There’s nothing that keeps kids interested in learning like a great science experiment!

But if a science activity requires a lot of supplies or if it takes a super long time to show results, it can be tough to keep the kids interested long enough to observe it all the way through.

Plus, who has time or space to work on a science experiment for days on end?

And that’s why I love these easy 15 minute science experiments!

These activities are simple, quick, and educational – perfect for learning at home or in small groups!

Read on to see the list below.

If you’re looking for a quick science lesson plan you can use with kids, don’t miss our Superhero States of Matter activity! It’s a science lesson, an experiment, and an observation journal in one!

15 Science Experiments You Can Do In 15 Minutes

1. Gather a few supplies and let the kids learn how to make an egg float!

2. This seed jar experiment does need a few days to complete, but it only takes a few minutes to set up! And the kids won’t mind watching their seeds sprout!

3. Get the kids outside with this super cool colorful exploding baggie experiment!

4. Your kids will go nuts for this awesome hot ice experiment! And it only takes about 10 minutes!

5. Ever wonder how pinecones open in the fall? Set up this easy science experiment to learn how pinecones open!

6. Did you know that light can actually change direction? Try this simple activity to observe how light refracts in water!

7. Penguins are ingeniously designed. They swim around all day, but manage to keep themselves dry! Help the kids do this activity to learn how penguin feathers stay dry!

8. Add some glittery fun to your science lesson with this DIY sparkly explosion!

9. Plants will be growing all over the place over the summer. Try this colorful experiment to study how plants take in nutrients!

10. Let the young learners get involved with this cute expanding marshmallows experiment! And be sure to let them sneak a few as a snack. 

12. Have you ever found an old penny on the ground that looked green? See how this happens with this turn a penny green activity!

13. It won’t be long before we’re watching the beautiful fall leaf colors in the neighborhood. Get ready for fall with this experiment that demonstrates how leaves change colors!

14. Heat is a powerful form of energy. It can even travel through solid matter! Set up this easy experiment to learn how heat conducts energy through metal!

15. Shock your kids by showing them how leaves “breathe” with this leaf respiration experiment!

I hope you love using these simple 15 minute science experiments! Let me know which one you loved the most!

Need more fun science activities for kids? Don’t miss these!

This list of easy 15 minute science experiments is part of the Useful Tasks You Can Do in 60 Minutes linkup at iHomeschool Network! Stop by to see even more quick activities you can accomplish in your homeschool!

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This time, we’re learning about salinity and floating with a simple floating egg experiment.

My boys are entering first and second grade, respectively.

These are excellent ages to introduce science experiments – especially ones that are low-prep, inexpensive, and simple to do, right?

Check out how we learned about salinity by making an egg float!

This would also be a great science lab for small groups or science centers.

If you enjoy this activity, don’t miss our colorful celery experiment or our superhero states of matter experiment!

Simple Science Experiment: Floating Egg Experiment

Like all of our science experiments, this one is super easy and requires absolutely no scientific expertise.

To complete this easy science activity, you’ll need the following:

• Clear glass
• Egg
• Salt
• Spoon

We started by cracking open the Usborne First Encyclopedia of Science. (This is an affiliate link.)

It’s an excellent, hands-on introduction to scientific concepts for kids in grades 1-4.

The boys and I read the section about floating together.

We learned that there are places on Earth where water is so salty you can actually read a newspaper while you float along!

In the book, we read the instructions to learn how to recreate the same type of environment that allows human beings to float in salty water.

Then, we were off and running!

We gathered the supplies and got to work.

We poured each glass half full of water.

Then we added 10 teaspoons of salt to one of the glasses.

(Don’t put any salt in the other glass of water.)

Like so.

When we placed an egg into the glass that didn’t have salt in it, the egg sank right to the bottom like normal.

But when we added an egg to the glass filled with salty water, it floated right to the top.

The kids got a kick out of watching me push it down, only to see it pop right back up!

And that’s how salinity works! Salty water is denser (heavier) than plain water.

So heavy, in fact, that it can support the weight of heavier objects like an egg.

Neat!

This entire floating egg experiment took about 10 minutes from start to finish.

So if you’re looking for a super quick science experiment, this one’s perfect!

Stop by to see our other science learning ideas!

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And with good reason! If you can incorporate several subjects into a hands-on activity, it’s always a hit with students.

With spring rapidly approaching, it’s a great time to learn about weather with kids. And these fun weather STEM activities make this topic easy and fun!

These simple STEM experiments are perfect for small groups, weather units, science centers, after school, homeschooling, and more!

If you’re feeling intimidated by teaching STEM, using a familiar science concept like weather is a great way to get started. 

Personally, once I started using STEM projects with students, I found that it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as I thought it would be. 

And, with a fun concept like weather, it’s easy to get kids excited about these hands-on science projects!

Read on to see the full list of fun weather activities for kids. And for more ways to work with STEM, don’t miss our list of easy STEM activities for early grades!

15 Fun Weather STEM Activities for Kids

1. Coffee Can Condensation – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Hands-On Weather Graphing Activity – Rainy Day Mum

3. International Weather Tracking Activity – Mama Smiles

4. Wind Science Experiment – Teach Me Mommy

5. Build a Wind Turbine – Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls

6. DIY Lightning Experiment – Learn Play Imagine

7. Rain Cloud Weather Experiment – Little Bins for Little Hands

8. Make a Tornado In a Bottle – Gift of Curiosity

9. Snowstorm In a Jar Experiment – B-Inspired Mama

10. DIY Pudding Cup Anemometer – Parenting Chaos

11. Make a DIY Thermometer – Lemon Lime Adventures

12. DIY Hurricane Experiment – Inspiration Laboratories

13. Shadow Towers STEM Challenge – No Time for Flashcards

14. Kite Flying Wind Activity – KC Edventures

15. Solar Heat STEM Activity – STEAM Powered Family

Did you enjoy these Weather STEM activities for kids? Take a look at these other science learning ideas!

Follow my It’s Science! Pinterest board for more ways to make learning science fun!

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Warmer weather means lots of water play and, for us, that means plenty of simple water science experiments to try with the kids!

Since we’ve been homeschooling, I’ve learned that science doesn’t have to be a complicated subject to teach.

Many scientific concepts sound complicated (and really are amazingly intricate), but showing kids how they work doesn’t have to be complex.

Turns out that you can use a few household supplies and demonstrate how scientific principles work in a kid-friendly way!

And that’s why I’ve rounded up 40 easy water science experiments that would be great to share with kids – either indoors or outdoors!

Don’t miss our list of science experiments that you can do in just 15 minutes too!

40 Simple Water Science Experiments for Kids

1. Simple Light In Water Refraction Experiment – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Milk Jug Water Wheel Experiment – J Daniel 4’s Mom

3. Float Vs Sink Experiment – Teach Me Mommy

4. Leak-Proof Bag Science Experiment – Fun Learning for Kids

5. How to Make a Lava Lamp – Coffee Cups and Crayons

6. Measuring Water Beads – Blue Bear Wood

7. Water Balloon Parachute – Fantastic Fun and Learning

8. Food Coloring Fluid Mechanics Experiment – Mama Smiles

9. Measuring Buoyancy Experiment – KC Edventures

10. Color Mixing Experiment – Science Sparks

11. Tide Pool Science Experiment – Buggy and Buddy

12. Floating Peep Boats – Sixth Bloom

13. Traveling Water Experiment – The Wise Owl Factory

14. Simple Water Displacement Experiment – Life with Moore Babies

15. Ripple Water Experiment – J Daniel 4’s Mom

16. Why Does Water Rise STEM Experiment – STEAM Powered Family

17. Make a Rain Cloud In a Jar – Coffee Cups and Crayons

18. Water Xylophone Sound Experiment – Little Bins for Little Hands

19. Growing Mint in Water – Sloely

20. Sticky Ice Experiment – Capri Plus 3

See more of these awesome simple water science experiments on page 2!

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We’re continuing with our simple science experiments this week by taking a look at light refraction. I found a great light refraction experiment video on YouTube and decided to try it with Tigger.

Full disclosure: I didn’t know that refraction was what this experiment demonstrated. I actually had to look it up first. But the experiment is super easy and quick, so that’s a big plus!

Check out this easy way to teach kids about light with this simple light refraction experiment!

And, if you like this one, try some of our other science activities, including how to make an egg float and our easy heat conduction experiment!

Simple Light Refraction Experiment

Watching the original light refraction experiment on YouTube will give you a great look at what’s involved in this activity. But you really only need four things:

• A sticky note (I used a Post-It)
• A marker
• An empty transparent bottle
• Water

Draw two arrows on a sticky note. Make sure that each arrow points in a different direction. Stick the note to a blank wall.

Next, fill up the water bottle. Oh – put the lid on before you do this too! You don’t want water spilling out when you move the bottle around…lol.

The alternating arrows on the note point to the left and the right. Let the kids gradually move the water-filled bottle in front of the sticky note. As the bottle moves in front of the sticky note, something amazing happens.

The arrows appear to change direction! The top arrow, which points to the left, appears to point to the right. And the bottom arrow, which points to the right, appears to point to the left!

Move the bottle back to see the arrows return to their original directions.

So what exactly is going on? We learned that refraction occurs because light bends when it passes through substances, such as water and plastic.

As the light travels through a substance, it becomes concentrated into a focal point, usually near the center. After light passes through the focal point, the rays cross over each other and cause images to appear reversed.

Turns out you can’t believe your eyes after all!

Books with Simple Science Experiments:

If you liked this simple science experiment, take a look at these books with even more easy activities! (Affiliate links provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

1. Science is Simple: Over 250 Activities for Preschoolers
2. 365 Simple Science Experiments with Everyday Materials
3. The Everything Kids’ Science Experiments Book
4. Safe and Simple Electrical Experiments

Don’t miss the rest of our Simple Science Experiments!

For more science homeschooling ideas, follow my It’s Science board on Pinterest!

P.S. Get more fun learning ideas in our email newsletter!

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If you’re not, you’re not alone! I’m not much of a science buff myself. I got good grades in it as a kid, but I haven’t really ever been interested in it. (Except for astronomy. Astronomy is awesome.)

So when it comes to teaching science, I find it hard to get a good grasp of the concepts so I can teach them to my kids. And that’s why I was thrilled to get a chance to review a great science book and try some of the activities, including a simple heat conduction experiment!

Read on to see why I loved this book and to see one of the included hands-on activities!

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.

Science Concepts for the Non-Scientific Parent

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not super comfortable with science. And what’s worse – I’ve forgotten most of what I did learn in school. Fortunately, I’ve recently gotten a copy of the book Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t! and I have to say: It. Is. Incredible.

It’s a thorough overview of several scientific concepts, including light, heat, animal behaviors, and more. So it’s a good introduction or re-introduction to the same things you and I learned in school.

I had so many “Ohhhhh!” moments reading this book. For example, when Dr. Morelan talks about heat, he explains that you can generate heat through physical or chemical reactions. And for a physical reaction example, he tells you to rub your hands together (warming them) and then wave them in the air (cooling them).

Now did you ever think of that as friction or an example of how heat is generated? I didn’t!

And the book is written in a witty, conversational manner that just makes sense. I actually found my husband reading it later. That’s how good it is.

Simple Heat Conduction Experiment

After I read the section about how heat is generated with the kids, we tried one of the experiments in the book to observe heat conduction in action.

What is heat conduction? It’s how heat travels from one object to another. For example, when you touch something made of metal, it feels cold, right? Know why?

Because the metal is sucking the heat out of your body! For real! Just another thing I learned from Air is Not Oxygen. (Seriously, buy it now. You’ll be glad you did.)

It turns out that metal is an excellent heat conductor. And to test that statement, the book recommends experimenting by comparing to two other materials to see which one conducts heat the best. We took butter and spread it onto a plastic spoon, a metal spoon, and a pencil.

Then we stood all three up in a glass and added hot water.

Like so.

And slowly but surely, the butter on the metal spoon began to soften.

We watched with bated breath…

Until it finally melted!

The butter on the pencil softened, but the butter on the plastic stayed fairly firm.

Yep. There’s no doubt that metal is the best conductor of the three. Science works!

This whole experiment took about half an hour. And most of that was spent in the observation phase. It was a really simple science experiment and a great way to “see” science in action.

And I finally understand what heat conduction is!

To brush up on science concepts and give your kids a chance to try a fun and simple heat conduction experiment, get your copy of Air is Not Oxygen from Amazon!

For more science fun, check out my It’s Science board on Pinterest!

And you can get even more ideas for teaching all kinds of homeschooling subjects, including science, in the book “The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas” from iHomeschool Network!

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