Elementary / Middle School
Grow your interest in STEM by exploring some fun experiments and learn about the scientific theory! Click on the green text below to view the website or video of the experiment.
Kids can make a car powered by the energy of a balloon, using easy to find materials! Air is pushed out of the end of the balloon, causing a force that pushes the car forward.
Materials: Cardboard, straws, balloon, 4 plastic lids (or other hard material), skewers, tape, glue, ruler
This is an at-home experiment that uses borax and hot water to make crystals.
Materials: Pipe cleaners, threads, glass container hot water, borax, food coloring, bamboo skewer, cover
In this experiment, you can mix vinegar with baking soda, and a chemical reaction occurs. It produces “carbonic acid.” This carbonic acid then split into water and carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide gas rises up to inflate the glove to make it stick up.
Materials: Vinegar, Baking Soda, 1 Glass, Surgical Glove
The blue food coloring will color the water like the ocean, and the baby oil helps make the waves. If you put a toy in and put the jar on its side, it looks like your toy is floating in the ocean.
Materials: Jar with Lid, Water, Blue Food Coloring, Glitter, Baby Oil, a Toy or Your Choice
Using baking soda, vegetable oil and vinegar, the chemical reaction will cause the vinegar and food coloring mixture to float back up to the surface.
Materials: Clear jar/bottle, water, tonic water, vegetable/baby oil, alka seltzer, liquid food coloring, photoluminescent pigment, baking soda, citric acid, vinegar
By adding different amounts of sugar to each cup of water, you are creating different levels of density. This stops each water solution from mixing when added to a test tube, creating a water density rainbow!
Materials: 4 cups, sugar, warm water, food coloring, syringe, test tube (or a thin glass/container)
Using a few simple items from around the house such as milk, food coloring, and dish soap you can see how soap works to separate fat and grease as you watch colors disperse and swirl throughout milk.
Materials: Shallow bottom baking dish with a flat bottom, Milk, Food Coloring, Dish detergent, Gloves
-Gloves
You can make your own volcano and have it erupt in this experiment. Construct your volcano with newspaper and color it with paint. After, the baking soda and vinegar combination will cause an explosive chemical reaction like lava.
Materials: Empty Plastic Bottle, Plenty of Newspaper, Masking Tape, Glue, Acrylic Paint & Paint Brushes, Waterproof Varnish, Baking Soda, Hot Water, Food Coloring (Any Color), Vinegar
This experiment can help you learn about light and perspective. By putting a stick of licorice into oil, half the stick will disappear or bend. This is because of the unique way oil redirects light!
Materials: Cup, water, oil, licorice (or something similar, such as a pencil)
Have you ever wondered what is inside your markers? With chromatography, you can separate the colors of your markers to see what they’re really made of.
Materials: Water, 1 Coffee Filter, Popsicle Sticks, Markers, Food Coloring, Scissors, Clear Glass Cups, Ruler
With this experiment, you can learn how to write secret messages! Write your message using lemon juice, then run an iron over the paper (be careful!) to reveal what you’ve written. This works because lemon juice oxidizes when in contact with heat.
Materials: Lemon, q-tip, iron
So because of the difference in the densities the oil is lighter than the water and therefore it floats on the water instead of sinking down. This allows the plastic to sink to the bottom of the oil but stays on top of the water.
Materials: Clear jar, declaration (marbles, flowers) (optional), oil, water, transparent plastic sheet, cotton lamp wick, tape, baking soda (optional), food coloring (optional), lighter
Learn about condensation and why clouds form by making your own cloud in a jar with just a few simple items from around the house.
Materials: A jar with a lid, Hairspray, Hot water, Ice
Learn the science behind tornadoes and vortexes by watching them up close.
Materials: 2 liter bottles, plastic cyclone connector (can be found on amazon)
Plants need water in order to survive, but the water must reach the top of the plant somehow. The water actually defies gravity by going up the xylem.
Materials: Glass Cup, Celery, Water, Dark Food Coloring
With this experiment you will learn the difference between states of matter for water. The bottle will be filled with water vapor, a gas form of water, which takes up more space than liquid form of water, so when the bottle is placed into the ice bowl the temperature of the gas in the bottle will drop and the state of matter will change to liquid causing the bottle to be crushed.
Materials: Hot water, Cold water, Ice, Plastic bottle with a cap
Why does it rain you might ask? This video demonstrates that clouds are like sponges in a way. When condensation builds up water pours out.
Materials: A jar with a, A small clear cup, Cotton Balls, Optional: Blue food dye, A push pin
Through the stem, the flower will soak up the colored water, causing it to change colors.
Materials: White flowers, jar of water, food coloring
This experiment simulates lightning while learning about positive and negative charges and electricity!
Materials: A balloon, A fluorescent light bulb
Learn about light and heat by creating a makeshift oven. As the sunlight reflects off of the aluminum foil it is absorbed by the black paper in the box. Do this fun experiment and even enjoy a yummy treat.
Materials: A pizza box, Plastic wrap, Aluminum foil, Black Paper, S'mores ingredients, Optional: Thermometer
Watch and see how gummy bears change when placed in different liquids. They could get bigger, smaller, or something totally unexpected.
Materials: 3 Glass Cups, Water, Vinegar, Salt, Gummy Bears
This experiment relates to surface tension and teaches about the cohesion that allows the surface tension
Materials: Water, Pennies (or dimes), Glass Cup
It usually takes a long time for liquid water to freeze into ice. Watch to see how you can make ice instantly.
Materials: Water in plastic water bottles, ice cubes
