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Cool Science Experiments For Kids

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:31:17 +0000

There are dozens of cool science experiments that you can do at home. Many cool science experiments require a day long process and careful observation. If you like weather there are a number of cool science projects you can try at home. Finding out what is in the rain is one of those experiments.

Experiment: Find Out What is in Rain

Category: Meteorology/Environmental

Materials:
Microscope
Container
Funnel
Tape
Pie Dish
Filter Paper

To begin this science experiment you will need to place a clean and completely dry container outside on a day that it is raining. Put the container out in the open away from trees and buildings and leave it there for several hours. Bring the container in after it has collected an adequate amount of rain for examination.

When you get the water inside you will need to filter the rain water. You can filter the rain water using a piece of filter paper in your funnel. Collect the water that runs through the filter and funnel in a separate clean dry container.

Next, you will need to dry your filter paper so that the water is evaporated from it. To do this quickly you can put the filter paper on a clean baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius. While you are waiting for your filter paper to dry out take the excess water you collected and pour it into the pie dish.

Once the water has evaporated from the pie dish and the filter paper you can find out what is in rain. Take your filter paper and look at under the microscope. Take a piece of clear tape and stick it to the bottom of the pie dish once the water has evaporated. Look at the tape under the microscope. Try to figure out what particles were in the rain you collected.

By: Dee Schrock

Environmental Science Fair Projects For Earth-Friendly Learning

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 02:09:35 +0000

There are many, many different environmental science fair projects that can be carried out in a large variety of settings with a similarly large variety of organisms and goals. After all, the environment is our surroundings and our surroundings have millions of different aspects and attributes.

One such project is to test the pH level in acid rain; you can also test the pH level of snow, if it is winter. For this experiment, you will need a pH indicator, such as pH paper or a garden soil pH testing kit, and a few test tubes to put the rain water or snow into. These pH indicators contain a chemical that changes color when it comes into contact with acids or bases. You can further this experiment by testing the effects of acid rain on plant growth.

Another idea for an environmental science fair project is to look at the causes of, and solutions to, pollution. Pollution can be in the form of chemical substances, or energy like noise, heat or light. There are forms of pollution control out there controlling emissions and effluents that go into our air, water and soil. Without pollution control, waste products would degrade our environment, but even better than pollution control would be pollution prevention that actually reduces the amount of pollution put out by vehicles or industrial businesses. It is never the wrong time to teach children about how they can affect the natural world around them in both positive and negative ways.

By: Dee Schrock

Home Science Experiments Made Fun and Easy

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:04:10 +0000

Home science experiments are great for rainy or dreary days when the kids are restless and looking for something to do. If you take a look around, you will see that you have a lot of things that can be used to experiment with. For example, you could have your kids test different things to drop eggs onto, such as a couch, a bed, a carpet, a stuffed animal to see which will accept the egg without it breaking. Unfortunately this experiment can often result in a mess!

Cleaner home science projects might be to see if you can make an egg fit through the neck of a bottle that is smaller than the egg. For this you will need a hardboiled egg, a glass with a mouth just slightly smaller than the egg, a 3″ x 3″ piece of newspaper and a match. Remove the shell from the egg and set it on the mouth of the bottle to see that it does not fit through. Then, fold the piece of newspaper into a strip that can be dropped into the bottle.

Have an adult light the match and use it to light the newspaper on fire. Remove the egg from the mouth of the bottle, drop the burning paper into the bottle, and put the egg back over the mouth of the bottle before the fire goes out. Within a few seconds the egg will squeeze through the mouth of the bottle. This happens because the air pressure is pulling the egg into the bottle.

By: Dee Schrock

Science Experiment Ideas Made Fun and Easy

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:59:45 +0000

Science experiment ideas all depend upon the individual student’s interests. For instance, if you are interested in animals you may be more interested in doing a project on Zoology, which is the study of animals, or Biology which is the study of all living things and the relationships between plants and animals. However, if you are interested in plants you might choose to do a project on Biology, which again is the study of all living things, including plants and animals. You will find out what makes plants grow, their contribution to our environment and their cell structure. If it’s the stars, planets, the universe and the solar system that you find intriguing, you may want to pick a topic on Astrology.

If you like working with substances and seeing how they react to one another, you should choose a topic about Chemistry. Maybe earthquakes, tornadoes, fossils, minerals, rocks, the weather, oceans, marine life or prehistoric creatures are what interest you, in which case you should choose Earth Science experiments ideas to focus on. If machinery and how it works is what you find fascinating then you should study Engineering.

Environmental science experiments might be your thing if you’re concerned with the earth, recycling, composting, ecology, acid rains and the effects of pollutants. If you’re interested in bacteria, yeast and microorganisms, then Microbiology is your thing. If you like to learn about electricity, energy, gravity, machines, magnets and how materials change and combine, then you should choose a Physical science project. However, if it’s numbers and symbols that peak your interest, you should choose a topic about Mathematics.

By: Dee Schrock

Chemistry Science Projects Sure to Get a Reaction

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:12:32 +0000

Chemistry science projects are all about the study of substances and their transformation; finding out what happens when they are combined together and how they react to one another. Chemical reactions can make exciting projects; just think of the classic working volcano project. The classic working volcano has been done many, many times, but that’s because it is a lot of fun to watch, but if you want to score points for originality you should choose a different project.

One fun (and delicious) chemistry science fair project is to make your own sugar crystals. Also known as rock candy, you have likely seen these in gift shops at pretty much any major attractions; science exhibits, the zoo and so on. They are pretty to look at and tasty to eat. In addition they are also extremely easy to make. All you need is sugar and water, plus a glass jar to grow them in and some string for them to grow up. It only takes a day before they begin to grow.

Another fun chemistry project might be to see if colored candles burn faster or slower than white candles. All you need for this project is a white candle, a few different colored candles, a lighter and adult supervision. Light each candle at the same time and observe the rate they burn at. Be sure to record your results.

One other project you could try is a project to see which type of tape sticks best to different types of surfaces. You can experiment and see which brands work better on which surfaces.

By: Dee Schrock

Science Project Topics and Ideas

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:18:25 +0000

When it comes to choosing a science fair project there are many different topics to choose from. First you should pick a category that interests you. There are 10 basic categories to choose from:

·Astronomy, which is the study of the stars, planets, solar system and universe.
·Biology, which is the study of all living things including humans, animals & plants.
·Zoology, which is the study of animals.
·Chemistry, which is the study of substances and it’s transformations.
·Earth Science, which is the study of the Earth.
·Engineering, which is the functioning of a machine or mechanism.
·Environmental, which is the study of sources and their control; ecology, recycling, reclamation, restoration, composting, acid rain, affects of pollution.
·Microbiology, which is the study of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungus and yeast.
·Physical Science, which is the study of matter and energy.
·Mathematics, which uses numbers and symbols to study amounts and forms.

Once you have chosen a category that interests you it’s just a matter of finding a question you would like answered in that particular category. For example, if you were to pick Zoology you could ask “How does the lifespan of a dolphin differ if they live in captivity compared to living in the wild?” and then you would research that topic to find the answer.

There are many different topics for each category so it’s all a matter of preference. If you love animals then you would likely go with biology or zoology and pick a topic from there, however if you like working with numbers to solve problems then you would be better off to pick a topic under the mathematics category.

By: Dee Schrock

Elementary Science Experiments Made Fun and Easy

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:03:32 +0000

Elementary science experiments can be a ton of fun. At this age, there isn’t the pressure on the students that there is in the higher grades. Science fair projects are all about fun! Children are naturally curious and full of questions and energy so it shouldn’t be hard to get them to come up with a topic. All you have to do is find something that will get them to think of something that interests them, and then help them get started on their project.

One elementary science experiment the children may enjoy is to see if water always drains in the same direction. They can test this out around the school, in toilets, sinks and drains. All they need to do is grab some paper and a pencil and head off to a washroom to begin. Have them flush the toilet and make note of which way the water drains. You can get them to check a second toilet to be sure they both drain the same way. Then get them to put a plug in a sink drain and fill it with some water. Pull the plug and have them observe which way the water drains in the sink. Next, if there is a floor drain around, if possible pour some water over the drain and have them observe which way it flows down the drain. Did the water always drain in the same direction?

If this elementary science project isn’t for you, you could have the students test different brands of popcorn. In this project, they test to see if different brands of popcorn leave the same amount of in-popped kernels. Have fun!

By: Dee Schrock

Second Grade Science Projects and Ideas

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:31:31 +0000

Second grade science projects are simple and fun to do. You should pick a topic that can hold the interest of the children. At this age they are just learning how to figure things out for themselves, instead of being spoon fed information, and they’re very eager to learn new things. It’s very beneficial to children to start doing experiments at this age; it stimulates their mind and encourages them to think things out.

Some fun experiments for second graders would be to see if a certain type of animal prefers one food over another; such as, do ants prefer sugar over bread? What about white sugar over brown sugar? Other fun 2nd grade science projects is the traditional volcano model, however while this is fun for the kids, it’s not really answering a question. Another idea might be to see if animals behave different when they’re faced with a visual reflection of themselves like a mirror.

If so, what do they do? Try to play with their reflection? Maybe get mad at their reflection? Maybe they even get scared. Does it make a difference if the mirror is up close or a distance away from them? One fun project for young kids might be to see if the shape of a paper airplane affects the distance it will fly. You can test this out by making a long narrow plane and a short stubby plane and seeing which one flies further. There are tons of fun projects for this age group; it’s just a matter of picking one out of many.

By: Dee Schrock

3rd Grade Science Fair Projects and Ideas

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:06:18 +0000

3rd grade science fair projects are a lot of fun because at this age children are eager to explore the world around them and find out how things work. They are constantly wanting to know the answer to the question “What happens if I do this…” and therefore they will likely come up with many different experiments they’d like to try. It may be difficult to decide on just one!

At this age they have a short attention span though, so the projects must be simple, fun and fairly short. There are many, many different project ideas for this age group such as; do all the children in their class have the same size hands and the same size feet as each other? They can research this by tracing the other children’s hands and feet on a piece of paper and comparing them to each other.

They could do a test to see if waterproof mascara is really waterproof. To do this you would need a couple brands of waterproof mascara, a piece of paper and some water. Simply put the mascara onto a sheet of paper and rinse it under some water to see what happens.

Another fun 3rd grade science project would be to see if raw eggs and hard boiled eggs spin the same number of times. Obviously they would need an adult’s help with this one in order to cook the eggs, and then they simply need to spin each egg and record the results. There are lots of great 3rd grade science projects out there; it’s just a matter of finding one that interests them.

By: Dee Schrock

7th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:28:33 +0000

7th grade science fair project ideas are likely more involved than the projects you’ve done in previous years. The science fair at your school is likely more competitive for your age group and there’s a good chance your peers will be putting a lot more time and effort into their projects than they have in previous years, so you’ll want to do the same for your 7th grade science projects.

One interesting idea might be to see which type of cheese mold will grow on the fastest. This is a great project because it’s interesting, but still fairly simple. Another idea for a project might be to see if you can grow a plant without soil. You can try placing seeds in various things such as a wet paper towel, grass clippings, coffee grounds, etc to see if they will grow. Be creative!

You could find out whether the presence of smoke in the air affects plant transpiration. Perhaps you could look into whether or not there is ever acid snow, we all know there is acid rain, but what about snow? You can find this out by testing the PH level of the snow and comparing it to the PH level of acid rain. Obviously this particular project only works in the winter months. There are many great topics out there for your 9th grade science project, it’s just a matter of finding one that interests you, researching and testing it out and presenting it in a professional manner.

By: Dee Schrock