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baking soda experiments

In our part of California, we don't get any snow. While we try to make at least one trip to Tahoe every winter for a weekend of skiing and sledding, sometimes it's still not enough snow to satisfy my kids. To recreate some of that fun winter magic, we decided to make our own snow! It was a great way to have fun with sensory play.Looking for more crafts to decorate for the holidays? Create awesome decorations and have hands-on fun with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612" target="_self">Rainbow Air Dry Clay set </a>from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Pour 1.5 cups of baking soda into the tray.

The ratio of baking soda to shampoo is 6:1.

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Pour a 1/4 cup of shampoo into the same tray. 

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Use your hands to mix these two ingredients! The mixture will soon take on a crumbly, and less sticky, texture, which means your snow is ready for play! For extended fun, add food coloring to create vibrantly colored snow, find small toys to create an arctic habitat in the snow, or build mini snowmen with tiny button accessories!

tray

baking soda

measuring cup

shampoo (preferably white-colored)

Instant Sensory Snow

construction

homemade craft

at-home learning

sounds

Use a straw and water to experiment with sound.

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Use scissors to make angled cuts on a straw.&nbsp;

Make sure the straw is still intact and that you're not cutting all the way through the straw.

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Optional: To secure the straw, cut a piece of cardboard into a right triangle. Match the right angle to where the straw folds and tape the cardboard onto the straw. Make sure the tape doesn't cover the open slit on the straw!

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We worked with different-sized straws to test out unique whistle sounds. What sounds can you make with your whistle?

straws

clear cups

water

scissors

tape (optional)

cardboard (optional)

Water Whistle

chemical reactions

chemistry

experiment

science experiment

quick experiment

easy experiment

Have you ever seen a lava lamp? All of the colorful wax that rises and falls, bobbing around--it's mesmerizing! You've probably wondered how to make one. This is an easy science experiment that you can do at home to create your very own homemade lava lamp. And it only takes a few common household ingredients!Looking for ways to keep your young scientist engaged and learning? Learn about chemistry and practice art skills with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/planet-bath-bombs/3702" target="_self">Planet Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

We love watching the bubbles in a lava lamp dance. But before they get their groove on, there’s a lot of chemistry that has to happen! When you add the oil and water to your bottle, you’ll see that the water sinks to the bottom and the oil sits on top. Try shaking up the bottle (don’t forget to put the cap on) and see what happens. No matter how hard you shake, the oil and water won’t mix together — they’ll always separate out again! There are two reasons that oil and water don’t mix. The first reason has to do with something chemists call polarity. Water is made up of polar molecules. That means each molecule has a positive charge on one end and a negative charge on the other end. Positive and negative ends stick together kind of like magnets. Oil is made up of non-polar molecules. That means they don't have a positive or negative charge. Since the water molecules are looking for a positive or negative charge, they won’t mix with the oil molecules. The second reason has to do with something called density. The denser something is, the more stuff there is packed into it. If you weigh a cup of water and a cup of oil, the water weighs more. That means the water is more dense than the oil, which is why it sinks to the bottom! But there are ways that you can mix them up! Adding the fizzy tablet will create a chemical reaction that causes carbon dioxide gas bubbles to form. Water droplets will stick to the bubbles and hitch a ride to the top of the bottle. Once the bubbles escape, the water droplets will sink back below the oil. It is a density disco, polarity party, and a bubbly ballet all in one!

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Fill the container ⅘ full with vegetable oil. 

We used a funnel, but it’s not necessary! 

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Fill the rest of the container (almost to the top!) with water. If the container is too full it might overflow when you add the fizzy tablets! 

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Add a few drops of food coloring. They should sink to the bottom of the container and color the water. 

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Break up a fizzy tablet and drop it into the container and watch your lava lamp come to life! 

Want to experiment more? Try making a glow-in-the dark lava lamp. Instead of tap water, use quinine water (aka tonic water) and no food coloring. Place your lava lamp under a blacklight to light it up! 

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container

vegetable oil

food coloring

fizzy tablets

Fizzy Lava Lamp

STEM

automaton

motion

mechanics

KiwiCo crate box

recycled craft materials

Halloween

indoor project

Design and build a little automaton with a big personality. What kind of monster will you make?

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Use a large plastic cup and trace four circles on the cardboard. Cut the four circles out. 

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Use school glue to glue two of the circles together to create a thicker cam. For faster results, let an adult apply hot glue. 

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To make the axle, poke one of the cams with a skewer in the center. Don't worry if it's not quite perfectly centered, it will still work. Apply school glue to attach the skewer. For faster results, let an adult apply hot glue. 

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With the end of your scissors, poke a hole about an inch in from the top edge of your shoebox. Cut the straw in thirds and poke one piece through the hole.&nbsp;

Use school or hot glue to secure the straw with the shoebox. The straw allows the skewer to spin freely.

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Poke the second skewer through the center of the second cam. Then, use your scissors to poke two more holes through the sides of the box for the straws. With the cams in place, I had my son help me test out the motion. He was delighted to discover that rotating the horizontal skewer rotated the vertical skewer!

Make sure the second cam doesn't touch the backside of the box when it is assembled. If it does, poke new holes to move the skewer a bit more forward.

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Use your construction paper and markers to make some monsters! You can also use a paper cup to create your monster. Once you are finished, tape or glue it on the vertical axle. Let your monster fly! 

This cardboard automaton uses cams (and followers) to move the monster. A cam is a machine part that moves (either back and forth or around and around) — and that transfers that motion to another machine part called a follower. Transforming one kind of motion into another is a cam’s job. In this machine, the cam and follower transform the horizontal spin of the skewer to the vertical spin of the dancing monster!

cardboard

shoe box

Scissors

skewers (we used 2)

paper cup (or plastic cup)

school glue (or hot glue)

drinking straws - (we used 2)

Construction Paper

markers (optional)

Monster Automaton

printable

earth

learning activity

nature science

nature

Eager to learn more about the world around us? Explore the science of rocks and volcanoes with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/professions-geologist/5846" target="_self">Geologist Starter Kit</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Gather your materials. <a href="https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt5d966d0d1776691c/blt89a3a0d46c95210d/648a3623cc30bb395eb05c4e/Ziploc_Water_Cycle_Bag_Printable.pdf" target="_blank">Download the water cycle printable here</a>.

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Smooth the Ziploc® brand bag out on a flat surface. Use the permanent marker to draw the water cycle from the Water Cycle Printable on the bag. (Draw carefully to avoid puncturing the bag.)

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Pour ⅓ cup of water into the bag (avoid filling the bag more than halfway). Put one or two drops of blue food coloring into the water.

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Find a sunny window and tape the bag up. Tape the bag at a slight angle to simulate the runoff and collection stages of the cycle.

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Check in on the water cycle bag at different times throughout the next few days. Do you see water droplets form along the bag from the condensation? Eventually, you’ll see streaks along the side of the bag as the droplets grow and drop down the side, representing precipitation. From there, the water will recollect and pool at the bottom. How does this mimic the water cycle we see on Earth?

On Earth, the water cycle is influenced by many things, such as energy from the sun, temperature, and the force of gravity. What changes can you make to your bag to observe some of these factors? Try creating a second bag and placing it in a different location (perhaps a shady window) and see how the results differ. You can also leave the bag for a few days and check on it at different stages. See how time of day, temperature, and amount of sunlight affects it!

ziploc® brand sandwich bag

permanent marker (soft felt-tipped)

water (1/3 cup)

blue food coloring (optional)

Tape

water cycle printable

Water Cycle Bags

art project

optical illusions

handmade cards

math

Learn a simple way to understand drawing in perspective by writing your name in 3D! What's going on? You've just used a common artistic technique, called "one point perspective," to create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional piece of paper. By drawing lines from your original letters back to the perspective point, you're setting up boundaries that show how much smaller your block letters would look if you slid them into the distance. Connecting the lines between your original and distant block letters makes it look like the letters are taking up 3D space. This technique can be used to draw even more complicated 3D objects and scenes - experiment with it and see what happens! You can also use a second perspective point, or shadows, to add even more depth to your drawings.Want to explore more hands-on crafts without the hassle of gathering materials? Learn about chemistry and design out-of-this-world bath bombs with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/planet-bath-bombs/3702" target="_self">Planet Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Draw your name in block letters in pencil. Then, trace each of the letters in marker. 

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Make a small mark in pencil anywhere on your paper. This mark will be the vanishing point of your perspective drawing. 
 
What is a vanishing point?
A vanishing point is the point where all parallel lines in a perspective drawing intersect. 

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Draw a line in pencil connecting every point of every letter to the vanishing point. Make sure these lines are light as you will erase them when you have finished your drawing. 

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Trace these lines with marker any distance. Keep in mind that these lines will dictate how long your letters are. 

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When you have finished, connect each of these lines with a horizontal or vertical line. Notice that these lines run parallel to the original letter you drew.&nbsp;

Some letters, like B and Y, have lines where it doesn't make sense to draw horizontal lines. In these instances, draw a line that is parallel to the line in the original letter you drew.

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Erase the pencil lines and then color in your name! If you want more of a challenge, try making your name into a cityscape. 

pencil

Ruler

markers (colored)

eraser

3D Name Drawing

seasonal

outdoor science projects

backyard science

Repurpose your KiwiCo box and make a pinhole projector for safe solar viewing! Light from the sun is focused through a tiny pinhole, then projected onto a screen hidden inside the box. Just peek through the viewing window to safely observe the image of our closest star — the sun!Instead of observing the sun directly, this projector allows you look at an image of the sun. Only a tiny bit of the sun's light enters the pinhole, so this image is much, much, MUCH dimmer than unfiltered sunlight, making it safe to view. And if you're lucky enough to experience a solar eclipse, you can use this viewer to observe the motion of the moon's shadow!Explore more about the cosmos with an <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/astronaut-starter-kit/5696" target="_self">Astronaut Starter Kit</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>! This project comes with everything you need to construct a shuttle, paint a set of model planets, and more.

NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. Even a moment's viewing can damage your eyes forever! Even a partial solar eclipse can cause severe eye damage, so stay safe and always use a projector like this one for eclipse watching or solar viewing. Looking at the sun is dangerous because your eye is a lens, just like a magnifying glass. Ever seen a magnifying glass used to focus sunlight and start a fire? That's exactly what happens to your eye when you look at the sun — so don't do it!

Eclipses occur when the moon passes directly between the sun and the earth. This blocks the sun's light, casting a moon-shadow on the surface of the earth below. During most eclipses, the sun and the moon aren't quite lined up perfectly, so the sun's light is only partially blocked. During a partial solar eclipse, the sun appears crescent-shaped, like the moon. (When safely viewed through a projector, of course.) Very rarely, the sun and the moon line up perfectly, creating an amazing astronomical show for anyone standing in the path of the moon's shadow — a total solar eclipse. Total solar eclipses are very special events, but even a partial eclipse is an exciting chance to experience the moon's motion directly. So have fun — and safe — solar viewing!

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On the back of the box, use a pushpin to make a small hole about 2” in from the middle of one short edge.

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On the other end, make an eyehole using an X-acto knife to cut a 2” square about a ½” in from the edges. 

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Cut two 2½” squares out of black paper. 

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Place a roll of tape in the middle of one black square and trace the inside circle. Carefully cut out the circle without cutting into the square. This will be your eyehole. Optional: Use the second black square to make a smaller or bigger eyehole. 

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Open the box and tape the square to the inside of the box so that the circle is in the middle of the eyehole. 

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Cut one 10½” x 3¼” rectangle out of the white paper. Use double-sided tape to stick the rectangle to the inside of the box, across from the eyehole. 

Panda Crate

Sprout: Koala Crate

Labs: Kiwi Crate

World: Atlas Crate

Studio: Doodle Crate

Labs: Tinker Crate

Studio: Maker Crate

Labs: Eureka Crate

74 cool art science projects projects for kids

Screen-free fun!