christmas
Mutant Marshmallows
Tweet In the microwave, an ordinary marshmallow will puff up until it’s enormous! You Will Need: marshmallows paper plates or paper towels microwave oven toothpicks (if you want) food colouring (if you want)…and adult supervision. Instructions Put two marshmallows on a paper plate or paper towel. Put the plate in the microwave. Set the timer [...]
Sharpie Tie Dye
Tweet Let’s do some tie dye…except you don’t have to tie anything! Normal tie dye can be messy and time-consuming. You can get a really cool effect using coloured Sharpie pens on a t-shirt. This is a fun project that even young children can try. You’ll get wearable art and may learn something about diffusion [...]
Star Attraction
Tweet WATCH STARS IN MOTION WITH THIS EASY TO MAKE DEVICE A good idea for your Space Corner – if you have one…or as a stand-alone activity • A dark, solid-coloured umbrellaYou will need: • Star-shaped stickers or dot stickers • An experiment partner Instructions Stick star-shaped stickers on the inside of a [...]
Excellent Ice Candles
Tweet Ice candles are easy to make and, best of all, cost next to nothing. You could make some at school and the children can take the idea home and make some more with their families for outside their own house. You Will Need Small plastic tub or bucket (a summer beach pail is [...]
Super Scented Science!
Tweet Perfume is even better if it’s a scent that you created yourself, packaged in a beautiful bottle, and free from synthetic chemicals. Whether for yourself or intended as a gift, the following can be fully customized to your personal taste. Perfume consists of a mixture of essential oils in a base oil, together with [...]
Frosty The (Indoor) Snowman
Tweet The following version of this activity was devised for pre-school children in Florida where the kids are likely never to have seen a real snowman! However it will be just as much fun for children of all ages, wherever you live! You will need 3 large balloons 1 large bowl 1 medium bowl 1 [...]
Quick Crystals In A Day
Tweet Growing crystals can take several days, but this super-easy recipe gives you a cup full of needle-like crystals in just a few hours! You Will Need: Epsom Salts (Dispensing Chemists will have this) Food Colouring Beaker, cup, or small bowl Instructions In the beaker, stir 8 tablespoons (approx 115 grams) of Epsom salts with [...]
Smelly Polymers
Tweet Polymers have numerous uses and have made our lives much more comfortable. One perhaps less well known way is to help make your home smell fresh, which you can do by making these scented gel fresheners. (Adult supervision is recommended for this project.) You will need: Unflavoured gelatine Water Fragrance oil Food colouring Table [...]
Sweet Wrapper Mix-Up
Tweet Artists make different colours by mixing the primary colours of red, yellow, and blue, but scientists use a different set of primary colours when talking about the visible light spectrum: red, green, and blue. These colours can be used to explain how the entire spectrum of colours mixed together makes white light. You Will [...]
Reflecting On Science
Tweet You Will Need Paper Wall mounted mirror A photo of your face (or at least one that includes your face!) Handheld mirror Soup spoon Christmas Tree baubles (optional) Instructions Look at yourself in the wall mounted mirror. Is the image you see the same as what other people see when they look at [...]