Science for kids

Age 4 - 6 | Design and Technology | Early Years Science | Everyday Materials | Materials and their Properties | Understanding of the World

What’s the best material for a Superhero cape?
ByEmma Vanstone June 10, 2014July 16, 2021

Every Superhero needs a cape, but which material flies best in the wind? this super simple science activity allows kids to channel their inner superhero and make the perfect flowing cape! This activity is also part of my playful science series full of simple and playful science for kids! Superhero Cape Experiment Challenge – to make…

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Age 4 - 6 | Biology | Early Years Science | Scientific Enquiry | Understanding of the World

Playing Detective – add some science to role play
ByEmma Vanstone April 2, 2014November 23, 2023

This post is all about adding a bit of science sparkle to role-play. The activities should hopefully add a stimulating and educational twist to an already fun game. My little boy is usually a bit reluctant to join in with role-play games, but if I add in a task or some props, he is much…

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Age 4 - 6 | Biology | Early Years Science | Plants | Understanding of the World

Why do plants need water?
ByEmma Vanstone March 25, 2014May 7, 2024

A few days ago, we noticed that one of our little pumpkin plants on the window sill had wilted. The soil looked dry, so we watered the plant, and after a few hours, it was standing lovely and straight again. This got us wondering why plants need water. Why do plants need water? Plants need…

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Age 4 - 6 | Age 7 - 10 | Everyday Materials

Making Music with Red Ted Art
ByEmma Vanstone February 27, 2014March 27, 2025

I’m very happy to welcome back Maggy from Red Ted Art today with a guest post about the Science of Music. I love Maggy’s blog because she makes everything so pretty, whereas I only manage functional items. Maggy has made “shooters” and explained roundabouts in previous posts, but today, it’s all about making music! You could…

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Age 4 - 6 | Early Years Science | Everyday Materials | Physics | Science Experiments for Kids | Understanding of the World

Exploring forces with bubble wrap
ByEmma Vanstone February 26, 2014November 21, 2023

We’ve done a couple of simple activities based around forces recently, so when a sheet of bubble wrap arrived in a parcel, I knew just how to use it. We laid the bubble wrap sheet flat on the floor and talked about what we wanted to investigate and what we expected to happen. Bubble Wrap…

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Kitchen Science | Preschool Science

How to make plastic milk
ByEmma Vanstone February 18, 2014February 15, 2023

Plastic milk was one of the first experiments I posted on Science Sparks when the kids were little. It was a lovely sensory experience for them at the time, but they obviously couldn’t understand what was happening; with that in mind, we revisited the activity with the addition of some food colouring. I didn’t measure…

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Christmas Science | Holiday Science

Christmas Sinking and Floating
ByEmma Vanstone December 12, 2013October 17, 2023

We’ve done lots of sinking and floating activities before, but today, we tried it with a Christmas twist. This is another fun and super simple Christmas science activity for little ones. Just grab some decorations you don’t mind getting wet ( or make them waterproof first by wrapping them in foil or plastic ). Christmas…

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Chemistry

Viscosity and Jelly Science Investigation
ByEmma Vanstone November 17, 2013September 20, 2024

We recently tried exploring the viscosity of fluids using water, oil, golden syrup and honey. The main problem we had was that for some of the liquids, the marble dropped too fast for us to record the time. With this in mind, we decided to try the same experiment with different strength jellies. I made…

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Christmas Science | Holiday Science

Magnetic Christmas Tree STEM
ByEmma Vanstone November 13, 2013November 7, 2024

Following the same principle as our mini magnet maze, is this very cool Christmas tree. The cardboard baubles have a paperclip attached to them that can be moved around the green tree with a magnet. Make a Magnetic Christmas Tree You’ll need Instructions Remember – not all metals are attracted to magnets, but iron and…

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Autumn Science Experiments | Early Years Science | Seasonal Science | Understanding of the World

15 Science Experiments for Autumn and Fall
ByEmma Vanstone November 5, 2013September 20, 2024

Autumn is such a great time of year. I love the colourful leaves underfoot and the first hint of winter. To celebrate the changing seasons, I’ve pulled together a wonderful collection of Fall Science Experiments suitable for kids of all ages. Fall Science Experiments for Kids First up is this lovely fall sensory rice tray….

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