Top five free science experiments to try

When anyone says the word science it takes me back to the days of school, I think of boring lessons in with a professor talking about elements and formulas that I had no interest in...Well haven’t things changed – so many books and websites with cool experiments to do – try them they are so much fun. Here are my top five favourite for you to try too

1.       Ectoplasmic Gunk

In the book “Slimy Science and Awesome Experiments, by Susan Martineau - B Small Publishing”  it states that “one minute this gunge behaves like liquid, then it’s a solid” – so we tried it...

This is what you need

Cornflour

A bowl

A jug of water with food colouring (any colour works) but watch out for staining!

A table spoon

So how do you make the Ectoplasmic gunk?

First we put the Cornflour in a bowl and added a little bit of the coloured water – then my husband mixed well – sort of well, to be honest he was way too excited so he didn’t stir for long at all, this is what happens to a fully grown man when you tell him he is going to make “Ectoplasmic gunk!” on a Thursday evening (He is 34 years old, they never grow up)

The mixture was a bit too thick so we added a bit more water – in the book it stated that it needs to be the thickness of mayonnaise

Then play with it...If you stab it with the spoon or hold the mixture it goes hard and it feels solid, but if you are gentle with the mixture it goes like liquid. Husband thought cool...16 year old daughter thought “So what” but young ones will love it or husbands...

In the book it says “ That the mixture behaves like this because if you treat the mixture gently then the particles of the Cornflour can slide around each other, but if you push the mixture the particles jam together and act like a solid  “

2.       Make your own lava lamp

Ask your parents if you do not know what a Lava lamp is...bet you a tenner that they had one in the past...when they were wearing flared jeans and floppy hats and listening to those things called records!!

Well they are “funky and far out man” – yes they used to say that

Got this from a great website which has loads of brilliant experiments on

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/activities/funscience/lavalamp/

What you need is

Clear jar with lid

Water

Food coloring

Glitter

Vegetable oil

Salt

Torch (additional)

What you need to do to make your lava lamp

“Fill the jar three-quarters full of water. Add drops of food coloring until you like the color you see. A few drops go a long way! Sprinkle in glitter for extra sparkle. Fill the jar almost to the top with vegetable oil and let the mixture separate. Pour salt into the jar until you see the cool lava lamp effect. When the bubbles stop, add more salt to see it again. Shine a flashlight behind the jar to watch your lava lamp really glow!”

3. Make your own soap sculpture in the microwave

We love this one and it is so simple to do and you can still use the soap afterwards, even if it looks a bit funny – only thing is that you will just have to explain to any guests what happened to the soap in the bathroom – believe me when they get home they too will be putting their soap in the microwave!

What you need to make your soap sculpture

Kitchen towel

Bar of plain soap

What you need to do

Put the bar of soap onto the kitchen towel into a microwave and put on for around 2 mins. What you see will amaze – the soap will grow up to six times as big as the original soap – and will go into some funny shapes.

You can still use the soap – it is not harmful.

Why does this happen? It is all down to something called Charles' Law ('the volume of a gas increases with its temperature'). I found this experiment in an article from http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/01/1000-kids-science-experiements

4. Edible Crystals

This one takes a few days so is great for the summer holidays – but it is sweet and edible – I know not good for the teeth, but just this once – It is all in the name of science.

What you need to make Edible Crystals

3 cups of sugar

 1 cup of Water

Food colouring / flavouring

Saucepan

A clear glass jar

A piece of string

A pencil

What you need to do to make Edible Crystals

In a saucepan add the 3 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water and bring very briefly to the boil whilst stirring the mixture – so an adult needs to do this part.

Put the mixture in the fridge to cool down – adding a few drops of food colouring / flavoring, once cooled pour into the glass clean jar.

Tie a piece of clean string to the middle of a pencil and hang down into the mixture, just off the bottom of the jar.

Over the next 3 to 5 days crystals will form – and they are edible. Yum Yum – try them.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/01/1000-kids-science-experiements

5. Making your own bubble solution    

What you need to make bubble solution

1/2 cup of washing up liquid

5 cups water (soft water is best - if your water is very hard consider using distilled or bottled water)

2 tablespoons glycerine (available at the chemist or supermarket).

How to make your bubble solution

Mix the ingredients together very carefully, so that you they don't get too bubbly. Pour into storage containers and, if possible, leave overnight to blend.

So there you go – I was wrong, science is fun and we have had a great time doing the experiments, why don’t you try them yourself and let me know how they went.

Emily Jones - Education Recycle