Four Fun At-Home Science Experiments For Toddlers and Preschoolers
It’s no secret that our little ones enjoy any activity that involves touching, tasting, smelling, or watching how one thing can change into another. Just like Lab Scientists, we can create and observe experiments right in the comfort of our homes, as we awaken the Little Einstein that lives in each one of our children! Using simple ingredients that we can find tucked away in our kitchen cupboards; let’s explore 4 toddler and preschool friendly science activities that I’m sure will be a hit for the little people in your life!
1. Sensory Rain Clouds
Materials:
· A glass or a mason jar
· Shaving cream
· Water
· Food colouring
· Dropper or straw
Instructions: Fill your glass or jar up to ¾ with water and add your shaving cream to the top to create the fluffy cloud. Then, mix some food colouring with water, and add the blue drops to the “cloud”. The blue “rain drops” will fall through the cloud and make rain!
Practice: Fine motor skills while using the droppers, and some sensory fun with the shaving cream clouds
2. Lava Lamp Experiment
Materials:
· Vegetable oil
· Glass cup
· Water
· Gel neon food colouring
· Original alka seltzer tablets
Instructions: Fill your glass cup 2/3 of the way with vegetable oil, then fill the rest up with water. Add drops of food colouring to your oil and water and then, add a tablet of alka seltzer and the magic begins! You may drop more than one tablet to continue the experiment.
Practice: Fine motor skills with pouring and dropping, and approximate measurements.
3. What Melts in the Sun?
Materials:
· Muffin tin
· A lego
· Ice
· Wooden block
· A rock
· Butter
· A cube of cheese
· A marble
· A quarter
· A square of chocolate
· Crayons
· A cut off bar of soap
Instructions: On a warm sunny day, place the tray with all of its materials out in the sun and time it for 10 minutes. Additionally, you
can create a chart to record your results. Label the chart with the object, and beside it write the questions, “do you think it will melt?”, and “did it melt”. Watch and see what each object will do!
Practice: Predicting, recording, and observing experiments.
4. Magic Milk Experiment
Materials:
· Cow milk
· Liquid food colouring
· Dish soap in a small bowl
· Cotton swabs
Instructions: Pour a thin layer of milk into a shallow pan and ask the children to drop food colouring all around the milk. Take a cotton swab and dip it into the bowl of dish soap, then place cotton swab into the milk and hold for 15 seconds. Fun fact: The dish soap will break up the
fat molecules in the milk, which will be visible to you with the help of the food colouring.
Practice: Fine motor skills with cotton swabs, and observing changes in the milk with colours and texture.
Children are always seeking adventure and exploration of the environment around them, even at such a young age! Science is a brilliant way to be intentional about being a part of that learning experience with them at home, as we find value in materials that we may easily overlook. Let’s get our hands dirty and feed their curious minds with these 4 affordable activities that are priceless in knowledge!
