How to set up three simple science activities for preschoolers

Baking soda experiment:

This preschool science experiment is about as basic as it gets but it’s lots of fun.

While exploring this chemical reaction, kids will witness hydrogen ions (vinegar) reacting with sodium and bicarbonate (baking soda). This creates carbonic acid and sodium acetate. Kids are also working on fine motor skills (needed for printing). Add in food colouring and cardstock and they’re also engaging in process art.

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SUPPLIES FOR BAKING SODA FIZZ CHEMICAL REACTION:

• Bin or pan
• Plastic cup
• Box of baking soda
• Food colouring (optional)
• Medicine droppers or pipettes
• Cardstock

HOW TO DO THE BAKING SODA FIZZ EXPERIMENT:

Empty a box of baking soda into a pan or bin. Spread it out evenly.

Get kids to drop different food colouring combinations throughout the baking soda.

Fill a plastic cup with vinegar.

Using pipettes or medicine droppers, have the kids drip or squirt the vinegar on to the baking soda.

Once they have seen the fizzy chemical reaction happen again and again, they can press card stock on top of the baking soda and vinegar to make a coloured impression!

Diet Coke and Mentos Explosions:

I highly recommend doing this outside in a place you can hose off. My kids and I use our kiddie pool for fun and messy activities like this. It works great for this experiment because the chemical reaction creates quite a geyser.

To understand why the mentor and Diet Coke react together the way they do, and to see the experiment in action, check out the awesome Steve Spangler video below:

SUPPLIES FOR DIET COKE AND MENTOS EXPERIMENT:

• Bottle of Diet Coke – other soda will work too – just not as well
• Original Mentos – the flavoured variety has a candy coating and won’t work

HOW TO DO THE MENTOS AND DIET COKE EXPERIMENT:

Take your kids outside.

Using a large container or an empty driveway, open the bottle of Diet Coke and have your children drop the Mentos into the bottle.

Then back up fast!

DRIPPING SLIME EXPERIMENT:

The first time we did this activity, my kids were under the age of three. Years later, this is still one of their favourite activities of all time. They are now old enough to execute the entire chemical reaction on their own.

You can make Dripping slime with Borax and water, or you can create the same chemical reaction with saline solution (it must contain boric acid) and baking soda.

This chemical reaction works because the borax forms borate ions that bind to the liquid-like polymers in the glue. This makes the glue flow less easily becoming more of a solid.

Add in the cooling rack and scissors and this activity becomes great for fine motor skill practice too.

Note: if using Borax, this activity should not be done with children who might taste or mouth the slime.

SUPPLIES TO MAKE DRIPPING SLIME:

• 1 cup hot tap water
• 1 tsp Borax
• White school glue
• 1/4 cup tap water (temperature doesn’t matter)
• food colouring (optional)
• Colander or cooling/baking rack
• String
• Scissors (optional)

MAKING YOUR SLIME:

Measure one cup of hot water and mix in Borax until fully dissolved.

In a separate container, combine glue, 1/4 cup of water and food colouring.

Mix well, and then mix in the water-Borax mixture. There will be excess water left over in the bowl. That’s okay.

Then, hang a cooling rack or colander. We’ve used cupboard handles or balanced a cooling rack across two chairs. Make sure the floor below isn’t carpet.

Place the slime on the cooling rack. Wait. It can take a while. Slowly, you’ll see the slime drip down.

Encourage kids to grab scissors and cut the drips.