We are having DS5 (almost 6)'s birthday party in two weeks. The theme is science but most of the guests are between 3 and 6 years old. We are planning to set up various stations with hands on experiments. I wanted to ask everyone here (since you are great resources) to suggest any experiments that I may not have already planned. So far we plan on doing:

-Egg sucked into a bottle
-Ooblec (cornstarch and water)
-Make our own silly putty
-Float and sink station (testing various objects and keeping a log)
-Conduction station (testing various objects and keeping a log)
-Eye Clops station (I love this toy, especially with a 50 inch TV)
-Milk, soap and food coloring

I think I need something with baking soda reaction but I'm not sure what would be the best for a party setting. Thoughts, suggestions?

Haha, a paper mache volcano!

Blow up a balloon with baking soda/vinegar



An aside--make sure none of the guests have food allergies! Some of these experiments would be a no-no for my kids.

Which allergies in particular would these experiments affect?

ETA: I know of one child with an allergy to pistachios.

oooh! volcanos are really cool - put red food color in a wine bottle with the baking soda and you get LAVA!

also, cleaning really dirty copper pennies with vinegar and salt are always a big hit at our house

I love the cleaning pennies idea. Thanks.

The volcano seems like it might be a bigger project then I am ready to take on during the busy holiday season. Maybe motivation will strike this weekend. Blowing up the balloon seems a little easier to prepare. Thanks.

The top eight food allergens are: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish. Corn allergy is becoming more common.

Milk and egg allergies are especially prevalent among young children.

I assumed common milk and egg allergies were by ingestion only. Would a reaction occur from just being near/touching milk and eggs?

Thanks for the information. I have children with asthma but no food allergy component so I haven't really done the research.

Yes, some kids do have reactions from touching protein residue from foods (my DD is one) or from inhaling aerosolized food proteins (think severe asthma attack.)

The bigger concern is that kids could ingest protein residue that is on their hands by putting their fingers in their mouths, touching their food or utensils, rubbing their eyes or noses, etc. For some people, it doesn't take much to provoke a reaction.

As a mom of kids with anaphylactic food allergies, I appreciate a heads-up whenever there is going to be project involving food. Then I can prepare my kids to skip a certain thing, or provide a safe alternative.

Anyway, sorry for hijacking your thread I just can't help it because when I see science experiments involving eggs (DS is allergic to them) it makes my hair stand on end!

Most likely none of your guests are allergic to milk, eggs or corn. If they were, they probably would have told you already that they are bringing their own cupcakes (that's what we do when we're invited to b-day parties.)

Here's another experiment idea;

Mentos+Soda pop. I think that's one to do outside

We did a solubility station that both my then-3-and-6yo kids loved. The trick is to require that they hypothesize about what will dissolve and what won't before they test it.

Testing Ph is also fun with kids that age. You can make your own (stinky) Ph indicator with red cabbage. Just don't boil it the day of the party...or even the day before. Pee-yew!

Sounds like a fun party!

For you to demonstrate outside but a huge hit in our house- the AlkaSeltzer rocket! Use a film canister (hard to find- ask a film counter!) and a half tablet of alka seltzer. Put the tablet in the container and a few drops of water on the lid. Put the container on the lid, lid side down and stand back and wait. If you get it tight, the container will launch 8-10 feet up with a POP!

Flubber is a fun one, probably like the cornstarch experiment you have listed but uses white glue, water and borax. It's a beautiful polymer that keeps for a while in a plastic bag. You can color it with food coloring too. You can send some of this home with th ekids in small ziploc bags.

While not as "exciting" as rockets or volcanoes, I like the simple static electricity experiments:

1. confetti paper and comb (each kid can comb hair--buy them each one so they don't share--and place it close to small pile of confetti on table)

2. empty soda can sideways on table and balloon (statically charged by rubbing it on sweater)

I also like the forces of motion experiments (centrifugal force, center of gravity, friction, etc.)

Oh, yes! It's like silly putty, and it could be a goodie bag item for them to take home.

Good one, Chris!