Written by Transpiration is the evaporation of water from the leaves, stems or flowers of a plant. You might have seen my transpiration experiments using celery and coloured water, and white flowers before. Today I have a slightly different way of demonstrating this important scientific concept. It’s a great way to show transpiration in action, and all … Continue reading “Simple plant transpiration experiment”
The idea behind this Jack and the Beanstalk themed science activity is to design and build a mini parachute so Jack can safely drop to the bottom of the beanstalk. Remember, if you’re testing different parachute designs, you must use the same toy figure for Jack and drop the parachutes from the same height. Build … Continue reading “Parachute for Jack ( and the beanstalk )”
Summer is a great time to get outdoors, play, explore and learn at the same time. I often find that if I set up some outdoor science experiments, my children keep coming back to them over a period of weeks or days, each adding their own twist to the activity. Here are 10 of my … Continue reading “Top 10 Outdoor Summer Science Experiments”
A minibeast hunt is a great science activity for young children. It’s a good excuse for getting the whole family outside on an adventure and provides lots of fun learning opportunities. You don’t need a huge area to explore, a small garden or outdoor space can be filled with minibeasts. A minibeast hunt doesn’t need … Continue reading “Minibeast Hunt Top Tips”
Rockets make a great science project or space-themed STEM Challenge as they are fairly easy to make, can be personalised however you want and be reused over and over again. These easy rockets kids can make are also fun craft projects and can be turned into a science investigation too! My personal favourite rocket is … Continue reading “5 Easy Rockets Kids Can Make”
The next scientist in my Wonderful Women in STEM series is the pioneering Mary Anning! Mary Anning has been named one of the 10 most influential British women in science history by the Royal Society. Mary was a trailblazer in her time and made invaluable contributions to palaeontology despite having no formal education and being … Continue reading “Wonderful Women in STEM – Mary Anning”
The last two days have been so hot in the UK that we’ve had the paddling pool out, so it seemed like the perfect time to try some water based investigations. For each mini investigation, I asked the children a question, and then we discussed what we thought would happen and why. I’ve also got … Continue reading “Paddling Pool Science Experiments”
A craft stick or popsicle stick chain reaction is a brilliant example of how potential energy and kinetic energy work. As you weave the lolly sticks together, you can actually feel the potential energy building. How does a popsicle stick chain reaction work? The sticks are bent and pinned over each other, which creates tension. … Continue reading “Craft Stick ( Popsicle Stick ) Chain Reaction”
We’ve all been there, it’s a hot day, and you really want an ice pop ( popsicle ), but it’s too cold to hold at first, and then the sun melts it before you can really enjoy it. This ice pop STEM challenge solves both problems! A fun twist on this, if popsicles aren’t your … Continue reading “Save the Ice Pop STEM Challenge”
Our Summer holidays are about to start, so I thought it would be a good time to spruce up this post full of Summer Science Challenges for kids. All the activities are very simple and use mostly things you probably already have around the house. For an ultimate summer of science, try one activity each … Continue reading “Summer Science Challenges for Kids”