6 Easy Science Experiments - Learning Liftoff

With summer here, parents may want to find engaging and educational activities that will continue to stimulate their children’s minds without a formal school curriculum. While summer breaks are great opportunities for families to spend time vacationing and participating in other leisure activities, it’s important to find the right balance between learning and play to ensure that any educational progress made during the previous academic year is not lost. We gathered six easy and fun science-related experiments that will help engage your kids in science and create quality family time in a low-stress environment.

1. Skittle Melting Magic

If you are looking for a fun and EASY experiment that kids will love, look no further than skittle melting magic. This experiment only requires three things, one of which is SKITTLES! By the end your kids will have not only created a beautiful rainbow, but you can use this as an opportunity to discuss the colors of the rainbow. You could also add this rainbow printable to the lesson.

2. Germs

While teaching kids to wash their hands is important, the actual “why” is a great opportunity to teach a valuable life lesson. In this very simple germ experiment, kids will see how good hand-washing actually helps repel germs.

3. Orange Float

Easy, fun, and educational, this buoyancy experiment has it all. Most importantly for busy parents, you may already have all the ingredients on hand! Kids will enjoy guessing if the orange will sink or float. This experiment not only teaches about science topics like buoyancy, but allows you to introduce the scientific method of developing and testing hypotheses.

4. Walking Water

This walking water experiment has a serious “cool” factor! Who would have thought some paper towels, water, and food coloring could make for such a fun science experiment? Kids can easily do it all with this one, from choosing and dropping the colors, to placing the paper towels. They will get to sit back and watch the water walk and see what new colors will be created!

5. Magic Milk

Magic Milk is a great experiment because it is made with things that most households already have on hand! All it takes to create this fun experiment is milk, food coloring, dish soap and a bowl! The kids will be amazed at the result!

6. Making Rain

The making rain experiment is perfect for a rainy, summer day. It provides a great visual on how clouds hold moisture and what happens when they are full-it rains! You can add to this experiment by printing off this cloud types coloring page and introducing the different types of clouds.

To your kids, learning and summer may not go together, but hopefully after trying out these easy science experiments your little scientist will not mind summer learning as much! Share in the comments your experiences with these experiments and which ones were your favorites!

If you are exploring educational options for your child’s school year, consider discovering a Stride K12-powered online school in your area that is best suited for your child’s learning needs.

This article was originally published in June 2021 and has been updated and republished.