Have you ever wondered before the invention of clocks, how was time measured? As far back as 1500 B.C., ancient Egyptians used a sundial or “shadow clock” to tell time.
Middle Grade 6-8
Floating Rice – Friction Experiment
Friction Experiment We can pick up rice grains using a pair of chopsticks. But can you pick up a bottle of thousands of rice grains using only one chopstick? Why When you first fill the bottle with rice, there is a little bit of space, i.e. an air pocket, in between each grain and its neighbors. As…
Skittles Science Project (Candy)
What do you do when there is an oversupply of candies in the house, like the day after Halloween? (yeah, right.) Candy science experiment, of course! This experiment is really spectacular to watch, but the science behind is pretty complicated… actually, I haven’t found a definitive scientific explanation agreed by all authoritative scientists yet. But…
The Best Homemade Lava Lamp | Density Experiment
Why Alka Seltzer tablets contain 3 ingredients: aspirin (pain killer), sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. When dropped into water, sodium bicarbonate and citric acid combine to form sodium citrate, carbon dioxide, and water. This sodium citrate can neutralize stomach acid and this is why alka-seltzer is an antacid medicine. During this process, carbon dioxide is created….
Build A Paddle Boat | STEM For Kids (Video)
Water science experiment is always a hit for kids. Building a paddle boat is so easy and so much fun. Just use things you probably already have around the house. Let’s get started. You have just built a paddle boat! In a real paddle boat, the spinning drum of paddle boards acts as oars, pushing against…
Cartesian Diver Experiment (Video)
How do fish float and sink? Here is a simple Cartesian Diver experiment (diving ketchup experiment) to show you how. Why This classic experiment is called Cartesian Diver, named after French scientist, mathematician and philosopher scientist, René Descartes. It demonstrates the principles of buoyancy and density and explains how fish dive or rise in water. Buoyancy: the force of buoyancy on an…
Do Grapes Sink Or Float? | Salt Water Density Experiment
Do grapes sink or float? In the picture above, you can see that grapes can both sink and float. Why is that? What determines if an object sink or float in water? Try this experiment to learn about water density. What you need some grapes 2 clear glasses tap water salt stirrer Steps Fill the two glasses…
Traveling Water Experiment
Have you seen traveling water, i.e. water traveling from one cup to another without being close together or one directly above the other. It can be easily done with the help of a string! This traveling water experiment has demonstrated two important properties of water. Cohesion: Water molecules are attracted to one another and so they…
Coin Experiment – Coin in Water
Why Light bends when it passes from one medium (water) into another medium of a different density (air). This bending of light, called refraction, causes the apparent position of the coin to change to a shallower position1 (see diagram). The light bends when it passes from water to air on top of the water. It does…
How Many Drops of Water Can Fit on a Penny Surface Tension Experiment
Why Water molecules attract each other and tend to stick together. This cohesion property results in surface tension. Because water molecules at the surface of the water puddle attract more to one other than they do to the air molecules above them, they cling together and form a dome shape on the coin. Surface tension prevents…
Thunderstorm Convection Experiment (Video)
Even though there is a severe drought in the area where we live, thunderstorms are still a common spring occurrence. I have shown my kid how rain was created before. Now she’s curious how thunderstorms form and what causes them. So what is a thunderstorm? A thunderstorms is a storm with lightnings and thunders. What causes…
Toothpick Star Trick Science Experiment For Kids
Here is a super fun toothpick trick: turn broken toothpicks into a star! Video: The second part of the video has been sped up 4x times. So don’t be discouraged if your star doesn’t expand as fast as mine. Notes Toothpicks are made of dry wood. When dry wood absorbs water, the bent wood fibres…
2 Light Refraction Experiments
Refraction Of Light There are so many good refraction of light experiments we want to do. Why: Experiment 1 Light bends when it passes from one medium (air) into another medium of a different density (water). This bending of light, called refraction, causes the straw to look broken1. The portion of the straw that is submerged in water…
Refraction of Light in Water Experiment (Video)
Notes Do the experiment again using different distances between the glass and the graphics. Try glasses and jars of different shapes. Try using different liquids such as oil, juice, etc. Why Have you noticed that things look a little funny when you see them through a glass of water? Some of the aberrations are caused…
Balloon Rocket Car Race | Propulsion STEM Activity
Propulsion And Newton’s Third Law How do airplanes fly in the sky, ships move in the water and rockets take off into the space? These movements all have one thing in common — thrust. Why When the balloon is blown up, the air inside is pushing on the skin to keep it inflated. Covering the straw opening keeps…
Build Marble Roller Coaster | STEM
If you (or your parents) have a roll of unused baby edge guard lying around, this is the perfect STEM activity for you. Have you ever wondered why the string of roller coaster cars is pulled up to the crest of the tallest point on the roller coaster before rolling downhill to the loop? Have you ever wondered why…
What Makes Ice Melt Faster? Salt Melts Ice Experiment
Here is a quick and easy ice fishing experiment. It is so cool (pun intended) that you will want to do it again and again (I did!) Here is a fun experiment illustrating the concept of water freezing point Why Salt reduces the freezing point of water, causing the ice to melt faster. When a…
Color Changing Flowers Science Project
Do you know that flowers can drink up water and change their own colors into the color of the water they drink? Flowers and plants drink water through their roots. In cut flowers, since there are no roots, water travels from the cut directly into the stems and travels to the petals and other parts…
How To Make A Rainbow – Simple Science Experiments
How Are Rainbows Formed? Sunlight or white light is a mixture of all the rainbow colors. The different rainbow colors are essentially mixed together to result in a white color. You may wonder why when you mix all the different colors of paint together result in black instead of light. That is because light mixing…
Why Is The Sky Blue? Simple Science (Video)
The Blue Sky On a clear day, you can see that the color of the sky is blue even though sun light does not seem to contain any color. So why is the sky blue if sunlight is colorless? Refraction Of Light The “colorless” light from the sun is actually white light. It is made up…