It’s that time of the year! Want to create some homemade crystal ornaments with the kids? For more scientific explanations on crystallization, see Nucleation and Crystal Growth.
High Grade 9-12
Tornado in a Glass
A tornado, also called twister or cyclone, is a violent rotating column of air extending between the Earth’s surface and the base of a thunderstorm. This vortex of wind, usually funnel-shaped, can be very destructive. It can destroy large buildings, uproot trees, drive sticks into trees and hurl cars hundreds of yards away. In this experiment, we will make…
Rising Water Experiment
We normally don’t play with fire (for obvious reasons) But here is a magical experiment I didn’t expect to be so easy and so much fun to do. At the same time, the results are so hard to understand, with, sadly, much misleading information on the internet. As always, adult supervision is required (THERE IS FIRE INVOLVED). Why…
Lemon-Powered Light
Did you know that you can easily make a homemade battery? It’s not hard at all. You don’t need to buy any special equipment for that. Ok, you may need some equipment, but I bet you can get them by rummaging the house (that’s what I did 🙂 ). I guarantee your kids will be all…
Fun Milk And Vinegar Plastic Experiment
What Is Plastic Made Out Of? What happens when you mix milk with vinegar? What is plastic made out of? What do stone, buttermilk, yogurt and cheese have in common? So many questions I had in mind after researching for this milk curdling experiment. There are various experiments and articles online that indicate mixing milk with…
Color Science & Art | Coffee Filter Flowers
Is black really black? What happens when all the rainbow colors blend together? We will be able to answer these questions after doing some science investigation. In the “black” coffee filter, you should be able to see the rainbow colors after the black ink is spread out. Water is a solvent that rises through the paper fibers. Since…
Make A Square Bubble
Can you make a square bubble? We’ve all seen sphere-shaped bubbles. They are like balls in shape. But can you make a bubble that looks like a block or a prism? Why Water molecules (and also liquid soap and glycerin molecules) tend to stick to themselves. This cohesive force creates surface tension. (Note: Water by…
Soap Powered Boat Experiment
One day, my 4-year-old daughter asked, “What is science?” “Well, remember you always ask me Why — ? Why is the sky blue? Why is sunset orange? Why are bubbles round?” I answered. “Science helps us find out answers to these whys!” My daughter’s question came at the perfect time when I received the new…
What Is Surface Tension | Cool Science Experiment
Surface tension is one of the amazing properties of water. Here is an excellent experiment demonstrating how water surface tension works. It’s a very cool science activity for little kids. What you need black pepper a plate or bowl water liquid soap (I used liquid dish soap) Steps Fill the plate with a thin layer…
Egg Drop Inertia Science Project
This amusing experiment demonstrates Newton’s first law of motion. It was so much fun that my overactive kid wanted to do it again and again and again. Why Why does the egg fall right into the glass while the paper roll and the pan flies sideways? This can be explained by Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of…
Sugar Water Rainbow | Density and Air Pressure Experiment
Why Density is the amount of substance (mass) within the volume occupied by the object. If two cups have the same amount of water (i.e. same volume), the one with more sugar is denser than the one with less sugar. Buoyancy is determined by relative density. The solution with less density floats above the solution…
Bubble Snake Experiment
Summer is here! Kids love bubbles. It’s one of their favorite summer activities. Playing with bubbles using a simple wand is fun, but it can get old pretty quickly. Let’s something different and had a blast making bubble snakes. They’re easy to make and provide tons of outdoor entertainment. All you need are things you already have…
Growing Crystals For Kids – Crystal Rainbow
This crystal rainbow experiment is the perfect project to satisfy any kid’s rainbow craving. It’s super easy and only takes 2-3 hours for the crystals to form nicely. Materials Borax (found in laundry section) pipe cleaners in rainbow colors water twine a pencil or stick that is longer than the glass/jar’s opening cotton balls glue Tools wide-mouth…
Build A Simple Electric Circuit
What is electricity? We use electricity everywhere in our daily lives. Let’s find out how it works. Books Electronics for Kids: Play with Simple Circuits and Experiment with Electricity! How Does My Home Work? Charged Up: The Story of Electricity
How To Build Simple DC Motor (Video)
A lot of electrical devices such as vacuum cleaners require electricity to operate their motors. But how exactly does electricity coming out from a static source such as a battery cause another object to move? Did you know that magnetism is essential in creating a rotating motor? Here is a very cool experiment to show you…
The Science Of Bread Baking
I wanted to show my daughter that science was in our everyday life. Oftentimes, we apply the principles of physics, chemistry or biology without even knowing. We can all be scientists and we are by observing and studying carefully what happens around us. Here is a great example — bread baking. Baking bread is full of…
How To Keep Crackers Dry Underwater | STEM Challenge
We like dunking cookies in milk before eating them. But we don’t like doing this to crackers as they will become soggy. Why Even though the crackers and the paper towel were completely underwater, they both stayed dry! This is because an empty glass is not really empty. There is air inside. The air inside the glass is…
Can A Raw Egg Grow? | Science Experiment
Why In this experiment, we first see an acid-base reaction. Eggshells contain calcium carbonate which is a base while vinegar contains acetic acid. When you submerge an egg in vinegar, an acid-base reaction causes the calcium carbonate to break down into their calcium and carbonate parts. The calcium ions (as in calcium acetate) stay dissolved…
Air Canon Smoke Ring
Playing with an air canon is always fun. You can use it to propel little tissue balls or have a race to see who can make the balls fly the farthest. But did you know that you can also make a smoke ring with it? Why How does the air move? In this experiment, you can…
Photosynthesis And Respiration In Plants
All living things use a process called respiration to get energy to stay alive. Cellular respiration in plants is the process used by plants to convert nutrients obtained from soil into energy which fuels the plants’ cellular activities. On the other hand, photosynthesis is the process where light energy is converted into chemical energy stored…