Exploring Science at home
Science taps into children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm to explore and experiment. Science is a powerful tool that encourages children to ask questions and use a hands-on approach to find answers to their questions. Science should be explored beyond the classroom and can be fun, interactive and very meaningful for children when explored at home. Often science can be simple to do at home with very little materials needed, and a great opportunity for parents to keep children busy at home and get involved in their play and learning.
Here are some simple science activities you can try at home with your child:
1. Walking Water
Fill two cups with different coloured water and put an empty cup in the middle. Fold paper towels into strips placing one end in each coloured cup and the other end in the empty cup in the middle. After some time, the water will walk through the paper towels and the colours will mix in the middle.
*This activity demonstrates how water moves through absorbent materials, just like how plants drink water.
2. Skittles Rainbow
Arrange the coloured Skittles in a circle near the edge of a plastic plate. Fill a cup of icy cold water and slowly pour into the middle of the plate. Make sure the water doesn’t completely cover the Skittles. Watch the colours disperse into a pattern on the plate.
*Exploring colours and patterns
3. Sink or Float
Gather various household objects and a large bowl of water. Have your child predict whether each item will sink or float in the water. Test each item to determine if their predictions were correct
*This activity introduces basic principles of density and buoyancy
4. Magnet Play
Gather a variety of objects, some that are magnetic and others that aren’t. Show your child how magnets work, how they can attract or repel each other.
*This activity introduces the concept of magnetic fields.
5. Make it Fizz
Cover the bottom of a baking dish with baking soda. Mix some vinegar with food coloring in a bowl. Fill an eye dropper with the coloured vinegar and let your child squeeze it onto the baking soda. This works well with different coloured vinegar bowls. The baking soda will begin to fizz when the coloured vinegar is added.
*This activity explores chemical reactions and the cause and effect of mixing these two substances together.
6. Bouncy Egg
Gently place a raw egg into a container. Pour vinegar into the container ensuring the egg is fully submerged. Allow the egg to sit in the container for 24-72 hours. You may see bubbles forming on the eggshell as the vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate. After the soaking period, remove the egg with a spoon and rinse it gently under warm water. The egg should feel rubbery and bouncy.
*This activity teaches children about chemical reactions
Speak to the educators at Sage if you would like to try more activities like these at home. Or perhaps you would like to share a science activity for us to try with the children in our STEM hubs at Sage.