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Four Fun Science Experiments For Children

Posted: 25th March 2020

Welcome to Mrs Allen’s Fun Science videos! Mrs Allen is a KS1 teacher and Head of STEM at Burgess Hill Girls Junior School.  With the help of pupils Anaïs, Ellie, Annabel and Persephone, she has helped us create these four instruction videos of easy science experiments you can do at home with your children. 

Written instructions are provided below each video. 

Lava Lamp Experiment

 

 

For this experiment you will need:

 

  • Plastic jar or bottle
  • Funnel
  • Jug of water
  • Fizzy vitamins
  • Food colouring
  • Vegetable oil

 

Instructions:

  1. Fill the bottle a quarter of the way up with water.
  2. Fill the rest of the bottle up to the neck with the vegetable oil. Note the oil does not mix with the water, it sits on top. This is because it is ‘hydrophobic’, it repels water. This is an important part of the experiment. 
  3. Add the food colouring. You can see the food colouring goes right to the bottom of the bottle and mixes with the water.
  4. Add half a fizzy vitamin. The fizzy vitamin will react with the water, making bubbles of carbon dioxide. These bubbles will capture the coloured water and float up through the oil to the top.
  5. Continue to add fizzy vitamins to keep the reaction going. 

Frankenstein’s Hand Experiment

 

For this experiment you will need:

 

  • Vinegar
  • Rubber glove
  • Cup or beaker
  • Bicarbonate of soda

 

Instructions:

  1. Add a small amount of vinegar to the beaker.
  2. Add a table spoon of bicarbonate of soda to the rubber glove. Give it a good shake so it moves right down to the fingertips of the glove. 
  3. Now stretch the wrist of the glove over the beaker. 
  4. Give the fingers a good shake so the bicarbonate of soda empties out into the beaker. This causes a reaction which releases carbon dioxide gas. As the bubbles of gas are released, ‘Frankenstein’s hand’ becomes inflated. 

Sweetie Rainbow Experiment

 

 

For this experiment you will need:

 

  • Water
  • White plate
  • Coloured sweets (like Skittles)

 

Instructions:

  1. Make a circle of sweets around the edge of the plate.
  2. Add water to the centre of the plate.
  3. As the water and coloured sweets combine a rainbow is created. NB This takes a while to work so be patient!

Cola and Mentos Eruption Experiment

 

For this experiment you will need:

 

  • Bottle of diet cola
  • Mentos sweets

 

Instructions:

  1. Open the bottle and make sure it is settled as you want to save the fizz for the experiment.
  2. Quickly pour the Mentos sweets into the bottle.
  3. Run and take cover before the eruption starts!