Hands-on science experiments at home or in the classroom are a fun way to engage kids and get them excited about science. Today's sites house hundreds of easy experiments that can be done with supplies that you probably have around the house, or can get at the grocery store.
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"Get messy, get airborne, get loud, get shocked!" San Francisco's Exploratorium hands-on science museum offers a sampler of thirty simple experiments excerpted from two "Science Explorer" books. Elsewhere they provide a hundred more experiments called "snacks" because they are both fun and easy. The Science Snacks are organized by category, or listed alphabetically on a single page (where you can use your browser search function to find something specific.)
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Funology organizes "The Science of Having Fun" into Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Weather experiments. All of these are easy experiments suitable for elementary and middle-school kids. If you have a favorite experiment of your own, Funology invites you to submit it (look for the Share It With Us button.) After perusing the experiments, be sure to venture onto the rest of the site, where you'll find magic tricks, recipes, crafts and games, all with a science theme.
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From the PBS television series Zoom, these science experiments include feedback from kids around the world who have already tried them. That's pretty cool! Even cooler is being able to submit your own comments after performing the experiments. The ZoomSci activites are categorized into Chemistry, Engineering, The Five Senses, Forces, Life Science, Patterns, Sound, Structures, Water, with a special icon marking those activities that help the environment.
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"Here's a popular experiment that's been around for years and has left many kitchens in ruin (just kidding of course)." Reeko is a mad scientist with a sassy attitude and an engaging writing style. Best reasons to love Reeko, though, are his experiment rating system (Easy, Intermediate and Advanced), so we have some idea of what we are getting ourselves into, and the interesting science tidbits he includes in Parent's Notes at the bottom of most experiment pages. His mad experiments are divided into twelve categories, including a few you won't find elsewhere such as Cohesion and Flotation.
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After twelve years in the classroom, Steve Spangler is now a science teacher's teacher, and a media personality,. "This hands-on science library represents Steve's most requested science experiments from his weekly television appearances and live presentations throughout the country." Start with the Top Ten list on the front page, where you'll find Mentos Geyser - Diet Coke Eruption (be sure to read How Does It Work), along with the classic Egg in the Bottle trick. Alternatively, if you scroll past the Top Ten list, you can navigate the experiments via the category links.
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By Barbara J. Feldman. Originally written on Jan 17, 2007. Last Modified on Apr 23, 2012.
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Buy Easy Science Experiments Printable for $2.00 or try a FREE trial of the Printables Club
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Honorable Mentions
The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
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