Fun And Easy Science Experiments for 6-Year-Olds

There are fun and easy science experiments you can try at home with your 6-year-old. Performing science experiments is proven to be one of the best methods you can consider to pique your child’s interest in science.

And there’s no better way to introduce kids to the wonders of science than to incorporate fun and interactive activities into the learning process.

According to national academy press, children who engage in science activities develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Thus, fostering your child’s enthusiasm for science is key to helping him develop cognitive abilities.

Performing doable science games and activities encourage and develop your children’s natural curiosity, enabling them to explore diverse concepts and ideas. 

The Importance of Nurturing Children’s Curiosity 

Our brains are more capable of storing and processing information when we are curious about a subject. Thus, the value of cultivating curiosity for retaining information cannot be overstated. It is one of the most significant aspects of learning.

It plays a key role in honing your child’s cognitive abilities and tapping their inherent skills to the maximum extent possible.

And what better way to ignite children’s natural curiosity than by engaging them in science-related experiments that are sure to delight them.

Check out these 7 easy science experiments your kids will love:

 Fun And Easy Science Experiments for 6-Year-Olds

1. What makes an object sink or float?  

This science activity will enable kids to understand the science behind the sinking and floating of objects in liquid.

It will give them a better grasp of what density is all about and how it can affect the buoyancy of an object when placed in water.

Materials Needed:

• A large bowl or container filled with water
• Different objects such as a ball, a rubber duck, a spoon, a pencil, a paper clip, a rock or a leaf

Steps:

1. Fill the large bowl or container with water. The water should be deep enough to fully submerge the objects you will be testing.

2. Prepare and gather the objects for testing. The items should be of different shapes, sizes, and materials.

3. Begin testing the objects one at a time. Let the child hold the item over the bowl of water and ask him to predict whether the object will sink or float. 

4. Once he gives his answer, ask him to gently drop the object into the bowl of water.

5. Let him observe what happens to the object. Does it sink or float?

6. Write the answer on a piece of paper.

7. Repeat this process for each of the objects on your list.

After testing all the objects, review the observations/answers you jotted down on a piece of paper.

Based on what’s being observed during the activity, ask your child what makes an object sink or float. Explain in simple terms the factors that affect the buoyancy of the item such as the shape, size, and material, including its weight and density.

Here is a link to a video for a detailed tutorial of this experiment.

2. Growing Avocado Is One of the Most Fun and Easy Science Experiments for 6-year-olds

You can teach kids how to grow an avocado tree from a leftover pit.

Doing this experiment will enable your little ones to grow or create new things out of something that they think should be tossed in the bin. 

To grow an avocado, you will need an avocado pit. It is the large seed found in the middle of the avocado fruit. 

Materials:

• Jar
• Water
• Avocado pit
• toothpicks
• spoon (for removing the pit)

Steps:

1. To release the pit from an avocado’s flesh, lightly smack it with a knife, pressing the blade slightly into the seed and twisting until it pops out.{ ( for safety reasons, this should only be done by adults)
   
   Once you have the pit, gently clean it with water to remove any remaining mesocarp or simpy known as the flesh of the avocado.

2. Take three or four toothpicks and stick them into the pit around its middle, evenly spaced apart. The toothpicks should be stuck in at an angle so that they can rest on the rim of a glass or jar.

3. Add water until the pit is submerged in the bottom inch or so of the glass or jar. Ensure that the toothpicks are resting on the rim of the glass or jar, and that the pit does not fall into the water.

4. Place the jar in a warm, bright spot in your home, but away from direct sunlight.

5. During the next few weeks, replace the water in the jar every few days. You should also monitor the pit for roots. They should start growing from the bottom of the pit after a few weeks.

6. Plant the pit in a small pot filled with soil once the roots have grown to about an inch long, with the roots facing down and the top sticking out.

7. Water the soil regularly, and keep the pot in a warm, bright spot, but away from direct sunlight. With time, the avocado plant will grow slowly but steadily as it matures.

By following these steps, your child can learn how to grow an avocado plant and understand the process of germination and plant growth.

Check this link for an easy tutorial on how to grow an avocado.

 3. Rain in a Jar Experiment Your 6 year old child will Enjoy

An easy and fun way to illustrate the water cycle to a 6-year-old is by performing a “rain in a jar” experiment.

Materials:

• Water
• A clear jar or plastic container with a cap or cover
• Blue food coloring (optional)
• Shaving cream

Steps:

1. Fill the jar with water, leaving about an inch of space at the top.
2. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to the water (optional).
3. Put shaving cream on top of the water. Ensure that shaving cream covers the entire surface of the water.
4. Using a dropper or small spoon, “rain” on the shaving cream by adding drops of water to the top.
5. Continue to add drops of water until the shaving cream becomes saturated and the water begins to drip through.

As the “rain” falls through the shaving cream, it will mix with the colored water and settle at the bottom of the jar.

Note:

Explain in detail the uses of the following before starting the activity

• The shaving cream represents clouds
• The blue water represents the sky.
• Drops of water represent precipitation (rain or snow).

A cloud forms when water evaporates from the surface of the earth and cools in the atmosphere. As the clouds become saturated with water, hail, rain, snow, sleet or sleet falls back to earth. 

Kids will enjoy this experiment as well as learn this valuable scientific concept in a fun and engaging way.

Here is a link to an easy tutorial on how to do the “rain in a jar experiment”

4. Leaf Rubbing Experiment

This science activity reminds me of my childhood. I vividly remember having fun doing this activity with my friends while sitting on the wooden daybed we had in our backyard during the summer months.

Steps:

1. With the underside of the leaf facing up, place the leaf on a flat surface.
2. Using one hand, hold the paper over the leaf to keep it in place.
3. Make sure you rub the crayon or colored pencil onto the paper under which the leaf is laid out.
4. Observe the pattern created by rubbing the crayon over the leaf.

By pressing a crayon or colored pencil on the paper, kids can see the details of the veins and textures on the leaf. The purpose of this experiment is to help kids gain a deeper understanding of how the veins and texture of leaves play an important role in plant growth and survival. 

If you want to teach them how veins bring nutrients and liquid to leaf cells, you can start with this science activity to spark their interest in the lesson.

Please supervise children during this experiment to prevent ingestion of any materials. You should also make sure that the leaf selected for this experiment has no poisonous properties or anything that can trigger an allergic reaction in children.

5. Dancing Raisin Experiment With Sprite

Materials:

• Raisins
• A clear glass or plastic jar
• Some soda ( Sprite )
• A spoon

Steps:

1. Fill up the jar about halfway with soda, and then drop a few raisins into it. They should sink to the bottom.
   
2. Now comes the fun part! Using your spoon, stir the soda around the raisins. The bubbles in the soda will stick to the raisins and cause them to float to the top.
   
3. The bubbles will pop as the raisins reach the top, and the raisins will drop to the bottom. As more bubbles stick to them, the raisins will float back up again.
   
4. Your kids will be amazed as they watch the raisins twirl around in the soda

This activity allows kids to learn about how gases travel through water. It’s a fun and easy way to learn about how gases interact with objects in order to move them in a certain direction.

 6. Create a Volcano Using Baking Soda And Vinegar

This volcano experiment is sure to excite and fascinate your kids. 

Note: As they conduct this experiment, be sure to keep an eye on them to ensure their safety. It is important to keep their eyes away from the bottle’s opening, as the liquid will shoot upwards.

Materials:

• a small container (like a big sized soda bottle)
• Funnel
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Food coloring (optional)
  A tray or platter (for catching any spills and splatters)

Steps:

1. Place the plastic bottle on the tray or platter.
   
2. Pour an a half cup of baking soda into the plastic bottle using a funnel to avoid spills. 

3. Add food coloring (optional)
   
   If you want your volcano to be colorful, you can add a few drops of food coloring to two (2) cups vinegar, then stir the mixture thoroughly

4. Pour the mixture (vinegar) into the container using a funnel

          You will see a chemical reaction happening as the vinegar and baking
soda mix together.

5. The volcano is ready to erupt!

When vinegar and baking soda are mixed together, they will bubble and fizz, producing carbon dioxide gas, resulting in an eruption

If you prefer lemons over soda bottles, you might enjoy watching this video tutorial detailing how to make a lemon volcano.

 7. Apple browning experiment, an easy science experiment for kids

When you slice an apple, you expose the fruit underneath the skin to the oxygen in the air, which causes the sliced apple to turn brown. 

The thing is— how do you keep the sliced apple green for a prolonged period? And what liquids to use best to prevent them from browning too soon? These are exactly what this experiment aims to answer. 

Materials:

• Different liquids (such as the ones listed below)
• Apple

Steps:

Get 8 cups and fill them with different liquids

• Plain water
• Lemon water
• Saltwater
• Apple juice
• Honey water
• Orange juice

Slice an apple and immediately place every piece you cut into each liquid. Make sure the liquid covers the white part of the apple. After three minutes, remove them from the water and lay them on a plate. See which of the slices of apples turn brown the soonest after three minutes, then after six minutes, and so forth. 

This experiment will introduce them to the unique properties of liquids and their equivalent chemical reactions that are at play to keep the apple from turning to an unsightly brown color.

Science Experiments for 6-Year-Olds Improve Child’s Cognitive Abilities

Set aside time for science related activities to develop your child’s thinking skills. You can explore other interesting and fun activities suited for children in addition to what I presented here. In fact, there are a lot of them. I will still be adding more science-related activities in the next few weeks.

Try one of these easy and fun science experiments a few times a week with your six-year-old. You’ll be surprised at how witty he becomes.