How to Create a Battery from a Lemon

Create a Battery from a Lemon

How to create a voltaic cell battery using a lemon.

Full post: How to Create a Battery from a Lemon

How to Make Clay for Kids

 Make Clay for Kids

Do your kids like playing with clay but you don't have the money to buy it for them? Or do you want something fun to make with your kids that they can have fun with? Try making clay at home.

Full post: How to Make Clay for Kids

How to Make Your Own 3D Glasses

Make Your Own 3D Glasses

Making your own 3D glasses is so easy to do that you can whip them up just before a movie, right at the moment you discover the ones that came with your 3D DVD are missing! Here are two methods for producing effective 3D glasses at home.

Full post: How to Make Your Own 3D Glasses

How to make a Stethoscope

Make Your Own Stethoscope

About Making a Stethoscope:

Whether you want to make a stethoscope as part of a set of Healthy Heart activities or simply because your child is curious about how the one at the doctor’s office works, it’s a simple activity that requires little effort and just a few household materials.

The stethoscope you make can help your child hear the difference between his resting and active heart rates as well as the difference between the sound of his heart rate and other people in your house.

Full post: Make Your Own Stethoscope

Glittery Volcano

Glittery Volcano

This project is part science experiment, part sensory fun! The volcanic reaction of vinegar and baking soda, with some glitter for extra sparkle, exploding over corn starch made some wonderful pretend snow to play in. Although easy to set up, it occupied my kids for nearly an hour afterwards.

Full post: Glittery Volcano

Celery and Food Coloring Experiment

Celery & Food Coloring Experiment

My son was eager to use a plastic pipette he had (what is it about kids and water play?), so we decided to do a simple science experiment. By dipping celery stalks in colored water, you can literally see water traveling up the celery! 

Full post: Celery & Food Coloring Experiment

Electrostatic Toothpick

Electrostatic Toothpick

How strong is static electricity? Can it move through a cup? Can we actually see it working? We were going to find out!

What You'll Need:

- toothpicks

- plastic cup / disposable

- cup nickel

- balloons

- freshly washed hair

Full post: Electrostatic Toothpick

Dinosaur Soap

Dinosaur Soap 

My son is a paleontologist in training. Anything with fossils, bones, or dinosaurs just makes his day. He absolutely loved the idea of burying a dinosaur in soap--plus, I didn't have to convince him to take a bath for weeks!

Full post: Dinosaur Soap 

Vinegar, Baking Soda, and...Balloon Eye Droppers?

Vinegar, Baking Soda, and...Balloon Eye Droppers

This is a very basic experiment: Watching the reaction of vinegar to baking soda. I thought this would be the perfect activity for little miss V, at age 2.5, to start her first science experiment! 

I did not have eyedroppers lying around my house for this project so I came up with a tool that is easier for a toddler to use, while providing the means to complete this experiment—balloons as eye droppers!

Full post: Vinegar, Baking Soda, and...Balloon Eye Droppers?

Rainbow Density Cylinder

Rainbow Density Cylinder 

This liquid density demonstration will impress and educate children who think of liquids as "all the same." Let young kids play with jars of colored water first, seeing them mix... then show them this. They'll surely be impressed!

Full post: Rainbow Density Cylinder 

Shoe-box Maze

Shoe-box Maze

The following experiment is a fun and easy way to see the effects of phototropism on a plant by making it complete your own maze 

These are the materials needed to make your own shoe-box maze

-Shoebox 

-Extra cardboard 

-Scissors 

-Tape 

-Small potted plant (bean plant) 

Full post: Shoe-box Maze

Make Your Own Slime!

Make Slime

My kids love cool (/ gross!) sensory activities, and so I'm always on the lookout for fun things to explore together. We've explored oobleck here before, and when I saw this project for homemade slime on this awesome site, I knew we had to check it out during the Halloween season.

What You'll Need

- white glue

- plastic cup / disposable cup (2)

- food coloring (any color)

- borax

- tablespoon

Full post: Make Your Own Slime! 

Earth Exploration

Earth Exploration

While learning about space, my son and I found ourselves gravitating toward planet Earth. In my son's favorite Earth-related book, "The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth", a class journeys through the planet's rock and mantle layers, drilling all the way through the core and out the other side. That got me thinking about modeling the Earth's layers, and then I found this Earth Day craft on "Meet the Dubiens". A play dough Earth core!

Full post: Earth Exploration

How to make a Rain Gauge

Make a Rain Gauge

Rain Gauge Project

If you'd like to keep track of how much rainfall you're getting, you can buy a rain gauge, or you can make one out of inexpensive items from your local hardware store. These instructions discuss how to put one together and calculate exactly how much rain has fallen. It's not only easier on the wallet, but it's also a great science project and learning experience for kids.

Full post: How to Build a Rain Gauge

How to make a Mini Lighthouse

Make a Mini Lighthouse

Build a Mini Lighthouse

This tiny lighthouse makes a nice night-light; its soft glow is just bright enough to lead your child to the safe harbor of his bed.

What you'll need

- white plastic tape

- 18-ounce red plastic cup with a circular bottom

- 9-ounce clear plastic cup

- black card stock

- tacky glue

- battery-operated tea light *

Full post: Build a Mini Lighthouse

How to make a Microscope

Make a Microscope

Microscope Project

Make a simple microscope using water and take a closer look at the world around you.

The lens you create with water works like a microscope or magnifying glass, allowing you to see objects in much greater detail than if you were just looking with the naked eye.

Make Your Own Microscope

What you'll need:

- A piece of fuse wire

- Some water

- Objects to look at (newspaper or a magazine with fine print works well

Full post: Make Your Own Microscope

How to make a Camera Obscura

Make a Camera Obscura

Make a Camera Obscura

The camera obscura (Latin for "dark chamber") demonstrates an odd optic phenomenon. When light from a bright scene enters a darkened space through a tiny hole, the resulting image appears upside down. See for yourself with this homemade viewer that turns everything you look at topsy-turvy.

This project was adapted from the Pringles pinhole camera on exploratorium.edu. To learn more about how the camera works, visit the website and search for "Pringles pinhole."

Full post: How to make a Camera Obscura

How to make a Ball Float on Air

Make a Ball Float on Air

Make a Ball Float on Air

This contraption demonstrates what physicists call the Bernoulli effect, which also explains how the wings of airplanes provide lift. But kids will just call the hovering ball amazing.

What you'll need

1-liter plastic bottle

hair dryer with a "cool" or "cold" setting*

cardboard box a few inches taller than the hair dryer

duct tape

craft knife (adults only)

table-tennis ball

Full post: Make a Ball Float on Air (Source)

How to make a Hovercraft

Make a Hovercraft

Make a Hovercraft

This is a brilliant kid craft--so brilliant that you may indeed find yourself playing with it too. Not that I'd have any experience with that or anything. Not at all.

How to make a Hovercraft

You only need four things: a CD, a push-up water bottle top, a balloon, superglue

Full post: Make a Hovercraft (Source)

How to make Your Own Robot

Make a Robot

Robot Project

Get creative and make a robot! These fun projects for kids are aimed at students of different levels. Younger children can enjoy using a range of household items as they build robots with features that are only limited to what their imagination can come up with. Older students can focus on more challenging tasks such as designing, building, electronics and programming. Giving these students a specific challenge will also help them work towards a final goal, testing things like problem solving skills, reasoning, original ideas and teamwork.

How to make Your Own Robot!

Depending on the age and skill level of students you can try one of two different robot building projects.

Full post: Make a Robot (Source)