Candle carousels date back to the 1800s and originated in Germany. They are thought to have been inspired by windmills. Early versions were very simple, but over time, they became more elaborate with multiple tiers. Today, candle carousels are found around the world as decorations. The basic structure of a candle carousel is a central…
Diamond is the hardest natural substance on Earth. Why is diamond so strong? Diamond is made up of a network of carbon atoms that each form four strong covalent bonds. The strong bonds take a lot of energy to break, so diamond has a high melting and boiling point. This type of structure is called…
We gathered up the last remaining bits of snow this afternoon to make a Baking Soda Volcano using snow! A snow volcano is a great way to have some fun in the snow while learning and experimenting. I piled up a heap of snow around a small glass jar, making the top of the snow…
The pH scale measures how acidic or alkaline a solution is. It ranges between 0 and 14. Acids have a pH of less than 7. Alkalis ( or bases ) have a pH of over 7. pH 7 is neutral. How is pH measured? pH is measured using an indicator. An indicator is a dye…
Atoms are tiny particles of matter which make up everything in the universe. Everything you see is made up of atoms. Scientists spent many years trying to understand the structure of the atom, with several models and theories being disproved or improved upon along the way. Today we know that atoms consist of a nucleus…
The Periodic Table is a table of all the elements we know about today. Elements are placed in order of atomic number ( number of protons in the nucleus ). The periodic table is a way of listing and organising elements. The rows of the periodic table are called periods, and the columns are known…
Ice is great for lots of science experiments and investigations. It’s cheap, easy to make and always fun to experiment with. Today, we are going to try a cool science trick where a wire cuts through an ice cube. Ice usually needs to be warmed up to melt, but you can also make ice melt…
Is there anything more fun than an explosive science experiment? This collection of explosive, fizzy and sometimes messy science activities is sure to appeal to even the most reluctant little scientists, and the kids who love science already will REALLY enjoy erupting volcanoes, launching rockets and generally just doing awesome science at home. Exploding science…
Here at Science Sparks, we try to make science as easy and accessible as possible. When I ask people why they don’t do more science at home with children, one of the answers is usually that science experiments are messy. While this can most definitely be true, there are also lots of non-messy science investigations…
Freezing point depression occurs when a substance lowers the freezing point of another substance. One example is adding salt to water. A solution of salt and water has a lower freezing point than water alone. Melting and freezing: a recap Melting is when a solid turns into a liquid. The temperature at which a solid…
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