While some science experiments require expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals, there are plenty of cool projects you can do with regular household or classroom items. This collection of easy science experiments and activities for kids are simple enough for anyone to try, in the classroom or at home. You’ll find options for every grade level across a variety of science disciplines, plus our free printable experiment recording sheet!
Jump to:
- Easy Chemistry Science Experiments
- Physics Easy Science Experiments
- Easy Biology and Environmental Science Experiments
- Easy Engineering Experiments and STEM Challenges
Science Experiments vs. Demos and Hands-On Activities
A true science experiment is an investigation following the scientific method. A scientist asks a question (“What happens if …?”), makes an educated guess about what will happen (hypothesis), then designs and conducts an experiment to discover answers (conclusions).
Scientific Method Graphic Organizer
This free printable graphic organizer helps kids learn and apply the steps of the scientific method for any experiment.
Not all science activities are experiments. Some are demonstrations of a scientific principle in action—the expected outcome is already known, but children still get to observe, explore, and learn more about a concept.
Many of the “experiments” in this list fall more into the category of a demonstration or hands-on activity. If you’re on the hunt for a science fair experiment, though, you can still use many of the ideas found here by changing up the variables. Our huge roundup of science fair experiments, project ideas, tips, and other resources has all the info you need. Don’t miss it!
Learn more: The Big List of Science Fair Project Ideas, Resources, and More
Easy Chemistry Science Experiments
Skittles Rainbow Experiment
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Skittles, plate, water
Teach kids about diffusion while creating a beautiful and tasty rainbow. Create a circle of Skittles on a plate, then pour water in the middle of the bowl. Watch how the colors mix together once the liquid is added.
Learn more: Skittles Rainbow Experiment: How-To Plus Free Worksheet
Floating Dry Erase Marker
- Grades: 5–12
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Glass dish, dry erase marker, water
Dry a simple shape (fish, stick figure, etc.) on the dish using the dry erase marker, and allow it to dry completely. Then, slowly pour water onto the dish from the edge. As it reaches the dry erase marker shape, the shape should lift and float on the water. This is a fun way to explore solubility and density.
Oobleck (Non-Newtonian Fluids)
- Grades: PreK–8
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Cornstarch, water
Create a simple mixture of water and cornstarch to make Oobleck. Have students test how its materials can react under different stress conditions. Because Oobleck doesn’t follow the usual rules of liquids, it can be a lot of fun for your class to experience this anomaly.
Learn more: How To Make Oobleck (Free Printable Worksheet)
Apple Oxidation
- Grades: K–8
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Apples, various other items
Slice an apple, then try different methods to keep the flesh from turning brown (oxidizing) when exposed to air. Ideas to try: lemon juice, soaking in ice water, sprinkling with salt, etc.
Elephant Toothpaste
- Grades: 5–12
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: 16-oz. empty plastic soda bottle, water, dish soap, 3% hydrogen peroxide (6% is better, if available), dry yeast
Try this variation of erupting projects. This fun project uses yeast and a hydrogen peroxide solution to create overflowing “elephant toothpaste.”
Learn more: Elephant Toothpaste (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
“Magic” Leakproof Bag
- Grades: 3–8
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Zip-top plastic bag, sharp pencils, water
Fill up the zip-top bag with water, then quickly poke the pencils all the way through. Once students are suitably impressed, teach them how the “trick” works by explaining the chemistry of polymers.
Learn more: Leakproof Bag Experiment (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Liquid Layers
- Grades: 3–8
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Clear glass or bottle, liquids of different densities
This density demo is a little complicated, but the effects are spectacular. Slowly layer liquids like honey, dish soap, water, and rubbing alcohol in a glass. Kids will be amazed when the liquids float one on top of the other like magic (except it is really science).
Capillary Action
- Grades: PreK–5
- Time: 60 minutes
- Supplies: Small clear cups, paper towels, water, food coloring
Fill three small cups with water and add food coloring in each: red, yellow and blue. Then, set an empty cup next to each filled cup, creating a circle. Add a folded strip of paper towel inside each filled cup, then into an empty cup, alternating the pattern. Check back in about an hour and notice how the colored water moved to each cup!
Learn more: Rainbow Walking Water Experiment: How-To Plus Free Worksheet
Eggshell Chalk
- Grades: 3–6
- Time: 15 minutes prep, 2-3 days for chalk to dry
- Supplies: 6 clean eggshells ground to make 1 tbsp eggshell powder, 1 tsp flour, 1 tsp very hot water, food coloring
Eggshells contain calcium, the same material that makes chalk. Grind them up and mix them with flour, water, and food coloring to make your very own sidewalk chalk.
Milk Plastic
- Grades: 3–6
- Time: 15 minutes prep, 1 day drying time
- Supplies: Milk, vinegar, paper towels
This sounds a lot more complicated than it is, so don’t be afraid to give it a try. Use simple kitchen supplies to create plastic polymers from plain old milk. Boil one cup of milk in the microwave (about 30 seconds), then mix it with 1 tablespoon of vinegar—the resulting substance will curdle. Line a sieve with paper towels and pour the mixture into it to filter out the solids. Squeeze all liquid out with paper towels, then form the substance into any shape you like (you can use a cookie cutter for this). When it’s completely dry (about 24 hours), you’ll have a hard plastic form.
Growing Mold
- Grades: K–5
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Bread slices, plastic zipper bags
Experiment with various conditions to find out which will grow mold on bread most effectively. Place bread slides in plastic bags and put them in different places: dark room, light room, refrigerator, warm space, etc. Check them daily for signs of mold, and see what encourages it to grow.
Chalk Paint
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Cornstarch, water, food coloring
Explore mixtures and solutions by creating your own sidewalk chalk paint. Combine equal parts cornstarch and water for the base of the paint. Pour the solution into a muffin tin, then add food coloring to each spot. Take the solution outside and paint different images on the sidewalk.
Cabbage PH
- Grades: 5–8
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Red cabbage, water, items to test
Teach kids about acids and bases without needing pH test strips. Simply boil some red cabbage and use the resulting water to test various substances—acids turn red and bases turn green.
DIY Slime
- Grades: 3–8
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Varies depending on recipe
Another non-Newtonian fluid—something that has properties of liquids and solids—is slime. Test how the slime responds to different tests and whether it acts like a solid or liquid in that situation. We have a variety of ways to make slime, so try a few different recipes to find the one you like best.
Learn more: 4 Slime Recipes (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Coin Cleaning
- Grades: K–5
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Oxidized coins, cleaning “solutions” such as hot water, vinegar, ketchup, soda, hydrogen peroxide, etc.
Use common household items to make old oxidized coins clean and shiny again in this simple chemistry experiment. Ask kids to predict (hypothesize) which will work best, then expand the learning by doing some research to explain the results.
Naked Egg
- Grades: PreK–5
- Time: 2-3 days
- Supplies: Egg, vinegar
Take off the shell of an egg without using your hands! Soak a fresh egg in a jar of vinegar to dissolve the calcium carbonate in the eggshell to discover the membrane underneath that holds the egg together.
Learn more: Egg and Vinegar Experiment (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Baking Soda & Vinegar Balloon
- Grades: 5–8
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Baking soda, vinegar, balloon, empty plastic bottle
Fill an empty plastic bottle with vinegar. Then, attach a balloon filled with baking soda on top of the water bottle. With the balloon still attached, dump the baking soda into the vinegar. The baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment demonstrates the reactions between acids and bases when you fill a bottle with vinegar and a balloon with baking soda.
Learn more: Baking Soda and Vinegar Balloon (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
DIY Lava Lamp
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Vegetable, oil, water, food coloring, antacid tablets
Explore density by combining oil, water, and antacid tablets. Notice how the bubbles move up and down in the bottle by the chemical reaction between the antacid tablet and water. Water is denser, so it sinks to the bottom. Oil is less dense, so it floats on top, thus creating a lava lamp effect.
Learn more: DIY Lava Lamp Experiment: How-To Plus Free Worksheet
Eggshell Teeth
- Grades: 3–8
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Eggs, soda, juice, toothpaste
The calcium content of eggshells makes them a great stand-in for teeth. Use eggs to explore how soda and juice can stain teeth and wear down the enamel. Expand your learning by trying different toothpaste-and-toothbrush combinations to see how effective they are.
Giant Bubbles
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Dish soap, water, glycerin, string, dowel rods
Kids learn about surface tension as they engineer these large bubble-blowing wands. Create the bubble solution by using dish soap, water, and glycerin. Get the full instructions at the link!
Learn more: Giant Soap Bubbles (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Solubility Test
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Clear cups, water, and different substances to test, like sugar, salt, sand, and oil
Add each substance to a separate cup of water and stir to see which ones dissolve and which ones don’t. This helps kids compare solubility and understand how different types of matter interact with water.
Salt Painting
- Grades: PreK–5
- Time: 2-3 hours (includes drying time)
- Supplies: Salt, liquid school glue, paper, food coloring or watercolors
Paint in a different way using watercolors and salt. Trace a printed image with liquid white school glue, then generously pour salt onto the glue and shake off excess. Let the salt dry, then paint with watercolor paints. Notice how the salt absorbs the watercolors. When kids drip paint onto the salted glue, the paint is pulled into the salt crystals.
Learn more: How To Create a Salt Painting (Plus Free Printable Worksheet)
Soda Geyser
- Grades: PreK–8
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Mentos, bottle of soda with lid
Combine Mentos and soda to create an explosive reaction! Although you can’t see it, dissolved carbon dioxide is the invisible substance that makes soda bubbly and fizzy. As long as the soda remains in the bottle, the gas is kept in place through the pressurized conditions. When you shake a bottle of soda, some of that gas is released and the bubbles stick to nucleation sites or tiny defects on the inside of the container. If you open the shaken bottle, the bubbles will rapidly rise and push the liquid up and out of the bottle.
Learn more: Mentos and Coke Experiment (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Invisible Ink
- Grades: 3–8
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Lemon juice, paintbrush, paper, candle or other heat source
Turn your kids into secret agents. Write messages with a paintbrush dipped in lemon juice, then hold the paper over a heat source and watch the invisible become visible as oxidation goes to work.
Dancing Popcorn
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Baking soda, vinegar, popcorn kernels, clear jar
This is a fun version of the classic baking-soda-and-vinegar experiment, perfect for the younger crowd. The bubbly mixture causes popcorn to dance around in the water.
Learn more: Dancing Popcorn (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
pH Testing
- Grades: 5–8
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Water samples, pH strips (or a pH meter)
Dip a pH strip into the water or use the meter to test each sample, then compare the results to see if the water is acidic, neutral, or basic. This experiment teaches kids about pH levels and how scientists measure the acidity or alkalinity of liquids.
Magic Milk
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Milk, food coloring, shallow dish
Pour milk into a shallow dish. Then add small drops of food coloring onto the surface of the milk. Using a cotton swab dipped in dish soap, lightly brush the surface of the milk. The dish soap breaks the surface tension of the milk, and the soap molecules try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk. This causes swirls and bursts of fun rainbow colors!
Learn more: Magic Milk Experiment (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Easy Physics Science Experiments
Flying Teabag
- Grades: 6–12
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Empty tea bag, matches or lighter
Learn about the science behind hot-air balloons with this outdoor experiment. Take an empty tea bag and shape it into a cylinder. Light the tea bag on fire and watch how it rises in the air. Hot air expands and becomes less dense than the cooler air outside, causing the tea bag to float.
Rolling Ramp Tests
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Toy car, ramps of varying heights
Place the car at the top of the ramp and let it roll down, then observe how fast it goes and how far it travels. This demonstrates gravity pulling objects downward and shows how the steepness of a ramp and friction affect motion.
Balloon Electricity
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Balloon, tissue paper, scissors
Draw and cut out different shapes onto tissue paper. Tape one end of the shape onto a hard surface. Rub the balloon on top of your hair to create static electricity. Float the balloon over the tissue paper shape to watch it rise up in the air from the static charge.
Simple Compass
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Sewing needle, magnet, small bowl of water, piece of cork or bottle cap
Rub the needle with the magnet to magnetize it, place it on the cork or cap, and float it on the water. The needle aligns with the Earth’s magnetic field, showing kids how a simple compass works to find north.
Index Card Air Pressure
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 5 minutes
- Supplies: Cup of water, index card
Place the card over the top, flip the cup upside down, and carefully let go. The card stays in place and the water doesn’t spill. This shows how air pressure pushes up on the card with enough force to hold the water inside the cup.
Pendulum Swing
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: String, small weight like a washer
Tie the string to the weight and hang it from a hook, doorknob, or sturdy rod so it can swing freely. Pull it to one side and let it go to see how gravity makes it swing and how energy changes between potential and kinetic as it moves back and forth.
Bottle Rocket
- Grades: 5–8
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Cork, plastic bottle, cardboard, duct tape, bike pump
Use this classic easy science experiment to learn about Newton’s third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Get all the instructions you need at the link!
Learn more: Bottle Rocket (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Steel Wool Sparks
- Grades: 6–12
- Time: 5 minutes
- Supplies: Steel wool, 9-volt battery
When you touch the battery to the steel wool, the electric current heats the metal strands, causing them to burn and create sparks. This demonstrates a chemical change and a chain reaction, because once a few strands ignite, the reaction quickly spreads through the rest of the steel wool.
Levitating Ping-Pong Ball
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Empty plastic bottle, bendy straw, duct tape, ping pong ball
Attach the bendy straw to the mouth of the plastic bottle, squeeze the bottle to blow air upward, and place a Ping-Pong ball above the straw so it lifts and floats. When you blow air through the straw, the fast-moving air creates an area of lower pressure above the Ping-Pong ball. The higher air pressure around the ball pushes it upward, making it float or “levitate.” This demonstrates Bernoulli’s principle: faster-moving air has lower pressure.
Tornado in a Bottle
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 5 minutes
- Supplies: Clear empty bottle, water, glitter
All you need is a clear bottle filled with water and a little glitter. When you swirl the bottle in a circular motion and then set it down, the water spins fast, creating a sparkling vortex. This shows how a vortex forms when water moves in a circular pattern and gravity pulls it downward.
Egg Into a Bottle
- Grades: 6–8
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Glass milk bottle, egg, paper, match or lighter
This classic easy science experiment never fails to delight. Use the power of air pressure to suck a hard-boiled egg into a bottle by lighting a piece of paper on fire and dropping it in the bottle before placing the egg at the bottle opening.
Sticky Ice
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 5 minutes
- Supplies: Ice cube, a piece of string, salt
Lay the string on the ice cube, sprinkle a little salt on top, and wait a few seconds. The salt melts the ice slightly, and as it refreezes, the string sticks. This shows how salt affects melting and freezing and demonstrates the concept of freezing point depression.
Flipped Drawing
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 5 minutes
- Supplies: Clear glass of water, piece of paper with arrows drawn on it
Place the paper behind the glass of water and look through it. The arrows appear to flip direction. This demonstrates light refraction, showing how light bends when it passes from one medium (air) into another (water).
Paper Airplanes
- Grades: PreK–12
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Paper
Even young kids know how to build a basic paper plane. So challenge them to tweak the original design to create planes that fly farther than the rest! Create a variety of designs, then test them out to learn which model wins the prize.
Easy Biology and Environmental Science Experiments
Flower Capillary Action
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: White carnations, glasses or jars, water, food coloring
Fill each glass with colored water and place a white carnation in it. Over time, the flowers absorb the colored water through their stems, showing how plants use capillary action to move water from their roots to their petals.
Glitter Germs
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Glitter, soap and water
Everyone knows that glitter is just like germs—it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Sprinkle a little glitter onto one person’s hands. Then, shake hands with another person, and see how easily the “germs” transfer. Then, try rinsing it off, first with just water, then with soap and water. Which is more effective?
Learn more: Teach Kids How Germs Spread With This Free Printable Activity
Water Cycle in a Bag
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Plastic bag, water, food coloring
You can do so many easy science experiments with a simple zip-top bag. Fill one partway with water and set it on a sunny windowsill to see how the water evaporates up and eventually “rains” down.
Learn more: Water Cycle Lesson Slides and Video
Plastic Bag Transpiration
- Grades: 4–8
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Plant or tree, clear plastic bag, rubber band
Cover a leaf or small branch on a living plant or tree with the bag and secure it with the rubber band. After a while, water droplets appear inside the bag, showing how plants release excess water through transpiration. (Choose a warm, sunny location for fastest results.)
Oil Spill Cleanup
- Grades: 4–8
- Time: 45 minutes
- Supplies: Shallow container, water, vegetable oil, small toys, materials for cleaning up the spill
Fill the dish with water and place some small toys inside. Then, pour on the oil (mix it with a little food coloring for a more vivid effect) and gently move the container to swish the water. Now, challenge kids to try removing the oil from the water, toys, and container. This experiment teaches problem-solving and shows how engineers clean up environmental disasters like oil spills.
Model Lungs
- Grades: 3–5
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Balloon, straw, tape
Use a balloon and straw to create a simple lung model. When you blow into the straw, the balloon inflates like a lung. This demonstrates how our lungs fill with air, helping kids understand the respiratory system and how breathing works.
Rocks & Vinegar
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Variety of rocks, vinegar
Pour a little vinegar onto each rock and watch for bubbles. If it fizzes, the rock contains calcium carbonate, like limestone. This experiment teaches kids how to identify certain types of rocks using a simple chemical reaction.
DIY Rain Gauge
- Grades: PreK–5
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Empty plastic bottle, ruler, permanent marker
Use the ruler to mark quarter, half, and one-inch lines on the bottle, then set it outside in an uncovered space. Monitor your measurements and see how they stack up against meteorology reports in your area.
LEGO Landforms
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: LEGO bricks
Stack the bricks in layers to represent different rock layers, then gently push or slide sections to see how mountains, valleys, and other landforms can form. This experiment helps kids understand how Earth’s landforms are created through movement and pressure.
Play Dough Core Sample
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Playdough, clear drinking straw or tube
Layer the play dough to represent the Earth’s crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core, then use the straw to take a “core sample” through the layers. This demonstrates the structure of the Earth and how scientists study its layers.
Learn more: Genius Ways To Use Play-Doh in the Classroom
Star Projector
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 10 minutes
- Supplies: Paper cup, pin or needle, flashlight
Poke small holes in the bottom of the cup to represent stars, then shine the flashlight through the holes in a dark room. This DIY star projector shows how light and darkness affect what stars we can see, helping kids understand why stars are visible at night.
Shaving Cream Rain Clouds
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Cup of water, shaving cream, food coloring
Fill a cup with water, add a layer of shaving cream on top to represent a cloud, and drip food coloring onto the shaving cream. When the “cloud” gets too heavy, the colored droplets fall through the water like rain, showing how clouds hold moisture and release it as precipitation.
Balloon Fingerprint
- Grades: PreK–5
- Time: 5 minutes
- Supplies: Balloon, washable ink
Lightly press your finger onto the ink, then onto the slightly inflated balloon. Inflate the balloon fully to see your fingerprint stretch and magnify, helping kids explore the unique patterns in fingerprints.
Edible DNA Model
- Grades: 5–8
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Twizzlers or Red Vines, gumdrops, and toothpicks
Use the Twizzlers to represent the DNA backbone and gumdrops as the base pairs, connecting them with toothpicks. This hands-on model helps kids visualize the structure of DNA in a fun and edible way.
Flower Dissection
- Grades: 3–8
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Flower, scissors, magnifying glass, tweezers
Take a nature walk and find a flower or two. Bring them home and take them apart to discover all the different parts of flowers.
Easy Engineering Experiments and STEM Challenges
Potato Battery
- Grades: 4–8
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Potato, copper coin or wire, zinc nail, connecting wires, small clock
You can pick up everything you need for this cool experiment at the hardware store. Insert the copper and zinc into the potato and connect them with wires to a small LED or clock. The potato acts as a simple battery, generating electricity through a chemical reaction between the metals and the potato’s acids. This teaches kids how chemical energy can be converted into electrical energy.
Learn more: Potato Battery Experiment: How-To Plus Free Worksheet
Balloon-Powered Car
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Toy car, drinking straw, balloon, duct tape
Create a balloon-powered car by attaching a straw to the end of a balloon. Then, tape the straw on top of a toy car. Blow up the balloon using the straw and watch how the car rolls when the air is released from the balloon.
Learn more: Balloon-Powered Car Experiment: How-To Plus Free Worksheet
Craft Stick Ferris Wheel
- Grades: 4–8
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Wood craft sticks and other basic supplies like rubber bands, tape, glue, push pins, etc.
Use wood craft sticks to design and build your own Ferris wheel, then test different structures to see which design spins smoothly and supports the most weight. This activity teaches kids about engineering, balance, rotational motion, and how forces work together to keep a structure stable.
DIY Phone Stand
- Grades: 6–8
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Wood craft sticks and other basic makerspace supplies like rubber bands, tape, glue, push pins, etc.
Use simple materials to design and build a DIY phone stand, testing different shapes and angles to see which one holds a phone securely. This activity teaches kids about engineering design, stability, and why everyday inventions, like phone stands, solve real problems by making our lives easier.
Egg Drop
- Grades: PreK–12
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Eggs and basic makerspace supplies
Put all their engineering skills to the test with an egg drop! Challenge kids to build a container from recycled items they find around the house that will protect an egg from a long fall. You can test their designs from a ladder or a tall structure at a playground (with adult supervision).
Learn more: Egg Drop Challenge Ideas
Roller Coaster STEM Challenge
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 30 minutes
- Supplies: Basic makerspace supplies like cardboard, tape, straws, rubber bands, tape, glue, push pins, etc.
Build a small roller coaster track and roll a marble or small ball down it. This hands-on challenge teaches kids about gravity, friction, and motion while encouraging creativity and problem-solving.
Spoon Catapult
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Plastic spoon, wood craft sticks, rubber bands, pom poms or mini marshmallows
Give kids time to figure out how to build a catapult from the basic supplies. Challenge them to make a catapult that shoots objects the farthest!
Water Glass Xylophone
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Glasses, water, spoon
Line up the glasses, then fill them with varying levels of water and tap them with the spoon. Try to create a setup that plays a scale, then use them to play a tune!
Sink or Float
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 15 minutes
- Supplies: Large container of water, variety of smaller items
This super-simple experiment encourages little ones to think about which items will sink or float in water—an introduction to density. It gives them practice making predictions, planning an experiment, testing their hypothesis, and observing the results. Perfect for preschoolers!
Solar Oven
- Grades: 4–8
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Cardboard box, foil, scissors, tape
Explore the power of the sun when you build your own solar ovens and use them to cook some yummy treats. This experiment takes a little more time and effort, but the results are always impressive.
Learn more: Solar Oven (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
Bridge Building
- Grades: 4–8
- Time: Varies
- Supplies: Wood craft sticks
Construct a bridge without using glue or tape, stacking and interlocking the pieces so it supports its own weight. This experiment teaches kids about engineering, balance, and how forces like tension and compression work in bridges.
Index Card Loop
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 5 minutes
- Supplies: Index card, scissors
This is one easy science experiment that never fails to astonish. With carefully placed scissor cuts on an index card, you can make a loop large enough to fit a (small) human body through! Kids will be wowed as they learn about surface area.
Cup Structure
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Paper cups
Challenge kids to stack and arrange the cups to build a structure that can hold weight without collapsing. This activity teaches principles of physics, engineering, and structural design while encouraging problem-solving and creativity.
Newspaper Tower
- Grades: 4–8
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Newspaper, masking tape
Challenge kids to build the tallest free-standing tower possible using only these materials. This activity teaches engineering principles, balance, and structural stability while encouraging creativity and problem-solving.
Rubber Band Guitar
- Grades: PreK–2
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Cardboard box, rubber bands of various sizes
Create a simple rubber-band “guitar” to explore how sound waves change based on the materials and shapes around them. Students can stretch rubber bands of different thicknesses and tensions across an open box, then pluck them to hear how the sound varies. This quick build always becomes a kid favorite!
Better Umbrella
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Basic makerspace supplies
Challenge students to engineer the best possible umbrella from various household supplies. Encourage them to plan, draw blueprints, and test their creations using the scientific method.
LEGO Marble Maze
- Grades: 2–5
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: LEGO bricks and baseplate, marble
Design and build a marble maze using LEGO bricks and a baseplate, arranging walls, pathways, and obstacles to guide a marble from start to finish. As students test and refine their designs, kids naturally engage in problem-solving, spatial reasoning, and creative engineering. This hands-on challenge is always a hit because students love seeing whether their marble can successfully navigate the twists and turns they’ve built.
Solar Eclipse Viewer
- Grades: 2–8
- Time: 20 minutes
- Supplies: Box with a lid, thumbtack, scissors, white paper, foil, marker
Is a solar eclipse coming your way? Teach your students about the solar eclipse, and help them safely view this exciting event with just a few simple materials.
Learn more: Solar Eclipse Viewer (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
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