Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Good science experiments for kindergarteners?

My son is in kindergarten at a school that emphasizes STEAM. The kids have a half hour of science every day and do lots of hands on exploration. The kids sometimes go to a local park for a morning of hands-on science exploration. The teachers have noticed that my son is obsessed with science and loves to share information with others. They have asked him to choose and lead his own science activity at the next event. They want something hands-on where kids can explore on their own.

My son and I have been combing through our various science books and websites for ideas. I was also hoping that some of you might have recommendations for a project that your children did that was particularly good. Any ideas or resources?

Thank you!

I've been doing a lot of science with my son, but he is older. Since he is trying to get his activity badges for cub scouts in artist and scientist, I've been combining them wherever I can.

I would suggest extracting DNA from strawberries, but I had trouble with that one with a classroom full of 4th graders, so….

What about painting with acids and bases? Great way to teach fundamentals of chemistry, and you get cool paintings too

http://www.kidsplaybox.com/art-activities-for-kids-red-cabbage-art/

Here's a twist on the old vinegar and baking soda eruption experiment: http://www.learnplayimagine.com/2014/02/erupting-watercolor-absorption-art.html

Another one we'd done is spin art- it teaches Newton's First Law of Motion
http://casamarias.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/spin-art-in-motionpart-one.html

You can get some really cheap salad spinners from IKEA for $3 each…

What about a mixture and a solution activity?


You could have large bowls of stuff like different kinds of cereals and the children take small amounts from each bowl and place in a smaller bowl and mix them up....mixture

Then you could have them make a solution where they dissolve something in water (kool aid, etc.)

Provide them with the definitions and explanations

Or if you don't want to use food....a mixture could be done with Legos or blocks and solution could be done with water and food coloring

So this is more of a long term idea for you (not specific to what you're looking for at the moment), but it would be heavy on the science / engineering side of STEAM and might satiate his interest outside of class.

If he likes to build with LEGOs, he may enjoy the Junior FIRST LEGO Leagues. I just started a team for my kid (who is 7) with some of his friends. You build a model robot and then create a poster describing your model so that you can share it with others. It looks like a fun experience.

While the age range for the program is 6-9 year olds, FIRST considers the 6 part of the range to be "soft," meaning that if you have a kid who would enjoy the program and they are under 6, it's fine. All you would need is 1 additional kid and 1 additional adult to form a team. Or you could do something less formal but model the experience after Jr. FLL.

How about floating eggs in salt and fresh water?

Different types of bubbles? Maybe with tempera paint and the oil/salt bubbles (hopefully the link here works)I did it with a group of 3-5 year olds with great success - provision for turning the mixture into potions had to be made though....

https://www.highlightskids.com/science-experiment/bobbing-blobs-oil

btw how exciting, my science mad kid's school this term did monarch butterflies, they got to colour in a picture and watch a youtube video.

Bouyancy with plasticine shaped different ways is fun and easy, we did recycling paper at that age as well. When my kids were 2 and 4 the oldest nce fruit juice ice cubes were softer than standard ones so we made ice blocks out of plain water, salt and suger solutions and smashed them with hammers to see which was hardest then melted some in the sun and chucked some on a barbeque grill.

Litmus paper is always fun

That makes me really sad for your DD and her classmates.


That is one of the few activities I clearly remember from my elementary school years.

My son and it seems most kids this age and older love finding cool rocks (minerals). He could explain some physical properties of minerals. Easy stuff some are hard and some shiny. It seems where ever you are you can find a cool rock and it is fascinating.

My son did this about this age. We found some geode rocks he took as examples. Bust them open and see whats inside.

http://www.kidsloverocks.com/html/physical_properties_of_mineral.html

Kids' activity books by Williamson Publishing, available on amazon, include science themed activities. Several have earned Parent Choice Awards in previous years.

Not quite an experiment, but an exploration of a topic of interest to many kindergarteners: a "hands-on" resource in that children can use a computer and the various links at the Animal Learn website to explore animal anatomy and human anatomy. As with all internet resources, adult supervision is recommended.