To start off this list, here’s an experiment that focuses on three heat-dependent chemical reactions.
By lighting up some baking soda and sugar with a match, you can create a ‘snake’ made from carbon and sugar that continues to grow for up to 20 minutes!
This is a great way to teach kids about acceleration and velocity, and how the material of a wheel can affect the speed and resistance of a skateboard.
We don’t recommend trying this experiment if you’re not a very good skateboarder, however, as this could potentially result in injury.
If you want to create a fun lesson plan to teach your students about the lithosphere, and how earthquakes occur, this is a great project to try out.
You will need to cut up a lot of paper for this project, so you can decide whether to do this beforehand, or to allow your students to fully make the project themselves.
How could it be possible that one thin piece of wire could cleanly slice through an ice cube while leaving the rest of it intact?
Use a piece of wire and an ice cube to test the strange physics of water. To increase the fun, ask your students to guess how long it will take for the wire to split the cube.
Our bodies are fascinating vessels, and it can be so interesting to learn exactly what is going on inside ourselves.
This DIY heart pump may be a little fiddly to piece together, but once complete, you can show your students what is really going on inside their chests.
As we said earlier, sometimes knowing more about something (e.g., an earthquake) can make it seem a little less scary.
This project involves creating sturdy structures, and then using books as a foundation to represent the earth’s plates. See how long your structures will stay standing, and work out how to improve them.
When we were kids, we thought clouds had the same texture as cotton candy, or the inside of a pillow. Nowadays, we know differently… but, do your students?
Teach them what a cloud really is by using rubbing alcohol and a pump to recreate what it really is, but in a smaller form.
By getting your students to design their very own biodome, they can learn more about how an ecosystem works.
You’re going to need some soil, seeds, sand, rocks, and even some creepy crawlies. Add them all into a plastic bottle, and take notes of what occurs inside.
Have you ever eaten glass? Normally we wouldn’t recommend it, but this edible glass is super tasty, and pretty easy to make.
Like real glass is formed through melted grains of sand, this glass is made from grains of sugar. Melt it on a baking sheet, allow it to cool, and then get eating (or smashing).
When you begin to think about how many people have held the coins in your purse at some point, it can make your skin crawl a little. Coins are super dirty.
Try this experiment to see what material can clean coins the best, from apple juice to catsup. You’ll be surprised at how shiny your cents will be afterward!
Most people will remember learning about pH levels in school, and how much fun it was, seeing all the colors of the rainbow.
Blend up some red cabbage with water, and mix with everyday items – such as lemon juice and soda – to test their pH levels based on which color the liquid becomes.
Many of you may have seen this experiment through social media, with many people testing it out with their children at home.
This colorful project involves placing Skittles on a plate, and adding a couple of drops of water. Watch and see how the colors streak across each other.
We all know that sugar is bad for our teeth, but how can you test that notion in a class of 6th graders? Well, by using some eggs!
Place hard-boiled eggs in separate containers filled with soda, energy drinks, orange juice, and milk, and wait to see how the eggs react to each liquid.
Did you know that LifeSaver candy can glow in the dark? Yes, really! This is a great experiment to teach kids how friction can cause electricity, even in your mouth.
Go into a dark room, and chew on some wintergreen-flavored LifeSavers with your mouth open. Everyone around you will be able to see the lightning going off around your teeth.
As we promised, here is an experiment that will teach children why popping candy does what it does!
There are tiny pockets of gas inside popping candy, which are released when exposed to liquid. Test this out by adding the candy to different kinds of liquids, from water to oil.
This is a pretty gross experiment, but it is still a fascinating one that the children are going to love. For this project, you will need to work with some rotting fruit.
Place different fruits in separate bowls, and observe how they decompose over the course of 14 days. Take note of what happens as they rot.
Have you ever been on your phone in a dark room, and a moth landed on the screen? Insects seem to be attracted to light… or, are they attracted to the heat of your phone?
Use this experiment to find out what conditions attract insects. You may want to avoid this one if you don’t like bugs, though.
Paper towels are one of the world’s most underrated inventions, in our opinion. It really is fascinating how they can absorb so much liquid before breaking.
Is it really worth spending more money on a more expensive brand of paper towel? Test the theory by using different kinds of paper towels to clean up water, and see which works best.
This experiment can get a little messy, especially when kids are involved, so be warned before trying it…
Basically, this experiment is all about elasticity. You create a launcher using a balloon and a pool noodle, and use it to launch mini marshmallows around the room!
Kaleidoscopes are truly magical contraptions, no matter what age you are. Did you know how easy it is to make your own at home?
This guide will teach you how to make your own teleidoscope ( a kaleidoscope without an end). All you need is some reflective sheets, colored paper, and a cardboard tube.
Is there anything more interesting than watching life form before your very eyes? By germinating some seeds, you can do this in your own classroom.
Use some fast germinating seeds, and place them in some soil on top of a coffee filter or paper towel inside a container. Watch them grow with each passing day.
Yogurt is so tasty, but it can make some people feel a little weird when they think about what it is made out of. Live microorganisms have never tasted so good!
Providing that you have an oven on hand, along with some cooking utensils, you can show your children how to make homemade yogurt.
Anyone who has ever played a game of Operation will immediately know how this game works. Turns out, you can easily make this at home.
You will need some batteries, clip leads, copper wire, and more to create this fun game. Once the circuit is complete and the box has been built, you can start playing!
We’re back with another magical color changing experiment! This time, you will be using vitamin C, iodine, liquid starch, and hydrogen peroxide to create a clock chemical reaction.
As you mix and pour each liquid into each other, you will notice that the color of the liquid will vastly change.
Science experiments are cool, but they’re even better when you get to create something that you can use more than once.
Use some popsicle sticks, paper clips, and rubber bands to make your very own cell phone stand. This will teach children how to make use of everyday objects, and recycle them.
The law of inertia states that if a person or object is moving at a constant speed in a straight line, they will continue to move until a force stops them. This force is, more often than not, friction.
You can test this law by using a light-up fidget spinner. Spin the fidget spinner without its lights on, and try again with them on. Time each try, and make note of your observations.
This is probably the easiest experiment to attempt in this entire list. All you need are some wooden planks of different lengths and weights, and some random objects.
Try catapulting the same objects from different sized planks by stamping on them, and make note of how the size of the plank affects the trajectory of the object.
If you liked the DIY heart experiment, you will also like this one. Instead of making a replica of the human heart, this project recreates the human lungs.
You will need balloons, straws, and a clear plastic bottle for this experiment. One balloon will represent a healthy lung, while the second balloon (with another balloon inside) will represent a smoker’s lung.
Did you know that owls will regurgitate things that they have eaten that they cannot digest? These bones and pieces of gristle are spat out as a pellet.
Dissecting an owl pellet can be really interesting or really gross, depending on what kind of person you are. Either way, prepare to find some skeletons in your pellets!
This is probably the tastiest experiment in this list, and it is also one of the easiest. This is how you can make instant ice cream in a bag.
Fill a ziplock bag with ice and salt, and fill another bag with all the ingredients you need to make ice cream. Place the second bag in the first, and mush it around until it becomes ice cream!
Finally, we have an entry that is not so much an experiment, but more of an activity that will help kids to learn about the planets in our solar system.
After all, what motivates children more than desserts?
Final Thoughts
Whether you have a child who’s interested in engineering, or they’re fascinating by stuff that changes color, there is something in this list for everyone. Each entry is as entertaining as it is educational!
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