5 Fun Science Experiments For Kids At Home

Erupting volcanoes, mesmerising lava lamps, crystal gardens – doesn’t it sound magical?

Science is all around us, and it can be a lot of fun to explore with kids. Not only does it spark curiosity and wonder, but it also helps children understand the world around them in a hands-on way.

Plus, who doesn’t love getting a little messy while learning?

In this post, we will share five fun science experiments for kids that can be easily done at home with simple materials.

Before starting with these fun science experiments for kids, wear lab coats, gloves, and goggles to keep yourself safe (and fun)!

#1. Erupting Volcanoes

Kids see volcano experiments everywhere, and for good reason—they are extremely exciting and a little scary!

To create your volcano, gather the following materials:

100 ml of warm water
400 ml of white vinegar
10 ml of dish soap
Food colouring
Half a cup filled with baking soda mixed with water until it is full
An empty 2l soda bottle

When you are ready, follow these steps:

Go outside or to a place where you don’t mind getting a little messy.
Place the 2l soda bottle on a flat surface.
Add warm water to the bottle, followed by dish soap, 2 drops of food colouring and vinegar.
Mix the baking soda with water in a separate container until fully dissolved.
Pour the baking soda mixture into the soda bottle slowly and step back to watch your volcano erupt!
It is important to teach kids how exactly volcanoes erupt during this experiment.

Here is an explanation of how this experiment works:

The volcano erupts due to the chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. It creates a gas called “carbon dioxide.” Carbon dioxide expands rapidly and forces its way out of the bottle, creating a mini explosion. This experiment highlights how reactions between substances can cause exciting effects.

A real-life volcanic eruption is also caused by a chemical reaction. The magma (molten rocks) inside the volcano mixes with gases and rises to the surface, causing an explosion.

#2. Floating Egg

This is an easy experiment that will teach kids about density and buoyancy. Density and buoyancy are important concepts in science and play a significant role in our daily lives. Density is the measure of how much matter (or mass) is packed into a certain volume. Buoyancy, on the other hand, is the upward force that keeps objects afloat in water.

This experiment will demonstrate how objects with different densities behave differently when placed in water.

To do this experiment, you will need:

Salt
A clear glass or jar
An egg

To start with the floating egg experiment, follow these steps:

Fill a large glass container with water.
Place the egg in it and notice that it sinks to the bottom.
Add salt slowly to the water while stirring until the egg begins to float.
Ask your child what they think happened.

Here is an explanation of why the egg floats:

The density of saltwater is higher than that of freshwater. Adding salt to the water increases its density, making it more buoyant. The egg, which has a lower density than the saltwater, will float because it is being pushed upwards by the denser water.

This experiment shows how objects with different densities behave in different liquids and can help kids understand concepts such as sinking and floating.

A real-life example of this is the Dead Sea in the Middle East. Its water has a high salt concentration, making it denser than other bodies of water. As a result, people can easily float on the surface of the Dead Sea due to its high buoyancy. Another example is when ships are loaded with heavy cargo. They displace more water and become less dense, allowing them to float. This is why ships need to be carefully designed and balanced so that they do not sink or become unstable.

#3. Instant Ice Experiment

Instant ice may sound like magic, but it’s actually a scientific phenomenon called supercooling. Supercooling is the process of cooling a liquid below its freezing point without it solidifying immediately.

To do this fun science experiment with a kid, you will need:

A bottle of water
A glass or ceramic bowl
A plastic tray
Ice cubes
Freezer

After gathering the materials, follow these steps:

Place the bottle of water in the freezer for approximately two hours.
Remove the water bottles before they freeze (look for crystal formation in the bottle).
Place the glass or ceramic bowl on the plastic tray.
Carefully pour the water from the bottles into the bowl.
Add a few ice cubes to the bowl and slowly stir with a spoon.
Keep stirring until you see ice crystals forming in the water.
Pour some of this supercooled water onto one of the ice cubes on your tray and watch as it instantly freezes before your eyes!

Here is an explanation of how supercooling works

Supercooling (or Flash Freezing) happens when a liquid is cooled below its freezing point. The water molecules freeze by forming ice crystals.

The ice cubes on the ceramic bowl make it easier for water molecules to turn to ice on a surface, and the process starts from there. Ice crystals building on ice crystals cause the supercooled water to freeze rapidly and form solid ice.

This experiment is used in real-life scenarios, such as flash-freezing food for preservation or creating instant ice packs for injuries.

#4. Solar Oven

Most households in South Africa are switching to solar power due to power outages and rising costs of electricity. This experiment can educate your kids about solar power and sustainability—an important topic to explore with them during these transformative times.

Before starting this experiment, you and the kids need to understand that it is an EXPERIMENT only. The oven does not work like a regular oven and should not be used to cook food. The solar oven also gets hot, so please handle it with caution. Keep all materials away from children, and do not leave the oven unattended.

Right now, to have fun!

Gather these materials to start with the experiment:

A large, flat cardboard box
Glue
Aluminium foil
Duct tape
A dark-coloured sheet of paper
A heat-proof glass bowl or dish
A thermometer
A chart to take notes
A hot day (preferably 28 degrees Celsius or higher)

Follow these steps to make your own solar oven:

Cut a flap on the top of the cardboard box and fold it back.
Cover the inside of the box with aluminium foil, making sure to use enough glue so that it doesn’t fall off.
Tape the flap closed with duct tape.
Line the bottom of the box with black paper (you can also paint it black if you don’t have any dark-coloured paper).
Place your heat-proof bowl or dish in the centre of the box.
Fill the bowl or dish with food that needs to be heated up, such as s’mores or hot dogs.
Close and seal any openings in the box using more duct tape.
On a hot day, place your solar oven outside in direct sunlight and prop up the flap with a stick or ruler, allowing the sun to shine directly into the box.
Use your thermometer to monitor the temperature inside the oven.
Take notes on how long it takes for the oven to reach different temperatures and how long it stays hot.

Here is an explanation of how a solar oven works:

A solar oven uses the sun’s energy to heat up food inside an enclosed space. The box is lined with aluminium foil, which helps to reflect and trap the sun’s rays inside. The black paper on the bottom of the box absorbs the sunlight and converts it into heat, creating a greenhouse effect.

The heat-proof bowl or dish in the centre of the box acts as a container for food, allowing it to absorb and retain the heat from the surrounding air. As long as there is direct sunlight shining into the box, the temperature will continue to rise and cook your food.

This is one of the best fun science experiments for kids that teaches us that we can use the sun’s energy to be sustainable and cook food without the need for electricity.

#5. Lava Lamps

Have you ever seen a lava lamp and wondered, “How does this magical thing work?” Well, wonder no more because we will show you how to make a lava lamp with your kids using simple materials you can find at home.

Gather the following materials to get started:

A clean, smooth plastic bottle
Vegetable or baby oil
Water
Fizzing tablets (such as Alka-Seltzer)
Food colouring
A flashlight for added effect (optional)

Now, let’s get started with the steps in making your own lava lamp:

Fill the plastic bottle about ¼ full with water.
Pour vegetable or baby oil into the bottle until it is almost full.
Add a few drops of food colouring into the bottle, watch it sink through the oil, and mix it with the water below.
Break apart one fizzing tablet into smaller pieces and drop them into the bottle one at a time.
Watch as bubbles form and start to carry coloured water up to the top of the bottle.
Turn off lights in the room and use a flashlight to shine through the bottle for a cool effect.

Here is an explanation of how lava lamps work:

A lava lamp is an icon of the 60s, and it works because of two main scientific principles: density and polarity. Density refers to how tightly packed a substance’s molecules are, while polarity refers to the imbalance of positive and negative charges in a molecule.

In this experiment, the oil and water have different densities, which allows them to be separated into layers. The food colouring, being denser than the oil but less dense than water, sinks through the oil and mixes with the water at the bottom.

Next, when you add fizzing tablets to the bottle, they react with water to produce gas bubbles that rise up through the oil layer. As these bubbles carry coloured water particles up towards the surface, they cool down and sink back down to the bottom. This continuous cycle of rising and sinking creates a mesmerising lava lamp effect.

Get Ready To Have Fun Science Experiments Today!

These 5 fun science experiments for kids are not only entertaining, but they also teach important scientific concepts. So grab your lab coat and goggles, and get ready to have fun while learning with your kids!

At Tutor Doctor, we believe that hands-on learning like these fun science experiments for kids is a great way to get them excited about science and develop their critical thinking skills. That is why we offer science tutoring services to help students excel in this subject.