Fun Science Experiments For Kids

Make an Egg Float in Salt Water

An egg sinks to the bottom if you drop it into a glass of ordinary drinking water but what happens if you add salt? The results are very interesting and can teach you some fun facts about density.

What you'll need:

One egg Water Salt A tall drinking glass

Instructions:
1. Pour water into the glass until it is about half full. 2. Stir in lots of salt (about 6 tablespoons). 3. Carefully pour in plain water until the glass is nearly full (be careful to not disturb or mix the salty water with the plain water). 4. Gently lower the egg into the water and watch what happens.

What's happening?
Salt water is denser than ordinary tap water, the denser the liquid the easier it is for an object to float in it. When you lower the egg into the liquid it drops through the normal tap water until it reaches the salty water, at this point the water is dense enough for the egg to float. If you were careful when you added the tap water to the salt water, they will not have mixed, enabling the egg to amazingly float in the middle of the glass.

Invisible Ink with Lemon Juice

Making invisible ink is a lot of fun, you can pretend you are a secret agent as you keep all your secret codes and messages hidden from others. All you need is some basic household objects and the hidden power of lemon juice.

What you'll need:

Half a lemon Water Spoon Bowl Cotton bud White paper Lamp or other light bulb

Instructions:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Squeeze some lemon juice into the bowl and add a few drops of water. Mix the water and lemon juice with the spoon. Dip the cotton bud into the mixture and write a message onto the white paper. Wait for the juice to dry so it becomes completely invisible. When you are ready to read your secret message or show it to someone else, heat the paper by holding it close to a light bulb.

What's happening?
Lemon juice is an organic substance that oxidizes and turns brown when heated. Diluting the lemon juice in water makes it very hard to notice when you apply it the paper, no one will be aware of its presence until it is heated and the secret message is revealed. Other substances which work in the same way include orange juice, honey, milk, onion juice, vinegar and wine. Invisible ink can also be made using chemical reactions or by viewing certain liquids under ultraviolet (UV) light.

Bending Water with Static

Heres an easy and fun science experiment thats great for helping kids learn about static electricity. Try bending water with static electricity produced by combing your hair or rubbing it with an inflated balloon, can it really be done? Give it a try and find out!

What you'll need:

A plastic comb (or an inflated balloon) A narrow stream of water from a tap Dry hair

Instructions:
1. Turn on the water so it is falling from the tap in a narrow stream (just a few millimetres across but not droplets). 2. Run the comb through your hair just as you normally would when brushing it (do this around 10 times). If you are using a balloon then rub it back and forth against your hair for a few seconds. 3. Slowly move the comb or balloon towards the stream of water (without touching it) while watching closely to see what happens.

What's happening?
The static electricity you built up by combing your hair or rubbing it against the balloon attracts the stream of water, bending it towards the comb or balloon like magic! Negatively charged particles called electrons jump from your hair to the comb as they rub together, the comb now has extra electrons and is negatively charged. The water features both positive and negatively charged particles and is neutral. Positive and negative charges are attracted to each other so when you move the negatively charged comb (or balloon) towards the stream, it attracts the water's positively charged particles and the stream bends!

Animal Quiz
Take our fun animal quiz and test your knowledge of the animal kingdom. How much do you know about animals such as the tiger, lion, shark, cat, crocodile, giraffe, snake, rabbit and spider? Enjoy our fun trivia for kids and answer as many of the thirty questions related to the animal kingdom as you can. Questions vary from easy to challenging and cover everything from insects to pets, wild animals, fish, birds and reptiles. When youre done, scroll down to the bottom of the page and check to see how many answers you got correct.

1. What food makes up nearly all (around 99%) of a Giant Pandas diet? 2. True or false? Mice live for up to 10 years. 3. What is the name of the phobia that involves an abnormal fear of spiders? 4. What is the largest type of big cat in the world? 5. True or false? Crocodiles have no sweat glands so they use their mouths to release heat. 6. Eagles are very good at spotting potential prey from a long distance, why? 7. What are female elephants called? 8. True or false? Bats are mammals. 9. Bees are found on every continent of earth except for one, which is it? 10. True or false? Cats spend an average of 13 to 14 hours a day sleeping. 11. What is the fastest land animal in the world? 12. A doe is what kind of animal? 13. True or false? Cougars are herbivores. 14. Groups of lions are known as what? 15. Is a dolphin a mammal? 16. What is the largest land animal in the world? 17. True of false? Snakes have slimy skin.

18. What is the only continent on earth where Giraffes live in the wild? 19. How many pairs of wings does a bee have? 20. What type of animal is the largest primate in the world? 21. Is a shark a fish or a mammal? 22. What is the most recognizable feature of a hedgehogs appearance? 23. True or false? Owls are far-sighted, meaning that anything within a few inches of their eyes cant be seen properly. 24. What is the name of an adult female horse? 25. What are baby goats called? 26. What is the tallest animal in the world? 27. True or false? Rabbits are born blind. 28. What is the most recognizable physical feature of the male lion? 29. How many legs does a spider have? 30. The crocodile species is believed to have been around for how long? 2 million years or 200 million years?

Animal Quiz Answers

1. Bamboo 2. False - Captive mice live for up to 2 and a half years while wild mice only live for an average of around 4 months. 3. Arachnophobia 4. The tiger, weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). 5. True - They often sleep with their mouth open to cool down. 6. Because they have excellent eyesight. 7. Cows 8. True 9. Antarctica 10. True 11. The cheetah (it can reach speeds of up to 120kph 75mph).

12. A female deer. 13. False - They are carnivores. 14. Prides 15. Yes 16. The elephant - The largest on record weighed around 12,000 kilograms! (26,000 lb). 17. False - Snakeskin is smooth and dry. 18. Africa 19. 2 20. The Gorilla 21. A fish 22. Their spines of spiky hair. 23. True 24. A mare 25. Kids 26. The giraffe - The average height is around 5 metres (16ft) and the tallest on record stood nearly 6 metres (20 ft) tall. 27. True 28. Its mane 29. 8 30. 200 million years