Not all science experiments require expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals. There are lots of cool projects you can do with regular household items. We’ve rounded up a big collection of easy science experiments that anybody can try, and kids are going to love them!
1. Amplify a smartphone
No Bluetooth speaker? No problem! Put together your own from paper cups and toilet paper tubes.
Learn more: Mum in the Madhouse
2. Send a teabag flying
Hot air rises, and this experiment can prove it! You’ll want to supervise kids with fire, of course. For more safety, try this one outside!
Learn more: Coffee Cups and Crayons
3. Watch the water rise
Learn about Charles’s Law with this simple experiment. As the candle burns, using up oxygen and heating the air in the glass, the water rises as if by magic.
Learn more: Team Cartwright
4. Set raisins dancing
This is a fun version of the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment, perfect for the younger crowd. The bubbly mixture causes raisins to dance around in the water.
Learn more: 123Homeschool4Me/Dancing Raisins
5. Race a balloon-powered car
Kids will be amazed when they learn they can put together this awesome racer using cardboard and bottle cap wheels. The balloon-powered “engine” is so much fun, too.
Learn more: ProLab
6. Crystallize your own rock candy
Crystal science experiments teach kids about supersaturated solutions. This one is easy to do at home, and the results are absolutely delicious!
Learn more: Growing a Jeweled Rose
7. Repel glitter with dish soap
Everyone knows that glitter is just like germs—it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Use that to your advantage and show kids how soap fights glitter and germs.
Learn more: Living Life & Learning
8. Blow the biggest bubbles you can
Add a few simple ingredients to dish soap solution to create the largest bubbles you’ve ever seen! Kids learn about surface tension as they engineer these bubble-blowing wands.
Learn more: Scholastic/Dish Soap Bubbles
9. Build a Ferris Wheel
You’ve probably ridden on a Ferris Wheel, but can you build one? Stock up on woodcraft sticks and find out! Play around with different designs to see which one works best.
Learn more: Teachers Are Terrific and eHow
10. Learn about capillary action
Kids will be amazed as they watch the colored water move from glass to glass, and you’ll love the easy and inexpensive setup. Gather some water, paper towels, and food coloring to teach the scientific magic of capillary action.
Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me/Capillary Action
About the Author
Jill Staake is a Contributing Editor with WeAreTeachers. She has a degree in Secondary English Education and has taught in middle and high school classrooms. She's also done training and curriculum design for a financial institution and been a science museum educator. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida where she often works on her back porch while taking frequent breaks for bird-watching and gardening.
10 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand