“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”- Carl Sagan
You don’t need special equipment or a PhD to get kids excited about science. These easy science experiments are a snap to pull together, using household items you already have on hand. Let the learning—and fun—begin!
The class conducted the first experiment, wherein children made a small boat of two inches long from cardboard. Then the teacher asked them to dip a toothpick in liquid soap and dab it on the sides of the little triangle at the back of the boat. They saw that the boat sail along on its own!
They understood from this experiment that it was related to surface tension. When their boat was sitting on top of the water, the surface tension of the water held it on the surface and is the same on all sides, so their boat didn’t move. Washing detergent has a lower surface tension. When we touch the middle incision of the boat with liquid washing detergent the surface tension pulling the boat back is less than the water pulling it forward. It’s this difference in surface tension that makes their boat surge forward.
In the second experiment they took turmeric powder and mixed with water, the water turned yellow but when they mixed washing powder with this yellow-coloured water the water colour changed into red colour. After that they added some lemon juice into this water. The water colour has changed into yellow colour again. From this experiment they understood that Turmeric is an acid base indicator. When it reacts with bases (like washing powder), it changes colour to deep red. This red form of the indicator can change back to yellow when acids are added. Thus, the colour of the chemical “indicates” the presence of an acid or base.
The students of Class I and II, were very excited to learn about the easy science experiments and thrilled to note the impressive results! The eye-popping chemical reaction demonstrations only required simple supplies from regular household items led the children to such scientific insights.
Spectrum Club
