Kitchen-Table Science: Five Experiments With Things You Already Have
You don't need a lab to teach real science. These five experiments use everyday kitchen items, and each one comes with a question to ask and the science behind it.
Science at home doesn’t need special kits. Many of the best early experiments use things already in your kitchen. What turns a fun mess into real science is the conversation around it: ask your child to predict before you start, and to explain after you finish.
Always do these experiments with an adult present, and keep vinegar and salt water away from eyes.
1. The fizzing reaction
You need: baking soda, vinegar, and a cup on a tray.
Do: Put a spoonful of baking soda in the cup and pour in a little vinegar.
Ask first: “What do you think will happen when they mix?”
The science: Baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid. When they react, they make new substances, including carbon dioxide gas. The bubbles are that gas escaping. A new substance being made is the sign of a chemical reaction.
2. The floating egg
You need: a raw egg, a tall glass of water, salt and a spoon.
Do: Place the egg in plain water and watch it sink. Take it out, stir in several spoonfuls of salt until they dissolve, and put the egg back.
Ask first: “Will the salt make any difference?”
The science: Salt water is denser than plain water, meaning more mass is packed into the same space. Once the water is denser than the egg, the egg floats. It’s the same reason swimming in the sea feels easier than in a pool.
3. The liquid layers
You need: honey, water with a drop of food colouring, cooking oil and a clear glass.
Do: Pour in the honey first, then slowly add the water, then the oil. Watch them settle into separate layers.
Ask first: “Which liquid will end up on top?”
The science: Each liquid has a different density. The densest, honey, sinks to the bottom and the least dense, oil, floats on top. Oil and water also don’t mix, so the layers stay separate.
4. The thirsty celery
You need: a stick of celery with its leaves (or a white flower), a glass of water and food colouring.
Do: Add plenty of food colouring to the water and stand the celery in it. Check after a few hours and again the next day.
Ask first: “Where do you think the colour will go?”
The science: Plants draw water up through thin tubes in their stems. The coloured water travels up those tubes and shows you where they run. Cut the stem across to see the coloured dots.
5. Lifting ice with a string
You need: an ice cube, a short piece of string and salt.
Do: Lay the string across the top of the ice cube, sprinkle a pinch of salt over it and wait about a minute. Then lift the string gently.
Ask first: “Can we pick up the ice without touching it?”
The science: Salt lowers the temperature at which water freezes, so a thin layer of ice under the string melts. The cold ice around it then refreezes that water around the string and traps it. It’s the same idea as spreading salt on icy roads.
Make it a real experiment
For any of these, try changing just one thing and comparing: more salt or less, warm water or cold, a different liquid. Changing one thing at a time and watching what happens is the heart of the scientific method, and children can learn it very young.
Ask your child to draw what they saw and write one sentence about why it happened. That small notebook will become their first science journal.
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