Forces and Magents

Age 4 - 6 | Age 7 - 10 | Design and Technology | Everyday Materials | Forces and Magents | Forces and Motion | Science Experiments for Kids | Scientific Enquiry | Scientific Enquiry | Understanding of the World

How to make a shoebox catapult
ByEmma Vanstone January 23, 2015June 14, 2022

A shoebox catapult is a fun way to learn about elasticity, elastic energy, potential energy and kinetic energy. Children can experiment with different size and shape objects to catapult and with how far they push down the catapult arm. Shoebox catapults are a great activity for practising correct scientific procedures or as a fun engineering project. How…

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Age 4 - 6 | Age 7 - 10 | Forces and Magents | LEGO Science Experiments

Balloon Powered LEGO® Car
ByEmma Vanstone August 18, 2014February 25, 2025

A balloon-powered car is a great way to learn about kinetic energy, potential energy, conservation of energy and Newton’s Laws of Motion. When you blow up a balloon, it stores potential energy in the form of the stretched skin of the balloon and compressed air inside the balloon. When you let go of the balloon,…

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Age 7 - 10 | Forces and Magents | LEGO Science Experiments

Easy Parachute STEM Challenge
ByEmma Vanstone August 4, 2014February 24, 2025

Put your engineering skills to the test with a parachute STEM Challenge. Your challenge is to design and build a parachute to slow the fall of a small toy to the ground. This activity is great for learning about the forces involved in flight. You’ll need to consider air resistance, gravity and the properties of…

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Age 4 - 6 | Age 7 - 10 | Design and Technology | Forces and Magents | Just for Fun | LEGO Science Experiments

How to make a LEGO® Catapult
ByEmma Vanstone July 30, 2014February 20, 2025

We love LEGO® here at Science Sparks and can’t wait to share our latest science and LEGO® creations. First up is a catapult. Catapults are great for learning about gravity and transfer of energy. When you pull down on the catapult arm, elastic potential energy is stored. When you release the catapult arm, the potential…

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Age 11 - 16 | Age 7 - 10 | Forces and Magents

6 Easy Air Pressure Experiments for Kids
ByEmma Vanstone May 26, 2014January 31, 2025

These air pressure experiments are great fun and fantastic demonstrations of a fascinating force. What is air pressure? Air pressure is the weight of the atmosphere pressing down on Earth. We measure air pressure using a barometer. Have you ever climbed a mountain or visited an area at a high altitude and found you get…

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Age 4 - 6 | Age 7 - 10 | Forces and Magents | Just for Fun | Physics

How to make a Hovercraft
ByEmma Vanstone January 14, 2014March 3, 2023

Building a mini hovercraft is a great way to learn about friction. Hovercrafts are really interesting as they move on top of a layer of air. The layer of air reduces friction allowing the hovercraft to move quickly over land and sea. We’ve been learning about friction recently, which is a complex topic to grasp,…

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Age 4 - 6 | Age 7 - 10 | Early Years Science | Forces and Magents | Physics | Understanding of the World

Simple Science – learning about forces
ByEmma Vanstone January 9, 2014February 8, 2024

Today, we’ve been trying to learn about forces. Pushes and pulls are examples of forces. When we push or pull something, it moves. Can you push a toy car softly? What happens? Does it move further if you push harder? Can you think of things you push and things you pull? Are there things you…

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Age 4 - 6 | Age 7 - 10 | Early Years Science | Forces and Magents | Scientific Enquiry

Baking Soda Powered Boat
ByEmma Vanstone September 25, 2013September 28, 2023

This baking soda powered boat is a great mini engineering challenge for kids. It involves lots of scientific thinking and is a fantastic hands-on science activity. Little scientists need to think about how the gas produced by the reaction between the baking soda and vinegar will escape and if this will be powerful enough to…

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Age 11 - 16 | Age 7 - 10 | Forces and Magents

Super Simple Surface Tension
ByEmma Vanstone August 7, 2013September 19, 2023

Do you remember our lolly stick races? They are a great way to explore surface tension, but this activity demonstrating surface tension with toothpicks is even easier! The toothpicks start off in a triangle shape and then fly apart when a little washing-up liquid is added. Surface tension activity with toothpicks You’ll need Instructions Why…

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Age 7 - 10 | Forces and Magents

Slipping and sliding friction investigation
ByEmma Vanstone July 23, 2013July 4, 2023

On a rainy day, my children can often be found skidding down our hallway. We have wooden floors, so they are slippy enough to be fun, but not so slippy it’s dangerous. We have found that skidding is a lot more fun when wearing socks, but why is this? The answer is Friction. Friction is…

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