3 Science Activities for Preschoolers

Science is always so much fun!  Even when I was little I would attempt to mix different ingredients together to see what would happen.  Science just so happens to be one of S’s favorite subjects, probably because it is so hands on.  Below are some of our favorite science experiments/activities.

Milk, Food Coloring and Dish Soap

This is such a fun experiment to watch!  You will want to do it over and over!  

You will need:

• milk
• food coloring
• dish soap (Dawn)
• cotton swab

Pour milk onto a dinner plate (should cover completely).  Add drops of food coloring to the milk.  Try to keep the drops close together in the center of the plate.

Place dish soap on the end of a cotton swab.  Next dip the soapy end of the cotton swab in the middle of the plate and hold it for 15 seconds.  The food coloring should burst.

Baking Soda and Colored Vinegar

A well known experiment is mixing baking soda and vinegar together.  We have done several experiments with the two but this is one of my favorites because it lasts longer.

You will need:

• Baking Soda
• Vinegar
• Food Coloring
• Eye Dropper

Cover a plate or low bowl with baking soda.  In small bowls, mix together vinegar and food coloring.  We made several different colors.

Using an eye dropper drop colored vinegar onto the baking soda and observe what happens.  What happens when two or more colors combine? 

Why does it work? Baking soda and vinegar react with each other because of an acid-base reaction.  Baking soda is a bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) and vinegar is an acetic acid (HCH₃COO).  When combined they create carbon dioxide. 

 

Walking Water

This is a great activity to learn about how colors mix together.  The experiment also teaches about capillary action.  The water moves or walks up the paper towels into the empty glass.  The middle glass will fill up with water until all the glasses have an equal amount of water. 

You will need:

• 3 glasses or jars (or more)
• water
• food coloring
• paper towels or napkins 

Start by adding water to two glasses and mixing in the color that you want, we used red in one and blue in the other.  Line up the glasses: colored water, empty, and colored water.  Take a paper towel or napkin and fold it the long way.  Place one end of the paper towel in the colored water and then other end in the empty glass.

Immediately, the colored water will start walking up the paper towel.  We left the experiment alone and came back several times to see the progression of the water.  As the colored water from each glass reaches the empty glass the two colors will mix and form a new color.  The water will stop walking once all three glasses are the same height.

We used two colors to form a third, but you can easily do more by using additional glasses and colors.

Why does it work?  Capillary action is the process of water moving or walking up the paper towels into the empty glass.  Plants work similarly moving water from the roots to the branches.  

Bonus 🙂

S and I had previously experimented with Fireworks in a Jar, which was so much fun!

 Do you enjoy science?