While growing up were you a curious kid, questioning everything around you? Wasn’t it delightful to watch the rainbow for the first time? Most of us are. How fascinated we were to see the aircraft for the very first time. We shot question after question until the elders around were irked. We grew up, went to school, read the science and poof! The curiosity vanished! Years later, still, some of us don’t exactly remember what the textbooks said about the rain or engines (especially if we studied it just so that we could write our exams well.) And we also outgrew the childish curiosity!
Kids invariably portray a “tell me and I’ll forget but show me and I shall remember” behavior. Take that opportunity to stimulate your child’s curiosity. Brush up some science at home with these simple DIY science experiments with your little ones. The kids would love it! Ask them what they think and discuss the science behind these experiments. And though these are simple and easy experiments, please make sure to guide and supervise the children through these. Let’s get started?
1) Make Your Own Rain
Learn about: Precipitation
What you need
● A clear glass jar
● A plate to cover the jar
● Ice cubes
Instructions
● Pour about two inches of very hot water into a clear glass jar.
● Cover the jar with the plate as you wait a few minutes.
● Make the child put some ice cubes on the plate and ask them to watch closely at the insides of the jar. Together watch it rain in there!
2) Make Your Own Rainbow
Learn about: Reflection, refraction and dispersion of light
What you need
● Glass of water
● Mirror
● Torch
Instructions
● Place the mirror inside the glass of water.
● Switch off the lights or pull the curtains to ensure the room is pitch-dark.
● Aim the torchlight towards the mirror that’s placed inside the glass and watch a rainbow appear! Change the angle of the mirror slowly to see what else happens.
3) Make Your Own Volcano
Learn about: Chemical reaction between two substances
What you need
● Plastic bottle
● Food color (preferably red)
● Warm water
● 6 drops of dishwashing soap
● 2 tablespoons of baking soda
● Vinegar
● Dough (optional)
Instructions
● Fill half of the plastic bottle with warm water and add the food color to it.
● Add dishwashing soap and baking soda to it.
● Lastly, add the vinegar and watch the volcano erupt! For a dramatic effect, create a conical mound of dough to look like a mountain and place the bottle inside before adding the vinegar to the mixture.
4) Magic Magnet
Learn about: Magnetic force
What you need
● One bar magnet
● Sheets of paper
● Few coins
● A couple of iron nails
Instructions
● Place the coins and iron nails on two separate sheets of paper on a flat surface.
● Make the child bring one end of the magnet closer to the objects on sheet 1, repeat the action for the second sheet.
● Watch the objects getting either attracted or repelled away by the magnet.
● Now bring the other end of the magnet to both sheets and watch what happens.
● You can mark the north and south poles of the magnet so that you can explain the attraction and repulsion to the child.
● Encourage the child to try this exercise for various other materials to understand the properties and functioning of magnets.
5) Charge A Bulb With A Balloon
Learn about: Static electricity
What you need
● A light bulb
● An inflated balloon
Instructions
● Switch off the lights or pull the curtains shut in order to have a pitch-dark room.
● Rub the balloon on your hair several times to create some static.
● Move the part of the balloon that you rubbed to the hair, quickly over the light bulb without actually touching it. Watch what happens.
6) Make Your Own Fountain
Learn about: Air pressure
What you need
● Plastic bottle
● Inflated balloon
● Putty to seal
● Straw
● Blue food color
Instructions
● About 6cm from the bottom, punch a hole to the plastic bottle that is just enough for the straw to pass through. Make sure that the inserted straw is pointing upwards for the fountain to work properly.
● Seal any gaps around the straw thoroughly with the putty.
● Add a few drops of food color and pour the colored water into the bottle all the way above the level of the hole.
● Secure the lip of the inflated balloon around the top of the bottle in a way that the air is released into the bottle.
● Watch the water stream out of the straw of your mini water fountain!
7) Water Drinking Plants
Learn about: Capillary action
What you need
● 3 white Gerbera flowers with long stems
● 4 glasses of water
● Red, blue, green, and yellow food colors
● Knife or cutter (to be used only by adults)
Instructions
● Add a few drops of food colors into the 4 glasses respectively. The stronger the colors, the better this experiment.
● Place two flowers in two separate colored water glasses.
● With the knife, carefully slit the stem of the last flower in a way that you will be able to put one part of the stem each in the remaining 2 glasses of colored water.
● Keep this setup away from sunlight. Watch the flowers drink water and change the colors of their petals within an hour. Observe it for a few days and see what happens.
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