Science projects are a great way to get involved in your child’s learning. School teaches your children the basics, but it is up to you to show them how what they learn is relevant to their lives. The following projects are fun and easy to do at home.
Lightning Between Your Teeth
Teach your kids how friction creates lightning with this easy experiment. All you need is a roll of wintergreen hard candies, a mirror and a dark room. Have your kids crunch down with their mouth open. The wintergreen oil makes the electricity generated by chewing visible. Your kids will see their mouth light up with blue sparks!
Examining Pond Life
Ponds are teeming with simple lifeforms that kids can study. For this activity, you will need a compound light microscope and slides. For the best results, choose from one of the best-selling microscopes for kids or another quality, hobbyist microscope.
Collect a sample of water from a pond in a small jar, and then allow it to sit for a few hours. Using an eyedropper, take a sample of the thick sediment at the bottom of the jar. Hold the dropper still for a minute to allow the liquid to settle again.
To get the best sample, decant a series of droplets onto a plate. Siphon the clearest-looking droplet back up and place it on your slide. After you place a slide cover on top, wait a few minutes for the orgasms to calm before observing.
The Naked Egg
This classic experiment teaches your kids about acids and life cycles at the same time. All you have to do is drop an egg, still in its shell, into a cup of vinegar. Over the course of about 24 hours, the shell will dissolve, leaving behind a membrane-encased, raw egg for your kids to look at.
You can take it a step further using a glass of water and a glass of corn syrup. Leaving the naked egg in water will cause it to swell up while leaving it in corn syrup will cause it to shrink. This is because of osmosis, the same process our cells rely on to maintain water balance. The water travels across the egg’s membrane into the area with the lowest water concentration.
Courtesy Of AGS Scientific
These experiments are great for rainy afternoons and weekends. With just a few materials, your kids can learn how the world around them works and get excited to learn more.
About the Author
Savannah Coulsen is a freelance writer from North Carolina
ckfreebies The boys have an excellent science teacher that does really fun (and strange) science experiments with them this year. They are both excited when it comes time for labs so they can do some "hands on" fun lol!
I love these ideas! My son is in 7th grade and has days he doesn't want to go to school. I will show him the Naked Egg and maybe that will help him want to go to school. He loves science!