simple science experiments Archives - Look! We're Learning!

Simple Science Experiments: Floating Egg Experiment

March 18, 2020 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

It’s time for another one of our simple science experiments!

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!

$Study the properties of light with this simple light refraction experiment!$

40 Simple Water Science Experiments for Kids

April 16, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

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!

Pages: 1 2

Simple Science Experiments: Simple Light Refraction Experiment

December 28, 2017 by Selena Robinson 9 Comments

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!

$Simple Refraction of Light Experiment$

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!

$Study the properties of light with this simple light refraction experiment!$

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

$Experiment on Refraction of Light$

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.

$Simple Refraction Experiment$

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.

$Investigating Light Refraction$

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.)

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

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

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Simple Heat Conduction Experiment with Air is Not Oxygen!

February 11, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

How many of you parents are extremely comfortable with teaching science? And I mean extremely comfortable.

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!