Kid science should inspire a love and attraction to science so that high school science is looked forward to and not dreaded. Once basic laws and principles are learned, they are known for life, and high school science will be easier. These same activities can be done again in high school science labs, but the focus will then be on more in-depth concepts, rather than just learning a few terms and having fun.
Radio Shack sells an inexpensive, battery-powered
mini-microscope. It allows a close-up look at many objects and surfaces, while not going so in-depth that things become unrecognizable. It is small enough to slip into pocket or purse easily, and I guarantee it to keep small boys occupied for hours!
Draw pictures of the bugs, flowers, leaves that you find and look for the life forms that you have seen outside. Look in a
wildlife reference book for what you drew and write the name beneath the picture. (It does not have to be a
good picture.) The child could also just make note of the markings: "red-headed bird with long legs" or "black squirrel."
Go for walks in the park or your neighborhood; pick up leaves and other plant life to bring home and look up or paste into a notebook/journal and label. Do leaf rubbings with crayons to make the "leaves" last longer.
Have a predetermined
scavenger hunt of things to find. (Mom can snoop around the park ahead of time while the kids are swinging and sliding to find out what kinds of leaves, etc. are available.) Research can be done first to fine out what an "oak leaf" looks like, then the students can find them and confirm their work back at home. Turn the same idea into Bingo for a more advanced learner who knows what to look for.
Do
"kitchen science" experiments:
-- Make caramel corn, noting how the "caramel" reacts to the baking soda.
-- Explain what makes cookies rise.
-- Make "soda pop" from 3 T. lemon juice, 3 T. sugar, and 12 oz. unflavored, carbonated water, and discuss why it makes you burp.
-- Make bread and see how the yeast makes bread rise so big.
-- Freeze different substances: grape juice never fully freezes, lemonade freezes "flaky," water freezes solid (from the top down), milk freezes solid (from the bottom up). How do other things freeze?
[Parents, you do not have to
know all the answers ahead of time -- experimenting and discussing the possibilities
together makes a great joint learning experience.]
Read biographies of famous scientists (especially Christians, like from the
Sower series) to inspire a love of science.
Dye cloth with anything natural that kids think will provide color (be sure to use raspberries, black walnut hulls, and anything else that stains fingers). Boil the dyeing material in a little water in coffee cans and dip in scraps of white cotton cloth. Beware: this is a fun activity, but can be very
smelly. Consider doing it outdoors or with the windows
wide open!
Get a coaster wagon and a
spring scale (the kind used for weighing
large fish), measure how many pounds of "pull" it takes to make the wagon move when empty, with a child in it, with bricks in it, with the dog in it. Notice how the amount of "pull" decreases once the wagon gets moving. Try different surfaces: sidewalk, gravel driveway, grass, carpet, etc. How much pull does it take to pull a child on roller skates, a skateboard, a bike, or a sled. Discuss friction and weight, and what effects they have on moving an object. Read about scientists who worked on gravity/physics laws.
Play with
bubbles! Watch the colors change and wonder why? Experiment with different solutions to make the BIGGEST bubbles or longest lasting bubbles. [Hint: use Joy dish liquid and add some glycerin.] Try piling up bubbles and attaching bubbles to each other. I once saw a bubble artist on television attach 6 bubbles around one central bubble, then dip a straw into the bubble solution, poke it carefully through to the central bubble, and gently blow in cigarette smoke through the straw to show that the central bubble had become a perfect
cube!
Carefully start a fire with a
magnifying glass. Fall leaves burn quite well on sunny days! [Caution your students to only do this with adult supervision!] Try "woodburning" art with a magnifying glass.
