Fun and Creative Science Experiments You Can Do at Home
While a lot of children don’t really look forward to science class in school, that all changes when it’s science experiment day. Who can forget the first time they got to participate in a hands-on experiment that left a fun mess and a lifetime of great memories? However, these types of fun experiments don’t have to be isolated to the classroom, as there are some great ones that you can do in the comfort of your own home.
We have some experiments that the whole family will enjoy without breaking the bank. You’ll learn a thing or two along the way and your child will become more engaged with science than they ever have before. Here are five fun and creative science experiments you can do at home.
Volcano
I dare you to name a science experiment for kids that’s more classic than a homemade volcano project. There are many ways to go about putting together your homemade volcano. You can mold it out of playdoh, use an empty soda bottle, buy a ceramic molding kit, or whatever other safe and creative ways you can come up with.
The result is always the same and always exciting. All you need is some baking soda, vinegar, red food coloring, safety glasses, and a safe place to set off the chemical reaction. When your kids see the chemical reaction of the baking soda and vinegar, they’ll lose their minds.
Elephant Toothpaste
Elephant toothpaste has taken the science experiment world by storm over the last few years. Surprisingly, there’s no toothpaste involved. It gets its name due to the enormous size of the chemical reaction and how it resembles toothpaste being quickly squeezed out of the tube. All you need is a clean plastic container, 20-volume hydrogen peroxide, dry yeast, warm water, liquid dish soap, food coloring, and safety goggles.
Set aside the warm water and yeast, mix the rest of the ingredients together in the plastic container, and separately mix the yeast and warm water together, then after about 30 seconds you’ll want to mix the dissolved yeast in with the rest of the ingredients. Then sit back and watch the magic happen.
Lava Lamp
Everyone can agree lava lamps are pretty cool. Did you know you could make your own? It’s not quite the same as a real lava lamp, but it’s an awesome science experiment for the kids. You’ll need a plastic container, preferably an empty soda bottle, vegetable oil, water, food coloring, and some fizzy tablets. Fill the bottle a 1/4th of the way with water.
Then, add enough vegetable oil to almost fill up the rest of the bottle. Once the oil and water has fully separated, add some drops of food coloring into the mix. Finally, add in a fizzy tablet and watch as the concoction turns into a colorfully bubbly mix, resembling that of a lava lamp. To make it more magical, you can turn the lights off and shine a flashlight from the bottom of the container.
Invisible Ink
This creative science experiment will make your kid feel like a sneaky sleuth. Experimenting with invisible ink is a simple, mess-free, yet intriguing way to get your kids interested in the beauty of science. All you need is a white piece of paper, lemon juice, water, a cotton bud, a lamp, and a small container to hold the liquid. Mix together a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice and a few drops of water in the container.
Then dip the cotton bud in the mixture, making sure to saturate it well. After that, use the wet cotton bud to write a message on the paper, dipping again as needed. Finally, shine the light from a lamp on the piece of paper, drying and slightly warming the liquid to reveal their secret message. The carbon compounds within the lemon juice, are void of color at room temperature, then begin to brown when heated up.
Water Cycle in a Bag
The water cycle of evaporation and precipitation is something that we learn about early on in school. If you want to show your child how the entire process works, you can simply use a zip-topped bag and some markers. Fill the bag up just a little bit, marking where the fill line was.
You can also draw the sun and some clouds to really show off how things work before you set the bag in a sunny area. Over the course of a few hours, your child will see that the water evaporates within the bag and then collects back at the bottom when the sun goes down.