Make your own science kit

Last year I made some very simple homemade science kits for my children to give to friends who love science. Each kit contained the materials and instructions for 5 different investigations.

I also have lots more FREE printable science experiment instruction sheets you can download, which would be a great addition to any homemade science kit.

This little kit makes an excellent, inexpensive science gift for Christmas or a birthday.

My super scientist certificate is a lovely extra resource as well.

How to make your own science kit

materials for a homemade science kit in a cardboard box

What you’ll need to make a homemade science kit

Balloon

Tissue paper

Pipette

Skittles

Pom poms

Elastic bands

Lolly sticks

Filter paper

Film canisters

Effervescent vitamin tablets – give these to an adult

Ping-pong balls or pom poms

Instructions

Place all the items in a shoebox-sized box. I made the catapult, but another idea is to include the lolly sticks and elastic bands and direct the recipient to a set of instructions for building it. See my video catapult instructions here.

ideas for a homemade science kit. Includes lolly sticks, balloons, elastic bands, filter paper

Experiment ideas for a homemade science kit

Static Electricity

Use: Tissue paper, balloon

Cut up the tissue paper, blow up the balloon, rub it on hair or a jumper and hold over the tissue paper to pick it up.

See this post for more information about static electricity experiments.

static electricity investigation instruction sheet — **Static Electricity Experiment Instructions**

Colourful Skittles

Use: Skittles, white plate, water

Watch the colours dissolve into water with this easy candy science activity. This brilliant visual science activity is almost foolproof and looks fantastic every time.

Children can experiment by making different patterns with the skittles and using different water temperatures.

Skittles experiment instruction sheet — **Skittles Experiment Instructions**

Filter Paper Chromatography

Use: Filter paper, washable felt tip pens, pipette, water

Try some easy filter paper chromatography and investigate how many different colours are in each type of ink.

Darker coloured washable felt tip pens tend to work the best, but trying permanent ink is an idea for an extension task.

This type of chromatography will also work with skittles or other coloured sweets. Place a skittle in a little water and use a pipette to suck up the coloured water. Drop this on the filter paper as you do with the ink from a pen.

filter paper chromatography instructions

Film Canister Rockets

These are brilliant, explosive fun and a must-add to a science kit. Just add half an effervescent vitamin tablet to a film canister about ⅓ full of water, quickly add the lid, place the canister lid down on the floor and stand well back!

See more details and investigation ideas for film canister rockets here.

film canister rocket for part of a homemade science kit

Lolly Stick Catapult

Lolly stick catapults are easy to make ( see our YouTube video for full instructions ). We added a ping pong ball and some pom poms for our lucky recipients to use with the catapult. You could add a tape measure to measure how far each item travels and some paper cups to try to knock down.

Can you think of any other investigations we could easily add to our science kit?

I’ve also got some great ideas for mini science kits in this post.

Or how about boxing up the ingredients for making bath bombs?

You might also like my science books! These contain a minimum of 60 science activities and tests perfect for younger kids with help from an adult and older children with just a little supervision.