St. Patrick's Day Fizzing Shamrocks and Other Rocks Too

Baking soda and vinegar make an appearance for St. Patrick's Day.  This time with hidden gold coins inside.  Tell kids a leprechaun left them behind.  Fun at home with kids has this version.

Good for ages 2 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2013/02/help-leprechaun-find-his-gold-day-two.html

Gifts of curiosity hides hers in the backyard for the kids to find and then has them help "clean" them.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/magic-leprechaun-rocks-st-patricks-activity/

Growing a jeweled rose molds hers into shamrock clovers and uses a rainbow of colored vinegar, hiding glass gems inside hers as well.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/02/rocks-for-kids.html

Pennies for St. Patrick's Day

A fun science experiment for St. Patrick's Day, the growing room dresses pennies up in green with salt and vinegar.  Pennies take a week to process.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.thegrowingroom.org/page.cfm?p=1783&eid=882

Fizzy Surprise Rocks

Baking soda hides hidden objects which kids can uncover with water as they fizz and release whatever treasures you've hidden inside, thanks to growing a jeweled rose.

Good for ages 6 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/01/magic-treasure-rocks.html

New Year's Eve Countdown

Vinegar and baking soda make for a fun and fizzy countdown from inspired by family mag.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://inspiredbyfamilymag.com/2012/12/27/new-years-eve-countdown-activity-for-kids/

Newton's First Law Experiment

Ordinary life magic shares a fun science experiment using everyday household objects to showcase Newton's first law.  They even do one with 4 eggs instead of one.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.ordinarylifemagic.com/2010/01/newtons-first-with-raw-eggs.html

Salt and Ice Science Experiment

Putti prapanca has a fun science experiment showing the effect of salt on ice. She uses 2 chunks of ice, food coloring for fun and regular salt. You could also try different kinds of salt to see if any work differently as well.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.puttiprapancha.com/2012/02/ice-and-salt-art.html

Anna reyner has a fun science project for a hot summer day.  Kids take frozen chunks of ice and sprinkle on large chunks of salt which melts the ice creating what she calls ice tunnels.  She then suggests adding food coloring to the holes and watching the color flow through the ice as the tunnels are formed.

Get the instructions here:
http://annareyner.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/ice-tunnels-bring-on-the-summer-fun/

Creative jewish mom makes a really large chuck on ice.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2011/08/science-experiment-for-kids-ice-and-kosher-salt-sculptures.html

How to Build a Worm Habitat

Spell outloud has a fascinating project for how to watch and observer worms using a 2 liter plastic bottle, worms and dirt. It seems kind of gross but it's really almost meditative watching them wiggle their way through.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.spelloutloud.com/2012/04/observing-worms-with-preschoolers/

Upcycled Rain Gauge

My lds projects turns a plastic bottle into a rain gauge using small pebbles.  She even includes observation templates. 

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://myldsprojects.blogspot.com/2011/05/bear-cub-scout-elective-2c-rain-gauge.html

Volcano Gun Fights

No time for flash cards shares a new take on the exploding baking soda and vinegar experiment.  She fills a water gun with vinegar and food coloring.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/08/squirt-gun-volcanoes-science-experiment-for-kids.html

Playdoh Layers of the Earth

Jill dubien has a very cute idea for earth day using red, orange, yellow, black, blue and green playdoh creating mini Earths accounting for all of the layers.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.meetthedubiens.com/2011/04/playdoh-planet-earth-and-some-babbling.html

Liquid Density Experiment

Steve sprangler science takes the separation of oil and water to the next level adding 5 other liquids to stack them bay desnity.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/seven-layer-density-column 

Kids Tornado Experiment

Ellie moon shares a fun science experiment where kids can create a tornado in a jar using water and dish soap and some really good shaking.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://elliemoon.typepad.com/blog/2012/02/tornado-in-a-jar-diy.html

We made that shares a version as well.

Get the instructions here:
http://we-made-that.com/tornado-in-a-bottle/ 

Juggling with kids jazzes her version up with glitter and food coloring.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.jugglingwithkids.com/2012/03/tornado-in-jar.html

Make a Penny Battery

Instructables has a really cool tutorial for how to make a battery out of a stack of pennies, lemon juice, sand paper, tape and an led to power.

Good for ages 12 and up.

Get the instructions here:
 http://www.instructables.com/id/Miller-Penny-battery/

Ice Rainbows

5 orange potatoes has a science experiment freezing food colored water into plastic molds and then melting them in oil.  She calls it melting rainbows.  She also suggests melting them onto paper towels.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.5orangepotatoes.com/blog/2009/03/10/melting-rainbows/

Elephant Toothpaste Experiment

Preschool powol packets posted instructions for how to make what she calls elephant toothpaste.  The experiment calls for hydrogen peroxide so you'll need to do the experiment for the kids, but it's still a great way to talk about chemical reactions and the scientific process.

Get the instructions here:
http://preschoolpowolpackets.blogspot.com/2012/01/science-experiment-elephant-toothpaste.html  

We made that has a version as well.

Get the instructions here:
http://we-made-that.com/elephant-toothpaste-experiment/

Navigating by joy has a three ingredient version with optional food coloring.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.navigatingbyjoy.com/2013/02/16/elephants-toothpaste-fun-with-catalysts/

Colorophyll

Ms. laura shares a great photo of a lettuce leaf and food colored water to demonstrate how water travels through a plant.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mslaura/4023084459/

Paint cut paste has a similar experiment using white carnations.

Get the instructions here:
http://paintcutpaste.com/color-changing-carnations/ 

All for kids has a non nature version of this experiment using tissue paper.

Get the instructions here:
http://allforkids.tv/episode-guide/season-4/episode-37/absorbing-science/

Apple green cottage has the same experiment.

Get the instructions here:
http://applegreencottage.blogspot.com/2015/01/walking-water-experiment-with-colors.html

Kids Science - How Fast Will it Flow?

Science sparks has another great science experiment.  This time hypothesizing and testing how fast different liquids will flow compared with each other.  You'll need a stop watch and tape measure to record the kids observations.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.science-sparks.com/2012/04/23/viscosity-races-investigating-the-flow-of-liquids

Grow a Pineapple Plant

Ricks woodshop creations has a very detailed tutorial for how to grow a pineapple plant. The best part is that it looks like a pinepple/palm tree.

Good for ages 9 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.rickswoodshopcreations.com/Pineapple/pineapple.htm

Grow an Avocado Tree

Avocado.org has instructions to grow your own avocado tree. Kids will love seeing the pit grow roots and leaves. They even have a troubleshooting guide in case things go awry.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://www.avocado.org/grow-your-own-tree/

Growing Salt Crystals

The chemistry channel of about.com has instructions on how to grow crystals from epsom salt. All you need is warm water and the salt which you can find in the laundry section of most stores. You can also add food coloring for fun or a sponge to have a base.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/growingcrystals/ht/epsomcrystal.htm

 

Kix cereal creates the crystals in a plastic lid for hanging and demonstrates them in a video.