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    Home » Early Years Science » Science Experiments for Preschoolers

    Science Experiments for Preschoolers

    February 25, 2020 By Emma Vanstone 7 Comments

    This collection of science experiments for preschoolers contains many of my all time favourite science activities. When I started this website I had three preschool age children and we all have happy memories of baking soda and vinegar potions, endless volcanoes, sinking and floating in the garden, bug hunts and lots of other fun preschool science activities.

    I have definitely found over the years that even very young children can enjoy science at home. Most science activities are very hands on and can easily be turned into a learning through play experience which makes them perfect for preschoolers!

    It’s never too early to introduce children to science, just make sure everything is age appropriate and safe for the child.

    Messy Science Station

    My little girl was mesmerised by our messy science station and spent a good hour mixing and experimenting with different combinations of the ingredients.

    Fun science for kindergarten, set up a messy science exploration station. Great preschool science experiment. #preschoolsicnce

    Fizzy rocks

    Fizzy rocks take a bit of preparation, but are totally worth it for the giggles when the rocks start to fizz and melt. You can even hide little bugs or toy figures inside. I once hid these in different places for the kids to find and drew them a treasure map!

    fizzy-rocks-baking-soda

    Ice Cream Soup

    Explore melting with some ice cream soup. Don’t forget to eat it afterwards! This is a brilliant way to introduce kids to changes of state and the effect of temperature on frozen things.

    Giant Bubbles

    Learn how to make giant bubbles. This is a fantastic preschool activity as children can they can look for rainbows in bubbles and create their own magic bubble solution.

    Another fun bubble science idea is to set up a bubble making station with pipecleaners and strawsfor children to make their own bubble wands.

    different shaped bubbles

    Erupting Volcano Science Experiments for Preschoolers

    Make an erupting volcano with snow, sand or even papier mache. One of the best things about baking soda volcanos is that they can be erupted over and over again!

    multicoloured volcano

    Colourful Shadow Puppets

    These colourful shadow puppets are very easy to make and look amazing!

    Fruity Boats

    Fruity boats are a great creative science activity and a lovely twist on a traditional sink/float experiment. Children can make little sails, blow the boats with straws and even add toy figures to make the boats sink.

    Fruity boats - water table science for kids

    Boats made from recycled materials are also great to test in the same way.

    Make Slime or Oobleck

    Slime and oobleck are both lovely sensory materials. All our slimes are borax free and feel amazing!

    Oobleck is fascinating to kids and adults. Squish it in your hand and it feels solid, release the pressure and the solid ball starts to flow! AMAZING! For preschoolers I usually add a sieve and some plastic toys to a tray of oobleck and let them explore. Oobleck is also great frozen. I freeze it into shapes using ice cube moulds and let it defrost a little before the children play.

    Ice Science Experiments for Preschoolers

    Painting on ice is a lovely creative science activity for younger children. This is great fun on a sunny day as the ice feels lovely to paint on as it starts to melt.

    Ice excavations are always a big hit in our house too. I usually put them out with little pots of warm and cold water and pipettes so the kids can drop water over the ice to melt it.

    LEGO Ice excavation

    Sensory bottles

    We have a simple magnet sensory bottle, that is great fun and love this i-spy bottle from The Imagination Tree.

    No Time for Flash Cards has some gorgeous colour mixing sensory bottles you might like too!

    Magnet Science Experiments for Preschoolers

    This paper plate magnet maze is one of our favourite preschool science activities. These can be themed in lots of different ways so perfect for any topic or time of year.

    magnet maze

    We also LOVE this magnet hair activity from Laughing Kids Learn.

    Fairy Tale Science Experiments

    This collection of Fairy Tale science experiments is one of our favourites. Grow a bean for Jack, make a zip wire for Rapunzel and lots more fun preschool science experiments.

    Dr Seuss Science Activities

    This collection of Dr Seuss science activities is perfect for preschoolers!

    Science Kit for Preschoolers

    You don’t actually need much specialised equipment for preschool science experiments and investigations, but if you did want to invest in a few items these are the ones we would recommend and have all been used in our house for years!

    Magnet Wands – these can be used for magnet mazes, general testing to see if things are magnetic and magnet sensory bottles.

    Pipettes – pipettes are great for ice excavations!

    Tweezers – we use these for fine motor control activities, sorting and lots more.

    My little boy also loves his tape measure!

    Easy and hands on preschool science experiments. Magnet experiments, sensory bottles, bubbles, messy science and fairy tale science experiments for preschoolers #preschoolscience #scienceforpreschoolers

    All these activities use non toxic materials but please do supervise small children at all times. They wouldn’t be very nice to eat or drink.

    If you’re looking for ideas for even younger children try this collection of non messy toddler science experiments.

    This post contains affiliate links

    This post was updated Feb 2020

    Last Updated on April 9, 2021 by Emma Vanstone

    « A Messy Science Station for Preschoolers
    Julia Donaldson Activities and Science Experiments »

    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Louise Edwards

      August 17, 2014 at 8:07 am

      lovely ideas, your blog rocks! xx

      Reply
      • Emma Vanstone

        August 18, 2014 at 7:02 am

        Thank you 🙂

        Reply
    2. Emma

      August 25, 2014 at 5:58 pm

      Oh my gosh, that top photo is just the sweetest! 😀 I bet she had a ball conducting lots of experiments with you! Love the look of the colourful milk! 🙂 xx

      Reply
    3. Michelle Twin Mum

      August 25, 2014 at 6:25 pm

      Looks liek she was realy enjoying herself. This is the thing with a number of kids, you forgot what you did with who! lol Mich x

      Reply
    4. Aly

      August 25, 2014 at 8:14 pm

      My 6 year old would love doing this.Where would I buy a pipette from?

      Reply
    5. Emma

      August 25, 2014 at 9:21 pm

      Milk pictures – why hadn’t my science teacher husband shown us that one! A new one for Erin to try.

      Reply
    6. [email protected]

      August 26, 2014 at 3:24 pm

      I am SO bookmarking this to do with the boys on a rainy day.

      Reply

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