60 Very Simple Science Experiments Your Kids Will Love

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Do you need some very simple science experiments for kids? We’ve gathered together a collection of awesome science activities for you to enjoy.  They are easy to set up and use stuff you have around the house. Perfect for family night or homeschoolers! Get ready to impress your kids and earn the title of coolest parent on the block.
Mooooom! My son’s yell reverberated around the house. Fearing some disaster, I ran to investigate. Jumping with excitement, he pointed at small aquarium of tadpoles.

“Look!” he exclaimed. “Our tadpoles are growing legs.”

Living in the country is fantastic place to raise kids. I was constantly called to witness some marvel of nature. rocks with sparkles, fungus on a rotting log, or a mop crawling with earwigs. (Ugh! That memory still makes me shudder!)

Kids love science

Ever noticed how kids love science? For starters they’re always experimenting with something. From building towers, to digging for worms, or throwing spaghetti against the wall. I loved doing science with my boys. It was such a joy watching them learn and have fun at the same time.

The good news is that we don’t need a bunch of expensive stuff to do experiments with our kids. We can do loads of things with the stuff from around our house. The best part? Science experiments are a SUREFIRE HIT with kids of all ages. They are really easy to set up and may earn you the title of the coolest parent on the block!

Okay, I know what you are thinking. I never made it past basic chemistry at school! How on earth can I do science with my kiddos? Don’t worry! It’s easier than you think. I’ve scoured the Internet and picked out 50 very simple science activities for you to enjoy together. Here’s my criteria

• They must be simple to set up and do.
• They must use stuff that you probably have already.

So, let’s get down to business- are you ready to have fun?

Exclusive Bonus: Download a free activity sheet with more science activities you can enjoy with your family

5  Simple Science Experiments That Are Totally Gross

Let’s be honest, children are fascinated by mold and other gross science. In fact the ickier the better. The following activities have the all-important yuck factor.

• Bottle Composter | Busy Mommy Media (decomposition in action).
• Moldy Bread Experiment from Apple and Thyme (shows the importance of washing hands).
• Make a Rot Museum| Teach Beside Me (Fascinating and disgusting)
• Fake Snot | Little Bins With Little Hands.
• Slug Race| Lemon Lime adventure (with real slugs *shudders*)

While you are waiting for things to rot or mould to grow, head over to You Tube. Here is a time-lapse video of a  rotting watermelon. It is delightfully disgusting!

10 Very simple Science Experiments Involving Water

Water experiments are the easiest activities to set up. Most of us have easy access to water. Add a few basic supplies and you have some impressive science fun!

• Crawling Colors| Parenting Chaos
• Simple Refraction Science| Look We’re Learning
• Exploring The Density of Liquids |Buggy and Buddy
• Water and Ice Science| Sixth Bloom
• Simple Water Displacement Experiment|Life with Moore Babies
• The Amazing Leak-Proof Bag|Hand On As We Grow
• Measuring Buoyancy Experiment – KC Edventures
• Water Bottle Fountain| Learn With Play At Home
• Water Whistles|My Baba
• How To Make a Lava Lamp|Coffee Cups and Crayons

10  Simple Science Experiments Using Baking Soda 

Baking soda + acid = an explosive reaction that always impresses! Kids love the fizzy chemistry and all you need is some acid (vinegar or lemon juice) and baking soda. Easy peasy fun!

• Vinegar and Baking Soda Rocket| Frugal Fun For Boys And Girls
• Exploding Paint Bags| Growing a Jeweled Rose
• Baking Soda Powered Boat as seen on Science Sparks.
• Easy Lemon Volcano|Sixth Bloom
• Fizzing Green Eggs|Preschool Power Packets
• Fun Volcano Science|Rainy Day Mom
• Baking Soda And Vinegar Balloon Experiment| Little Bins for Little Hands.
• Baking Soda and Vinegar With Color Experiment |Hands On As We Grow.
•  Jumping Apple Seeds Experiment | JDaniel4s Mom.
• Fizzy Lemonade|Learn With Play At Home

I am definitely going to try the exploding bags with my children’s group at the library.

 5 Easy Static Electricity Experiments

Static electricity is fun.  I haven’t met a child who isn’t fascinated by the strange powers of the electrical charges. Heck I find them amazing!

• Bending Water|A Dab Of Glue Will Do
• Balloon Experiment|Kids Activities Blog
• Magic Light Bulb| Happy Brown House
• Jumping Goop| Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls
• Magic Spoon Experiment| The Science Kiddo

Check out these awesome tricks science tricks that use static electricity

10 Simple Experiments With Plants

These simple science experiments will help kids learn about how plants grow. Your kids may also develop a love of gardening at the same time.

• Dyed Flowers Science Experiment|the Imagination Tree
• Cress Heads| Red Ted Art
• Growing Seeds Experiment|Nurture Store
• How Does a Leaf Breathe? |Edventures With Kids
• Growing Beans in a Bag| Science Kiddo
• Sorting and Comparing Seeds| How Wee Learn
• Easy Fall Leaf Experiment| A Little Pinch of Perfect
• Why Do Pine Cones Open And Close|Parenting chaos
• Regrowing Celery|Housing a Forest
• Plant Light Maze|Kiwi Co (Confession time- this one doesn’t really meet the simple criteria, but it is super cool)

10 Very Simple Experiments With Candy

Science experiments are always a hit, but add candy into the mix and you are guaranteed a winner.

• Rainbow Science Activity| Fun With Mama
• Growing Rock Candy|Instructables
• Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag|What Do We Do All Day
• Exploding Peep Geyser. |Housing a Forest
• Floating M From M&M Candy |Little Bins for Little Hands
• Skittles Science|Homeschool Preschool
• Growing Gummy Bears|Playdough to Plato
• Candy Potions|Housing a forest
• Blow Up A Ballooon With Candy and Soda|Learn Play Imagine
• Skittles Rainbow|Playdough to Plato

10 Easy Experiments

Here’s a bunch of experiments that don’t quite fit into any of my categories, but are still fun.

• Making a Penny turn Green|Buggy and Buddy
• Invisible Ink|Step Momming
• Eggshell Geode Crystal Experiment|Sweet Paul
• Magic Milk|Happy Hooligans
• Butterfly Chromatography craft |Buggy and Buddy
•  Homemade Butter |Happy Hooligans
• Solar Power Oven|Motherhood On a dime
• Dancing Oobleck|Housing a Forest
• Making Ice Grow |Teach Preschool
• Underwater Sound Experiment for Kids |Still Playing School

If you are still looking for more science fun, you can find some here and here.

Some gentle reminders

These activities are meant to help you spend time with your kids and make memories. The emphasis should be on having fun together. Enjoy learning more if your child shows an interest in the science behind the activity. Don’t force it if they are not interested. Learning will happen anyway, but having a good time together is important too.

Sometimes the science experiments won’t work according to plan. That’s okay all scientists have experiments that do not work as expected. Did you know that the discovery of antibiotics came from an experiment that went wrong? Failure can lead to all kinds of discoveries.

Safety First: Follow any safety recommendations given. Adults should supervise any science activities. You must decide if an experiment is appropriate for your children. Please keep your children’s safety in mind at all times.

Now it’s your turn

What kinds of science activities have you enjoyed with your children? Please share your links in the comments below.

Want more?

Check out all my science activities

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