove them from the jar and set them aside to use later.

4. Pour the water into a pan and bring it to boil.

5. Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the boiling water, stir it until it dissolves.

6. Repeat this step until all of the sugar has been dissolved. This will take time and patience and it will take longer for the sugar to dissolve each time. Be sure you don't give up too soon in order to make a "supersaturated solution!"

7. Carefully pour the hot sugar solution into the jar and fill it almost all of the way to the top. Please do not let your child do this themselves!

8. Put your pencil or popsicle back on top and lower the bead or paperclip back inside of the jar, just like you practiced before. Allow the jar to cool and put it someplace where it will not be disturbed.

9. Next, it's time to wait. Check on it every day to see the crystals start to grow, but be very careful not to disturb it. The longer you wait the bigger it will get.

How To Explain the Science Behind Your Crystal Candy

Mixing the water and the sugar creates a supersaturated solution! This is because the water could only hold the sugar if both were very hot. As the water cools the sugar "comes out" of the solution and forms back into sugar crystals on your string. The string and paper clip act as a home that the crystals can start to grow on. With some luck and patience, you'll create some magical crystals! Enjoy!

5. Storm in a Glass: Experimenting with the Water Cycle

Wanting to educate your child(ren) on the water cycle? This "storm in a glass" experiment will be a fun way to explain how clouds work and why they cause a storm. Let's learn more!

The materials for this experiment are:

The steps to create your storm in a glass are:

1. Fill the glass 1/2 full with water

2. Spray some shaving cream on top of the water to fill the glass to ¾ full.

3. Use your finger or a spoon to spread the shaving cream evenly over the top of the water.The top of the shaving cream should be flat.

4. Mix ½-cup water with 10 drops of food coloring in a separate container.

5. Gently add the colored water, spoonful by spoonful, to the top of the shaving cream. When it gets too heavy, watch it storm!

How To Explain the Science Behind Your Storm in a Glass

Those big white things in the sky are called clouds, and they hold water. Actually, they can hold millions of gallons of water! In our experiment, the layer of shaving cream is our pretend cloud. The shaving cream layer also holds water. Once too much water gets in the cloud, they get really heavy and ultimately the water falls out of the cloud as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. This is called precipitation!

Explore My ChildCare Academy

Searching for a daycare that sees the importance of science and alternative methods of learning? At My Childcare Academy, we believe that these two aspects are a big part of child development. Call us today to learn more about us and how we can help your child learn and grow!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Easy Science Experiments for Kids | My Child Care Academy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you looking for some fun science experiments for kids? Whether you're homeschooling or looking to have some fun at home, an enjoyable activity while learning about science sounds like a win! In this blog, we're going to talk into detail about the materials needed, how to perform the experiments, and how to explain the experiment to your child.