Here at Science Sparks, we love to learn about the weather. This weather station from KidzLabs is a great easy way to learn about weather and the greenhouse effect. All you need to add to the kit is a plastic bottle and, optionally a small plant. The kit is very easy to build and attaches…
This week we are investigating why balls bounce and how different balls bounce differently on different surfaces. Balls bouncing seems like a simple concept, but the science behind it is quite complicated, so please bear in mind that we have simplified it for our audience. I asked the children to choose three balls of different…
Growing cress is great for a fun, fast, educational gardening project. Cress is inexpensive, easy to grow and a fantastic way to teach children about germination and the conditions needed for healthy plants to grow. We grew our cress caterpillar in an egg box and watered the seeds a little each day. How to grow…
I wanted to get my children thinking about the process of investigation today, so we talked about how we could test whether some structures were stronger than others using DUPLO. They decided to build three different shaped towers and test them by rolling a ball at them. The first is a simple tower, the second…
When I brought out the spaghetti and marshmallows, I think my children thought we were having some kind of weird and wonderful dinner, not building structures. This is a great STEM activity for children of most ages, as you can tailor it to their understanding. I let my 2-year-old build whatever she wanted, and she…
Today we are looking at the difference between things being wet and dry. This investigation is so simple I did it with my 18 month old,  who loved dipping her fingers in the different pots and saying ‘wet’, so it is a great preschool science activity but can also be extended for older children. What you…
Why does food rot? Have you ever noticed that if you leave an apple (or any fruit ) for too long, it starts to rot or decay? This can lead to significant food waste, so it’s important to understand how to store food items to keep them as fresh as possible. Why does food rot?…
This is a brilliant investigation for finding out how waterproof different materials are. I printed a picture of a chicken and asked the children to colour it in, then gave them a selection of materials to protect the chicken from water. What you need Instructions Place the squares of material over the picture. Sprinkle water…
Make a yummy Baked Alaska and learn at the same time. Mmmmm, Ice-cream is one of my and my children’s favourite foods. On its own straight out of the tub, or on top of a cone or with a pudding, it is just yummy, but we all know what happens if you leave ice cream…
Today we are looking at filtering. Instead of using a standard sieve or colander and sieving foodstuffs I thought we’d use toys to make a fun toy sorter filter! How to make your own toy sorter We found some old cardboard boxes and cut different sized holes in each one. Then I asked the children…
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