Summer Science Bucket List

There are a ton of experiments that I’ve been wanting to do for a while but just haven’t found the time or planned ahead to do them. I usually grab for whatever I can find in the kitchen and honestly we are almost out of baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring.

So this summer I decided that:

a.) if I had a bucket list I’d be more likely to do these experiments.

b.) I’m going to need to plan ahead on how to entertain and educate my kiddos while school is out.

c.) it will be a great time to do some messy experiments because when we are done we can hose off the mess outside!

So here is my science bucket list organized by inside and outside experiments.  I did this because summers here in Houston can be scorchers (that’s a scientific term).  It’s always good to have an inside activity planned when you can’t bare to even get in the car to go to a different air conditioned location.

I hope you enjoy this list and find it helpful.  I would love to hear how your summer of science goes!

Inside Experiments

Elephant toothpaste  (Fun at home with kids):  This will have an awesome wow factor and I can imagine playing in the paste when we are all done!

Make rock candy  (Paging Fun Mums): A delicious and beautiful experiment with crystals!

Marshmallow Slingshots (Kitchen Pantry Scientist):  I love the idea of flying marshmallows and learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process.

Build a robot (FangleTronics): Doesn’t this drawing robot below look incredible!?

Spoon sound waves (Edventures with Kids)  A simple experiment, simple set up, awesome wow factor exploring sound!

Naked Egg (Steve Spangler):  I can imagine even an egg would want to shed it’s clothes with the temperatures we’ll have in Texas!

Fossil cookies (Martha Stewart): Wouldn’t this be a great snack to make after visiting the science museum?

Tinkering station   (Left Brain Craft Brain): How ingenious is this idea?  Let the kids use their imagination like Rosie Revere!

Make marshmallow structures  (eHow):  I can see a lot more candy being eaten than being constructed. But hey, it’s all in the name of science and engineering! Grow seeds in a sprout house  (Playdough to Plato): Other than the fact that this is adorable,  I just love watching seeds grow and learning about the plant life cycle.

Outside Experiments 

Mentos geyers (Steve Spangler):  This is the experiment we will be hosing off from!

Solar oven (I can Teach my Child):  Why not use the scorching sun to make a few s’mores or melt some crayons.  A great way to teach about renewable energy.

Make our own ice cream (Pleasant Things): We all miss Bluebell here in Texas.  Why not make our own ice cream?

Pool noodle sprinkler (Ziggity Zoom): Water pressure and pool noodles.  You can’t ask for a more fun experiment.

Exploding chalk paint (Growing a Jeweled Rose): What an amazing way to observe science while creating art!  I love it!

Poking holes in a bag (Paging Fun Mums):  This looks like something straight out of a science magic show.

Making square bubbles (Teach Beside Me):  We love playing with bubbles.  How cool would this be to make a square one?

Alka seltzer rockets (Playful Learning):  We did this at the Children’s Museum and it was a big hit with Allie.  I think it’s time to bust out the antacids again!