A Fantastic Site for Science Experiments for Kids

I was doing research for science experiments for kids and ran across a site for a magazine that should be familiar to most people. It is the official site for National Geographic Kids Magazine. It has great content and should provide tons of fun and learning for your kids.

One great example of a fun experiment you can do with your kids is to make a water clock. This site gives directions to make the clock and a bit of history as well. From the site: "Water clocks, like sundials, were used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese."

You will need 5 equal size cups, some thumbtacks, tape, a pencil, a clear glass jar, a kitchen timer, hard cardboard and a strip of paper.

You basically poke a hole in the cups, attach them to the cardboard vertically, pour water in the cups and mark how much water was in the jar beneath the cups in 5 minutes.

You can find it here: National Geographic Kids Magazine: Water Clock Experiment

Enjoy,
Donna

Great Science Experiments for Kids

I just found this great information about science experiments for kids! It is a great way to teach kids about aerodynamics. You even get a template to print out and instructions on how to use it. Kids will love being able to watch their plane fly and experiment on making it fly in different directions.

The article says: "Contrary to popular belief, airplanes don't float on the air, they're sucked up into it. This reason is known as Bernoulli's Principle. It says: '...as air travels faster [than surrounding air] across a surface, the air pressure against it is reduced...'."

Give it a try and watch your kids have a blast learning about flight.

To see more science experiments for kids click on this link.

Donna

Great Science Experiments for Kids

While looking for more great science experiments for kids and ran across this site called Science Made Simple. They go into some detail on how electricity works, which I found useful for me and the kids, and helped me understand the projects better. I got this from the site: "Everything around us is made of atoms. Scientists so far have found only 115 different kinds of atoms. Everything you see is made of different combinations of these atoms."

One of the experiments is Swinging Cereal. You need a clean comb, Cheerios, and your kid's hair or some wool. You comb your kid's hair (the comb should be cleaned to remove any oils first) or rub it against some wool, then touch it to the Cheerio until it moves away from the comb.

Click here to find more science experiments for kids.

Donna

Gas science experiments for kids.

You would think that gas and kids do not mix. When I think of gas I think of the stuff we put into the car. According to familieswithpurpose.com gas can be used to fill a balloon. Not the kind of gas we put in a car.

For this experiment you will need; balloons, paper funnel, baking soda, vinegar, and a small clean empty bottles.

To try it, start by adding three teaspoons of baking soda to each balloon with the funnel. Next add vinegar to each bottle, fill them to about 1/3 full. Then stretch the end of the balloon over the mouth of the bottle and let the baking soda drop into the bottle. The chemical reaction should cause a gas that will blow up the balloon.

Why does that happen? The article explains it this way “The vinegar mixes with the baking soda to create a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas. The
gas then blows up the balloon.”

Very neat.

To find more science experiments for kids click here.

Donna

Science experiments for kids with salt and pepper

I found a great experiment for kids at tryscience.org that has to do with surface tension. I did this experiment in the 6^th grade, so it was fun to find it explained here.

You will need; water, salt, pepper, and soap.

To do this experiment you will need to fill a bowl with water. Next you will add the salt and pepper. The pepper is easier to see. You will notice that the salt and pepper will float on the top of the water. Last you will need to touch the top of the water with the soap. This will make the salt and pepper move quickly to the sides of the bowl, away from the soap.

Why is this happening? The web site explains it like this “Surface tension on water makes a strong 'skin' which is tight and not very elastic. The pepper stays on the water until soap or detergent touches the skin. Soap and detergent reduce the attractive forces between water molecules--that is, they reduce surface tension. The skin stretches, scattering the pepper.”

I also understood that there is a chemical reaction that makes the salt and pepper run away.

Click here if you are looking for more science experiments for kids.

What do you think?

Donna