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 for 5 different investigations.

I also have lots of FREE printable science experiment instruction sheets you can download which would be a great addition.

These would make a great science gift for Christmas or a birthday!

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 (UK )

Pipette ( US )

Skittles

Pom poms

Elastic bands

Lolly sticks

Filter paper ( US )

Filter paper ( UK )

Film Canisters ( UK )

Film Canisters ( US )

Effervescent vitamin tablets – give these to an adult

Ping pong balls ( US )

Ping pong balls ( UK )

Instructions

Place all items in a shoebox sized box. We made the catapult, but you could include the sticks and elastic bands and direct the recipient to a set instructions for how to build it. See our video catapult instructions here.

Experiments included

Static Electricity

Use: Tissue paper, balloon

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

See this post for more details about static electricity experiments.

Colourful Skittles

Use: Skittles, white plate, water

Watch the colours dissolve into water with this easy candy science activity.

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.

Film Canister Rockets

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

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

Lolly Stick Catapult

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