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Turn an empty water bottle and a sock into a gazillion-bubble blower! Then add some drops of food coloring to create rainbow-colored bubble snakes.

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Cut the bottom off of a water bottle. (This is a grownup step.)  Gather some dish soap, a couple tablespoons of water in a small bowl, and a clean sock. 

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My daughter squirted about a tablespoon of soap into the water bowl. 

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Mix away! While my daughter was mixing, we talked about what we thought would happen with this mixture and our bubble bottle. Would it create tiny bubbles? giant bubbles? any bubbles at all? Emma settled on "so so many yummy-smelling bubbles!"

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Next your child may or may not need help placing the sock over the bottom end of the water bottle. (If the sock is not snug fitting you may need to add a rubber-band around it as well) 

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That's all folks! Now it's time to dip the sock end of the bubble bottle in the the soapy mixture and get to making some bubbles!

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Remind your child to blow OUT only. My two-year-old got a taste of bubbles on this day (which she was not so thrilled about), but she quickly focused again on the fun of making so many bubbles. 

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Well, it turns out Emma was right. The bubbles we created were so so many and smelled terrific. The bubble bottle does not make flying bubbles,--they're more like, "Whoops! Wrong soap in the dishwasher kind of bubbles." And they are very fun to make and play with!

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This could be a fun game by making a few bottles and seeing who could blow the longest bubble chain. Hmmm...birthday party idea for sure!

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For more colorful bubble snakes, drop a few colors of food coloring on the sock. You can even add  multiple colors to create rainbow bubbles!

plastic water bottle empty

clean sock

dish soap

water (3 tbs)

small bowl

Bubble Bottle

fall

luminary

recycled craft materials

Christmas

Christmas crafts

These lanterns are especially charming in the autumn and winter, thanks to cozy indoor craft projects and soft golden candlelight...

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Grownup supervision is required for this project. (My daughter just 
turned seven, but we tackled this project for the first time when she 
was just four...and we still love it!) 

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The day before we planned to make our lanterns, we washed the cans, 
filled them near the top with water, and put them in the freezer. (The 
ice will keep the cans from smashing and denting as you hammer on the 
cans.)

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Working on a towel to provide stability, Maddie dried off a spot on our 
frosty can and drew a very simple design. (Very young kids may prefer 
that someone else draws their design for them.) Kids who just want to 
hammer free-style on the can might not want a drawn picture.

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Holding the nail securely over the design, Maddie carefully hammered small holes over the design.

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She continued to work on creating holes for her pattern until the can 
was completely outlined in small holes. We made two more holes on the 
two sides of her design to string it with a wire handle.

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We dumped out the ice, and washed off the drawn pattern. We added a wire handle and a little tea light.

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Our lanterns cast a soft, gentle glow in our front porch. Aren't they lovely?!

tin can

hammer

nail

towel

battery-operated tea light

wire (optional)

markers (optional)

Tin Lanterns

physics

engineering

food experiments

food science

at-home learning

science experiment

outdoor experiments

KiwiCo crate box

Have you ever tried to harness the power of the sun to create some s'mores? Camping is the perfect time to do it. During the day, I set up my DIY solar oven and stacked up my ingredients inside. Then, I just let it sit while I went for a quick hike around the campsite. When I returned, I had a delicious, melted snack that was ready to eat thanks to my solar oven!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" target="_self">Science of Cooking: Bread &amp; Butter </a>from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Gather the materials to make your solar oven and s'mores.

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This project works best on a sunny day, so you may want to check the weather before you start. Start with your box. One of our crates works really well, but you can also use any regular cardboard box that will fit a plate of s'mores! You'll want a box that has a lid flap so that it can act as a reflector and direct light into your oven.

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Cut off the box's extra flaps, so you're left with an open top box and a lid panel that can be propped open.

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Line the inside of your box and the lid flap with aluminum foil. Use clear tape to hold it in place as needed. 

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Create a plate of s'mores! Lay out several graham cracker squares and place a marshmallow on half the crackers and chocolate on the other half. Try not to eat them all just yet!

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Place your plate of s'mores into the box and tape a sheet of plastic wrap over the top. 

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Take your solar oven out into the sun and place it so that the sun shines directly inside. If your lid has trouble staying open, use a straw and some tape to prop the lid open. Now let your s'mores heat up! The cook time will depend on the temperature and the amount of sunlight your oven gets. In the hot California sun, it only took about 20 minutes. It might take longer, but be patient and check back often on your s'mores. Every time you check back, you should see them get a little more melted.

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Once the marshmallows are squishy to the touch, carefully your ingredients out and sandwich the chocolate and marshmallows graham cracker. Be careful as the s'mores may be hot! Enjoy your snacks baked in your very own solar oven! What's happening? Solar ovens work by using sunlight as energy for heating. The foil surface of the oven reflects sunlight into the box, increasing the amount of heat. There are many other versions of solar cookers, and some use a curved reflective surface to concentrate the heat. The plastic film wrap at the top of the solar oven lets sunlight in but helps keep the heat contained. As a result, you can harness the power of the sun to help you heat up your treats!

box (with hinge)

aluminum foil

plastic wrap

Tape

plate

straw (optional)

graham crackers

marshmallows

chocolate

Solar Oven

outdoor activities

family activity

Head outside while it’s still warm and learn about the movement of water wheels which are used to convert the energy of falling water into a power source!Take outdoor fun to the next level by building your own <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/bubble-machine-project-kit/3153" target="_self">Bubble Machine</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>. Discover science that really pops — with a bubble-making machine that you engineered yourself!

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Trace the spool onto the lid and cut it out. Then, using the push pin, make a hole in the center just large enough for the dowel to fit through it. 

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Hot glue the lid to one side of the spool. Trim the edge with an exacto knife so that it’s smooth.&nbsp;

If there’s ribbon on your spool, you may want to remove it.

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Lay the cups around the perimeter of the spool so that they are as close as possible. Then, hot glue the cups around the perimeter of the spool.&nbsp;

The size of your spool will determine how many cups you will need. The larger the spool size, the more cups you will add.

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Slide the lid onto the dowel. Then, slide the straw over the dowel.  

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Now, you’re ready to play with your water wheel! Using either a sink or a water pitcher, pour some water over your water wheel and watch it spin! Try to make it slow down or speed up by decreasing or increasing the water pressure. 

What's going on? The water wheel is an ancient device that converts the flow of water into the motion of a wheel. Falling water pushes down on the cups of the water wheel, turning the wheel in one direction. As the cups move around the wheel, they dump out their water, preparing them to be filled back up when they've rotated back to the top of the wheel. Water wheels provided mechanical power to communities around the world starting around 400 BCE, helping people pound wheat into flour or saw logs in half. Today, modified water wheels, known as turbines, can be found inside hydroelectric dams, where they convert the motion of falling water into electricity.

ribbon spool - We used a 3 1/2" diameter plastic ribbon spool

container lid - plastic

marker

Scissors

push pin

dowel - 3/16" diameter

hot glue / hot glue gun

exacto knife

plastic condiment cup (6-12) - clear

straw

pitcher

water

food coloring (optional)

Water Wheel

transportation

Learn about helicopters by making a rubber band powered flying toy! Discover more about the physics of flight with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/store-bottle-rocket-project-kit/4588" target="_self">Bottle Rocket kit </a>from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>! Assemble a launcher, rocket, funnel, and launch mixture to experience some extremely fizzy fun.

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Insert the shaft into the clockwise (white) propeller so that the hook is on the underside of the propeller. Use needlenose pliers to bend the shaft, securing the propeller. Then, hot glue the bent end of the shaft to the propeller so that they move as one.

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Insert the shaft into the counterclockwise (black) propeller so that the hook is on the topside of the propeller. Use needlenose pliers to bend the shaft, securing the propeller. Then, hot glue the bent end of the shaft to the propeller so that they move as one.

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Tightly roll about 2” (5.1 cm) of tape and stuff it towards one side of the plastic mount. Do this twice, once for each plastic mount.

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Connect the propellers with the lollipop stick by inserting each end of the stick into each of the plastic mounts.
 Note: This should be a tight fit. If it isn’t, go back to step 3 and use more tape.

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Stretch the rubber band between the hook ends of each shaft.  

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Holding the clockwise (white) propeller in place, spin the counterclockwise (black) propeller about 60 times counterclockwise. Then let go of the propellers and watch your helicopter fly away! What happens if you spin the propeller clockwise? What if you add a weight or a wing to it?

What's going on?&nbsp;
The two propellers on your rubber band helicopter are able to fly thanks to the same principles that keep real helicopters aloft. The angled blades of the propellers act like fans when they spin, pulling air from above and blowing the air downwards. This creates enough lift to counter the effect of gravity on the helicopter, pushing it higher and higher into the sky. If you set up your propellers correctly, with opposite blade orientations for each propeller, they should both blow air in the same direction, even though they are spinning in opposite directions... double the propellers means double the lift, and double the flying power!

propeller (2) (1 clockwise, 1 counterclockwise)

steel shaft and plastic mount for propeller (2)

lollipop sticks (1)

rubber band (1)

needle nose pliers

Rubber Band Helicopter

space

Water squirters work by pressurizing reservoirs of water with air. As you pump the squirter, it gradually adds air to the reservoir, increasing the pressure. When you pull the trigger, the pressure is allowed to release and a stream of water shoots out! In this DIY project, we'll learn how to use the exact sample principles found in water squirters to launch a water rocket sky-high! Follow along with these simple steps and you'll be blasting off in no time. Want to make a bottle rocket without the hassle of gathering materials? Blast off with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/store-bottle-rocket-project-kit/2657" target="_self">Bottle Rocket</a> crate from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>! It includes a step-by-step video tutorial link, illustrated blueprint instructions, all the materials, and a special-edition Tinker Zine magazine for more project fun!

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Drill a small hole through the center of your cork stopper. The hole should be just smaller than the diameter of your pump needle.

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 Wrap your cork in electrical tape until it fits snugly in the bottle opening.

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 Press your pump needle through the hole in the cork. Make sure the thicker end of the cork is pressed on first. 

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Use a small piece of clay to seal the cork around the pump needle. Make sure you don't clog the needle opening. 

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If you'd like, create rocket fins and a nose cone out of scrap plastic or coated paper. Color them with a marker to give your rocket some extra pizzazz! 

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In preparation for launch, fill your bottle part-way with water. Grab a friend and find a wide open space to launch your rocket. Have your friend press the cork into the bottle and flip it so the nose cone is pointing upwards and away from you. The bottle should gently rest in one hand and the pump should be firmly held in the other. When your friend and rocket are ready, start pumping! The pressure will start to build and after a few seconds, your rocket will blast off into the air!

What’s going on?
 The pressure bottle rocket works thanks to Newton’s third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is a reaction. As you pump up your rocket with air, pressure builds up inside. Eventually, this pressure pushes the rocket off of the cork and bicycle pump, and expels the water in the bottle downward — this is the action. The reaction to this downward movement of the water is the rocket’s own upwards movement, sending it high into the sky.&nbsp;

Panda Crate

Sprout: Koala Crate

Labs: Kiwi Crate

World: Atlas Crate

Studio: Doodle Crate

Labs: Tinker Crate

Studio: Maker Crate

Labs: Eureka Crate

72 cool summer projects for kids

Screen-free fun!