Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Home Science”
A bit of magic mixed with some science. Create a magical jumping bean that seems to move all by itself. What you need: Marbles Aluminium foil or Easter egg wrappers Lunchbox or plastic container What to do: Rip off a bit of foil about the length of your pointer finger and the width of about three fingers. Wrap the foil …
Watch as water is sucked up into an overturned glass. What you’ll need: shallow dish candle blu-tack water food dye (to colour water to make it easier to see, optional) matches tall glass What to do: Add a few drops of food dye to some water so you can see the water easily (optional). Using blu-tack, stick a candle to …
Something very easy to do, but it will keep kids entertained for quite a while. What you need: jar or bottle with a lid oil, eg. vegetable oil water food dye What to do: Half fill the jar with water. Add a couple of drops of food dye. Fill the remaining space in the jar with oil. Put the lid …
What you need: soft drink, eg. diet coke mentos What to do: Open the soft drink bottle and place it in a tray – this will get messy. Listen closely when you open the bottle. You will hear a hiss. Drop about half a pack of mentos into the soft drink. Stand back and watch your fizzy fountain. What happens: …
You can consider this experiment as making plastic from milk, or making cheese, depending on how you treat it. What you need: milk, heated to almost boiling vinegar sieve or strainer cloth What to do: Heat 1 cup of milk up so it is simmering. Take it off the heat and pour it into a bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of …
A bit messy but a whole lot of fun. What you’ll need: flour salt oil warm water bottle or glass vinegar red food dye dishwashing liquid (optional) bi-carb (bicarbonate) soda tray or dish What to do: In a large bowl, mix 6 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt, 4 tablespoons of oil (eg. vegetable oil) and 3 cups water. …
Perform a magic trick by lifting ice using string, without touching the ice. What you need: full cup of water with ice cubes in it, the ice will float string salt What to do: Issue a challenge – can anyone lift the ice using the string, without touching the ice? Lie some string over an ice cube. Cover the top …
A science task with a touch of creativity and design. What you need: This task can be done with as many or as few components as you like. You can use whatever materials you have around the house, such as: tissues toilet rolls straws sticky tape string newspaper plastic bags You’ll also need a raw egg. What to do: You …
Set up a match leaning against another match, with a coin underneath. Challenge someone – take the coin without knocking over the match. How can you do this? What you’ll need: matches and matchbox skewer or sharp knife coin What to do: Use a skewer, or something similar, to put a hole in the matchbox cover, towards the end. Put …
What you need: honey maple syrup milk dishwashing liquid water (with food dye added, optional) oil methylated spirits a tall jar or glass What to do: Pour some honey into the bottom of the jar or glass. Tipping the glass to the side, slowly add the other liquids in the following order: maple syrup, milk, dishwashing liquid, water, oil, methylated …
What you need: 2 candles matches or lighter What to do: Light both candles. One should be standing upright on a flat surface. You can secure it with blu-tack if it does not have a steady base. Allow the candles to burn for a few seconds so they warm up. Pour out any wax that pools in the candles. Blow …
Making slime is always a popular science experiment, and something you can do with very few ingredients. All you will need is glue (eg. PVA, Clag) and borax, which can be found in the laundry aisle at the supermarket. Please note: Borax in poisonous and you should always wash your hands after handling it, or slime made with it. What …
Something fun and simple – playing with glow sticks. Fascinate kids by looking into some science behind glow sticks and chemical reactions. What you need: glow sticks very hot water ice cold water What to do: Crack a glow stick so it starts to glow. It works best if you get the room dark. Put the glow stick in a …
An artistic little experiment to do – using science to marble colours in milk. What you need: shallow dish milk (full cream milk works best) different coloured food dyes dishwashing liquid cotton tip What to do: Pour milk into a dish so it covers the bottom. Place drops of food dye all around the milk. Put some dishwashing liquid onto …
A bit of a magic trick you can do, using science concepts to help you find the answer. What you need: 3x 20 cent coins, made in different years What to do: Call for an assistant to help you with your magic trick. Ask the assistant to choose a coin, and look at the year printed on it, but not …
A simple but very effective experiment, to enthuse even the youngest scientist. What you need: Vinegar Bicarbonate soda (baking soda) Different coloured food dyes Containers to mix, eg. cups, muffin tray What to do: Fill your cups or muffin trays about half way with vinegar. Add a couple of drops of food dye to each cup. Add a heaped teaspoon …
