Fun Science Experiments to Try with Your Kids

They say that seeing is believing, and that is why children enjoy doing science experiments that really deliver an amazing punch. If your kids are bored and you want to teach them something educational that is also fun and have them participating in a worthwhile activity, then it’s time to put on your lab coat. Here are some of our favorite science experiments to try with your kids to encourage their growing imaginations and inspire them to explore life around them.

Homemade Bottle Rocket

Your children will have a blast with this blast-off device known as the homemade bottle rocket. In fact, a lot of parents made these awesome rockets when they were kids because the effects are incredible. Since this little number can soar some 20 feet up into the air, we suggest letting it rip outdoors where you have plenty of space to launch it. Do not try this indoors and possibly ruin your ceiling or harm someone standing close by.

You will need an empty, 16-ounce plastic water bottle, four popsicle sticks or pencils, white vinegar, baking soda, a cork, and some tape.

You can check out the recipe for your homemade bottle rocket here, and watch it soar into flight.

Rain Cloud Jar

Here’s another fun experiment that’s cheap, easy to put together, and illustrates how clouds hold or suspend water and how rain falls when clouds become heavy with these water droplets.

All you need is a large clear jar filled with water, can of shaving cream, blue food coloring, and an eyedropper.

Make a cloud with shaving cream as you spray it in the jar. Then, fill your cloud with blue water droplets with the eyedropper. As your cloud becomes heavier with the droplets, rain will fall, and the jar will fill with blue rain. Water is such a key component to all living things and plays an enormous role in all kinds of scientific experiments. Stream tables are another excellent example of teaching students how rivers form, the effects of dredging, the impact of flooding, etc.

Egg In A Bottle

This is such a cool science experiment that an adult can demonstrate to their children. It involves lighting matches, so supervision is recommended around young kids. The experiment uses differences in air pressure to force an egg into a bottle and teaches how air pressure affects our daily lives.

You will need 1 hardboiled egg that you have peeled, 1 glass bottle with the opening slightly smaller than the hardboiled egg, 3 small candles, and matches.

Take your egg and insert three small candles into it. Be careful not to split or break the egg. Next, light the candles, let them burn a few seconds, and take your bottle with the mouth open, and place it over the burning candles. Watch your egg get sucked into the bottle and break apart. It’s amazing to see as the air molecules on the outside of the bottle are pushing the egg up into the bottle.

Straw Through Potato

This is another fun experiment that kids of all ages can try.

All that is required for this science experiment are potatoes and some drinking straws. Don’t peel or cook them.

Have your child try and poke their straw through the potato. You will see that they cannot get it past the veggie’s tough, solid exterior. Now, have your child put their thumb over the other end of the straw, and then push it through. It works! Try it again with a few more straws to prove that it isn’t a trick but true science. You are sealing the air inside by using your thumb, and that makes more pressure and the straw stronger.

Kids are generally curious and like to move around and explore things. It’s easy to leave children alone with their digital devices playing video games nonstop for entertainment, but they’re not learning much in this capacity. Why not spend time doing science experiments together and enjoying these creative do-it-yourself projects? These science experiments are inexpensive, and you probably have most of the items needed in your kitchen cabinet or fridge already.

By Samantha Higgins

Samantha is a professional writer with a passion for research, observation, and innovation. She is nurturing a growing family of twin boys in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She loves kayaking and reading creative non-fiction.