Incy Wincy Spider Science Experiments

Continuing with our Nursery Rhyme Science theme this week, I have some fun Incy Wincy Spider science experiments to share.

Incy Wincy spider climbed up the water spout,

Down came the rain and washed poor Incy out,

Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain,

So, Incy Wincy spider climbed up the spout again.

First up is this investigation into which material sticks Incy Wincy best to a pipe, so she doesn’t fall down the pipe.

Which is the strongest material?

We tested blu tack, plasticine and a glue dot to see which helped Incy Wincy stick to the top of our pipe most successfully. You can set this up very simply for young children. Older children can be encouraged to think about correct experimental design and procedure.

plastic spiders inside a half pip with a pack of glue dots for a science activity about Incy Wincy Spider

Materials for Incy Wincy Science Experiment

Half pipes or a ramp

Something to lean your pipes on

Plastic spiders – all the same size

Materials to test – blu tack, glue dot, plasticine, sellotape etc

A bucket or hosepipe

Water

Timer

three plastic half pipes lined up on a slope ready for a science activity

Things to think about

We designed our experiment to measure how much water each spider needed poured behind them to be flushed down the pipe.

To do this, we kept the following variables constant:

Length of pipe

Gradient of pipe

Amount of water poured each time

Size of spider

Amount of fixing material.

Variable

The material used to fix the spider at the top of the pipe

Instructions for washing Incy Wincy down the pipe experiment

Fix a spider to the top of a pipe using one of the test materials.

Fill a bucket with water and pour just behind the spider.

Record how much water is needed to flush the spider down the pipe.

Repeat for each material.

Or, place a hosepipe behind each spider and record the time taken for the spider to become loose. This is a bit trickier as it needs the speed of the water coming out of the hose to remain constant.

Results

We found the glue dot was most effective at keeping the Incy Wincy at the top of the pipe.

Pipe and spider for an Incy Wincy spider Science Investigation

More Incy Wincy Spider Science Ideas

Scratch Art Web

Make a colourful web scratch art picture. Simply use coloured crayons to colour over a piece of card. Then, crayon over the top of the colours with black crayon and scratch a web.

Black paint can also be used instead of crayons.

scratch art picture made using white card, coloured crayons and black crayon over the top of the colours.

How waterproof is it?

Make umbrellas for Incy Wincy using different materials to see which is the most waterproof. We sprayed the umbrellas with water to see which kept Incy driest.

three small umbrellas made with different materials - foil, felt and paper for a science activity. The umbrellas have pipe cleaner handles and plastic spiders attached to them

Spider Gloop

Add your spiders to a tray of cornflour goo. Try squeezing it. You should be able to make a solid ball. For younger children, try counting spiders, making pairs or sorting into different colours.