Easy Science Experiments for Kids on TV

Friday, we had a chance to hang out with the great team on WGN and do some hands-on science experiments. It was a great morning, where we got to explore polymers, make slime, talk about chemical reactions, and how strong everyday materials (cups and cardboard) can be .

Each and every day, we are looking to enable the next generation of creative thinkers and science is a tremendous vehicle for learning how things work, especially for children 2-14 yrs old. Every class we teach starts with a question kids ask everyday, which we use to explore and focus on guiding them to find answers, instead of just telling kids something abstract in a science book. Bringing science to life with context makes it accessible, fun, and interesting.

We want to share some fun science experiments you can do at home. They are interactive, simple, fun, and hopefully we spark hours of fun.

How to Make Fluffy Slime for Kids?

We get it, slime is all the rage. What is very cool about slime is all the different combinations of materials that result in different viscous substances. Try different combinations of glue, shaving cream, baking soda, saline solution, food coloring and see what happens.

We will start you with an all-time favorite and let you and your kids take it from there. Create your own fully slime with the below:

Ingredients: 2/3 Cup Glue, 1/4 Cup Water, 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda, 2-3 cups Shaving Cream, 1.5 tablespoons saline solution (with boric acid)
Order of Mixing: (1) 2/3 Cup Glue, (2) Add Water and Baking Soda Solution, (3) Add Shaving Cream and mix thoroughly, (4) Add Food Coloring (5) Add Saline Solution and mix well.
Mixing: you will need to mix for 5-10 minutes (knead) after adding the Saline Solution. The slime will be sticky at first and will slowly become less and less sticky.
We recommend an adult mix the materials or be present when your child is mixing

Mentos and Coke - Cool Science with States of Matter

This one is pretty spectacular and we recommend Diet Coke (no sticky sugar) and a nice clear place outside. The idea is simple, how can we use the states of matter, which kids know as Solids, Liquids, an Gases, to demonstrate the release of carbon dioxide gas with candy.

A 2 liter of Diet Coke will do the trick. You can purchase a mentos dropper for the top of the bottle (or honestly dropping 3 mentos in quickly works just as well) and then move back fast :). You will create a 10ft+ fountain of greatness.

Forces and Motion - Easy Science Experiments for 1st -8th Graders

Most kids understand that every action, has a reaction. They also understand that its slippery on ice, so objects in motion need something to slow them down. This is a very fun challenge at home. A couple 6 ft pieces of foam insulation, easily purchased at Home Depot, some duck tape and a marble is all you need. This can be hours of fun creating and recreating tracks. We would recommend at least three 6 ft pieces of foam tubing.

Here are a couple of keys things to remember

Cut the foam tubing as straight as possible
Try to keep duck tape out of the track
Do not make the slope from the wall to the floor too steep
Don’t be afraid to leverage duck tape or boxes to keep the track stable

Here are some ideas for rollercoaster challenges (1) can you get a loop to work (2) how about jumps (3) angle the track sideways (4) how about adding hills (5) what is the greatest distance you can get the marble to travel.

Chemical Reactions that Kids Love

This one everyone can do at home. We all have baking soda and vinegar in the cabinets. Place the vinegar in one cup and the baking soda in the other. When you combine them, you are forming a chemical reaction. If you want to try to make it even better add some dish soap to the vinegar, mix, and then add it to a new cup of baking soda.

Ingredients Needed

Two small cups
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Dishsoap (optional)

We recognize that having fun is important, and while music, sports, other activities are indeed fantastic, children as young as 2 yrs old can experiment with science everyday from a popsicle that melts and why viscosity is cool. That's science. That's Kids Science Labs.

Why a CardboArd box is better than an xBox!

It is Friday after Thanksgiving, it's a long weekend and the family is trapped in the house. Now that sounds like a potential problem, ripe for being bored and getting into trouble. Rather than break out the video games, why not do something more inspiring…using that natural problem solver inside your kid to make something special.

Fortunately, in your house you have three of the most creative ingredients ever: you, your kids, and a cardboard box. That’s right, a cardboard box just might be the most creative material ever. You may have some cardboard boxes lying around after some Black Friday shopping. They can be put to great use to entertain your kids without “screen time”, all while encouraging their creativity.

So, let’s build something. Cardboard boxes can turn into just about anything. Not only can they enable your kids to design something, they will love constructing the project with you, learn that mistakes and iteration are cool, customize the inside of their very own space, and create a great family memory.

Even better, this isn’t that time intensive, nor does it require engineering expertise.

Here are the basic steps

Science Activities for Kids

Pick out a space in your house and be prepare to spend 1 hour – designing, laughing, taping, and having fun with your kids.
Come up with potential ideas – often this is the hardest step, some ideas are below.
Start with a drawing. Any drawing. Really. Just draw something
It is ok to make mistakes.
What do you need: Cardboard boxes, duck tape, scissors, a pensile, paper, a ruler, and a cutting surface.
Your final design will not be exactly as you envisioned. That is good.
Add some customization. Why is this important? This is where you can allow your children to have their imagination run wild.

Why is this a cool project? We all love being creative, but often in the rush of our day to day, don’t get the chance. Halloween is a great example, it allows us to be kids again, to be creative coming up with unique costumes. That doesn’t need to be constrained to one day a year

Xbox is cool, but creating something is even cooler and more memorable. Your kids may resist initially, but just wait until they are playing in their box creation 3 hours later.

Your kids will love their creation because it is theirs. Their design, their safe place, and place to dream. Not only does this project engage their creativity, but it allows all of us to practice design thinking, creating something from scratch, to have a vision, to create a prototype, to make mistakes, to use our creativity to problem solve, and to be proud of our creation.

Let’s design and create. Ready to build, let’s get rolling. Here is where to start. And don't worry, some pro-tips and examples for construction are below

Pick out a space in your house and be prepare to spend 1 hour – designing, laughing, taping, and having fun with your kids.
Come up with some potential ideas – often this is the hardest step. Prepared to be surprised. We have built: (1) rockets with boxes and old car seats, (2) homes with retracting roofs/lights/doors, (3) A secret escape room with water and food supplies, (4) reading rooms (5) boats, and (6) castles.
Start with a drawing. Any drawing. Really. Just draw something and have your kids draw something. It doesn’t need to be perfect and often it is better if it isn’t perfect.
It is ok to make mistakes. The hardest step is often getting started. Demonstrating to your kids that you are not a perfect artist or architect it a good thing, it gives them permission to make mistakes in life.
What do you need: Cardboard boxes, duck tape, scissors, a pensile, paper, a ruler, and a cutting surface.
Your final design will not be exactly as you envisioned. That is good. Welcome to design thinking and innovation. The first prototype is just that, it is great, imperfect, and teaches us how to do something better.
Add some customization. Why is this important, this is where you can allow your children to have their imagination run wild. Crayons and markers can represent TVs, iPads, control panels, doorbells, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, art on a wall.
Helpful tip: have a couple of holes in the ceiling or windows for airflow.

STEM Programs for Kids

Keys & Tips

Picture how the pieces will fit together
Have a cutting surface
Measure twice, cut once.
Never cut towards your body or with someone behind you
If the box isn’t big enough, no problem. Here are a couple of solutions (1) tape existing boxes together (2) home depot sells moving boxes for about $2.50 each (3) dollar tree has 2ft x 3ft foam board for $1.

Here are some pro-tips for building

Lay out of your materials – have a design on paper and in your head