30 Fun and Easy Science Activities to Do With Kids at Home

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30 Fun and Easy Science Activities to Do With Kids at Home

By Joe Burgett - April 19, 2020

11. Play What Sinks & Floats

Age Recommendation: 8 Years+
Supplies Needed: Various Items Around Your Home

While it may not seem like a great way to promote science at home, playing a game regarding what sinks & floats is great. It not only helps kids understand how floatation works, but you could also show them how to make flotation devices. This way, should they need to know, they’ll be good to go. You’re also teaching about Density & Buoyancy.

The major thing to discuss is why something sinks. The only reason something sinks is that it weighs more than the water it is displacing. If it weighs less, it floats. This is why big rocks sink but boats float. The rock might be heavy but it’s only displacing a small bit of water and thus sinks. Meanwhile, a boat, which takes up a large surface area, isn’t weighing more and will float. The same premise explains how humans float.

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10. Make A Pasta Rocket

Age Recommendation: 10 Years+
Supplies Needed: Hydrogen Peroxide, Uncooked Pasta Noodles, Yeast, Mason Jar & Lid

In this way to promote science at home, we’re making the Pasta Rocket. The main way this works is through the Hydrogen Peroxide and Yeast. When they are combined, it caused the Peroxide to release oxygen gas. You’ll need a Mason Jar with Lid, which you’ll cut a hole in to put the pasta noodle. Do not use a ring to keep the lid and jar together. We want it to be loose.

Fill the jar 3/4 of the way with Hydrogen Peroxide. Then add about a quarter teaspoon of yeast. Mix it in, and you should already see it bubbling up. Now put the lid on and simply put a noodle on top of the hole. Just ignite the top of the noodle and you’ll see a rocket flame pop up. Thankfully, it won’t result in the Pasta going up in the air if you followed directions.

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9. Sugar & Sodium Chlorate Fire

Age Recommendation: 12 to 13 Years+
Supplies Needed: Sugar & Sodium Chlorate

Many seem unaware of various, yet interesting chemistry concepts. If you want to do some awesome science at home, we recommend coming up with a lot of these. In this situation, we’re going to teach you how to make fire out of household sugar and sodium chlorate. You can get the latter in things like Herbicides. Be sure to dispose of this well when you’re done.

Sodium Chlorate and Sugar, on their own, are not flammable. However, together, they are. You just need to put a bit together, and fire will happen almost immediately. If you put a good bit of it together….you could create a small bomb. This is why it’s often hard to get your hands on straight, pure, sodium chlorate today. We cannot stress enough to only use a small amount of each one.

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8. Puzzles

Age Recommendation: Varies On Puzzle Size
Supplies Needed: Store-Bought Puzzles

While we’re not one to say that children necessarily “need” puzzles to properly grow into good human beings, they are very helpful. The reason? They encourage your child to think and adapt. At the same time, it teaches them about simple concepts of life, such as rule-sets. In that, no matter how much you want a puzzle piece to fit…it can only go one place.

This cannot change, regardless of how creative you might be. As a result, if we had to mention a way to keep your child involved in science at home material…we’d highly recommend puzzles. Of course, they can be small or massive types. It’s just up to you on how you go about it. You’re teaching brain science with this, which is important in childhood development.

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7. How You Can Make Water Disappear

Age Recommendation: 4 Years+
Supplies Needed: Baby Diapers, Food Coloring, Water, Clear Plastic Cups

Wanna see a magic trick? Okay, okay. This is not exactly science if it’s magic, right? Well, as The Flash says (attributed to Arther C. Clarke)….”magic is just science we don’t understand yet.” In this case, we DO know how the trick is done and it’s absolutely amazing. So get your supplies together and pour half a cup of water into one cup. You’ll want to put a drop of color in too. Science at home is not as fun if people “think” they know how the magic is done initially, right?

These clear cups are great but the color ensures people will see what you’re doing. Now, if you open an average diaper you’ll see powder in it. This is super absorbent and the average one will likely give you a teaspoon of this powder. Put all that powder into another cup. Now pour your colored water into the powder cup. Then wait 10 to 15 seconds. Use some magic words if you want. Then turn over the cup to see that the water has now disappeared!

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6. Make Messages With Invisible Ink

Age Recommendation: 10 Years+
Supplies Needed: Paper, Water, Lemon Juice, Cotton Bud, Candle, Matches/Lighter

Since this does involve some use of fire, always be sure this is done with adults present! First, mix roughly 1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice with one tablespoon of water. Stir using the cotton bud. You will now use the damp end of the cotton swab to write your hidden message on the piece of paper you have.

Once this is complete, light your candle using matches or a lighter. Now, hold your paper over the candle but make sure it is a safe distance from it. You want the heat to reach it but not be so close that it can burn the paper or you. The lemon juice, due to oxidation, will begin to turn brown and allow you to see the hidden message. It’s the perfect, fun experiment to teach your kids about this sort of stuff and about how oxidizing works!

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5. Baking Soda Volcano

Age Recommendation: 8 Years+
Supplies Needed: Plastic Cup(s), Water, Baking Soda, Dish Soap, Washable Paint, Vinegar

With this, you can go over the top and make an entire paper-mache volcano. However, this can work with a volcano made from rocks, dirt, sand, and much more outdoors too. We’re pretty much just going to tell you how to make the actual “explosion” part of the volcano. Be sure to decide on this before making the explosion formula.

Pour water inside a cup around 2/3 of the way full. Then add 3 to 4 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of Dish Soap, and 1/2 to 2 oz of the washable paint to it. Now, mix all this up well and then pour it into the volcano you created. Finally, add 1 cup or 8 oz. of Vinegar in and BOOM!! your explosion will begin. It’s perfectly safe for kids with zero stain risks!!

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4. Soap Powered Boat

Age Recommendation: 6 Years+
Supplies Needed: Paper Plate(s), Scissors, Dish Soap, Water, Toothpick(s)

A boat powered by Soap?!? Yes, it’s possible! Well, sort of. Using some scissors, cut out the middle section of a paper plate to get a square. Next, cut two side sections in the same area to get what looks like a mini-house look. After that, go to the bottom and cut a small rectangle in the middle, then what will look like a circle on top of that, which should get you to the middle.

Pour a little dish soap in a small cup or holder of any kind, then pour water into a small tray. This can also work in a bathtub too. Place the boat on the water. Finally, use your toothpick to stick into the dish soap then touch it to the boat at the middle circle you created. It should send the boat flying! This is a form of surface tension.

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3. Purifying/Filtering Water

Age Recommendation: 8 Years+
Supplies Needed: Plastic 2 Liter, Cup/Glass, Clean Sand, Charcoal (Activated), Gravel or Small Rocks

Learning how to make water safe to drink can save your life one day. Any water in the wild is likely going to be unsafe to drink barring a few circumstances. Therefore, purifying or filtering it can be crucial. To do this, you’ll need sand, charcoal, and gravel as well as a bottle and cutting device.

First, cut off the bottom of the bottle, turn it upside down with the cap on. Add in an inch of charcoal, then add about 2 inches of gravel or rocks. Next, add 3 to 4 inches of sand and finally finish off with another gravel layer. Leave at least a half-inch of space from the top though. Now, pour your dirty water into this. Open the cap of the bottle while you have it over a glass or water holder. You should now get clean drinking water!

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2. LEGOs

Age Recommendation: 4 Years+
Supplies Needed: LEGOs (to fit the age of your child)

LEGOs are a lot like JENGA blocks. They each team something very valuable, structure. See, when you’re working with JENGA blocks, it’s all about removing from a structure to see how long it remains. With LEGOs, it’s all about creating something special. Thus, one of the best ways to do science at home is simply playing with LEGOS.

They will learn small forms of Geometry, which also will, in turn, teach them how to evaluate the things they make. Can it stand? Does it need more to keep it up? Can it move and remain the same in its new place? All of these questions and more can be answered just by playing. Sometimes, creating science at home moments is just that easy.

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1. Water Into Wine Experiment

Age Recommendation: 7 Years+
Supplies Needed: Water, Wine(Juice), Plastic Container, Drinking Glasses

First and foremost, the name of this is “water into wine” but don’t think too much into that. You can substitute the wine with juice, of course. To do this, you will first need to fill up one glass with water all the way to the brim. Do the same with your juice glass. Now, get a plastic container and cut out a square from it. This needs to be big enough to fit over the glasses you use.

Next, put this plastic piece over your water glass and turn it over, placing the water glass on top of the juice glass with this plastic piece in the middle. Now, slowly make an opening between the two by pulling the plastic piece out a small bit. Some of the juice/wine will go up while the water goes down. After about 10 minutes, the two will have officially switched places!

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