Are your kids getting tired of the same old online science lessons? Are you looking for a fun way to re-engage your kids with their school work? At-home science experiments are a fun way to get your kids doing some school work and learning—without them even realizing it!
Here in Ontario, schools are officially closed at least until September and summer camps will (hopefully) be running at a much smaller scale than we are used to.
Even when the “school year” comes to an end, these science experiments are guaranteed to keep your kids busy and entertained, at least for a little while. Best of all, as the weather continues to get nicer, you can take these experiments outside and save yourself a potential mess.
Make Rock Candy
What’s better than a fun science experiment? A fun science experiment that makes your own candy, of course! You’ll use principles like solvents, sedimentation, and supersaturated solutions as you watch your rock candy grow. This experiment requires adult supervision as it involves extremely hot liquids.
Egg in a Bottle
Give your kids a lesson in air pressure by fitting an entire egg into a plastic bottle—without ever touching it. This experiment requires adult supervision as it involves fire.
Invisible Ink
With just a few household items and the magic power of lemon juice, your kids can become science spies. Using the power of lemon juice, you can create invisible ink that is activated with heat—lemon juice is an organic substance that oxidizes and turns brown when it heats up.
Fluffy Rainbow Slime
If your kids are slime aficionados, this fluffy version is sure to turn heads. The secret ingredient? Shaving cream!
Make Your Own Butter
Explore the ins and outs of kinetic energy by making your own butter with nothing more than some heavy cream, a mason jar, and some cold water. Simply add the heavy cream to the mason jar and let your kids shake, shake, shake!
Lemon Science
Test what happens when you add acid and a base together. The addition of food colouring makes it that much more exciting.
Make a Lava Lamp
Let the kids get psychedelic by creating their very own (temporary) lava lamp. With a few simple materials (that you probably already have at home), you can create a gorgeous lava lamp and explore the scientific principles of polarity and density.
Edible Chocolate Slime
Slime is one of the most fun science experiments to make—making it is fun, the kids can spend hours playing with what they made, and slime really is the coolest thing on the block right now. Add to that a delicious chocolate flavour and tell the kids they can actually eat it… it really is the perfect science experiment.
Rainbow Eruption
With baking soda, vinegar, food colouring, and a little bit of science, your kids can experience a rainbow eruption fit for a unicorn king or queen!
Salt Crystal Feathers
For a fun, beautiful, and super easy at-home science experiment, look no further than this salt crystal feathers experiment. The salt crystals form because of the high concentration of salt in the water—when the water evaporates the salt gets trapped on the feather.
Baking Soda Vinegar Powered Steam Boat
This experiment is going to need help from an adult but it will be well worth it! This steamboat shows how a chemical reaction can actually get things moving and is a great summer/outdoor activity.
Five-Minute Ice Cream
Tell your kids that they can get ice cream after they finish their science experiment, and we bet they will be ready and willing to do some work. Using a Ziploc bag, a few ingredients, and their own kinetic energy, they can create their own homemade ice cream in just five minutes.
Oobleck
Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid—it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it. This is a classic at-home science experiment that is sure to entertain and educate your kids.
Cut Ice
Learn a little more about how we ice skate with this simple but interesting science experiment. All you need is a few ice cubes and some fishing wire to see how pressure can melt ice faster than the air.
Make a Bouncy Ball
Make your own bouncy ball with this fun recipe and test out how different shapes bounce in different directions.
