Science

Ice Cream in a Bag

This created so much excitement in my classroom today, lots of very enthusiastic learners. Great STEM activity, which lead to lots of questioning, reasoning and discussion. Here's the science; the salt added to the ice lowers the melting point of the ice, just like it does when we add salt to roads in the winter. The ice pulls the heat away from the ice cream which allows the ice cream to freeze.

Cress Heads

Never had as a child who hasn't enjoyed this little activity, so why not give it a go! Easy set up and the results are visible within a week.
Discuss how plants grow, what they need to develop and what might happen if they don't get those things. Once the hair has grown, you can eat it, open a conversation about healthy eating. Happy growing!

Magnet Fun

Lovely activity, which is great fun and that children really enjoy. Can help to build vocabulary, creates lots of ideas when solving the clues, but is great for practising those initial sounds. Indoors or outdoors, make it fun!

Teeny Weeny Rafts

Lots of learning and problem solving involved in this activity, along with lots of fun. Extending the activity, have a selection of materials and ask the child to predict which might make the best raft and why. Apart from sticks and string, you could add in cardboard, paper, corks, fabric, bits of plastic. Talk about floating, sinking, strength of materials, being waterproof.

Frozen Eggs

Investigating ice is an exciting, sensory activity for children. Taking a liquid, changing it into a solid and then back to a liquid, it's 'magic.' Relate to the weather, when do we see ice and why? Ask the child to predict what might happen at every stage and ask how you could get the flowers out once frozen. Use salt, warm water on different eggs and see what happens.

Frozen Dinosaur Eggs

Anything that involves a dinosaur, is generally an activity that is a winner. Combine this with ice and engagement will be very high. Talk about the science and ask your little one to predict what's going to happen. How ice is produced? Why does it change? What is temperature and how can we measure it? Can the process be reversed? Try to develop vocabulary as the child touches and describes the melting ice. Enjoy!

How Strong is Spagetti?

Little bit of science today and a great way to get children thinking about how and why. Talk about what you would normally build a bridge from, is spaghetti a good choice? Why wouldn't it work? Ask children to add the wooden blocks slowly, always creates excitement as they see how many blocks they can keep adding.

5 Senses Scavenger Hunt

A great way to explore the five senses and to learn what they are and what they do.

Grow a Rainbow

Such a fun and exciting experiment; nothing beats the excitement in a child`s face as they see science 'magic' taking place. Here's how it works... the colored water travels up the paper towel by a process called capillary action. The ink disperses in the water because they are water based. Capillary action takes the ink and water together up the paper towel.

Materials - Sort the Objects

Lots of fun in learning about materials. Gather an assortment of what you have around you and discuss what they are made of. How does the object feel? Why are cuddly toys cuddly? Why is a spoon hard not bendy? Etc. Extend vocabulary where ever possible.

Ice Paints

Nice activity for taking outdoors and being a little creative. You don't have to use paper, you could just paint the fence or paving slabs etc. We enjoyed experimenting with the paint, the ice and with mixing the colours. Enjoy!

Magic Colour Changing Potions

Lovely bit of science, which shows how an acid and alkaline react with a liquid. Perfect for those budding witches and wizards out there who like to mix a few potions. A really hands on activity and perfect, with a little supervision from 2 years onwards

Ramps & Slopes

A very engaging activity for exploring slopes and ramps. A great activity for predicting outcomes and extending vocabulary. Have fun!

Plant a Sunflower

Summer sunshine will be here before we know it and nothing shouts summer more than beautiful sunflowers. These are perfect for little ones to plant, to monitor the growth and observe the changes that occur. Who will grow the highest? Can they predict how tall their sunflower might get? Talk through the science, what does a plant need to flourish etc? 🌻

Sorting Mini-Beasts

Lots of outdoor exploring at the moment and our mixed weather is allowing all sorts of mini beasts to be making an appearance. On the spot discussions; naming, habitats, food source etc. Leading to sorting and revisiting learning once back home.

Colour Changing Flowers

My children have always enjoyed this experiment. Lots of awe and wonder 'plant magic.' Simple set up and a little patience is all that's required. Why not give it a go!

Planting and Growing

This is an activity that children love to do over and over. Of course you could plant seeds, but for a repetitive activity use some fake foliage and flowers and plant away. Lots of opportunities to talk about the science around plants, growth and colour. Wonderful for helping with fine motor skills as they fill, plant and scoop.

Sink or Float

Why not be a scientist for the morning and test which objects float and which ones sink. Can you explain your reasoning? Free resource on the website to print and use to record . |How many did you get right?

Build a Bug Hotel

A great way to get the children interested in mini beasts and exploring for themselves. Involve them in the design of the hotel, talk about the bugs they would like to see and what those bugs they need to thrive

Build a Catapult

A great STEM activity which really engages children as they investigate how the catapult works and the impact on performance as they test various missiles. Engineering, maths and physics, all rolled into one amazing learning experience. The science... this catapult uses potential energy stored in the wooden stick as you bend it. When you let go, this stored energy is released and converted into energy of motion and transferred to the missile which then flies through the air. Possible missiles, pompoms, paperclips, marbles (with care), Lego. Things to think about, how much does the weight of an object impact on the distance it travels? Have fun!

Where Do I Live?

Most children like to learn about animals and talk about how they are all different; those with wings, scales, fur, four/two legs. This activity focuses on where living things live, the habitats to which they are suited and how different habitats provide the basic needs for different kinds of animals. Enjoy!

Marble Run

Saturday Science this week is to create a marble run. An activity gives lots of opportunities to talk about gravity
and friction in a very simple way. For younger children, there will be lots of problem solving and understanding why the track is built in the way it is. Why doesn't the marble go up hill? A great activity, which is lots and lots of fun!

Lava Lamp

Great experiment for all ages. Click the link to see the video. Have fun!

Plant a Sunflower

Science Saturday has come around again and today's activity is about growing a sunflower. Dig deeper into the science by planting 3 separate seeds and measure how factors of environment affect growth. Give the first seed everything it needs; warmth, light and water. Second seed, don't give any water and the third seed, put in a dark cupboard, so it gets no light. Investigate over the next few weeks and talk about you find. Enjoy!

Simple Gliders

This may look a little on the strange side, but you will soon discover it flies surprisingly well. An alternative to paper aeroplanes why not give it a go? The different sized hoops help to keep the straw balanced as it flies. The big hoop creates “drag” (or air resistance) which helps keep the straw level, while the smaller hoop in the front keeps the flier from turning off course. You may wonder why the plane does not turn over since the hoops are heavier than the straw. Since objects of different weight generally fall at the same speed, the hoop will keep an upright position. How far will you get yours to fly? Have fun testing, perhaps one for a family challenge!