Make Water Walk And Other Amazingly Easy Home Science Experiments For Kids

Amanda Cassidy

It’s Science week!

No better excuse than to get out your basin, food colouring and some other easy-to-find ingredients and for some fun with your budding scientist. We spoke to Scientist and children’s educator, Tracey-Jane Cassidy from Junior Einsteins Science Club. She gave us some super hands-on experiments you can easily try out with your kids at home.

1. Punch the Slime

What do I need?
Cornflour, bowl, water, food colouring

How do I do it?
Mix equal parts cornflour and water (with a few drops of food colouring added)

How is this science?
Stick your finger into the slime. It is goopy and slimy – yuck! Then try punching the slime ! Wow, it feels hard. The cornflour is made out of teeny tiny jagged pieces- they look a little bit like jagged rocks. When you move them around quickly or add a force, they jam together tightly. When you slowly dip your finger in using not much force the cornflour pieces tumble over each other and let the water move in between making it flow like slime.

This slimy scientific technology is being used by the army to make liquid armour for soldiers.

2. Make Water Walk

What you need:
Clear cups or glasses and paper towels
food colouring and water

How do I do it?
Put two glasses next to each other and fill one with water
Pour a little food coloring into the water
Cut a paper towel into a strip about an inch wide
Dunk one end of the paper towel strip into the water and the other end into the empty glass.

How is this science?
With a little patience, you will see the coloured water creeping up the paper towel and pool into the empty cup all by itself. Leave it until the next day and see that half of the water has ‘walked’ over into the empty glass!

The process of water moving along a conduit (the paper towel) is called capillary action. The paper towel is absorbent which means that it has enough gaps in it for the water to move through it quickly and easily. This is how flowers and plants move water from the ground up to their stems and leaves!

3. Make Elephant Toothpaste

What do I need?
Plastic bottle ( a tonic water shape works great!)
Hydrogen peroxide ( 3% food grade available in a pharmacy)
A packet of yeast, warm water, and Fairy liquid
food colouring and a cup

How do I do it?
Ask an adult to help you pour the HP into the bottle
Add a little food colouring
Add a generous squirt of dish soap
In a cup mix the yeast and warm water
Then pour the cup of yeast mixture into the plastic bottle and watch the crazy elephant toothpaste squirt out!

How is this science?
The mixture pours out of the bottle like a giant tube of toothpaste being squeezed- a toothpaste tube big enough for an elephant! Touch it and feel how warm it is. This means an exothermic reaction has happened.

A reaction happens when two chemicals are mixed and the molecules of one chemical break their bonds and form new ones with the molecules of the other chemical to form a new chemical.

Interested in the psychology of why we make mistakes? How about the science behind bubbles? Check out the events guide for your area with workshops such as this to celebrate Science week which runs from the 13th until the 20th of November and is supported by the Science Foundation Ireland.

Check out some more experiments from Junior Einsteins Science Club and Parties