Hands On Learning

• What: Science projects 
• When: School is cancelled
• Why: Keep kids learning and occupied
• Where: At home

If you need some hands-on science ideas, check out this list of activities and projects you and your kids can enjoy with materials you probably already have. As an added bonus, many of these use recycling and other sources for learning scientific principles.

50 Science Projects for Kids: My kids have used this book for years, and they can still return to old favorites and find new ideas and inspiration. From making gloop to a monster that erupts, a variety of ages can enjoy these projects. Younger kids will need help reading the instructions, while older kids can manage on their own with only a little help finding supplies. Each project covers one page spread, with illustrated instructions. If you do one a day five days a week, you’ve got a ten week supply of science experiments. Best of all, your kids will learn a lot more than the fact that science can be super fun.

Cabbage Chemistry Acids and Bases Set: If you want a more traditional science set, we love this chemistry set from Cabbage Chemistry. The set comes with all sorts of science supplies from pipettes to a notebook. Just add household staples, like vinegar, laundry detergent, and corn syrup and let your kids loose. I particularly like this set geared towards girls in science, but it works great for any gender ages seven and up.

Kids’ Cookbook: You can’t get much more scientific or hands-on than cooking. This cookbook features slow cooker recipes made with kids in mind. The easy instructions and variety of foods mean kids can take on mealtime as well as learning all about scientific values like boiling points, mixing, measuring, and combining ingredients. Best of all, you get to eat the results.