Don’t let schools closing be an excuse for kids not learning. Instead of letting them zone out in front of the TV, have them put on their thinking caps for some fun and easy science experiments.
Doing science experiments at home not only keeps kids from sitting in front of a screen all day, but it also helps them learn basic principles of science that will be the building blocks of lessons in the future. Check out these cool ideas below and try one out at home.
Make a homemade parachute
What you’ll need: plastic grocery bag, scissors, paper cup, yarn or string.
- Cut the handles off your grocery bag, punch four holes in the paper cup, and cut four 12-inch strips of string or yarn.
- Thread one piece of string through the holes on the cup and tie one end to the cup, the other end to a corner of the plastic bag. Repeat for each hole.
- You can now launch your cup from a high place or just throw it into the air and watch it float down.
Make ice cream
What you’ll need: 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ cup milk, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, 6 tablespoons salt (rock salt or kosher salt work best, but table salt will work), 1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag, 1 pint-sized Ziploc bag, ice (enough to fill the gallon-sized Ziploc bag).
- Fill gallon bag with ice then cover with salt. Mix then set aside.
- Fill the pint-sized bag with the rest of the ingredients and mix.
- Put pint-sized bag inside gallon bag and rock back and forth for about 10-15 minutes or until ice cream reaches proper consistency.
- Once properly frozen you can enjoy!
Polish pennies
What you’ll need: Lemon, Dirty pennies, a cup, paper towels, hot sauce
- Put your pennies in a cup and cover with the juice of the lemon.
- Wait around five minutes then remove the pennies. Wipe clean on a paper towel.
