> Blog: Fun Science Experiments for Entertaining the Kids at Home

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Are you looking to introduce the world of mad science to your kids? They don’t have to wait for science classes. In fact, you can do tonnes of science experiments for kids at home. They’re fun, engaging and spark curiosity in your children with the power of science. Anyway, let’s get stuck in with some fun science experiments you can do at home for kids.

 

Science experiments for kids at home

Make slime!

We all know how much kids love to play with slime. Well, why not make it with them? There are a range of recipes for creating slime at home, which usually contain the following:

  • PVA glue
  • Water
  • Baking soda
  • Contact lens solution
  • Food colouring (optional)

Another great thing is that it doesn’t take long at all. You can have your homemade slime ready in just 10-20 minutes! 

Poking pencils through a bag of water

This one will have your kids shocked. All you need is:

  • Sharpened pencils
  • Plastic sandwich bag (or similar)
  • Water

Ask your children to pierce the bag with the pencils by putting them through the bag and out the other side. Then watch their amazement as the bag stays intact and still full of water. Because of the polymers of the plastic bag, it forms a seal around the pencils preventing the water from leaking out. How cool is that!

Homemade sundial

Here’s one of the easiest science experiments for kids at home. Did you know that you can use the sun and shadows to tell the time? All you’ll need is:

  • Stick or long cylindrical object
  • Marker pen
  • Paper plate

To set up your sundial, fix the stick or cylindrical object to the centre of the paper plate facing upwards. Place it in direct sunlight where it’ll get the sun throughout the day, then begin marking! On the hour, whether in the morning or early afternoon, draw a line where the shadow forms behind the object and note down the time next to where you have marked it. You can continue for however long you’d like or until no more shadows form. Then, the day after, check your sundial at the times marked on the paper to see if it aligns! Isn’t it crazy how the Earth’s orbit works?

Cabbage colour absorption 

Watch and see how cabbage leaves absorb the water they’re sat in over a couple of days. All you need is:

  • Water
  • Cabbage leaf
  • Food colouring 
  • Container/cup

With this experiment, add a small amount of water to a container or cup, making sure the water is shallow. Then add the food colouring of your choice and pop the cabbage leaf (stem at the bottom) into the container. Within hours you should be able to see the food colouring begin to spread up the cabbage’s stem as it begins to absorb the water. This is a fantastic educational activity as it educates children on how similar plants absorb nutrients and water from the ground.

Lava lamp

Your children can make their own homemade lava lamp with a few simple objects and ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Empty jar
  • Water
  • Baking soda
  • Food colouring
  • Vegetable oil
  • Vinegar

This is one of the most fun science experiments for kids as many of them are fascinated with how lava lamps work, so knowing they can make their own version at home is really cool! Put a couple of tablespoons of baking soda into the empty jar, followed by water until it’s a quarter full. Add up to 10 drops of food colouring and mix it up. Then, top it up with vegetable oil but leave a bit of space at the top. When you’re ready to activate, begin to add in your vinegar drop by drop and watch the reaction unfold!

 

Or leave it to the experts and enjoy a Mad Science Camp at PGL!

We hope we’ve given you some insanely fun science experiments for kids at home! If you like the sound of these activities and think your child would enjoy becoming a mad scientist over the school holidays, why not take a look at our Mad Science Camps? Here are a few things your children might get up to:

  • Discover static electricity and circuits
  • Perfect the recipe for slime
  • Build & code your very own Bristle Bot

Browse our collection of outdoor adventure camps to see what your little ones might enjoy. At PGL, we have a range of adventure-filled camps over the school holidays, including multi-activity holidays, watersports camps and more. Our camps have been running for over 66 years! So, we know a thing or two about adventure. You can browse all of our children’s adventure holidays here.

Get in touch with our friendly and experienced team today to see how we can help.

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