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Create mini marshmallow launchers with everyday household items. Get extra cozy with some hot cocoa and see how many marshmallows land inside your mug!

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Carefully cut out the bottom of the plastic cup. If needed, your grownup assistant can do this for you!

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Leaving the balloon deflated, tie a knot to close the opening. Then, cut about a quarter inch off the top of the balloon to create a large opening.

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Stretch the balloon over the bottom opening of the plastic cup. Give the knot a tug to make sure it is on securely.

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Now your marshmallow shooter is ready! Load up the marshmallows and give the balloon a tug to see how far they go!

balloons

mini marshmallows

plastic cups

scissors

Marshmallow Launcher

craft

3 material crafts

household craft

homemade craft

easy craft

recycled craft materials

quick craft

Quickly “age” paper with tea bags to create a beautiful worn-looking texture, then use it to create maps, journals, posters, and more.

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Heat up a cup of water in the microwave or in a pot. Add a tea bag and allow it to steep for at least 10 minutes.  

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Take your paper and tear around the edges to make it look worn.  

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Allow tea bag to cool enough so it is safe (and comfortable) to handle. Do not ring out too much tea from the bag, but enough so you do not over saturate the paper. Use the tea bag as a paint brush and cover the entire piece of paper.  

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If desired, allow the first coat to dry and repeat for a darker color.

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You can also create the tea paper on paper that has not been torn along the edges. Here the student is creating tea paper to use to make a old-fashioned circus poster!

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Once the paper is dry, use it to make a map.

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Or to create a poster that looks weathered by time.

1 tea bag

water

white paper (construction or computer paper)

Making Tea Paper for Maps, Journals and More

chemistry

chemical reactions

edible experiments

eruptions

Are you in for a surprise treat to share with your friends and family? This homemade version of the classic pop rocks will get you fizzy with baking soda and citric acid! Personalize this candy with your own flavor and experience this chemical reaction in your mouth!Want to explore more kitchen science experiments? Explore the tastier side of learning with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/science-of-cooking-bread-butter-project-kit/5463">Science of Cooking: Bread &amp; Butter</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Spread the powdered sugar over a metal baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of citric acid over the powdered sugar. 

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Measure out the other 2 tbsp of citric acid into a small bowl and set it aside. 

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In a medium saucepan, add the granulated sugar, the water, and the corn syrup. Place the saucepan of the medium heat. 

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Stir the mixture until it boils. Then stop stirring and wait until the mixture just starts to turn brown at 305 degrees F. This will take about 5 minutes.

Watch this step very carefully - once the sugar starts to brown, it will burn very quickly.

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Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for 3-5 minutes, or until the bubbles subside. While it's cooling, measure out the baking soda, food coloring, and flavoring oil into a small bowl.

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Add the baking soda mixture to the pan and mix until combined. Be careful, the sugar mixture in the saucepan is still very hot. Then immediately pour it out onto the powdered sugar you spread on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of citric acid over the hot sugar. Let it cool to room temperature.

Break up the cooked candy into small pieces with your hands or by crushing it with a rolling pin. Pop some in your mouth and feel the fiz! For maximum fizz, crunch the candy and then hold it in your mouth for a few seconds. Do the bubbles tickle your tongue?

What's going on?
This recipe keeps the citric acid and baking soda separate until you eat it. When these two ingredients combine with the saliva in your mouth, it creates carbon dioxide gas. It doesn't "pop" like the fizzy candy sold in stores, but you are still experiencing a chemical reaction in your mouth!

powdered sugar (1/4 cup)

canning citric acid (available on amazon) (3 tbsp )

granulated sugar (1 cup)

water (3 tbsp)

light corn syrup (2 tbsp)

baking soda (1 1/2 tsp)

flavoring oil (of your choice) (1/8 tsp )

food coloring (3 drops)

Fizzy Candy

magnets

magic tricks

easy experiment

quick experiment

food science

Pull a couple of cereal boxes from the shelf and test their iron content with this simple experiment. It's fun to see your breakfast whiz across the surface of milk using a magnet!Want to explore more kitchen science experiments? Explore the tastier side of learning with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/science-of-cooking-ice-cream-project-kit/5461" target="_self">Science of Cooking: Ice Cream</a> from the<a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self"> KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Bring the magnet close to the cereal (without touching it!) and see if you can start moving the pieces! If there is enough iron in the cereal and your magnets are strong enough, you will be able to move the cereal pieces around the bowl!
 
 Do certain types of cereal move faster than others when chasing the magnet? You can conduct this experiment many times to see which cereals have a high iron content and which ones don't.&nbsp;

Be very careful with these magnets and keep them away from small children! In this experiment, adults should handle the magnets as they can be very dangerous if swallowed or handled improperly.

What's going on?
 This is a simple experiment that demonstrates magnetic attraction, a force that pulls on things from a distance. Magnets, like your neodymium magnet, are made of a special alloy - or mixture - of three types of metal (neodymium, boron, and iron), which allows them to create a magnetic field. This magnetic field pulls on other magnets and metals, like the iron in your cereal (many breakfast cereals have iron added to make them more nutritious). But what’s a magnetic field? People have been asking this question for centuries, but we still don’t really know what a magnetic field is made of. We do know, though, that magnetic fields are invisible - and lots of fun to play around with! Explore some more by creating a solution of crushed up cereal in liquid.

bowl

milk

cereal (with high iron content)  (We used cereals that had over 150% DV iron content per 100 g serving)

neodymium magnets (1)

Magnetic Cereal

experiment

science experiment

physics

See how a drop of soap can create an explosion of color with this easy experiment!Want to learn more about chemistry without the hassle of gathering materials? Explore 11 fun chemistry experiments with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/chemistry-play-lab-project-kit/3971" target="_self">Chemistry Play Lab</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Squeeze a few drops of food coloring in the center of the milk. Just one drop per color is a good amount. You definitely want to add several different colors to get the full effect!

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Squeeze a little dishwashing liquid into a jar or cup. Then, dip the end of the cotton swab into the dishwashing liquid. 

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Touch the swab with the dishwashing liquid to the center of the milk and watch closely.

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Watch the color explosion! You should be able to touch the swab several more times before the explosions stop. (If you want to try it again, you'll need to pour it out and start over.) What's happening? Why do the colors burst? The secret is in the tiny drop of dish soap. Have you ever wondered why cleaning a dish with soap is so much more effective than using just water? You can try this yourself by smearing some oil onto two identical plates. Give yourself just 30 seconds each to clean one with just water, and the second with water and dish soap. The one you clean with only water will probably still feel very oily, while the one you washed with soap feels much cleaner. The reason soap is so good at cleaning things is because of a special property of the soap molecules. One end of each molecule is hydrophilic, or water-loving. That end of the molecule easily dissolves in water. The other end is hydrophobic, or water-fearing. That end won't go near the water molecules, but it will attach easily to the oil. With the hydrophobic end of the soap molecule grabbing onto the oil molecules, the plate is clean in no time! That's exactly what you're seeing happen in the milk explosion. In addition to water, milk contains lots of fat and protein. Just like oil, the fat and protein molecules attach easily to soap molecules. When the soap touches the milk, it starts grabbing as many fat and protein molecules as it can. The attraction between the soap and the fat causes the molecules to move quickly, creating the colorful explosions you saw.

whole milk

food coloring

dishwashing soap

cotton swab

jar or cup

plate or bowl

Milk Swirl Experiment

art-science projects

science project

learning activity

at-home learning

Did you know that with only a couple of small tweaks, you can turn ordinary Jell-O, into a ghoulish, glow in the dark treat? Read on to check out this simple, but awesome trick, and learn a bit about the science behind fluorescence in the process!<h3>How to Make Glow in the Dark Jello</h3>

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Gather your glow in the dark jello ingredients.

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Mix 3/4 cup of boiling water with 1 packet of Jell-O powder.

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Whisk until the Jell-O powder is completely dissolved.

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Pour your Jell-O mixture into a tray or bowl and place it in the refrigerator until it sets (about 1 hour).

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Remove your glow in the dark Jell-O from the refrigerator and place it under a blacklight. You should see a ghoulish blue glow! How it works: Tonic water contains a chemical called quinine that causes it to fluoresce under UV light. Your blacklight emits UV radiation, which is not visible to the naked eye but is absorbed by the quinine. The quinine then re-emits the energy it absorbed in the form of visible light. This is the blue glow you see! Bonus project! This same recipe can be used to make a glowing glaze for frosting on cupcakes or cake! Simply drizzle the Jell-O mixture on top of white frosting before the mixture has solidified. To get the best glow, you'll want to drizzle or dip your frosting several times. Happy baking!

tonic water

lime jell-o mix

whisk

blacklight

tray or mould 

Glow in the Dark Jello

cooking for kids

Make fruity gel bubbles that pop in your mouth! The magic ingredient is agar powder. Agar powder is a gelling agent that comes from a type of algae. Make multiple batches in different colors!

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Pour the oil into the jar or beaker and place it in the freezer until really cold (at least 30 minutes).

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Pour the fruit juice into a small pot and stir in the agar-agar powder.

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Place the pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the powder dissolves and the mixture just begins to boil.

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Remove the pot from the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl. Let cool to room temperature for at least 20 minutes.

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Remove the glass of oil from the freezer. (If it is cloudy, let it sit at room temperature until the cloudiness clears.) Fill the medicine dropper with the juice mixture, hold it about an inch above the surface of the oil, and squirt a small amount into the oil. As soon as the juice hits the oil, it should form a little ball that will sink to the bottom of the glass. Continue until you have about 20 beads (don’t crowd the beads at the bottom, or they will smash).

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Set a bowl under a colander. Slowly pour off the oil into the colander to capture the beads. The remaining oil can be reused for additional beads (though you may have to chill it again after a few batches).

64 creative food play projects for kids

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