At Home Science Experiments your Kids will love

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.

Our Top 6 Tips to Navigate Remote Learning At Home

Remote learning and Covid-19 have really changed the way in which we are engaging kids with regard to learning. It also has royally messed up the routines and roles that we have relied on as. As parents, we are used to balancing schedules, multi-tasking, setting boundaries, and generally supporting our children....but remote learning is different.

Kids have missed considerable learning already in the spring, and the adjustments to learning in a virtual world just don’t work for everyone. At KSL we have over 10 years of experience engaging kids in person and with remote learning.  We wanted to share a few best practices with you, with specific hands-on experiments you can do each week.

“Incorporate your own emotional health into your routine”

Here are our Top 6 Tips for Managing Remote Learning

1.    Know the Weekly Plan Ahead of Time.  Every Sunday, take a look are your child’s schedule for the week  Remote learning is challenging and it is even more challenging when you don’t know when/where you are supposed to be. This will help you and your child.  When a child misses something is can create significant internal stress for them

2.    Schedule a Specific Time to Help (15-30 minutes).  Schedule time during the day when you are available. Your child needs you and its far easier to manage a consistent 30 minutes of time, than to have a child constantly asking for your attention.  Setting time expectations will help them and you manage the day more effectively and support their social emotional week being.  Choose 1-2 times a day when your child knows you are available, it will help them and it will help you finish critical work on your plate.   

3.    Identify an Area and Non-Screen Activities for Breaks.  Identify an area of your home where kids can find hands-on activities that you approve. Provide random materials (no electronics) that a child can engage with everyday, and make it fun by creating an “unboxing” where it’s a surprise what is in that area to use. Puzzles, mixing salt and pepper, Legos, an old phone to take apart, painting, cardboard – with a build challenge.  It is far better to tell a child what they can do and where they can do it, then provide mystery materials for them to engage, than to have them wreck your home during their school breaks.

“We know that exercise, especially aerobic workouts like running, stimulates something called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which encourages the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus.”

4.    Give Kids a Break & Physical Activity.  Balance remote learning expectations with a child’s emotional needs.  Classroom teachers are spending considerable effort to provide creative learning opportunities that give kids a challenging, yet full, day of synchronous and asynchronous learning. However, 4+ hours of Google Meets, Zoom, Canvas or other video conferencing is a lot.  Kids need a break. a best practice is to let your child know what they can do when they need a break and give them a place they go for quiet or active engagement. A moment outside, paying catch for 10 minutes, doing some situps/pushups are all a good break. 

5.    Make your kids accountable.  Help your child learn to be accountable for some of their own learning.  Clearly younger kids need our support, however building confidence in kids comes with helping them learn to be accountable, as much as they can manage.  While it sounds simple, the best advice is to not put alerts on your phone to try to keep your kids on schedule, as it likely will drive you crazy at home.

6.    Give yourself a break. Incorporate your own emotional health into your routine. It’s hard enough being a parent and managing your career. Coronavirus has made it practically impossible by escalating all types of obvious and less visible stresses into our lives. It is critical that you gain peace as you can’t support your child without it. Take an online yoga class, do some breathing work, read a book, or exercise (even for 10 minutes) to escape the crazy.

We hope these tips help you navigate COVID a little better and stay tuned for ideas on projects you can do at home.

Why Confidence Matters

Confidence

I have been thinking quite a bit about this word lately because this feeling is so important in our lives.   It is such an interesting and thought provoking word.

We all want our kids to be confident and it is why we (as parents) constantly seek programs they will love – it might be music, soccer, gymnastics, dance, baseball, and science.  We want them to find their passion in life and to find it they have to be open to trying things that are hard, challenging, and sometimes scary. 

Confidence give us the courage to try something daunting, it gives us strength in moments of self doubt, it allows us to persevere when others (or our mind) tell us “you can’t”, and it allows us to find our passion. 

It turns out that there is data proving how critical and formative confidence can be in our lives.  What has been found is a concept called “relative deprivation” – basically how we feel about our abilities in relation to our peers. 

“What matters, in determining the likelihood of getting a science degree, is not just how smart you are. It’s how smart you feel relative to the other people in your classroom.”

— Malcolm Gladwell (Best Selling Author of Tipping Point, Blink)

Think about that quote for a second, the likelihood of graduating with a highly sought after degree, depends on how you feel about yourself.   How you feel about your abilities – your self-perception of your academic skills influences your willingness to tackle challenges, finish difficult tasks, and persevere.

And why does that matter? Well, we all want our kids to have a successful and meaningful career.  We cannot convince or motivate them to finish a STEM degree, but we can give them the tools to enjoy it and remain resilient in the face of the obstacles they will encounter.

“More than half of all American students who start out in science, technology, and math programs (STEM) drop out after their first or second year of college. Even though a science degree is just about the most valuable asset a young person can have in the modern economy.

That is a major reason that there is a shortage of qualified educated scientists and engineers in the United States.”

— Malcolm Gladwell (Best Selling Author or Tipping Point, Blink)

Which brings me full circle to Kids Science Labs.  As parents, it is very cool to see the amazing projects our kids create each week and to hear them speak about concepts like “viscosity” & “tension” that they really have a handle on.  What is harder to comprehend are the long term benefits of exposing kids to science and problem solving when they are young and their most creative.  And allowing them to tinker, innovate, make mistakes, and create their own designs.  

There is something about solving a problem that is deeply satisfying – from fixing a leak to understanding integrals.  This can happen during the little moments at home when we encourage our kids to keep trying to solve a problem or finding programs where our kids are both challenged and feel safe to make mistakes.  Confidence to solve problem matters and it can be one of the most valuable investments you make in your children.   

As my 5 yr old daughter said to me one Friday night when I asked her why she wanted to build an airplane, “because Daddy…..I am a builder and a scientist”.   That moment will always be with me as a Dad.

At Home Easy Science Experiments for Kids, That Everyone Can Do!

DIY Home Easy Science Experiments for Kids

It sure is cold in Chicago with -20 degree temperatures outside. Since we are all trapped inside, we thought it would be helpful to share three at home science ideas which will keep your kids off the screens, interested, and learning. When thinking of easy science experiments for kids, we have hundreds to share as family friendly science experiments.

DIY Home Easy Science Experiments for Kids

Let’s start with an easy science experiment that offers families things to do in Chicago with kids.

Fort Building - #1 Easy Science Experiment for Kids

A fort can be a special place to read a book, play games, share stories with friends, or keep us warm in this cold weather.  The cool thing is this project is filled with hidden science (stability, measurement, design trade offs, cross bracing) and most importantly fun.

Build a fort, you can do it! Take some of your blankets, old amazon boxes, nearby furniture, and a cool lantern to create a space that is warm cozy and insulated from the freezing weather outside. It is also a magical place for imagination, creativity, and a place your kids can call their own.

This is a great way to challenge your kids with questions and encourage them to create. Can you make an entrance into your fort without all of the cold seeping in? How can you use your imagination to think about house design - do you want a secret storage area, skylight, retractable roof, windows, different rooms, a living room with a couch and book holder.

P.S. - if you want full instructions on how to create a fort, check out our Nov 2017 blog past

Melt the Cold Snow - #2 Easy Science Experiment for Kids

Have you ever wondered what was in the back of the big snowplows that drive down the snow covered streets?   The trucks are full of salt and sand to not only help give grip to the road so cars don’t slip and slide, but also to help melt the snow (by lowering the freezing temperature of water).  Test it out at home by scooping up some of the cold snow outside in a cup or bowl.  Add small pinches of salt at a time to see what happens to the snow?  Does it stay cold and solid? Does it melt?   What other kitchen items can you melt the snow with?  Should we put ketchup on our streets?

DIY Science Experiment #3: Snowballs are cool, so is playdoh, so here is an Easy Science Experiment for Elementary Students

How about designing your own playdoh? This is a great hands on experiment that won’t mess up the house too much.

If I bring snow in from outside, it would be too cold to play with and melt.  There is something we all can create which is fun to play with that is kind of like snow. Try making a simple dough batter out of Flour, Salt, water and a little oil.  Experiment with the different ratios of flour and water to find the perfect dough.  Can you make a snowman that doesn’t melt?

If you love these ideas, you will love our STEM Programs for Kids and Summer Camps at Kids Science Labs.

If you are looking for more easy science experiments, check them out here: