Wave Machine(Ages 5-16)
We’re surrounded by waves! Sound and light travel as waves to our ears and eyes. Ocean waves crash onto the beach. Radio waves broadcast music to our cars. We even use waves to cook our food - in microwaves! Try making this wave machine to see how all different kinds of waves move!
Gummy Bear Science Project(Ages 5-11)
It is time for these little bears to grow up...and out with this gummy bear science project! Watch as gummy bears grow and shrink in different liquids in this kid-friendly experiment. This project is open for exploration and discovery, so kick things off by asking your child what they will happen to a gummy bear in water. Will it dissolve? Will it shrink or grow? Will it fall apart? How long will it take? Don’t forget to grab a notebook to write down their ideas so you can compare what they predicted with what actually happens! You’ll start to see results in just a few hours, and you’ll definitely see big changes in size in just a day.
Want to explore more kitchen science experiments? Explore the tastier side of learning with Science of Cooking: Ice Cream from the KiwiCo Store!
Invisible Ink with Lemon Juice(Ages 5-16)
Write secret messages to your friends and family and then let them decode it with any source of heat - like a candle or an incandescent light bulb!
Keep exploring what acids can do with Planet Bath Bombs from the KiwiCo Store! Mix citric acid, the same acid that makes lemons sour, with baking soda to mold planet-inspired bath bombs, then drop them in water and watch the fizz take off.
Lung Model(Ages 7-16)
Breathe in. Breathe out. Do you feel your chest expand and shrink when you breathe? That change in size is how you get air into your lungs! It all has to do with the physics of air pressure, which you’ll investigate in this project.
Build another working model of your own body with a Mega Hand from the KiwiCo Store! Engineer a giant articulated hand that moves with your gestures, and find out how linkages let a few simple parts do something surprisingly lifelike.
Spinning Sculptures(Ages 8-16)
Use the power of electromagnetism to create your own spinning sculpture!
Discover more ways electricity can make things move with a Delivery Bot from the KiwiCo Store! Wire up the motors, assemble a radio controller from scratch, then load your bot with a snack and send it rolling.
Ice Cube vs. Wire(Ages 5-16)
Can you cut through an ice cube with a piece of wire and a couple of weights? Find out with this simple, wintery science experiment!
Carbon Sugar Snake(Ages 12-16)
Make a fiery black snake rise from the ground with this exciting experiment! Using simple household ingredients, learn how a burning mixture of baking soda and sugar can create a stunning carbon snake. Always be careful when conducting experiments involving fire. Be sure to only light the sand on a safe fireproof base in a well ventilated area. Keep water nearby as a precaution. Remember to tie back long hair and never leave flames unattended or unsupervised by an adult.
Want more slithery science adventures? Discover robotics by building your own Remote-Controlled Snake Robot from the KiwiCo Store!
Our 6 Most Popular Science Experiments for Kids Ages 9–12
Cut an ice cube clean in half without breaking it, grow a gummy bear to twice its size overnight, make a secret message appear using nothing but lemon juice and a lightbulb! These are the projects families have opened more than any others on our site. They use stuff that's already in your kitchen, most take under an hour, and every one of them ends with a kid hollering for you to come look. Here are our six most popular DIYs for ages 9 to 12.