Looking for some simple, science experiments that are sure to entertain and also stimulate your little one? Here are a couple, easy ideas that can be done in one afternoon. And you likely have all the supplies already needed to get started!
Walking Water Experiment
Materials Needed:
-Paper towels
-Food coloring
-6 Cups (better if clear glass or plastic)
-Water
Instructions
Line up the 6 cups side by side in a row or in a circle and fill every other cup about half way with water (3 cups with water, 3 without).
Add food coloring to each cup with water. Stir.
Next, fold paper towels in half lengthwise (twice), then again in half widthwise.
Once you have the paper towels folded, arrange them so that one end is dipped in a cup with colored water and the other end is set in a cup without water.
Now, watch as the colorful water travels up the paper towel from one cup and then drip into an empty cup. Your child will enjoy watching the paper towel turn colorful and the water travel into the other cup like magic!
Ziploc Bag Pencil Experiment
Here's another fun and very easy experiment to try at home. This one blew my mind as well! When I first saw this experiment, I thought, that has to be jello or something solid in that bag, but nope! It is water!
It would seem that piercing a pencil through the bag would cause the bag to leak, but you can explain to your child that because plastic bags are made up of long chains of molecules, the pencil does not break the chains completely, but just increases the gap as it squeezes between two chains--keeping the water sealed inside. My kids and I loved doing this again and again! Science is super cool!
Materials needed:
-Ziploc bags or any sealable bag (sandwich size or larger)
- Sharpened pencils
-Water
-Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Fill up the bag with water (if desired, add food coloring of choice just for fun!).
Seal the bag.
Poke pencils through one side of the bag, then through the other side. It helps if one person holds the bag and another pokes the pencils through. *Note: If you poke the bag and then try to pull out the pencil, the water will spill out. If this happens, hold the bag over a sink and poke the pencil all the way through both sides to seal the hole.
Repeat step 3 and see how many pencils you can poke through the bag!
