SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AT HOME WITH KIDS
Keeping your child occupied constructively where learning comes alongside fun can be challenging! Kids tend to pull faces when you get them to studying. But what if I told you that there’s a way out at teaching where fun inter mingles learning for life!
Science as a stream of study is extremely fascinating. But yes Newton and Einstein can cause trouble at times! Chemical formulae may have the least recall value and plant names can seem alien at most times. Concepts of physics may be difficult to grab and body science may baffle too!
Here it’s vital to understand that science when practically applied becomes the most fascinating stream of study. And you can do this easily at home with your kids. Your dining table/kitchen platform can turn into a make shift laboratory and you can have a ball of a time teaching kids and revisiting your school days too!
I list below some simple science experiments that you may try at home using ingredients that you already have at home with your child:
1. Color changing milk experiment:
Image Source: https://www.learning4kids.net/2015/04/08/colour-changing-milk-experiment/
Things you need:
Milk
Food coloring
Dish washing soap
Cotton ball/swab
Shallow Plate
Fill a shallow plate with milk and add a few drops of food coloring (you may use more than a single color) in the center of the plate on the milk. Dip the cotton ball in dish washing liquid and dip it in the center of the plate on the food color. Now relax and your color show will begin!
2. Avoiding black pepper experiment:
Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rsw-iAlaJo
Things you need:
Dish washing liquid
Black pepper powder
Water
Shallow plate
Fill the plate with water and sprinkle pepper powder on it. Let your child dip his finger on to the center of the plate and nothing will happen. What you need to do is secretly dip your own finger in dish washing soap before you begin. Now take your child’s hand into your own and tell him that you are giving him ‘magic fingers’. Massage his fingers with your own that has the dish washing soap. No let him dip him fingers into the plate again. And now the magic begins. This time the pepper granules will repel his fingers and begin to scatter away!
3. Rainbow with baking soda and vinegar experiment:
Image Source: https://www.pinterest.com/purple702/
Things you need:
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Food colors
Syringe (easily available at a medical store)
To dye the baking soda take 4 table spoons of it in a bowl and add 2/3 drops of food color and mix with a little water (making sure not to soak wet the baking soda). You may make as many colors as you like and set them side by side on a tray. Then fill up a couple of syringes with vinegar and hand it out to your child to pour into the colored baking soda. This is when bubbles start appearing and you can hear the squeal of delight when bubbles begin to pop!
4. Whirlpool in a bottle experiment:
Image Source: http://www.tornadotube.net/
Things you need:
2 clear empty 2 liter bottles
One metal washer
Tape
Food color (optional)
This simple experiment teaches kids about vortex, and since it uses water it shows kids what a whirlpool is. Get your kid to fill 2/3rd of a bottle with water and put the washer on the bottle. You may add a few drops of color to the water in the bottle. Take the other bottle and line it on top of this bottle and secure both the bottles firmly using a tape. Now as the next step turn the bottles upside down and you will notice the water swirling down resembling a mini whirlpool. As the water inside the bottle spins and moves out it creates a hole in the middle and the air that was at the bottom of the bottle comes up and water flows down through the bottle top. This experiment can show kids a working whirlpool at home!
5. Baking soda powered steam boat experiment:
Image Source: http://redtri.com/science-experiments-for-kids-baking-soda-and-vinegar-steam-boat/
Things you need:
White vinegar
Baking soda
Straw
Plastic bottle
Hot glue
Small tub
First you need to take a plastic bottle and make a small hole on its bottom that’s the same in circumference of a straw. Next you need to insert the straw into the bottle ensuring that at least an inch of it is in the bottle and three/four inches of the straw is outside the bottle. You may also secure this hole with hot glue on the edges.
Next you need to hold the bottle sideways and pour a cup of vinegar into the bottle (cover the straw with your finger). Keep the bottle flat with the straw facing upwards and pour in few spoons of baking soda in to the bottle. Once you have poured vinegar and baking soda, give your bottle a quick shake and immediately place it in the tub and watch it go!
You may explain the science behind the experiment too and its quiet simple. Vinegar (acid) meets baking soda (alkali) and they form carbon di oxide. This escapes the bottle through the straw powering it across the tub. Once all the gas escapes your boat will come to a halt!
6. DIY Raisins through evaporation experiment:
Image Source: https://www.thespruceeats.com/raisin-cooking-tips-and-hints-1807867
Things you need:
Fresh red/green seedless grapes
Tray
Something to cover grapes with like a net/baking paper/kitchen roll
Get your child to wash the grapes gently and dry them with a clean cloth. Then spread these on a tray at a certain distance from one another. Cover the grapes, so they are well protected against dust and bugs. Place this tray under the sun for at least 3 days (bring it indoors post sun down). At the end of three days, your raisins will be ready to eat!
You can explain the process of evaporation through this simple experiment. When the grapes were under the sun, the water in them evaporated and the sugar in the grapes got caramelized due to the heat. This evaporation causes the grapes to shrink in size and turn into sweet raisins upon caramelization.
Science if fun once it’s applied and put to practical use (as in these experiments). Your kid will not only enjoy the experiments but also learn the science behind as an added bonus. Beware he may just be asking for newer ones each day!
Disclaimer: Try these experiments under adult supervision only.
First published in Mommypower.in