Science Through Play

04 Apr 2017 Comments

Learning Science Through Play

Coming up with new and great play ideas for little ones is no easy feat. I am one of those parents who isn’t great at sitting idle and am always on the lookout for fun things to do. The only problem is, my daughter is just 15 months old and isn’t quite up to a lot of the activities...but I have fun anyway. Science experiments are my all-time favourite. There are so many new and different ones out there, and they are a great learning tool for littlies and put their inquisitive minds to the test. If you’re looking for some great ways to keep your kids entertained these school holidays, here are four great experiment ideas for your budding scientists:

Rainbow Skittles

Who can pass up an experiment that involves skittles!? Not me, that’s for sure. This one is lots of fun and so simple – all you need is some skittles, a plate and a glass of warm water. Line the skittles up on a plate. It looks pretty cool when you put them in a circle, as all the colours run into each other. You could also experiment with different shapes. Little hands will have lots of fun with this part (and it’s their chance to sneak a skittle or two in the process), plus it is great for their fine motor skills. Once the skittles are set up, grab a cup of warm water and slowly poor it onto the plate. Watch as all the colours run out of the skittles, creating an awesome rainbow.

Dying Flowers

This was a fun one I remember testing out when I was younger. Once again, nice and simple! You need a glass, some flowers (daisies work the best with their white petals) and some food colouring and water. You want to cut the stems of the daisies fairly short and at an angle. Fill up one glass with water and add a couple of drops of food colouring. Give it a stir and place the daisy in. You can set up three or four glasses with different colours. Leave them overnight (yes, this takes a little patience), and wake up to rainbow flowers.

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Bicarbonate of Soda and Vinegar

This one is sure to excite the kids. Grab a tray from the kitchen and cover the bottom with bicarbonate of soda – be generous! Pour vinegar into a couple of separate dishes and dye each one a different colour. Grab an eye dropper, or just a teaspoon, and encourage your little one to pick up some of the vinegar and squirt or splash it onto the bicarbonate of soda. Watch their eyes light up as the fizzy reaction occurs. Kids find this so exciting.

Walking Water

This experiment is so easy to set up and is nice and visual so the kids will love watching it unfold. All you need are three empty glasses, paper towel, water and food colouring. Fill two of your glasses three quarters of the way up with water. Add a different food colouring to each of them and line them up with the empty glass in the middle. Grab two sheets of paper towel and fold them in quarters lengthways. Put one end in the coloured glass and the other in the empty one. Do the same to the other coloured glass. Watch as the water soaks up in the paper towel and ‘walks’ over to the other the middle one. It will keep going until all the glasses are equal. You can have a lot of fun with this experimenting with different colours and mixing them to create new colours. It’s a great lesson for your kids in the process.

Any activities you like to do? Share with us below!

Felicity Frankish

Tags: Kids' Activities

Felicity Frankish

Felicity Frankish is married and a mum-of-one to a little girl, living in the suburbs of Sydney. Having worked with children all her life and also having a great a love for writing, Felicity combined her two passions when she was on maternity leave and set up her own parenting blog: The Baby Vine. She survives day to day on coffee, loves keeping busy, and enjoys getting out an about on her...

Science Through Play