| SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
submitted by Brenda Alward *Observe plants and animals grow *Observe ant farms, worm farms, spider webs *Provide care for class pets *Nature collections Shells Pine Cones Bee Hive Leaves Tree Slices Hornet Nest Rocks Bark Gourds Bird Nest Feathers Coconut Shell *Examine textures found in nature *Sprout carrot tops, sweet potatoes, seeds, etc. *Seed collections *Place soil in ziploc bag and add a few kernels of popcorn. Hang bags in the window and watch the corn grow. Take out of bag and plant in larger container or in an outside garden. *Observe insects *Provide a bird feeder out of the window for children to observe birds *Tasting parties *Cooking projects *Water play Experiment with sink and float Add bubbles to the water table. Provide straws and let them blow bubbles Add measuring cups, spoons, wire whisks, egg beaters, funnels, etc. *Blow bubbles *Weigh objects *Sound vibrations *Blowing activities. Provide a variety of objects and give children straws. Have them experiment to discover which they can move by blowing and which they can’t. *Experiments with light and shadows *Identify sounds *Experiments in gravity *Discover the properties of magnets Magnet Bottles Magnet Raceways *Observing reflections in the water *Freeze ice and watch it melt *Bring snow in from outdoors and create a chart of how long children think it will take for it to melt. Record results. *Experiment and explore with various textures *Observe and discuss weather *Lay on your back and observe clouds. Talk about their shapes and how they think clouds feel *Hatch eggs *Catch tadpoles and observe their transformation *Life Cycle of the Butterfly Can purchase caterpillar kits and children can observe the transformation *Grow flower, vegetable, or herb garden *Learn about the parts of the body and the functions they serve *Provide dishes of things that look alike, but are different: Salt, refined sugar, powdered sugar, soap flakes, flour, corn starch, baking powder, etc. Discuss their appearances, texture, and uses *Rock Sorting Box Cut various size holes in a shoe box. Children will use rocks and experiment with the sizes needed to fit in each hole *Blending Colors Pour milk in a dish ½" deep. Add a few drops of food colorings on top of the milk. Add a drop of liquid detergent so it runs down the side of the dish. The soap will cause the colors to move away and blend. Repeat on other sides of the dish. Try blowing on the top of the dish and discover what happens. *Dancing Raisins Drop raisins in a glass of 7-up and see them “dance.” *Mini Volcano Set a jar inside a pan. Place baking soda in the jar. Carefully add vinegar. Continue to add soda and vinegar to keep the action going. (Good project for the sensory table.) *Seed Cup Memory Paint small medicine cups. Hot glue seeds to the bottom of the cups, creating a matched set for each seed. Children play as a memory game. School age children could create one with a seed and a picture of the mature plant. *Magnifying Board String a magnifying glass through the hole of a wooden cutting board. Hot glue materials the children can examine with the magnifying glass. *Garden in a Tank Place 2-3 inches of loose rock on the bottom of a five gallon fish tank. Fill with soil to the bottom of the black rim. Plant a variety of vegetables. Be sure to plant some seeds near the front edge of the tank. Cover the sides of the tank with black paper and place near sunlight. The front paper can be taken off and children can see the vegetables and/or roots through the glass. *Add sand, coffee grounds, spices, Epsom salt, baking soda, salt or corn meal to finger paint *Paint with your feet *Texture Matching Create a matching games of opposite textures Create a matching or memory game of a variety of textures *Smelly Jars Use film containers to create a variety of smelling jars. Create a small hole in the top and place in an object or a cotton ball with a scent on it. You can also create pairs and children must match the smells. Onion Cinnamon Perfume Vanilla Orange Vinegar Banana Coffee Grounds Peppermint Lemon Peanut Butter Moth Balls *Find Me A child hides in classroom or on the playground and blows a whistle. Children must find child by following the direction of the whistle. *Texture Books Sew various textures of cloth together into a book. *Sod Fun Purchase a roll of sod and spread out on a table. Provide spray bottles of water to “water the grass” and scissors to cut it. Provide toy people, animals, vehicles for dramatic play. *Place packing peanuts in the sensory table. Give children spray bottles of water. Spray and discover what happens to the peanuts. *Fishing worms in containers of water. “Fish out” with your feet. School age children can have a relay race. *Place whole Indian corn in the sensory table. Let children shuck it. When complete, provide measuring tools and scoops for working with the corn. You can use the cobs for “Cob Painting.” *Create a planting station *Place toy fish in the water table, with colored water, and use small fish nets to “catch fish.” *Hot and Cold 1 bowl cold water 1 bowl warm water 1 bowl water at room temperature Place one hand in the cold water and one in the warm water. Leave for three minutes. Quickly place both hands in the room temperature bowl. Discuss how each hand feels. *Experiment with flashlights *Sun Fading On a very sunny day, have children place a variety of objects on a dark sheet of construction paper and leave out all day in the sun. *Fill a jar 3/4 full with water. Add two scoops baking soda and a few drops of food coloring. Add 10-15 kernels of popcorn. Pour vinegar over. *Place bubble solution in the refrigerator. When it’s cold outside, take children outside and blow bubbles. (Bubbles will shatter.) *Place black construction paper in the freezer. When it’s snowing, give each child a piece of paper and go outside and catch a snowflake on it. Examine the different flakes. Supply magnifying glasses for extended examination. *Density of Liquids In a large jar, place equal amounts of the following liquids, in this order: Corn Syrup Oil Water Drop into the jar a cork, a small Lego and a grape. The grape will stay in the corn syrup, which is the most dense. The Lego will stay in the water and the cork will stay in the oil, which is the least dense. *Cooperation and Science Salt Vinegar Dirty Pennies Jar/Bottle Pour salt onto a penny. Nothing will happen. Drop some vinegar on a penny. Nothing will happen. Pour salt and vinegar into the jar and drop pennies in. Shake the bottle and see what happens to the pennies. Can talk about these two elements working in cooperation to clean the pennies. Discuss how we can accomplish more tasks when we work together instead of alone. *Flinkers Give children paper clips and packing peanuts. Must create a “Flinker.” Some objects float on water and some sink. A “Flinker” will float in the middle of the water. *Use eyedroppers to place food coloring, or watered down tempera paint, onto wax paper. Children can see how it moves on the wax paper and blend colors. A sheet of white paper can be placed over the wax paper to create a print of their experiment. *Marshmallow Color Mixing Place drops of food coloring onto wax paper. Children use a marshmallow to mix the colors and they can then eat the marshmallow. *Fruits Inside and Out Match Take photographs of fruits, the outside and the inside. Create a memory or matching game with the photos. *Boat Float Use a variety of materials to create a boat. (Margarine tubs work well as a basic for these boats.) Predict how many pennies it will hold before it sinks. *Sponge Test Test different types of sponges to see which holds more water. *What Happens? Make a mixture of salt and water. Leave in a warm place for several days. What happens? Try the same experiment with a mixture of vinegar and water. Are the results the same? *Colored Cubes Build a tower of sugar cubes in a shallow dish. Add a small amount of colored water in the bottom. *Oil Paint Fill a pan with water. Float oil on the top. Discuss the idea of oil and water not mixing. Add drops of food color. Place a piece of paper on top and lift off the color. (You can use a pan of water and oil paint also for this.) *How Absorbent Am I? Provide a variety of cloth that children can wet. Measure the amounts of water that can be squeezed out from each piece of cloth. *Cornstarch Mix Mix one cup of cornstarch and half a cup of cold water and mix thoroughly. Will the mixture pour? Will it make a ball? What happens when you press your finger into it? *Will I Dissolve? Test a variety of foods to see if they will dissolve in water. Don’t forget spices also. *How Long Before I Dry? Provide a variety of cloth that children can wet and hang on a clothesline to dry. Will some take longer than others to dry? *How Much Can I Hold? Use a medicine dropper to drop water onto a penny, one drop at a time. How many drops will the penny hold before the water spills off. Children can make predictions before they begin the experiment. Repeat the experiment with other coins. Repeat the experiment with the penny, but this time add a bit of detergent to the water. Compare the amount of water that can be held on the head and tail of the penny. *Make Me Float A lump of clay will sink. Re-shape the clay so that it will float. *Feely Bags Place an item, or a variety of items, in a bag. Children must reach in and using only the sense of touch, identify the object. To make this game even more challenging, put on a mitten before putting your hand in the bag. |
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