Today’s activity is all about ramps, gradients and friction. We’re going to investigate how the distance travelled by a toy car is affected by the gradient of the slope and the surface of the ramp. You’ll need A ramp – we used a shop bought ramp set, but you could make your own with cardboard or…
Along with erupting volcanoes, magic milk, and a lava lamp, film canister rockets are a must do science experiment for kids of all ages. They are also perfect for learning about Newton’s Laws of Motion. Why make a film canister rocket? The rocket travels upward with a force equal to and opposite to the downward…
This is a great, fun way to introduce chemical reactions to children. Even if they’re too young to understand the chemistry behind the reactions themselves, just the idea that a substance can change when another is added is a really useful concept to start to grasp. We tested alka seltzer and popping candy to see which…
I think our garden zip line using teddies is one of my favourite activities we’ve ever done, just because it’s so adaptable to children of all ages and abilities. My 4-year-old uses it as a big imaginative game, talking to her teddies, telling them not to be scared and lining them up so everyone gets…
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…
First up in our coding for kids series is practice at writing instructions. This is a really simple activity with potentially very funny results. I asked my 7 year old to write me two sets of instructions, one for packing his bag for swimming and one for making his favourite sandwich. He did really well, but…
I’m super pleased to be joining the A-Z STEM series again today with a post on science experiment safety. Although the experiments and activities on Science Sparks are very unlikely to cause any harm, proper care should be taken at all times, especially when working with very young children or when using a heat source….
Computer code is everywhere: in electronic games, this website, and tills at the supermarket. Even though you can’t see it, computer code is a huge part of our world, so it is important to introduce children to the key principles of computer science from a young age. The actual concepts involved in computer coding aim…
Eggs are not just for eating. Here at Science Sparks, we’ve got lots of fun and easy egg-themed activities for you to try. Including a bit of science magic, investigating why eggs are so strong and even shrinking eggs. Another fun egg activity is rolling eggs, which kept my children occupied for hours. We simply…
This simple science demonstration is a fantastic way to learn about density! Liquids can be stacked in a glass or jar in order of their density. As an additional challenge, children can experiment with small items to determine which floats on each layer. Christmas Density Jar You’ll need Sugar SyrupWaterFood colouringVegetable OilSmall items to test…
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