Happy World Science Day! Is your child a budding scientist? World Science Day is a wonderful opportunity for your child to explore some of the most influential Scientists who have re-shaped an understanding about how the world works. From Charles Dickens to Albert Einstein and Marie Curie, to Mary Anning, there are a wealth of fascinating scientific ideas to learn from. As well as finding out more about scientists who have been instrumental in changing the way we live our lives, we have also included some fun and exciting scientific experiments that your child can try from their own home. Take a look at the list of scientific experiments below to celebrate World Science Day!
1. Get into the festive spirit by making a snow globe!
You’ll need an empty jar, water, glitter, decorations (e.g. toys, houses, trees) and glycerin. When participating in the experiment, your child will need to ensure that the lid of the jar is fixed tightly. Once you’ve filled the jar half-way with glycerin, you’ll need to top up the remaining jar with water and then stir. To create a ‘snow effect’, add some glitter for a touch of magic! You can also encourage your child to create a Christmas scene, by including some characters or small toy animals, which can be fixed to the bottom of the jar. Once everything has been completed, the jar will need to be sealed tightly (preferably with glue!) and your child can enjoy their scientific snow globe.
How does this all work? When discussing the scientific aspects of your child’s experiment, you can discuss the key word ‘viscous’ and consider how some liquids can be thicker than other liquids. Having a mixture of glycerin and water will mean that the liquid will slow down the movement of the glitter as gravity pulls it down!
2. Make a Volcano
To create your own exploding volcano, you’ll need 10ml of dish soap, 400 ml of white vinegar, food colouring, baking soda, an empty 2l water bottle and 100ml of warm water. If you’d like to create your own volcano, this could be an amazing DT project for your child. However, you can use the 2l bottle to see similar explosive effects. Before beginning this experiment, please consider your environment. This experiment will get messy! It would be advisable to complete this scientific experiment outside.
To get started, combine the vinegar, dish soap and water, alongside your food colouring into the empty water bottle. Mix the baking soda until all of the ingredients become liquid. For the final step, pour the baking soda mixture into the water bottle and step away from the volcano!
When explaining how the science works, you could discuss how the chemical reaction takes place between vinegar and baking soda. By mixing these ingredients, you are creating a gas called carbon dioxide! When you shake up the carbon dioxide, the gas stirs and attempts to spread out as fast as possible. As the only exit point is the top of the bottle, this results in a mini eruption which is great for a volcanic science experiment!
3. Make your own lava lamp
Can you imagine your child’s next best show and tell masterpiece? Creating your own lava lamp would be an amazing scientific experiment and a great way to show off your child’s scientific talents to their friends. The materials you’ll need include: a plastic bottle, water, fixing tablets, food colouring and water. When getting started with your child’s experiment, you’ll need to fill the bottle with water ¼ of the way. Next, pour the vegetable oil until the bottle is almost full. Your child can use their choice of food colouring and watch as the colour sinks through the oil. When using your fizzy tablet, break the table in half and drop parts of it into the bottle. As the fizzy tablet breaks apart, you should begin to see the lava lamp blobs!
For more fun facts about creating your own lava lamp, take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGHTZImTvFY for step-by-step guidance.
4. Make Giant Soap Bubbles
For this experiment, you’ll need 6 cups of purified water, ½ cup of cornstarch, 1 tablespoon of of baking powder, 1 table spoon of glycerine and ½ cup of blue dawn dish soap or Joy detergent. When introducing the scientific reasoning, your child could learn about how water molecules stick together. The thickness of bubbles are constantly changing. Equally the colour of the bubbles will always change when the light hits the surface of the bubble from different angles.
To complete the experiment, your child will need to mix the water and cornstarch together. In addition, you’ll need to add and mix the remaining ingredients without creating too many bubbles! To create your own bubble wand, you’ll need 60 inches of cotton kitchen string, 2 sticks and a metal washer. You can tie the string across the metal washers in the shape of a triangle to create a large shape for creating enormous bubbles!
5. Create your own glitter slime!
To create your own glitter slime, it would be advisable to use gel food colouring, ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, 100ml of PVA white glue and glitter! Creating slime is a great opportunity to discuss the different states of matter, including solids, liquids and gases. You could introduce the key word ‘viscous’ and a range of adjectives to describe the texture of the slime.
To get started, squeeze the glue into a mixing bowl. Then, add the bicarbonate of soda and mix together. Add a drop of your chosen gel food colouring. Once these ingredients have been mixed thoroughly, add the contact lens solution and mix. At this point in the experiment, the slime will begin to form, developing a slime-type substance. Once the slime has begun to take shape, take it out and knead it with your hands. It will be sticky but persevere! For the final step, add some glitter!
Once you have created your scientific experiments, why not encourage your child to share their creations with their friends? At Eden Tutors, we pride ourselves on encouraging our students to participate in ‘hands-on’ learning activities. World Science Day is an excellent opportunity to practise some of these kinaesthetic and exciting practical learning ideas!
