Density Experiments for Kids

Oil and Colored Water = fun for little ones!  My 7 year old is studying properties of matter, so we explored concepts of density and liquids by combining water and oil. 

After making a prediction, she combined the two liquids to see what would happen.  She even got little man involved (age 26 mths) who enjoyed swirling the colored mixture. My daughter thought it was interesting that the oil floated to the top of the mixture once it settled and the colored water was on the bottom.  We discussed her prediction and compared it to her results.

"What would happen if I added apple juice, Mom?  How about Milk?"  I let her experiment.  Here's the final result, which she thought was super cool!

For more Science Fun...

1. Science Projects for Kids: States of Matter



Steve Spangler Science



2. Seven Layer Density Column


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Happy experimenting with your curious kids!

 

Jen

Cave Paintings

For a recent art lesson, Sunshine learned about primitive art.  I don't think she realized that art started so long ago! One of the caves that she toured online was the Lascaux from France. The above photo is from this cave.  If you are interested in learning more, tour the cave below!

Tour a cave in France!

Next, Sunshine collected items in nature to create her own art.  Using flowers, dirt, leaves, and rocks, she experimented with these earthly items to make art.  The dandelions and the dirt worked the best out of all of the items she collected.  She mixed the dirt with water to make paint. 

I think a variety of berries would have worked out well for prettier colors- blues and pinks. This concept can also be combined with using natural elements to die eggs.  We did this at Easter one year, but I think for an experiment, it could be done anytime of year!

Enjoy,

Jen

It's Alive!!

You never know what my kids are going to be interested in... Well, recently Peanut discovered carnivorous plants in a book that she was reading and thought they were the coolest!  With excitement, she read about each plant and it's unsuspecting prey.  So when I recently came across a carnivorous growing plant kit, you know I had to buy it.  (and at 1/2 off- I thought it was steal!)  I found my kit at CVS, but they do have them online as well. 

"This deluxe edition has seeds from over ten kinds of carnivorous plants - including Venus Fly Trap, Sundew Plant, Hooded Pitcher Plant, Purple Pitcher Plant and many others. Watch as these fascinating plants grow into bug-eating monsters right before your very eyes."

 Here are just a few of the plants that we will have fun growing.................

The Pitcher Plant

Watch out for this guy, he has a pitfall trap!

This Sundew Plant may look like pretty fireworks to us, but to flying insect that come near- probably not so pretty!

Venus Fly Trap

Waits just for the right moment to get his meal! Chomp!










The above photos and more fun facts can be found at http://www.carnivorous--plants.com/index.html. 

Well, Sunshine is a little anxious to feed her new friends!

"What is in your hand?"

"Food for our plants?"  

"What plants?"
"Our carnivorous plants,Mom."
"You have a fly in your hand, don't you? Let it go."
"Mom, they'll need to eat."
"Honey, first they need to grow. Then we will worry about food. Let the fly go and wash your hands, please!"

Can you believe she caught that fly with her bare hands? Pretty cool, but ..Yuck! 
This project should be... well, interesting in the least! 

More resources for learning:
Chomp! Meat- Eating Plants(National Geographic)
Botanical Society of America



If you want to join in on some carnivorous fun or if you already are the proud owner of one of these plants, I'd love to hear from you!

Take Care,
Jen



Recycled Creatures? Happy Earth Day!

A couple of days ago, I posted a photo of a bunch of recycled creatures. I wanted to see if you could guess what we were going to do with these little guys. Well, they are actually for an activity for my daughter's Monster Mash birthday party: Foaming Monsters!



The activity came from a great book from Usborne- 100 Science Experiments.

Here's what you need to create your own recycled foaming monster-

Materials:
plastic bottle
craft materials from around the house or $ store to decorate: craft foam, google eyes, etc.
vinegar
dish washing liquid
baking soda
tissue
food coloring

Directions:
1. Decorate plastic bottle. I used a glue gun and I chose foam instead of paper to decorate so we could keep monster after doing the experiment.
2. Half fill the bottle with vinegar.
3. Add a good squirt of dish washing liquid.
4. Next, add a drop of food coloring.
5. Gently swirl the bottle to mix. (on baking tray or dish)
6. Put a tsp of baking soda in middle of a small square of tissue. Roll it up and twist ends.
7. Drop the tissue in the bottle and after a couple of minutes- foam will come out of the monster's mouth.

I'm going to be sure to test this out before I do it at the birthday party, but don't you think the guests will love this? In honor of Earth Day's 40th Anniversary, I've been decorating with recyclables as well instead of buying monster decorations-turning formula bottles into monsters!

Have fun celebrating Earth Day with your kids!

Jen

Recycled Creatures?

Guess what we're doing with these recycled creatures? Any ideas?

Happy Earth Day!
Jen

An "Eggcellent" Science Experiment!

Yesterday, my sister shared a great experiment with me. I can't wait to try it with the girls. The whole family is off tomorrow for Good Friday, so we are going to have some "eggy" fun together!


Dying eggs with Onion peels

For this experiment, you will need the following:
eggs
brown onion peels
pieces of cloth
rubber bands

1. Wrap your raw egg(s) in onion peels (I researched this and some websites say to soak the peels first. I'm going to try it both ways and see what happens!)

2. Then, wrap the egg in a piece of cloth.

3. Next,place rubber bands around the egg.

4. Put eggs in boiling water until cooked through.

5. Take the eggs out and put in a bowl of cold water.

6. Once cooled, unwrap your eggs to see the surprise.

Before doing this experiment, make predictions with your children about what they will think will happen. Ask questions to get them thinking and discuss. Once the experiment is complete, compare the results with their original hypothesis and discuss.

Extensions/Resources:

Instructables
This website has instructions- a little bit different than the instructions that I shared above. It also has great pictures of the results!

Vegetable Gardener
If you'd like to extend this activity and try different natural dyes from blueberries to spinach, you'll have to visit this site! Great resource.

Curbly
Here you'll find an awesome podcast that shows you how to dye eggs with natural dyes. Watch as eggs are dyed with red cabbage- very cool!

About.com
To learn more about the history of dying eggs, visit this link. Her you'll find Easter egg dying from different cultures as well. Can't wait to share this with my girls.

If you try this experiment with your kids or any other egg experiments, please share!

Happy Thursday!

Jen

The photo used above is from curbly.com.

Ice Hockey?

After experimenting with water and ice cubes to explore how matter can change, the girls made up their own game.

Ice hockey.

Here's how to play. You need 3 ice cubes. One ice cube per child and one ice cube for the puck. They had so much fun hitting the ice cube across the table with their own ice cube trying to get it past their contender! Laughter and cheering. How did our science lesson turn into this? Well, they were being creative and I knew the game would eventually end. When the ice cube (solid) melts into water(a liquid). See, they were learning as they played and didn't even know it!! Isn't that the best type of learning, learning that occurs through discovery.

Take Care,

Jen

Pewwwee?? What is that Smell??

Actually, the smells that we were sniffing today were quite yummy!! After watching Sid the Science Kid this morning(I do like a little morning TV while I drink my coffee, even though the experts would cringe), Peanut wanted to do a science experiment, too! Hey, the t.v. motivated us to do science today, so it can't be all that bad, right? Everything in moderation is my motto!!(That includes chocolate and wine ladies-oops or men if any Daddies are reading, sorry! LOL)
Okay, back to Sid. They were learning about the 5 Senses today. For one part of the segment, they experimented with different smells. Next, they recorded their predictions in an observation journal. They used lemon, cinnamon, onion, and popcorn for their hidden smells. I chose peanut butter, chocolate(mmmm- so I have an excuse to eat it after),crushed mint, and coffee grinds. I put them in Styrofoam coffee cups and used foil as lids. I poked little holes in the cups with a fork.







Next, we smelled each cup one at a time and made a guess for each one. Peanut guessed 4 out of 5. The crushed mint was tricky!





After the experiment, we discussed the sense of smell and then tested her sense of touch. She tried to guess what was in each cup by feeling the contents while her eyes were closed. Then we discussed the different textures. The last part was the most fun- we dipped the popcorn and chocolate into the peanut butter and had a feast. We can't leave out the sense of taste now can we???


Other resources for the 5 Senses:

1. Preschool Activities for 5 Senses

2. First Science Experiments: Super Senses by Shar Levine & Leslie Johnstone

"Here, young readers will learn, in easy-to-understand language and through simple experiments and activities, some fascination facts about there senses in a way that will start them thinking."


Boy, we've been quite busy experimenting today! We made homemade apple sauce too, so the aroma in the house was mouth watering and the applesauce turned out GREAT!!

Have a fun day!!

Jen