Rocks and Minerals Station

photos via the crafty classroom

The Crafty Classroom had kids "explore the differences and similarities between various rocks and minerals." 
Visit the site for more details and a free printable!

Perimeter and Area Robots

Ashleigh-Education Journey designed a super creative activity for children to understand area and perimeter!

Children are given a top secret mission from NASA to construct a robot to land on the moon. The measurements of perimeter and area have to be exact, in order for the robot to complete his mission.

Kids build their robots out of grid paper, using "predetermined perimeters and areas of each body part." 

Visit her TPT store to buy printables to go along with the activity!

Geometry Scavenger Hunt

Get kids to take abstract photographs and excited about photography by going on a Geometric Scavenger Hunt! Give kids a camera and have them look for shapes. Tell older kids to look for parallel and intersecting lines, as well as right angles. Mary from Guided-Math, had her third graders look for things around their school building hallways. The kids recorded what they took a picture of. Then, she printed out the photos and displayed them in the hall! What an awesomely cool teacher!

photo via guided-math

FIZZ Inflator

Demonstrate the states of matter by building a fizz inflator. This a a fun experiment for a unit on states of matter. You combine vinegar (liquid) and baking soda (solid) to create a gas (carbon dioxide), which blows up the balloon. Before the experiment, have students make a prediction and write a hypothesis. After the experiment, have kids draw and label the parts of the fizz inflator (solid, liquid, gas) in their science notebook. Visit Science Bob to see basic fizz inflator instructions.

Edhsw.com created colored fizz inflators for their "miXscope movie of the week." Click here to check out their miXscope movie! They added food coloring to their vinegar. Then, they varied the amounts of baking soda in each bottle.

Ice Cube Rope

Can you pick up an ice cube with a string? This experiment demonstrates how salt affects ice. The rope won't stick to the ice cube until you add salt to melt it. The ice refreezes around the string, when suspended in the glass of water. via Steve Spangler

Crystal Clear Cube Experiment

Have you ever wondered why icicles look sparkly and clear and ice cubes from your freezer just don't have that same glimmer?

Try this fun experiment with kids: see what process creates a clearer cube, boiling filter water or taking it straight from the tap. Have kids make a hypothesis and a prediction stating what process will create a crystal clear cube.

Visit  Instructables for the full tutorial!

Marble Cone!

El Hada De Papel constructed a cardboard paper cone for marbles to spiral down! 

Monster Exchange Project

Monster Exchange is an awesome site, that sets different schools up from all around the world. Kids design a monster. Then, they describe it in writing. Their monster description and picture is sent to another school. That school has to redraw the monster, using the written description. This is a great activity that promotes reading comprehension, writing skills (using adjectives), and technology in the classroom. Visit Monster Exchange and have your class work with another from around the world! 

This activity can also be done within the classroom. Two students sit back to back. One describes what they drew. The other tries to recreate it. 

You could also turn the activity into a collaboration game! Art teacher Lauren Taylor at The School at St. George Place Creation Station came up with a collaborative art project/ game for kids to work together to create rad monsters (monster art featured above)! Each child creates separate parts of a monster's body (line drawing, not filled in). Next, they sort them into bins (e.g. by head, limb, torso, etc.). Then, the kids go from bin to bin, choosing various parts, excluding the ones that they made. Once the parts are collected, the kids build their monsters and add detail.

Real Estate Math: Finding the Area / Perimeter

Squidoo has a fun game for kids to practice area, and perimeter. Kids roll the dice and make an array (find the area on grid paper)! Then, they fence off their perimeter. They use their multiplication skills to take over the land with the most real estate! 

Build Your Wild Self!

New York Zoos and Aquarium / Wildlife Conservation Society has an interactive game called Build Your Wild Self! Kids choose different body parts and limbs for their creature. Then, they choose a habitat. When they're all finished, the site describes each attribute they chose. For example, orb spider eyes: "You have six eyes, but you can't see very well. You use your keen sense of touch to track down prey." Have kids build their "wild self" and write a paragraph describing what they would eat, their animal's habitat, exceptional characteristics and talents, as well as their unique adaptations. 

Cotton Ball Rocks?!

They start out soft and fluffy and end up hard like a rock! Count, sort, stack them; kids will have a blast with cotton ball rocks! They can create a rocky dinosaur land with them. Also, they can have super heroes throw them with their super strength and power! Visit Delight in the Days for the baked cotton ball recipe!

via delight in the days

Gem Goop

photo via livin the yeh life

Livin the Yeh Life mixed up gem goop that kids sculpt and mold to create one of a kind works of art! Check out their site for the recipe! 

Clementine Fractions!

I made up this activity when I was eating a clementine cutie with my nephew. Using food is a great way to teach kids fractions. Especially clementines, they have segments, making them an ideal choice for teaching kids basic fractions. 

Paint Chip Story

Have kids choose five color samples with intriguing names to create a story! Check out Education.com for all the details! Check out the color thesaurus here!

Mechanical and Chemical Weathering

Mechanical Weathering Experiment via Mini Me Geology
materials:

Plastic Wrap

Clay

Water

1. Moisten the clay with a little bit of water

2. Divide the clay into two equal pieces and roll it into a ball or form into a square.

3. Wrap both pieces of clay in plastic wrap.

4. Place one piece of clay into the freezer overnight and leave the other piece out at room temperature. 

5. The next day, take the clay out of the freezer and unwrap both pieces. 

"Do the clay pieces look different?  If so, how?  Hint:  the clay from the freezer should have the some cracks.  Examine the clay with a hand magnifier to get a closer look at the cracks."

"Then, wrap each clay piece back up and put the one piece back into the freezer and repeat for several days.  Observe the clay pieces each day and see how the cracks change over time."  

For more great rock experiments, visit Mini Me Geology!

Chemical Weathering Experiment: Fizz Acid Test on Limestone via ehow
How does acid rain effects rocks? Put a piece of limestone in a cup of vinegar and watch it bubble. "Sediment will form at the bottom of the cup representing the erosion of rock." 

Static Electricity!

1. Repel / Attract
Have kids experiment with having two balloons attract and repel. Visit Learning Ideas K-8 for instructions!

2. Bending Water
Quest Garden made water bend with static electricity! materials: balloon, wool, running water
1. Rub the wool on the balloon
2. Run the water low and slow
3. Hold the balloon next to the running water

3. Balloon Pickup

Can a ballon pick up cereal or paper? via Mad Sci

Rub a record with wool and hold it over Rice Krispies cereal. The cereal will snap, crackle, and fly! Now, rub a ballon with wool and see if it can pick up cut pieces of paper or tissue. The tissue will be attracted to the balloon, then jump away! Can you pick up anything else with a charged balloon?
4. Roll a Can with No Hands! via science quad

materials: soda can, head of hair, and a balloon

1. Lay the can on a flat surface.

2. Rub a balloon on your head or wool.

3. Hold the balloon close to your can, without touching it.

4. The can will roll toward the balloon! Have a soda can race with a friend! via Science Bob 

5. Electrifying Gelatin! 

Make gelatin raise the roof with static electricity! Pour some unflavored gelatin on a flat surface. Then, rub a blown up balloon on your head (super fast) or wool to create a charge. Once the balloon is all charged up, place it over the gelatin (without touching). The balloon will raise the gelatin up into the air! Visit Zoom for the full explanation.

photo via family fun

6. Floating Orb (left)
Visit Disney Family Fun for instructions!

7. Haunted Straw
Can you make a straw rotate in a full circle without touching it?! Check out the Surfing Scientist and amaze your friends!

8. Snake Charmer
Make a tissue paper snake rise up! Visit Powerhouse Museum for instructions!

9. Floating Octopus
Control a plastic bag octopus with a balloon wand! - Science Squad

Rubber Bones!

photo via answers in genesis

materials:
jar, chicken bone - a leg or "drumstick," and vinegar

how to:
1. Rinse the bone in water.
2. Feel the bone: "Like our bones, chicken bones have a mineral called calcium in them to make them hard."
3. Place the bone into a jar and cover it with vinegar. Then, put a lid on it and let it sit for 3 days.
4. Rinse off the bone and feel the texture. Try bending your bone!

explanation: 

"Vinegar is considered a mild acid, but it is strong enough to dissolve away the calcium in the bone. Once the calcium is dissolved, there is nothing to keep the bone hard - all that is left is the soft bone tissue. That's why it's important to drink milk!" via Science Bob

Acidic Ocean Experiment

Adventures of Ed the Bear did an awesome experiment to demonstrate what would happen if acidity in the ocean got out of hand, due to fossil fuels and global warming. "Acid oceans are caused by increased amounts of carbon dioxide absorbed by oceans, putting many marine animals in danger." - Adventures of Ed the Bear 

materials:
2 jars (one filled with vinegar, the other water)
2 seashells

Below is the seashell submerged in vinegar:

photos via adventures of ed the bear

Are You a Square or a Rectangle?

image via Zoom

PBS Kids ZOOM conducted an experiment to see if gender or age effects body shape. Measure your height (the distance from your head to your toes) and your arm span (the distance from the longest finger on your left hand to the longest finger on your right hand). If your height and arm span are about the same, then you're a square. If they're different, you're a rectangle. 

Make it an experiment! Graph how many kids are squares vs. rectangles. Does gender make a difference, or age? 

Camera Mail

photo credit: toad haven

Document the voyage of postal mail! Over at Toad Haven, they sent out a package, "asking every postal worker who touched it to take a picture of the mail's journey across country." The package was sent from California to Virginia and back home again. This is a great activity for kids to learn about community helpers, as well as geography. Here is a tips page to help get you started!

Marker Chromatography

How many colors are in one crayola marker?! - Kindergarten, Kindergarten

Is Black Really Black? Sharpie Experiment -  Steve Spangler 

Experiment with sharpie markers, create a tie dye tee! - Spangler

Chalk Chromatography - Is green just green? Conduct an experiment with markers and chalk to find out what colors make up a single colored marker. After your experiment, draw with your colored chalk!

Heat: Insulators + Conductors

Which tool is the best conductor, allowing heat to flow through it easily? Which material will keep the jar the warmest, not allowing heat to flow through it easily? Visit Beakers and Bumblebees to see this experiment in action!

Spelling Battleship

Mrs. T's First Grade came up with this awesome game to make spelling fun! 


"2 player game, each player inserts his word list in spaces going across (one letter per box). Players take turns guessing coordinates. If they miss, they mark it on their board. If they hit a letter, they keep guessing until they miss. If they sink a word, the player marks it off of his list. The goal of the game is to sink all of your opponent's words." Visit Mrs. T for a free printable!

Balloon Spinner Toy

Visit Arvind Gupta for a tutorial.

How to: Scramble an Egg Without Cracking It!

Create a golden egg! Visit Instructables to find out how!

Place Value War

Visit  Aussie Pumpkin Patch for game instructions!

Lego Weathering: Erosion / Deposition

Beakers and Bumblebees made up an awesome, active lego relay race that reinforces the weathering process!
1. First, 2 teams build a lego landform
2. Next, a member from each team pulls a piece off of the landform (weathering) and brings it to the other side (erosion) to start building a new landform (deposition)!
3. Kids continue taking turns transporting pieces from one side of the room to the other until their original landform is completely weathered away!

Pendulum Block Play

Combine architecture and science with a pendulum in the block area! via Paris Bourke

Pendulum Painting

via design verb

Mix science with art and create a pendulum painting! Make a pvc table frame or suspend from a tree outside. Then, link a plastic cup (with a hole punched in the bottom) to your frame to swing. 

Science: "A gravity pendulum is a weight on the end of a rigid or flexible line or rod, which, when given some initial lift from the vertical position, will swing back and forth under the influence of gravity over its central (lowest) point. The movement of an ideal pendulum can be described mathematically as simple harmonic motion." via Encyclopedia Kids

Plant Maze!

Observe how a plant grows towards the direction of light by making a shoe box plant maze! Click here for a pdf tutorial.

Marble Science

Friction
Have kids roll marbles on a smooth and rough surface. What surface makes the marble roll the fastest?

Sink or Float?

Collect marbles and various other objects and test buoyancy. What sinks and what floats? 

Viscosity

Now, experiment with how marbles react to fluids with a higher viscosity than water. Drop a marble in each of the following liquids: corn syrup, milk, honey, and oil. Explain that thicker liquids have a higher mass and make the marble move slower. 

"Hypothesize before you perform the experiment about which liquid will move the marble faster or slower."- via ehow and science buddies

Marble Moon Craters

Drop marbles from different heights and angles into a pan filled with flour. via the exploration station

Crackled Marbles

Bake marbles in the oven for a crackling effect.

 1. Preheat your oven to 450.

2. Bake marbles in a pan for 7 minutes

3. Then, transfer marbles to a bowl of ice water.

4. Finally, dry them off and enjoy!

Marble Graviton

Defy gravity with a marble and a glass! Will the marble fall out when the glass is flipped? 

explanation: 
"The inertia of the spinning marble is a "push" force.  The glass supplies another "push" force that keeps the marble moving in a "uniform circular motion."  The force of the glass is centripetal force, a force that makes a body follow a curved path. The combined forces of the spinning marble and the glass create a relative force greater than gravity." - Steve Spangler