| Science Experiments In The Home |
| Written by Roger Vanderlely | |
| Wednesday, 13 October 2010 | |
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Every child is a scientist by nature. Children are curious and love to explore and figure out how things work. I teach science to high school children and find it somewhat disturbing when a child announces that she either finds science boring or hates it.
Every child is a scientist by nature. Children are curious and love to explore and figure out how things work. I teach science to high school children and find it somewhat disturbing when a child announces that she either finds science boring or hates it. Encouraging a child's curiosity and so their love of science is both easy and cheap. There are many small experiments that can be done in the home on a zero budget that will help reveal hidden aspects of the world. These range from exploring how batteries function to investigating the nature of white light with some pieces of colored cardboard. Most of these experiments need only a couple of household items which are present in most homes. The simplest of all experiments is the Magic Pen. All you need for this is a plastic pen and a slow running stream of water from a tap. Rub the pen against your clothes quickly and then hold it near the stream of water. You'll see that the water will bend towards the pen, making it look like a magic wand. Some types of cloth work better than others for this. This experiment uses the buildup of static charge from rubbing two objects together. That can be seen when you rub a balloon on your jumper and then put it near a friend's head, making her hair stand on end. The same thing can be seen when on a hot, dry day one gets zapped trying to open the car door. Another experiment that many children have not seen is making a rainbow by spraying water into the air. All you need for this is a garden hose, a yard and a sunny day. Spray the water mist into the air and you will see a rainbow if you're standing in the right position. If you can't see it, spray in another direction until you can. You'll notice that the position you're standing in when you can see it is the same relative position that you are in to the sun when you see a larger rainbow in the sky. It is impossible to see these things and not be interested. Hands on experiments are the key to encouraging a child's interest in science. When the effect from the experiment is seen, THEY have done it. Watching an experiment on TV or on You Tube does not even begin to compare with doing it with your own hands. Today children are surrounded by screens and provided with all kinds of digital entertainment. This requires very little input from them. Simple home based experiments have the opposite effect. Constructing whatever is needed is fun and builds anticipation. Then the experiment produces its unexpected result. This arouses the child's natural curiosity. Children love doing things with their hands, and this is the way they learn best. The Article Author: Find heaps of free and easy to perform experiments in the Solar Energy Education section of Roger Vanderlely's website. The site also contains information on other areas of interest such as finding cheap solar panels for your home. |
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