At-Home Science Explorations: A Round-Up

Just in time for Spring Break: a post full of at-home science explorations from around the web! No Googling necessary! I’ve got 13 activities highlighted, but a few of the links will take you to even more activities!

Why At-Home Science Explorations?

It is a sad truth that many teachers are spending far too little time on science in elementary school. I’ve mentioned before that I know of teachers who spend 20 minutes every other day at most on science (and social studies, too).

Science is one of the most fun subjects to teach because it is all inquiry based. It’s hands-on. It’s high-interest. Science is THE subject of student engagement, I’d argue.

And that’s why it’s what you should turn to if you’re looking to do something fun and educational at home.

At-Home Science Explorations: Various

These are a fun grouping of random but fascinating science explorations that will blow the minds of musicians, explorers, culinary artists, engineers, and general curious minds.

Check out this Good Housekeeping Round-Up and make sure to look for the Floating Fish, Milk Bottle Xylophone, DIY Compass, Coffee Ground Fossils, Self-Inflating Balloon, and Ice Cream in a Bag (among others)!

For my STEM and STEAM kiddos, this article from Parents magazine features a plethora of activities, including a Balance Sculpture and Suspension Bridge!

Have a future 007, Benjamin Gates, or Indiana Jones on your hands? This lemon juice Invisible Ink that shows up with heat might be the perfect thing for your budding spy to combine reading of a mystery story with science and role playing. The sky’s the limit!

You could pair this Water Walking Rainbow with mini lessons on the color spectrum and color theory or…you could just do the experiment and be wowed.

At-Home Science Explorations: Candy Edition

Kill two birds with one stone and turn snack time into science time. Note: I’m not advocating for candy as a snack, but it sure can motivate reluctant learners to explore something scientific!

Peeps are in-season (so to speak) right now. As disgustingly horrific as they are to eat, they seem very appropriate for some science experimentation. Head to this article from Coffee Cups and Crayons to learn how.

Skittles: taste the rainbow and experiment with it, too! This could be neat to pair alongside the Water Walking Rainbow activity above. Check it out here.

Who doesn’t love m&ms? This experiment is basically the same as the Skittles experiment above. Do them both and turn it into a bar graph data comparison and/or a comparing and contrasting writing activity!