Science Friday: Rainbow Rain Clouds
It’s Friday which means it’s time for another science experiment! In this experiment, kids will learn how rain builds up in the clouds and what happens when the clouds are full. Different colored “raindrops” are visually stimulating for young children and will keep them engaged. They can also see what happens when colors mix. Help your child use their science skills and have them predict what will happen.
Rainbow Cloud Experiment
Materials
- Glass Jar
- Cups or bowls (one for each color you plan to use)
- Water
- Shaving cream
- Food Coloring
- Spoon
- Eye or medicine dropper
- Paper towels
Instructions
- Use your spoon to mix water and food coloring in different cups to create different colored raindrops.
- Fill the glass jar 3/4 full with plain water.
- Add shaving cream to the top of the water in the jar — roughly 1-2 inches. Be sure the shaving cream covers the entire top of the water.
- Use the eye/medicine dropper to drop different color “raindrops” on top of the shaving cream. Do this part slowly and carefully!
- See how long it takes for the raindrops to come through the “clouds.”
The Science Behind It
The rainbow rain cloud experiment helps to introduce and explain why it rains. In this experiment, the shaving cream slowly absorbs the colored water. Once the shaving cream becomes too full, the colored water drips its way out into the water. Rain clouds do the same thing! As the clouds absorb water and get full, they begin to swell and it starts to rain! Hope you all have fun with this!
Science Friday: Underwater Volcano Experiment
Observing and predicting are two important concepts in your child’s science education. Observing teaches them to use their senses to gather and organize information about the world. Predicting is when they use the information they have observed to make a guess about what will happen. Although science can seem like an intimidating subject for preschoolers, it doesn’t have to be! This underwater volcano experiment is the perfect example. It’s simple, mess-free, attention-grabbing, and best of all – teaches the scientific method. Follow along below!
Underwater Erupting Volcano
Materials
- Large jar
- Small jar (make sure it fits inside the larger jar)
- A small rock
- Hot and cold water
- Food coloring
Instructions
- Pour cold water into the large jar.
- Place the small rock in the small jar. This will help to weigh down the jar and keep it from floating in the larger jar.
- Carefully pour the hot water into the smaller jar and add your food coloring.
- Gently place the smaller jar inside the larger jar and observe what happens!
The Science Behind It
Water is made up of something called molecules. Hot and cold water are made up of the same type of molecules. The only difference is that the molecules in hot water move around much more than the molecules in cold water – kind of like a kid with a lot of energy! Because the hot water molecules move around more, it creates an “underwater eruption” when placed into the jar of cold water.
Science Friday: Tie-Dye Easter Eggs
This experiment comes just in time for Easter weekend courtesy of Ms. Tevin. The results are colorful and bright, and we know your kids will love it! If you have eggs, food coloring, and vinegar, then you are ready to go. Let’s hop right into it!
Tie-Dye Easter Eggs
Materials
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Food coloring
- Paper towels
- Spray bottle
- Vinegar
- Twist-ties or rubber band
Instructions
- Carefully wrap hard-boiled eggs in paper towels and secure them tightly with twist ties or a rubber band.
- Drop food coloring onto the towel-wrapped egg, mixing and adding different colors. You may add more or less coloring to create different effects. This is a great time to experiment with color mixing!
- When finished adding the colors you like, take your spray bottle filled with vinegar and spray egg until completely wet.
- Here is the hard part…. WAIT for 4-6 hours until the paper towel is completely dry.
- After the paper towel is dry, peel it away from the egg and see the amazing results!
The Science Behind It
Think of foods you’ve tasted like lemons, limes, or pickles. Do they taste sour? YES! Those things taste sour because of the acid in them. If you tasted the vinegar, you would taste that it is also sour because it’s acidic. The acid in vinegar helps the food coloring to “stick” to the egg and color it. We hope you enjoy and have fun with this experiment!
Happy Easter from PALZ!
Science Friday: How to Scavenger Hunt Like a Pro
Learning at home doesn’t mean being stuck inside. In fact, let’s get outside a bit today! I think we should go on an outdoor scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts exercise both brain and body, teach teamwork, and help little ones use their observational skills. Together, you can identify colors, shapes, textures. and the number of objects. All you need for an outdoor scavenger hunt is a yard and a list of items to look for. You can shorten or lengthen the list as needed. Let’s get hunting!
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Materials
- a bag for collecting items
- scavenger hunt list (see below or make your own!)
Items to Collect
- 5 leaves that look different
- A stick that is longer than your hand
- A rock with spots on it
- A flower
- A smooth rock
- 10 blades of grass
- Something you love to play with
- A piece of trash you can recycle
- Something that is brown
- Something that is heavy
- Something that is light
- Something that needs sun to live
- An item smaller than your thumb
- Something that starts with “M” (or any letter you choose!)
- Something that smells good
The Science Behind It
Observation is essential in science! Before you can begin to hypothesize about how or why things work, you have to observe them. Exploring the outdoors provides your child with the opportunity to observe and notice things they might otherwise overlook. Happy hunting!
Science Friday: How to Turn Milk Into Plastic
We love science time here at PALZ! Science teaches us to observe the world around us, ask questions, and come to conclusions about how the universe works. Take a look at this fun science project from Ms. Katie. When doing a project with your child, be sure to ask questions like “what do you think will happen?” and “why do you think that happened?” Observe textures (wet, dry, slimy, hard), count items (1 cup, 2 tablespoons), and name motions (stir, mix, knead, squeeze). Above all, have fun and don’t be afraid to get a little messy!
How to Turn Milk Into Plastic
Materials
- Milk
- Vinegar
- Cookie Cutters
- 1 cup measuring cup
- A tablespoon
- Strainer
- Paper towels
- Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Pour 1 cup of milk into a microwave safe bowl.
- Heat up the milk for about 1 minute and a half (making sure the milk is hot but NOT boiling.)
- Remove from microwave and add 4 tablespoons of vinegar.
- Begin stirring. The milk will begin to clump up, but keep stirring for about a minute.
- Pour the milk through the strainer and push down to get all the liquid out. The solids should remain in the strainer.
- Transfer the solids to paper towels and continue to squeeze out any remaining liquid. The more liquid you are able to remove, the sturdier your plastic will be so get those little hands squeezing!
- If you are adding food coloring, now is the time to knead it in.
- Mold your plastic using your hands or cookie cutters. Once shaped, it typically takes about two days to completely dry.
The Science Behind It
Milk is made up of proteins. These proteins are called caseins (kay-seens). When you remove the caseins from the milk, they clump together to form a plastic and can be used to make a variety of things including buttons or beads.
