I did a special program for kids in grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade this past spring break. My coworker and I have quickly realized that any program pertaining to science will bring a good turnout. I decided to do a Lil’ Scientists program. It was a huge hit and something I might turn into a series down the road.
The one big recommendation is to test all your science experiments before your program. I had to fiddle with a few things to make sure they worked for the kids.I would also recommend having almost everything set-up for the kids before they arrive. Pouring water and cleaning up water is very time consuming.
Below are the science experiments we conducted.
Paper Towel Bridge
Directions: Learn, Love, Create or Science Kids
Observations: I started the program with this experiment. It can take a bit longer for the water to transfer between the cups based on set-up. I already had the water in the cups for the kids, but I allowed them to chose their color combinations.
Paper Towel Dry Test
Directions: Cool Science Experiments
I remember doing this experiment in grade school and thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Observations: Every table had a bowl of water with a glass for the kids to experiment. Lots of paper towels!
Pepper and Soap Test
Directions: Cool Science Experiments Headquarters
Observations: I only allowed the kids to do one session with this experiment. I made them choose the person who would have the honor of dipping the q-tip into the solution. Although, the movement only really happens once or twice, the kids still had fun breaking up the pepper.
Lava Lamp
Directions:Hello, Wonderful
Observations: This was the kids’ favorite experiment. They loved watching the eruption happen. We were able to even catch an image of some of the fizzling happening. I would recommend limiting the number of food coloring drops. Some of the experiments got too dark for the kids to see what was happening.