27 Mind-Blowing Science Experiments That Will Amaze Your Kids

As a mom of three curious kids, I’m always on the lookout for fun and educational activities to keep them engaged. My friend Sarah recently shared how she transformed her kitchen into a mini science lab, sparking her children’s interest in STEM subjects.

Here is a list of amazing science experiments that will captivate your little ones and ignite their passion for discovery.

1. Erupting Rainbow Volcano

Create a colorful explosion right in your backyard! This experiment combines the classic baking soda and vinegar reaction with vibrant food coloring for a visually stunning effect. Kids will be amazed as they watch the “lava” flow down the sides of their homemade volcano.

To set up, mold a volcano shape using clay or sand. Place a small container in the center for the reaction. Mix baking soda with different food colors in separate cups. When ready, pour vinegar into the container and watch the rainbow eruption unfold!

2. Dancing Raisins

Who knew raisins could dance? This simple yet fascinating experiment demonstrates the concept of density and buoyancy. All you need is a clear glass, some raisins, and a carbonated clear soda.

Fill the glass with the soda and drop in a handful of raisins. Watch as the raisins sink to the bottom, then slowly rise to the surface, only to sink again. The bubbles in the soda attach to the raisins, making them buoyant enough to float up. When the bubbles pop, the raisins sink back down.

3. Invisible Ink Messages

Turn your kids into secret agents with this classic experiment. Using lemon juice as invisible ink, they can write hidden messages that only reveal themselves when heated. It’s like magic!

Have your children write their message on white paper using a cotton swab dipped in lemon juice. Once dry, the message will be invisible. To reveal it, carefully heat the paper using a light bulb or candle flame. The heat causes the lemon juice to oxidize, turning the message brown.

4. Elephant Toothpaste

This foamy, exothermic reaction is sure to wow your kids with its rapid expansion and heat production. The result looks like a giant tube of toothpaste fit for an elephant!

In a plastic bottle, mix hydrogen peroxide with dish soap and food coloring. In a separate container, dissolve yeast in warm water. When you’re ready for the reaction, pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and stand back. Watch as a giant foam snake erupts from the bottle!

5. Walking Water Rainbow

Demonstrate the capillary action of water with this colorful experiment. Your kids will be amazed as they watch water “walk” between glasses, creating a beautiful rainbow effect.

Arrange seven clear glasses in a row. Fill alternate glasses with red, yellow, and blue water, leaving the others empty. Place paper towel strips between the glasses. Over time, the colored water will travel up the paper towels and into the empty glasses, mixing to create new colors.

6. Magnetic Slime

Combine the fun of making slime with the wonder of magnetism in this unique experiment. Kids will love creating their own magnetic putty that moves and stretches in response to a magnet.

Mix liquid starch with white glue and iron oxide powder to create the slime. Once it’s ready, let your children explore its properties using a strong neodymium magnet. They’ll be fascinated by how the slime seems to come alive, reaching out towards the magnet.

7. Tornado in a Bottle

Bring the power of a twister into your home – safely! This experiment helps children understand the formation of vortexes and the movement of water. Plus, it’s endlessly mesmerizing to watch.

Connect two plastic bottles at the mouths using strong tape. Fill one bottle 2/3 full with water and add some food coloring and glitter for visual effect. Flip the apparatus over and swirl it in a circular motion. Watch as a mini tornado forms in the upper bottle!

8. Crystal Garden

Grow a sparkling garden of crystals overnight! This experiment teaches about supersaturated solutions and crystal formation while creating a beautiful decoration for your child’s room.

Mix hot water with Epsom salts until no more will dissolve. Pour the solution over porous materials like sponges or rocks in a shallow dish. As the water evaporates overnight, crystal structures will form, creating a magical miniature landscape.

9. Lava Lamp

Create a groovy, retro-style lava lamp using household items. This experiment demonstrates density, polarity, and the interaction between water and oil. It’s a mesmerizing display that kids will want to watch for hours.

Fill a clear bottle 1/4 full with water and add food coloring. Then fill it almost to the top with vegetable oil. Drop in an effervescent tablet (like Alka-Seltzer) and watch the colorful bubbles rise and fall. For extra fun, shine a flashlight through the bottle in a darkened room.

10. Exploding Lunch Bag

This experiment combines chemistry with a bit of excitement – just be prepared for a loud pop! It’s a great way to demonstrate the production of gas in chemical reactions.

Place warm water and baking soda in a resealable plastic bag. In a small tissue, wrap up some vinegar and quickly seal it inside the bag. Shake the bag to mix the vinegar with the baking soda solution and quickly set it down. Step back and wait for the bag to expand and pop!

11. DIY Lava Lamp

Create a groovy, retro-style lava lamp using household items. This experiment demonstrates density, polarity, and the interaction between water and oil. It’s a mesmerizing display that kids will want to watch for hours.

Fill a clear bottle 1/4 full with water and add food coloring. Then fill it almost to the top with vegetable oil. Drop in an effervescent tablet (like Alka-Seltzer) and watch the colorful bubbles rise and fall. For extra fun, shine a flashlight through the bottle in a darkened room.

12. Invisible Glass

Make a glass disappear before your kids’ eyes with this mind-bending experiment that teaches about light refraction. It’s like performing a magic trick using science!

Fill a clear glass with vegetable oil and submerge it in a larger container also filled with vegetable oil. The similar refractive indexes of the glass and oil make the glass seem to vanish. Your kids will be amazed as they watch objects “float” in midair!

13. Balloon Rocket

Demonstrate Newton’s Third Law of Motion with this simple yet exciting experiment. Kids will love watching their balloon zoom across the room on a string!

Thread a long piece of string through a straw and tie it between two points in your room. Blow up a balloon but don’t tie it off. Tape the balloon to the straw, then release it and watch it fly along the string propelled by the escaping air.

14. Glow-in-the-Dark Slime

Combine the fun of making slime with an eerie glow for a spooky science experiment. This activity is perfect for Halloween or any time you want to add a bit of mystery to your science lessons.

Mix clear glue with glow-in-the-dark paint and add your preferred slime activator. Knead the mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. Turn off the lights and watch your creation glow! Experiment with different colors for a rainbow of glowing slime.

15. Homemade Ice Cream

Turn a science lesson into a delicious treat! This experiment teaches about freezing point depression and how salt affects the temperature at which water freezes.

Mix milk, sugar, and vanilla in a small zip-top bag. Place this bag inside a larger bag filled with ice and rock salt. Shake the bags vigorously for about 5 minutes. The salt lowers the freezing point of the ice, creating a super-cold environment that freezes the ice cream mixture.

16. Floating Egg Experiment

Explore the concept of density with this simple yet fascinating experiment. Kids will be amazed to see an egg float in water!

Fill one glass with plain water and another with very salty water. Place an egg in each glass. The egg in plain water will sink, while the one in salt water will float. This demonstrates how adding salt increases the density of water, making it possible for the egg to float.

17. Color-Changing Milk

Create a swirling rainbow in a plate of milk with this beautiful and easy experiment. It’s a great way to teach about surface tension and the interaction between fats and soaps.

Pour a thin layer of milk into a plate and add drops of different food colors. Dip a cotton swab in dish soap and touch it to the milk’s surface. Watch as the colors start to swirl and dance, creating mesmerizing patterns.

18. Oobleck

Named after the Dr. Seuss book “Bartholomew and the Oobleck,” this non-Newtonian fluid is a hit with kids of all ages. It behaves like a liquid when poured but feels solid when pressure is applied.

Mix cornstarch and water in a 2:1 ratio, adding food coloring if desired. Let your kids play with the mixture, observing how it flows through their fingers when held loosely but resists when squeezed or quickly stirred.

19. Baking Soda and Vinegar Rocket

Launch a film canister rocket using the classic baking soda and vinegar reaction. This experiment is a fun way to demonstrate how gas pressure can create thrust.

Fill a film canister 1/3 full with vinegar. Wrap baking soda in a small piece of tissue paper. Quickly drop the baking soda package into the canister, snap on the lid, place it lid-down on the ground, and step back. The build-up of carbon dioxide will eventually pop off the lid, launching the canister into the air.

20. Chromatography Butterflies

Separate the colors in markers while creating beautiful butterfly art. This experiment introduces kids to chromatography, the separation of mixtures.

Draw a thick line of washable marker about an inch from the bottom of a coffee filter. Fold the filter in half, then in half again to form a cone. Place the tip in a shallow dish of water and watch as the water carries the ink up the filter, separating the colors. Once dry, pinch the middle and fluff out the wings to create a butterfly shape.

21. Static Electricity Butterfly

Harness the power of static electricity with this magical-seeming experiment. Kids will be delighted to see paper butterflies flutter without being touched.

Cut out small butterfly shapes from tissue paper. Rub a plastic rod (like a balloon or PVC pipe) with wool or fur to create a static charge. Hold the charged rod near the butterflies and watch them dance in the air, attracted by the static electricity.

22. Dancing Corn

Make corn kernels dance in a jar with this effervescent experiment. It’s a fun way to demonstrate how gas bubbles can affect the movement of objects in liquid.

Fill a clear jar with water and add a handful of unpopped popcorn kernels. Drop in an effervescent tablet and watch as the kernels start to bounce up and down in the water, propelled by the rising bubbles.

23. Balloon-Powered Car

Combine engineering and physics in this exciting project. Kids will love building and racing their own balloon-powered cars.

Attach four bottle caps or small wheels to a lightweight platform (like a piece of cardboard or a plastic bottle). Tape a balloon to a straw, then attach the straw to your car. Blow up the balloon through the straw, pinch it closed, set the car down, and let it go!

24. Magic Milk Stone

Create a solid “stone” from milk in this fascinating chemistry experiment. It’s a great way to introduce the concept of polymer formation.

Heat milk in a pan until it’s hot but not boiling. Add vinegar and stir until curds form. Strain the mixture and knead the curds into a ball. Let it dry for a few days, and you’ll have a hard, plastic-like “stone” made from milk protein.

25. Exploding Colors

Combine art and science in this visually stunning experiment. Kids will love creating colorful explosions on paper.

Mix baking soda with water and paint with this mixture on black construction paper. Once dry, use pipettes to drop vinegar mixed with food coloring onto the painting. Watch as the colors fizz and spread, creating a beautiful, bubbly work of art.

26. Naked Egg Experiment

Make an egg’s shell disappear in this multi-day experiment that teaches about chemical reactions and osmosis.

Submerge a raw egg in vinegar for 24-48 hours. The acetic acid in the vinegar will dissolve the calcium carbonate shell, leaving behind a “naked” egg held together by its membrane. Experiment further by placing the naked egg in different liquids to observe osmosis in action.

27. Homemade Lava Lamp

Create a groovy, retro-style lava lamp using household items. This experiment demonstrates density, polarity, and the interaction between water and oil.

Fill a clear bottle 1/4 full with water and add food coloring. Then fill it almost to the top with vegetable oil. Drop in an effervescent tablet (like Alka-Seltzer) and watch the colorful bubbles rise and fall. For extra fun, shine a flashlight through the bottle in a darkened room.

Science can be incredibly fun and accessible, even for young children. These experiments not only teach important scientific concepts but also spark curiosity and creativity.

By engaging in hands-on activities, kids develop critical thinking skills and gain confidence in their ability to explore and understand the world around them. So gather your supplies, put on your lab coats, and embark on a scientific adventure with your little ones!