Every now and then, kids like to be treated to some exploration activities. They want to explore the world and they’ll go to extra lengths to test your limits, but all out of curiosity and the need to learn. Adults are not left out because come to think about it, the most trending videos on social media accounts involve adults in their, well, for lack of a better phrase, in their childhood elements. This is given and there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of fun in experimenting with new ideas.
However, you’ll need to be extra cautious with what you’re experimenting with. There have been reported cases of experiments that went horribly wrong, even when under supervision. This article couldn’t have come at a better time, especially considering how much we need scientists out there to work on cures and vaccinations. What better way to mold them than through experiments and explorations?
In this piece, we’ll be sharing some cool experiments you can do at home for entertainment. So get your goggles, your gloves, and aprons ready and let’s get right on with it!
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Become an Experimental Physicist
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take much to become a physicist. Well, apart from the fact that you’ll need to ace your mathematics, physics, and other sciences. But one thing to note is that it has to begin from somewhere. This is where this article comes in; to take you through some cool experiments that will involve what physicists do best. Light has remained to be an age-old topic of discussion among scientists, explorers, and astronauts. Light is what brings meaning to life.
So, don’t you want to explain to your kids in simple terms how Aurora Borealis and Australis came to be? Experimenting with light is one of the safest experiments you can undertake right at home. Going by PASCO scientific spectroscopy experiments, you’ll learn of different light variations when light passes through a prism or different transmissive objects. This is actually the science behind microwaves, infrared, X-ray, and various laboratory sampling procedures. By far and large, experimenting with light will be an eye-opener to physicists in the making. Among the things you can do include:
- Color mixing with lights
- Learning about shadows
- Using prisms to learn about light dispersion
- Experimenting with a glow
- Mixing glowing oil and water experiments
- Using mirrors to reflect light
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Exploding Volcanoes
The exploding volcanoes are typically in every wanna-be geologist’s to-do list. But you want to be extra cautious of the ingredients you choose for this experiment. Contrary to what you’ve seen on various experiment shows, you don’t need to use corrosive chemicals in this experiment. Actually, everything you need is right under your nose! Here’s what you need for this experiment:
- Carton board
- Plastic bottle
- Caramel colored soda (diet cola)
- Mentos
Procedure
- Use the carton board as the base for your volcano
- Using dough or paper paste, mold your volcano around the bottle of soda
- Set it to dry and color it with the colors of your choosing
- When dry, drop a few pieces of Mentos and watch as your volcano erupts
You can always refill your volcano with soda and test it using various products such as baking soda. But be prepared to clean the mess afterwards.
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Dance With Oobleck
This is the green stuff in Dr. Seuss’ famous book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Oobleck has properties that have for the longest time puzzled scientists around the world; it’s neither solid nor liquid. For this experiment, you’ll need a sound source, preferably a speaker that is not in use, but can produce sound and lay it flat on its magnetic side. You’ll then need to place the Oobleck on the speaker’s diaphragm. The vibrations from the speaker will cause this gooey substance to form shapes that “dance!”
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Freeze!
For those who had the pleasure to watch the cartoon animation Frozen, then you can relate! But this doesn’t mean that you’ll have to freeze your entire house for this experiment to be successful. On the contrary, all you need is a glass of water that’s cooled below its freezing point and an ice cube. When placed in the cold water, the ice cube will cause the water to instantly freeze. You don’t believe it? Try it out. It won’t cost much!
Experimenting on staff is among the best ways to learn because, while it can be pretty easy to forget a sentence you learned in kindergarten, the experiments you learned will forever be engraved in your memories. But as a cautionary measure, ensure that kids are always supervised whenever they’re experimenting with stuff.
