37 Cool Science Experiments for Kids to Do at Home

Are you looking for cool science experiments for kids at home or for class? We've got you covered! We've compiled a list of 37 of the best science experiments for kids that cover areas of science ranging from outer space to dinosaurs to chemical reactions. By doing these easy science experimentskids will make their own blubber and see how polar bears stay warmmake a rain cloud in a jar to observe how weather changescreate a potato battery that'll really power a lightbulband more.

Below are 37 of the best science projects for kids to try. For each one we include a description of the experimentwhich area(s) of science it teaches kids abouthow difficult it is (easy/medium/hard)how messy it is (low/medium/high)and the materials you need to do the project. Note that experiments labelled "hard" are definitely still doable; they just require more materials or time than most of these other science experiments for kids.

#1: Insect Hotels

• Teaches Kids About: Zoology
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

Insect hotels can be as simple (just a few sticks wrapped in a bundle) or as elaborate as you'd likeand they're a great way for kids to get creative making the hotel and then get rewarded by seeing who has moved into the home they built. After creating a hotel with hiding places for bugsplace it outside (near a garden is often a good spot)wait a few daysthen check it to see who has occupied the "rooms." You can also use a bug ID book or app to try and identify the visitors.

• Materials Needed
• Shadow box or other box with multiple compartments
• Hot glue gun with glue
• Sticksbarksmall rocksdried leavesbits of yarn/wooletc.

#2: DIY Lava Lamp

• Teaches Kids About: Chemical reactions
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

In this quick and fun science experimentkids will mix wateroilfood coloringand antacid tablets to create their own (temporary) lava lamp. Oil and water don't mix easilyand the antacid tablets will cause the oil to form little globules that are dyed by the food coloring. Just add the ingredients together and you'll end up with a homemade lava lamp!

• Materials Needed
• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Food coloring
• Antacid tablets

#3: Magnetic Slime

• Teaches Kids About: Magnets
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: High (The slime is black and will slightly dye your fingers when you play with itbut it washes off easily.)

A step up from silly putty and Play-Dohmagnetic slime is fun to play with but also teaches kids about magnets and how they attract and repel each other. Some of the ingredients you aren't likely to have around the housebut they can all be purchased online. After mixing the ingredients togetheryou can use the neodymium magnet (regular magnets won't be strong enough) to make the magnetic slime move without touching it!

• Materials Needed
• Liquid starch
• Adhesive glue
• Iron oxide powder
• Neodymium (rare earth) magnet

#4: Baking Soda Volcanoes

• Teaches Kids About: Chemical reactionsearth science
• Difficulty Level: Easy-medium
• Messiness Level: High

Baking soda volcanoes are one of the classic science projects for kidsand they're also one of the most popular. It's hard to top the excitement of a volcano erupting inside your home. This experiment can also be as simple or in-depth as you like. For the eruptionall you need is baking soda and vinegar (dishwashing detergent adds some extra power to the eruption)but you can make the "volcano" as elaborate and lifelike as you wish.

• Materials Needed
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Dishwashing detergent
• Water
• Large mason jar or soda bottle
• Playdough or aluminum foil to make the "volcano"
• Additional items to place around the volcano (optional)
• Food coloring (optional)

#5: Tornado in a Jar

• Teaches Kids About: Weather
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

This is one of the quick and easy and science experiments for kids to teach them about weather. It only takes about five minutes and a few materials to set upbut once you have it ready you and your kids can create your own miniature tornado whose vortex you can see and the strength of which you can change depending on how quickly you swirl the jar.

• Materials Needed
• Mason jar
• Water
• Dish soap
• Vinegar
• Glitter (optional)

#6: Colored Celery Experiment

• Teaches Kids About: Plants
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

This celery science experiment is another classic science experiment that parents and teachers like because it's easy to do and gives kids a great visual understanding of how transpiration works and how plants get water and nutrients. Just place celery stalks in cups of colored waterwait at least a dayand you'll see the celery leaves take on the color of the water. This happens because celery stalks (like other plants) contain small capillaries that they use to transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.

• Materials Needed
• Celery stalks (can also use white flowers or pale-colored cabbage)
• Glass jars
• Water
• Food coloring

#7: Rain Cloud in a Jar

• Teaches Kids About: Weather
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Low

This experiment teaches kids about weather and lets them learn how clouds form by making their own rain cloud. This is definitely a science project that requires adult supervision since it uses boiling water as one of the ingredientsbut once you pour the water into a glass jarthe experiment is fast and easyand you'll be rewarded with a little cloud forming in the jar due to condensation.

• Materials Needed
• Glass jar with a lid
• Boiling water
• Aerosol hairspray
• Ice cubes
• Food coloring (optional)

#8: Edible Rock Candy

• Teaches Kids About: Crystal formation
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

It takes about a week for the crystals of this rock candy experiment to formbut once they have you'll be able to eat the results! After creating a sugar solutionyou'll fill jars with it and dangle strings in them that'll slowly become covered with the crystals. This experiment involves heating and pouring boiling waterso adult supervision is necessaryonce that step is completeeven very young kids will be excited to watch crystals slowly form.

• Materials Needed
• Glass jars
• Water
• Sugar
• Large saucepan
• Clothespins
• String or small skewers
• Food coloring (optional)
• Candy flavoring (optional)

#9: Water Xylophone

• Teaches Kids About: Sound waves
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

With just some basic materials you can create your own musical instrument to teach kids about sound waves. In this water xylophone experimentyou'll fill glass jars with varying levels of water. Once they're all lined upkids can hit the sides with wooden sticks and see how the itch differs depending on how much water is in the jar (more water=lower pitchless water=higher pitch). This is because sound waves travel differently depending on how full the jars are with water.

• Materials Needed
• Glass jars
• Water
• Wooden sticks/skewers
• Food coloring

#10: Blood Model in a Jar

• Teaches Kids About: Human biology
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

This blood model experiment is a great way to get kids to visual what their blood looks like and how complicated it really is. Each ingredient represents a different component of blood (plasmaplateletsred blood cellsetc.)so you just add a certain amount of each to the jarswirl it around a bitand you have a model of what your blood looks like.

• Materials Needed
• Empty jar or bottle
• Corn syrup
• Red cinnamon candies
• Marshmallows or dry white lima beans
• White sprinkles

#11: Potato Battery

• Teaches Kids About: Electricity
• Difficulty Level: Hard
• Messiness Level: Low

Did you know that a simple potato can produce enough energy to keep a light bulb lit for over a month? You can create a simple potato battery to show kids. There are kits that provide all the necessary materials and how to set it upbut if you don't purchase one of these it can be a bit trickier to gather everything you need and assemble it correctly. Once it's set thoughyou'll have your own farm grown battery!

• Materials Needed
• Fresh potato
• Two wires
• Galvanized nail
• Copper coin
• Lightbulb

#12: Homemade Pulley

• Teaches Kids About: Simple machines
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Low

This science activity requires some materials you may not already havebut once you've gotten themthe homemade pulley takes only a few minutes to set upand you can leave the pulley up for your kids to play with all year round. This pulley is best set up outsidebut can also be done indoors.

• Materials Needed
• Clothesline
• 2 clothesline pulleys
• Bucket

#13: Light Refraction

• Teaches Kids About: Light
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

This light refraction experiment takes only a few minutes to set up and uses basic materialsbut it's a great way to show kids how light travels. You'll draw two arrows on a sticky notestick it to the wallthen fill a clear water bottle with water. As you move the water bottle in front of the arrowsthe arrows will appear to change the direction they're pointing. This is because of the refraction that occurs when light passes through materials like water and plastic.

• Materials Needed
• Sticky note
• Marker
• Transparent water bottle
• Water

#14: Nature Journaling

• Teaches Kids About: Ecologyscientific observation
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

A nature journal is a great way to encourage kids to be creative and really pay attention to what's going on around them. All you need is a blank journal (you can buy one or make your own) along with something to write with. Then just go outside and encourage your children to write or draw what they notice. This could include descriptions of animals they seetracings of leavesa drawing of a beautiful floweretc. Encourage your kids to ask questions about what they observe (Why do birds need to build nests? Why is this flower so brightly colored?) and explain to them that scientists collect research by doing exactly what they're doing now.

• Materials Needed
• Blank journal or notebook
• Pens/pencils/crayons/markers
• Tape or glue for adding items to the journal

#15: DIY Solar Oven

• Teaches Kids About: Solar energy
• Difficulty Level: Hard
• Messiness Level: Medium

This homemade solar oven definitely requires some adult help to set upbut after it's ready you'll have your own mini oven that uses energy from the sun to make s'mores or melt cheese on pizza. While the food is cookingyou can explain to kids how the oven uses the sun's rays to heat the food.

• Materials Needed
• Pizza box
• Aluminum foil
• Knife or box cutter
• Permanent marker
• Ruler
• Glue
• Plastic cling wrap
• Black construction paper
• Tape

#16: Animal Blubber Simulation

• Teaches Kids About: Ecologyzoology
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

If your kids are curious about how animals like polar bears and seals stay warm in polar climatesyou can go beyond just explaining it to them; you can actually have them make some of their own blubber and test it out. After you've filled up a large bowl with ice water and let it sit for a few minutes to get really coldhave your kids dip a bare hand in and see how many seconds they can last before their hand gets too cold. Nextcoat one of their fingers in shortening and repeat the experiment. Your child will notice thatwith the shortening acting like a protective layer of blubberthey don't feel the cold water nearly as much.

• Materials Needed
• Bowl of ice water
• Shortening

#17: Static Electricity Butterfly

• Teaches Kids About: Electricity
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

This experiment is a great way for young kids to learn about static electricityand it's more fun and visual than just having them rub balloons against their heads. First you'll create a butterflyusing thick paper (such as cardstock) for the body and tissue paper for the wings. Thenblow up the balloonhave the kids rub it against their head for a few secondsthen move the balloon to just above the butterfly's wings. The wings will move towards the balloon due to static electricityand it'll look like the butterfly is flying.

• Materials Needed
• Cardboard
• Tissue paper
• Thick paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue stick/glue
• Balloon

#18: Edible Double Helix

• Teaches Kids About: Genetics
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

If your kids are learning about geneticsyou can do this edible double helix craft to show them how DNA is formedwhat its different parts areand what it looks like. The licorice will form the sides or backbone of the DNA and each color of marshmallow will represent one of the four chemical bases. Kids will be able to see that only certain chemical bases pair with each other.

• Materials Needed
• 2 pieces of licorice
• 12 toothpicks
• Small marshmallows in 4 colors (9 of each color)
• 5 paperclips
• Tape

#19: Leak-Proof Bag

• Teaches Kids About: Moleculesplastics
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

This is an easy experiment that'll appeal to kids of a variety of ages. Just take a zip-lock bagfill it about ⅔ of the way with waterand close the top. Nextpoke a few sharp objects (like bamboo skewers or sharp pencils) through one end and out the other. At this point you may want to dangle the bag above your child's headbut no need to worry about spills because the bag won't leak? Why not? It's because the plastic used to make zip-lock bags is made of polymersor long chains of molecules that'll quickly join back together when they're forced apart.

• Materials Needed
• Zip-lock bags
• Water
• Objects with sharp ends (pencilsbamboo skewersetc.)

#20: How Do Leaves Breathe?

• Teaches Kids About: Plant science
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

It takes a few hours to see the results of this leaf experimentbut it couldn't be easier to set upand kids will love to see a leaf actually "breathing." Just get a large-ish leafplace it in a bowl (glass works best so you can see everything) filled with waterplace a small rock on the leaf to weigh it downand leave it somewhere sunny. Come back in a few hours and you'll see little bubbles in the water created when the leaf releases the oxygen it created during photosynthesis.

• Materials Needed
• Large leaf
• Large bowl (preferably glass)
• Small rock
• Magnifying glass (optional)

#21: Popsicle Stick Catapults

• Teaches Kids About: Simple machines
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Low

Kids will love shooting pom poms out of these homemade popsicle stick catapults. After assembling the catapults out of popsicle sticksrubber bandsand plastic spoonsthey're ready to launch pom poms or other lightweight objects. To teach kids about simple machinesyou can ask them about how they think the catapults workwhat they should do to make the pom poms go a farther/shorter distanceand how the catapult could be made more powerful.

• Materials Needed
• Popsicle sticks
• Rubber bands
• Plastic spoons
• Pom poms
• Paint (optional)

#22: Elephant Toothpaste

• Teaches Kids About: Chemical reactions
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: High

You won't want to do this experiment near anything that's difficult to clean (outside may be best)but kids will love seeing this "elephant toothpaste" crazily overflowing the bottle and oozing everywhere. Pour the hydrogen peroxidefood coloringand dishwashing soap into the bottleand in the cup mix the yeast packet with some warm water for about 30 seconds. Thenadd the yeast mixture to the bottlestand backand watch the solution become a massive foamy mixture that pours out of the bottle! The "toothpaste" is formed when the yeast removed the oxygen bubbles from the hydrogen peroxide which created foam. This is an exothermic reactionand it creates heat as well as foam (you can have kids notice that the bottle became warm as the reaction occurred).

• Materials Needed
• Clean 16-oz soda bottle
• 6% solution of hydrogen peroxide
• 1 packet of dry yeast
• Water
• Dishwashing soap
• Food coloring (optional)
• Small cup

#23: How Do Penguins Stay Dry?

• Teaches Kids About: Zoology
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

Penguinsand many other birdshave special oil-producing glands that coat their feathers with a protective layer that causes water to slide right off themkeeping them warm and dry. You can demonstrate this to kids with this penguin craft by having them color a picture of a penguin with crayonsthen spraying the picture with water. The wax from the crayons will have created a protective layer like the oil actual birds coat themselves withand the paper won't absorb the water.

• Materials Needed
• Penguin image (included in link)
• Crayons
• Spray bottle
• Water
• Blue food coloring (optional)

#24: Rock Weathering Experiment

• Teaches Kids About: Geology
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

This mechanical weathering experiment teaches kids why and how rocks break down or erode. Take two pieces of clayform them into ballsand wrap them in plastic wrap. Thenleave one out while placing the other in the freezer overnight. The next dayunwrap and compare them. You can repeat freezing the one piece of clay every night for several days to see how much more cracked and weathered it gets than the piece of clay that wasn't frozen. It may even begin to crumble. This weathering also happens to rocks when they are subjected to extreme temperaturesand it's one of the causes of erosion.

• Materials Needed
• Clay
• Plastic wrap
• Freezer

#25: Saltwater Density

• Teaches Kids About: Water density
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

For this saltwater density experimentyou'll fill four clear glasses with waterthen add salt to one glasssugar to one glassand baking soda to one glassleaving one glass with just water. Thenfloat small plastic pieces or grapes in each of the glasses and observe whether they float or not. Saltwater is denser than freshwaterwhich means some objects may float in saltwater that would sink in freshwater. You can use this experiment to teach kids about the ocean and other bodies of saltwatersuch as the Dead Seawhich is so salty people can easily float on top of it.

• Materials Needed
• Four clear glasses
• Water
• Salt
• Sugar
• Baking soda
• Lightweight plastic objects or small grapes

#26: Starburst Rock Cycle

• Teaches Kids About: Geology
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

With just a package of Starbursts and a few other materialsyou can create models of each of the three rock types: igneoussedimentaryand metamorphic. Sedimentary "rocks" will be created by pressing thin layers of Starbursts togethermetamorphic by heating and pressing Starburstsand igneous by applying high levels of heat to the Starbursts. Kids will learn how different types of rocks are forms and how the three rock types look different from each other.

• Materials Needed
• Starbursts
• Aluminum foil
• Wax paper
• Toaster oven
• Towel
• Oven mitts

#27: Inertia Wagon Experiment

• Teaches Kids About: Inertia
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Low

This simple experiment teaches kids about inertia (as well as the importance of seatbelts!). Take a small wagonfill it with a tall stack of booksthen have one of your children pull it around then stop abruptly. They won't be able to suddenly stop the wagon without the stack of books falling. You can have the kids predict which direction they think the books will fall and explain that this happens because of inertiaor Newton's first law.

• Materials Needed
• Wagon
• Stack of books

#28: Dinosaur Tracks

• Teaches Kids About: Paleontology
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

How are some dinosaur tracks still visible millions of years later? By mixing together several ingredientsyou'll get a claylike mixture you can press your hands/feet or dinosaur models into to make dinosaur track imprints. The mixture will harden and the imprints will remainshowing kids how dinosaur (and early human) tracks can stay in rock for such a long period of time.

• Materials Needed
• Used coffee grounds
• Coffee
• Flour
• Salt
• Wax paper
• Bowl
• Wooden spoon
• Rolling pin

#29: Sidewalk Constellations

• Teaches Kids About: Astronomy
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

If you do this sidewalk constellation craftyou'll be able to see the Big Dipper and Orion's Belt in the daylight. On the sidewalkhave kids draw the lines of constellations (using constellation diagrams for guidance) and place stones where the stars are. You can then look at astronomy charts to see where the constellations they drew will be in the sky.

• Materials Needed
• Sidewalk chalk
• Small stones
• Diagrams of constellations

#30: Lung Model

• Teaches Kids About: Human biology
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Low

By building a lung modelyou can teach kids about respiration and how their lungs work. After cutting off the bottom of a plastic bottleyou'll stretch a balloon around the opened end and insert another balloon through the mouth of the bottle. You'll then push a straw through the neck of the bottle and secure it with a rubber band and play dough. By blowing into the strawthe balloons will inflate then deflatesimilar to how our lungs work.

• Materials Needed
• Plastic bottle
• Straw
• Rubber band
• Scissors
• 2 balloons
• Play dough

#31: Homemade Dinosaur Bones

• Teaches Kids About: Paleontology
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

By mixing just floursaltand wateryou'll create a basic salt dough that'll harden when baked. You can use this dough to make homemade dinosaur bones and teach kids about paleontology. You can use books or diagrams to learn how different dinosaur bones were shapedand you can even bury the bones in a sandpit or something similar and then excavate them the way real paleontologists do.

• Materials Needed
• Flour
• Salt
• Water
• Images of dinosaur bones
• Oven

#32: Clay and Toothpick Molecules

• Teaches Kids About: Human biology
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

There are many variations on homemade molecule science crafts. This one uses clay and toothpicksalthough gumdrops or even small pieces of fruit like grapes can be used in place of clay. Roll the clay into balls and use molecule diagrams to attach the clay to toothpicks in the shape of the molecules. Kids can make numerous types of molecules and learn how atoms bond together to form molecules.

• Materials Needed
• Clay or gumdrops (in four colors)
• Toothpicks
• Diagrams of molecules

#33: Articulated Hand Model

• Teaches Kids About: Human biology
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Low

By creating an articulated hand modelyou can teach kids about bonesjointsand how our hands are able to move in many ways and accomplish so many different tasks. After creating a hand out of thin foamkids will cut straws to represent the different bones in the hand and glue them to the fingers of the hand models. You'll then thread yarn (which represents tendons) through the strawsstabilize the model with a chopstick or other small stickand end up with a hand model that moves and bends the way actual human hands do.

• Materials Needed
• Craft foam
• Straws (paper work best)
• Tape
• Beads
• Twine or yarn
• Scissors
• Chopsticks
• Pen

#34: Solar Energy Experiment

• Teaches Kids About: Solar energylight rays
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

This solar energy science experiment will teach kids about solar energy and how different colors absorb different amounts of energy. In a sunny spot outsideplace six colored pieces of paper next to each otherand place an ice cube in the middle of each paper. Thenobserve how quickly each of the ice cubes melt. The ice cube on the black piece of paper will melt fastest since black absorbs the most light (all the light ray colors)while the ice cube on the white paper will melt slowest since white absorbs the least light (it instead reflects light). You can then explain why certain colors look the way they do. (Colors besides black and white absorb all light except for the one ray color they reflect; this is the color they appear to us.)

• Materials Needed
• Ice cubes
• 6 squares of differently colored paper/cardstock (must include black paper and white paper)

#35: How to Make Lightning

• Teaches Kids About: Electricityweather
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Low

You don't need a storm to see lightning; you can actually create your own lightning at home. For younger kids this experiment requires adult help and supervision. You'll stick a thumbtack through the bottom of an aluminum traythen stick the pencil eraser to the pushpin. You'll then rub the piece of wool over the aluminum trayand then set the tray on the Styrofoamwhere it'll create a small spark/tiny bolt of lightning!

• Materials Needed
• Pencil with eraser
• Glue
• Aluminum tray or pie tin
• Wool cloth
• Styrofoam tray
• Thumbtack

#36: Tie-Dyed Milk

• Teaches Kids About: Surface tension
• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Messiness Level: Medium

For this magic milk experimentpartly fill a shallow dish with milkthen add a one drop of each food coloring color to different parts of the milk. The food coloring will mostly stay where you placed it. Nextcarefully add one drop of dish soap to the middle of the milk. It'll cause the food coloring to stream through the milk and away from the dish soap. This is because the dish soap breaks up the surface tension of the milk by dissolving the milk's fat molecules.

• Materials Needed
• Shallow dish
• Milk (high-fat works best)
• Food coloring
• Dish soap

#37: How Do Stalactites Form?

• Teaches Kids About: Geology
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Messiness Level: Medium

Have you ever gone into a cave and seen huge stalactites hanging from the top of the cave? Stalactites are formed by dripping water. The water is filled with particles which slowly accumulate and harden over the yearsforming stalactites. You can recreate that process with this stalactite experiment. By mixing a baking soda solutiondipping a piece of wool yarn in the jar and running it to another jaryou'll be able to observe baking soda particles forming and hardening along the yarnsimilar to how stalactites grow.

• Materials Needed
• Baking soda
• Safety pins
• 2 glass jars
• Wool yarn
• Water

Summary: Cool Science Experiments for Kids

Any one of these simple science experiments for kids can get children learning and excited about science. You can choose a science experiment based on your child's specific interest or what they're currently learning aboutor you can do an experiment on an entirely new topic to expand their learning and teach them about a new area of science. From easy science experiments for kids to the more challenging onesthese will all help kids have fun and learn more about science.

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