My boys have enjoyed playing ‘scientist’ lately. It only takes me a few minutes to set up some simple experiments for them and they will engage in exploring with the materials for a long period of time. A recent favorite of ours includes basic household items such as various sized bowls, cups, and spoons as well as basic kitchen ingredients including baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. Additionally I saved some plastic packaging that held cannoli shells which worked perfectly for this type of activity. However you could use any type of container that has several small compartments in it. We also have a set of test tubes and eye droppers, although it’s fun for kids to mix baking soda and vinegar using any type of utensils/materials so no need to replicate exactly as pictured here. 🙂
I filled some of the compartments with water and some with vinegar. I colored some of them with dye and left some of them clear. First the kids experimented with mixing colors:
After they mixed colors for a while, I gave them some test tubes with baking soda in them as well as a random assortment of small bowls, containers, cups, and spoons. We even had some empty salt shakers that I filled with baking soda for them to use. I stood back and let them explore the materials completely on their own. I enjoyed watching them make new discoveries and listening to them explain what was happening as they mixed ingredients.
As they continued to explore it was neat to see the new curiosities that arrived such as ‘what will happen if I shake this one?’ or ‘what happens if I add these two together?’. There were no limitations placed on what they could mix or how the could mix and and the only variable was some of the liquid was water and some was vinegar. They quickly learned what made the bubbly reaction occur!
I purchase vinegar and baking soda in bulk at Costco for cleaning and for laundry so we almost also have some on hand. Also purchasing in bulk at Costco saves money (and packaging) making this a relatively inexpensive activity for kids to do. Another added bonus is that it will make your table super clean! Just be careful of the dye because it does stain.
Explore and have fun encouraging your little scientist(s)! 🙂
-Sarah
Tags: baking soda and vinegar, eye droppers, fun science, mixing colors, science activities for children, science experiments
