- Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano: Create a volcanic eruption by combining baking soda and vinegar in a container. Watch as the mixture fizzes and overflows, demonstrating a chemical reaction.
- Lemon Battery: Use a lemon, copper and zinc nails, and wire to create a simple battery. Connect a LED light or small electronic device to show how fruit can produce electricity.
- Rainbow Walking Water: Fill three cups with water and add different food coloring to each. Connect the cups with paper towels to create a capillary action that “walks” the water up the paper towels, creating a rainbow effect.
- Egg in a Bottle: Place a peeled hard-boiled egg on top of a bottle with a small opening. Light a piece of paper on fire and drop it into the bottle. Watch as the egg gets sucked into the bottle due to the change in air pressure.
- Invisible Ink: Use lemon juice or milk as invisible ink. Write a secret message on paper using a cotton swab dipped in the juice. Heat the paper gently to reveal the hidden message.
- Oobleck: Mix cornstarch and water to create a non-Newtonian fluid called Oobleck. Explore its properties by applying pressure and observing its solid and liquid-like behavior.
- Mentos and Coke Explosion: Drop a few Mentos candies into a bottle of cola. Observe the explosive reaction caused by the release of carbon dioxide bubbles.
- Homemade Lava Lamp: Fill a clear container with water, vegetable oil, and food coloring. Add an effervescent tablet (like Alka-Seltzer) to create a mesmerizing bubbling effect.
- Magnetic Slime: Mix school glue, iron oxide powder, and liquid starch to create a magnetic slime. Use a magnet to manipulate the slime’s movements.
- Surface Tension Magic: Pour water into a plate or shallow dish. Carefully place a paperclip on the water’s surface, demonstrating the concept of surface tension.
- Coke and Milk Reaction: Pour milk into a bowl and slowly add Coca-Cola. Observe the chemical reaction between the milk and the acidic soda, causing the milk to curdle.
- Balloon Rocket: Attach a string to two points, then blow up a balloon and tape it to a straw. Thread the straw onto the string, release the balloon, and watch it zoom across the string due to the release of air.
- Floating Egg: Fill a glass with water and add enough salt to make it dense. Drop an egg into the water and watch as it floats due to the change in density.
- Homemade Fireworks: Use a small piece of aluminum foil and place it on a burner. Watch as the heat ignites the aluminum foil and creates a mini fireworks display.
- Dancing Raisins: Drop raisins into a glass of carbonated water. Observe as the carbon dioxide bubbles attach to the raisins, causing them to float and “dance” in the water.
- Lava Lamp Science: Fill a jar with water, oil, and food coloring. Add an Alka-Seltzer tablet and watch as the mixture creates a lava lamp effect due to the release of gas bubbles.
- Crystal Garden: Create a crystal garden by placing a piece of porous material (like coal or a sponge) in a container with a saturated salt solution. Over time, crystals will form on the material.
- Rubber Egg: Submerge an egg in a cup of vinegar for several days. The vinegar will dissolve the eggshell, leaving a rubbery egg that can be bounced and manipulated.
Enjoy these fun and educational science experiments using materials you already have on hand!
