One of the better experiments I carried out with my son years ago, I also explained in detail on my relationships blog website.

He has in awe when I was able to show him an egg inside a milk bottle. I remember that same feeling when I was a boy with my own father and it’s a simple trick done with a boiled egg and dropping a small piece of paper inside the bottle that you light with a match.

Mechanically, light the paper, drop it into the milk bottle, place the hard boiled egg on top of the bottle and watch the egg get sucked into the bottle. The reasoning? It’s all to do with vacuum. The fire uses up the oxygen, creating the vacuum and this sucks the egg inside.

The only downside to the fun experiment is getting the egg back out. Say good-bye to at least one milk bottle. Look out for more experiment explanations on my kid’s relationship forum as well. If you’ve got any of your own father – son experiments that you had fun with when you were a child, please do let me know.

Sciencetellers get Jersey City school children to pay attention in science class
Earlier this month, a private elementary school in Jersey City hosted a special presentation by the Sciencetellers, a group that teaches kids science by combining experiments and interactive storytelling.
Read more on El Nuevo

Kids can explore science at Hancock Friday night
Clinton Bersuch Children and their parents had a chance to explore different experiments set up throughout the Hancock College science building during the first “Friday Night Science” event Feb. 25. The evening’s theme was optics.
Read more on The Santa Ynez Valley News

Science education lacking in Md.
For all its research universities, biotech parks and technology companies, Maryland hasn’t been effective in educating its children in science, national tests and competitions show. The problem begins in elementary school, where most teachers aren’t trained to teach science, and continue through middle and high schools, which often don’t have equipment or enough teachers to conduct experiments …
Read more on Baltimore Sun

Science Fair showcases experiments of Urbana Middle School students
Ian Davis, 12 (center) tries Caleb Kast’s (right) “Electric Wire Obstacle Course” as Beau Marwaha, 14, looks on from behind at the Urbana Middle School Science Fair on March 3.
Read more on Mount Airy Gazette

Whether you are looking for a simple science experiment or a difficult one there are many types of projects you can choose from. If you have a younger child one of the most popular free science experiments out there is the balloon attraction experiment. You will need 2 or more balloons, string, a sweater with wool on it, shallow pan of water and small torn pieces of paper. You will need to blow the balloons up and tie them off with a string. You will then charge the balloons by rubbing them against the sweater. You will then need to bring the balloon close to the water without touching it and see what effect the balloons have with the water.

Make sure that you have a set of questions you have written up before performing this project so that you can answer them.

If you have an older child there are some more difficult free science experiments you can do as well. When it comes to the science fair it does not have to be a stressful time for students it can be something fun that allows a parent and child together while learning something new. You also do not have to limit these times to once a year because you have the ability to do them whenever you want and it can really help in allowing a child to always be learning.

When it comes to finding your free science experiments the Internet is your biggest resource that allows you to choose from thousands of different experiments. The hardest part of the experiment is going to be finding one to choose because you will want to do them all.

If you are looking for more great info on science projects Dave Gorski recommends: http://www.squidoo.com/kids-science-activities

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Experiment One: Sink or Float

Using a sink or bucket outside if you prefer fill with water leaving approximately 5cm empty. Collect some common objects e.g. a nail, pencil, raw egg, ruler, apple, toy boat, paperclip and a rubber Ball. Draw up a table with 3 columns with the headings ITEM, SINK and FLOAT. Predict whether the item will sink or float in one colour or with a tick. Place each item slowly into the water and record on your table what actually happens (use a different colour or cross). Try some different objects and add them to your list – do you get better with your predictions? When you finish the experiment try using a science book or website to investigate why you got the results you did for each object.

Experiment Two: Quick Grip Reflex

All you need for this experiment is a ruler (preferably 30cm), pen and paper and one or more friends.

1) Grasp the ruler with your thumb and forefinger at the end with the highest measurement.
2) Hold the ruler at head level with your arm extended away from your body.
3) Ask one of your friends to try to catch the ruler with their fingers as you drop the ruler.
4) Your friend positions their thumb and pointer finger (slightly open) at the lower end of the ruler.
5) Release the ruler and get ready to record their results.
6) Write down the measurement where your friends thumb grabbed the ruler.
7) Try this with the rest of your friends and record their results.
Now let one of your friends hold the ruler and let you have a go.

Who had the quickest reaction? The person who catches the ruler at the lowest end of the ruler has the fastest reflexes. Which sense are you using to try and catch the ruler? Hint: Sight

Experiment Three: Volcano

Use can use baking soda and vinegar to create an awesome chemical reaction! You will need some baking soda (important to make sure it’s not baking powder),vinegar, a large container and a cloth or some paper towels just in case you make a big mess! Perhaps consider this as an outside activity!

Instructions:

1. Place some of the baking soda into your container.
2. Pour in some of the vinegar
3. Watch as the reaction takes place!

What’s happening? The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base while the vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid. When they react together they form carbonic acid which is very unstable, it instantly breaks apart into water and carbon dioxide, which creates all the fizzing as it escapes the solution.

Why not have a go at making a volcano using your craft skills and give a volcano demonstration at a science fair – don’t forget some red food colouring to be really impressive!

Experiment Four: Raw or Boiled Egg?

How do you tell the difference between an egg that is raw and one that is hardboiled without breaking them? Answer: It’s all in the gravity! For this experiment you will need two eggs, one hard-boiled and one raw of course. Make sure that the hard-boiled egg has been in the fridge long enough to be the same temperature as the raw egg or your experiment may not work properly.

Instructions:

1. Spin the eggs and watch what happens, one egg should spin while the other should wobble.
2. You can also try lightly touching each of the eggs while they are spinning, one should stop quickly while the other will keep moving after you have touched it.

What happened? The raw egg’s centre of gravity changes as the white and yolk move around inside the shell, causing the wobbling motion. Even after you touch the shell lightly it will continue to move. This is because of inertia causing the raw egg to spin even after you have stopped it. In contrast the hard-boiled egg spins rather than wobbles and will stop when you touch it because of the solid white and yolk.

Older children can be encouraged to write up their experiments in a notebook by writing an equipment list, a method, recording their results and then writing a discussion to explain what happened.

To further your child’s interest in learning all about science in a fun and exciting way visit Discovery Science Toys for some fantastic and great value educational gift ideas.

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As a homeschooling family we have questioned, “What have been the things that we look back on with fond and treasured memories in Science?” It is either the hands-on nature walks and finding animals, or the fun in setting up and doing an experiment with great results. Many of the experiments my children have enjoyed have been totally unrelated to any science text we may have been following at the time. Most of the successful ‘science’ messes have sprung up from their own interest and trying to solve a question which they have posed themselves. (Like fixing a cheap toy and making it far better than it ever was.) So, how do we encourage our children to play around with Science?

Ask them Questions

Firstly, ask your children questions without giving away the answer. If you are working through a text which has science experiments, present the question to them and do not read or let them read what sorts of results they should be getting from performing the experiment. Ask them questions during the experiment and after it – what do you think would happen if we changed x,y or z? Ask them questions about life – about their physical environment or why things happen? Ask them the curious questions before they ask you. And then let them think and ponder about it. It does not mean that you should never give answers, but at the same time, do not rush in – give them time first. When answering, relate the answer to their current experience. And remember, it is okay to admit you do not know the answer – that can become an ideal time to discuss how to research and find answers we are looking for.

Let them Experiment

Let them play with all sorts of things around the home and experiment. Using a book or Science course will give you ideas about exciting science experiments. There are also a ton of books at the library that will interest your children or even using an online Science Curriculum which is full of really cool science experiments. I have found experiment instructions on video to be an excellent tool also. We all love watching as others use all sorts of common household materials, (and some that you need to buy), and this inspires me as well as my children. In fact, some recent experiments we have see online have been the recent catalyst for a whole heap of hovercraft experiments which in turn has motivated my other children to fiddle with a toy gun changing it from a gun using air pressure to one using spring mechanics.

Be prepared, Grow a collection of Science Tools and Encourage Mess

If you want your children to experiment, you will need to accept and even encourage mess.

Set up some boxes where you keep all sorts of odds and ends which will come in handy for science experiments.

You will need materials like rubber bands, straws, pipe cleaners, paper clips, balloons, popsicle sticks.  You will also need tools and materials to bind items together like sticky tape, masking tape, hot glue gun, super glue, rope or string, stapler and staples, hole punch, scissors.

Then you will also need to collect some clean junk – bottle tops, soda bottles, clean cans, bottle lids, icecream containers and cardboard boxes of all sizes.

Perhaps you can create a Science Corner – filled with experiment books and all the materials, and a table to work on.

Allow for mistakes

Every Science experiment does not need to work perfectly and make sure your children know that. When an experiment does not work the way they had hoped, ask them, “What did you learn from that?” “What might you do differently next time?” “Why do you think that happened?”

Be Curious alongside of them, but do not take over

When your children are in the middle of a project or have completed it, they love to have a fan club. As they become more independent, they may not need you to set up an experiment or help them do it, but they really want to share their enthusiasm with an interested party – like their family and parents! So, let them inspire you – cheer them on as they set up an experiment – ask them questions so they can verbalize what is happening and why – problem solve with them – search out answers together, BUT do not take over. As parents we have the tendency to ruin the child-led learning experience and make it a full-blown lesson. We want to run with their idea because we can see how it will make a wonderful ‘unit study’ and so we plan, get books, blah, blah, blah, and run off with all of our great ideas, but meanwhile our children have turned the corner, lost interest and moved on. It does not matter! Even if their interest in that topic may have been short lived, another experiment at a later date will most likely, help to reinforce the science concept.

So, do what you need to do to excite your children about Science. Be curious, ask questions, encourage messes, grow a collection of Science Tools and find materials to help you. Enjoy the learning experience together.

Written by Marianne V from http://www.design-your-homeschool.com/index.html

Looking for Science Experiment ideas? You can find some easy and totally ‘cool’ science experiments as well as links to science experiments on video, plus two free Science Experiment Ebooks (A Science Experiment Guide usually valued at $25, and a Science Activity Manual and Video Guide valued at $30) at the link above.

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