20 Easy And Fun Science Experiments For Kids Of All Ages in 2025

How does it work?

This baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment demonstrates a chemical reaction between an acid (vinegar) and a base (baking soda). When mixed, they produce carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, which inflates the balloon due to the tight seal of the container.

2. Lava Lamp

Supplies: water, vegetable oil, food coloring, Alka-seltzer antacid tablets, mason jar or cup

Pro Tip: Use an old baking sheet to keep experiments contained for easy cleanup.

1. Fill the jar or cup about 2/3 of the way with oil.
2. Fill your jar the rest of the way with water.
3. Add drops of food coloring without mixing.
4. Drop an antacid tablet into the mixture and watch.
5. Experiment with different colors and different amounts of oil and water!

How does it work?

Liquids consist of varying numbers of atoms and molecules. Denser liquids have more tightly packed molecules.

When Alka-Seltzer and water combine, they produce carbon dioxide bubbles. These bubbles lift the colored water to the top of the oil, where they pop, causing the water to fall back down.

3. Soda Geyser

*Outside experiment only!

Supplies: Two-liter bottle of Diet Coke, 1 roll of Mentos mints, 1 piece of 8×10 paper, tape

Pro Tip: Double or triple the supplies as your kids will want to do this experiment more than once!

1. Remove the lid from the Diet Coke and set it on a flat surface outside.
2. Roll the paper into a tube around a pack of Mentos mints and tape it into place. Take the roll of Mentos out from the paper tube.
3. Unwrap the Mentos. Hold your finger over one end of the paper tube and fill it up with Mentos so they will easily fall out the end when you remove your finger.
4. Hold the tube of mints over the mouth of the bottle. Count down and drop the mints in! Jump back quickly if you don’t want to get wet!

Why does it work?

Scientists believe that the sweetener and other chemicals in Mentos react with Diet Coke, causing rapid carbon dioxide bubble formation on the mints. This builds pressure in the bottle, creating a spectacular jet of bubbles.

4. Exploding Ivory Soap

Supplies: Ivory name-brand soap, microwave, microwave-safe plate

1. Unwrap the soap and put it in the center of the plate.
2. Microwave on high for 1.5-2 minutes while watching it closely.
3. Carefully remove it from the microwave after letting it cool and check out the end result!
4. Any un-exploding soap chunks can be put back into the microwave to explode some more!
5. Experiment with cutting up the soap first to see what happens!

Pro Tip: When we first tried this, we used the gentle Ivory soap. While it did expand, it wasn’t as effective as the plain Ivory brand soap.

Why does it work?

Microwaves excite water molecules, making them vibrate and move quickly. These fast-moving molecules bump into each other, spreading out and expanding the spaces in the soap, causing it to grow in fun and interesting ways.

5. Floating Egg

*Super cool!

Can you make an egg float?

Supplies: one egg, water, 1-2 cups of salt, a tall drinking glass, a spoon

1. Pour water into the glass until it is about half full.
2. Place an egg in the glass of water and see if it sinks or floats (it should sink).
2. Stir in lots of salt. Start with a few tablespoons and stir it until the salt dissolves. Keep adding more salt until the egg floats. (We found it easiest to take the egg out of the jar while stirring in salt.)
3. Next, carefully pour more fresh water until the glass is nearly full. Be careful to not disturb or mix the salty water with the plain water. Can you get the egg to float between the fresh and saltwater?

How does it work?

The egg sinks in fresh water because it is denser. Adding salt increases the water’s density until it becomes denser than the egg, causing it to float. Adding fresh water again creates a less dense layer on top of the salt water.

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6. Dancing Spaghetti

Can spaghetti dance?

Supplies: spaghetti noodles, measuring cup with 2 cups of water, a clear glass, vinegar, baking soda, teaspoon

1. Pour two cups of water into a clear glass.
2. Stir in 8 teaspoons of baking soda until dissolved.
3. Break up 4 pieces of spaghetti into about inch-long pieces. Place the spaghetti pieces in the water and baking soda.
4. Slowly add a 1/2 cup of vinegar (this will bubble over!). Watch the spaghetti dance!

How does it work?

Adding vinegar and baking soda to water with spaghetti produces carbon dioxide gas, which lifts the spaghetti to the surface. When the gas escapes, the spaghetti sinks back down because it is denser than water.

7. Magic Milk

Supplies: bowl, milk, blue dish soap, q-tips or cotton balls, food coloring

1. Pour just enough milk into the bowl to cover the bottom.
2. Add drops of food coloring all over the surface of the milk.
3. Dip the end of a cotton swap into the blue soap.
4. Lightly brush the top of the milk with the q-tip and see what happens!
5. Try it a second time by adding the food coloring so that the colors touch the center of the milk bowl. Gently drop in a cotton bowl that has been dipped in the blue dish soap and see what happens!

How does it work?

The dish soap breaks the surface tension of the milk, and the soap molecules try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk. This causes swirls and bursts of fun rainbow colors.

8. Orange Volcano

Supplies: orange, knife, spoon, bowl, baking soda, vinegar, food coloring

1. Slice the top of the orange off and remove the inside of the orange. Then, scoop the inside of the orange out.
2. Place the orange on a baking sheet. Scoop a tablespoon of baking soda into the orange.
3. Pour a cup of vinegar into a measuring glass and add some food coloring. Mix well.
4. Pour the colored vinegar into the orange and watch the fun!
5. Experiment with different amounts of baking soda and vinegar!

Pro Tip: A plain old plastic cup works for this too! Or if you are feeling crafty, make a paper mache volcano for reusable fun! Try out this lemon volcano too.

How does it work?

The fizzy lava is a fun demonstration of a chemical reaction. Mixing vinegar (acid) and baking soda (base) creates carbon dioxide gas, forming bubbles and foam that mimic volcanic lava.

9. Orange Fizz

*Simple science!

Supplies: Orange, knife, and baking soda

• Slice an orange into sections. 
• Dip a section into baking soda and take a bite. 
• Feel the fizzing reaction as it bubbles in your mouth!

How does it work?

Biting into a baking soda-coated orange slice triggers an acid-base reaction on your tongue. Citric acid in the orange reacts with the alkaline (base) baking soda, producing fizzy carbon dioxide bubbles.

10. Index Card Trick

Can you step through an index card?

Supplies: Index cards, scissors (older kids can make their own!)

1. Fold the notecard in half the long way.
2. Make a cut from the fold close on each end without cutting all the way through.
3. Unfold the notecard and bend down the two pieces you just cut.
4. Cut along the crease in between the two cuts.
5. Fold the notecard again.
6. Alternate cuts on each side of the notecard without cutting all the way through.
7. Gently unfold the notecard and pull it open.
8. Carefully step through the paper ring and pull it up over your body. Does it work?

Your kids will learn about surface area with this fun experiment!

Watch the short video below to help with the steps!

11. Skittle Science

Supplies: bag of Skittles, water, paper plate

1. Make a large circle or open pattern with your Skittles on a paper plate.
2. Gently pour water into the middle of the plate until it reaches all the candies but barely covers them.
3. Wait and see what happens! Experiment with different colors and patterns!

How does it work?

When Skittles are placed in water, the outer sugar coating and food coloring begin to dissolve due to the water’s solubility.

12. Egg Drop Challenge

*Great STEM project challenge

Can you save an egg from breaking when you drop it?

Supplies: Eggs, household materials, crafts supplies, recycled materials

1. Use household materials and recycled items to protect an egg from breaking after it has been dropped from a certain height (we did this off our front porch).
2. Build and test. Experiment until your created invention works!
3. Discuss what worked and why. How can you make your invention even better?

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Best (And Easiest) Water Science Experiments

Use water and a few household supplies for these easy science experiments for kids.

13. Instant Ice

Supplies: bottled water, glass or ceramic bowl, plastic tray, ice cubes, freezer

1. Put water bottles in the freezer and set a timer for two hours. Lay them on their sides for the best results without denting them.
2. Remove the water bottles from the freezer before they freeze. They are ready when crystals form when you shake the bottles.
3. Place a ceramic bowl upside down on a tray. The tray will catch the extra water.
4. Place an ice cube on top of the pouring surface.
5. Then SLOWLY pour while instant ice forms!

How does it work?

When the freezing temperature is reached, water molecules form ice crystals.

We put an ice cube on the bowl because water molecules freeze more easily on existing ice crystals. These crystals grow and eventually freeze the entire bottle of water.

This process, called “nucleation,” starts from an impurity or imperfection in the container. An ice crystal attaches to it, and others build on top.

14. Dry Erase Drawing

Supplies: a glass plate or bowl, dry-erase marker, water

1. Draw a simple picture like a stick figure on the glass with the dry-erase marker.
2. Pour water onto the plate or into the bowl slowly to lift up the drawing.
3. Swirl the water around to make the picture dance and move.
4. Try out other drawings like fish, swirly lines, or a sun!

How does it work?

The marker leaves a mix of pigments and alcohol. The alcohol evaporates, leaving solid pigments. On smooth glass, these pigments slide off easily when wet.

Pro Tip: Tip the bowl slowly to pour water in from the side, which helps lift the drawing. We experimented with various dry-erase markers and techniques to determine the most effective method.

15. Leak Proof Bag

What will happen if you poke a pencil through a bag of water?

Supplies: A ziplock bag filled with water and sharpened pencils

1. Fill a gallon-size storage bag half full with water.
2. Poke a pencil straight through the bag- in one side and out the other.
3. Keep doing this with more pencils!

How does it work?

The bag won’t leak because it’s made of a polymer, which consists of long, flexible chains of molecules. When you poke the pencil through the bag, the molecules spread apart and seal themselves around the pencil.

Also, try out these awesome and easy water games!

16. Walking Water

How can you make water walk?

Supplies: Paper towels, water, 5 glasses, food coloring

1. Set up five cups in a line.
2. Fill the cups with food dye 3/4ths full with water. Leave the other two cups empty.
3. Add red food coloring in the first cup, yellow in the third cup, and blue in the fifth cup. Use a liberal amount of food dye.
4. For each glass use one sheet of paper towel folded into thirds. Add the paper towels by placing one end into the cup with water and the other end into an empty cup.
5. You will see the water start to move right away, but this experiment will take 24 hours to see the full effect. Journal what you see happening each hour along the way!

Extension: Make the rainbow! After conducting the initial experiment, we added a sixth empty cup (not shown in the picture) after the blue cup. We arranged the cups in a circle and added the necessary paper towels to achieve the additional color, purple.

How does it work?

Capillary action is how liquids move through tiny spaces, like the fibers in a paper towel, without external assistance. The liquid sticks to the material and to itself, creating a chain reaction that propels it through the spaces. It’s a secret superpower of liquids!

17. Storm In A Glass

What happens when it rains?

Supplies: Shaving cream, a large glass, water, food coloring, a spoon

1. Fill the glass 1/2 full with water.
2. Spray a thin layer of shaving cream on top of the water.
3. Use your finger or a spoon to spread the shaving cream evenly over the top of the water. The top of the shaving cream should be a flat layer on the top of the water.
4. Mix ½-cup water with 10 drops of food coloring in a separate container. Gently add the colored water, spoonful by spoonful, to the top of the shaving cream (a dropper works well too). When it gets too heavy, watch it storm!
5. Experiment with more water and less shaving cream, or less water and more shaving cream. What happens?

How does this work?

Clouds hold vast amounts of water, sometimes millions of gallons. In this experiment, the shaving cream layer mimics a cloud by also holding onto water. However, clouds can’t indefinitely store water. When they become too heavy, they release precipitation like rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

18. Sticky Ice

Can you lift a piece of ice from a bowl of water using only string?

Supplies: string, three bowls, water, ice, salt

1. Fill one bowl with water, one bowl with ice, and one bowl with salt.
2. Put a couple of pieces of ice in the water bowl and challenge kids to try to lift a piece of ice from a bowl of water using only string. (It should be hard or impossible.)
3. Allow your kids to experiment on how they could lift a piece of ice with only the string.
4. If they don’t figure it out on their own, sprinkle some salt on a piece of ice to see what happens (the ice will melt).
5. Try placing the string on the ice and sprinkling salt over the string and waiting. What happens?

How does it work?

Sprinkling salt on ice causes it to melt, similar to how salt melts icy roads in winter. Salt lowers the freezing point of water, requiring heat to melt the ice. This heat comes from the surrounding water, causing some water to refreeze and trap the string. The string then becomes stuck, allowing you to lift the ice cube out of the water.

Extension: Explore this concept more by making ice cream in a bag!

19. Jumping Pepper

Can you make pepper jump?

Supplies: ground black pepper, a bowl, water, liquid soap, q-tips

1. Fill the bowl with a thin layer of water.
2. Sprinkle in a generous amount of black pepper onto the water’s surface. Cover as much of it as possible.
3. Dip the cue tip into the liquid soap. Then, gently touch the peppered water surface with your soapy finger.
4. What happens?

How does it work?

This experiment showcases soap breaking water’s surface tension.

Surface tension is the elastic tendency of fluid surfaces to minimize surface area. It’s what causes water droplets and allows some insects to skitter across the surface of water. In our experiment, soap disrupts water’s high surface tension by wedging between water molecules. This reduces surface tension, causing water and pepper flakes to move as the molecules bond and retreat.

Bonus Science Fun

This experiment takes about two weeks to complete, but it’s worth it! Kids will have fun creating the candy crystals (with adult supervision).

20. Candy Crystals (Make Your Own Rock Candy!)

Supplies: A jar, saucepan, water, sugar, food coloring, wooden skewers, clothespin

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil in a large pot on the stove.
2. Stir in four cups of sugar. Boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. This creates a supersaturated sugar solution.
3. Allow the solution to cool for 20 minutes
4. While waiting, prepare the wood sticks for growing rock crystals. Wet the sticks and roll them around in granulated sugar. Allow them to completely dry before continuing. Use only one stick per jar.
5. Add food coloring to the solution and pour in to the jar (or jars).
6. Insert the sugar-covered wooden stick into the center.
7. Cover the top of the glass with a paper towel and secure using a clothespin.
8. Place in a cool and quiet place.
9. In about two weeks, you will have a good amount of rock candy crystals. Remove the stick and place it on a piece of wax paper to dry before eating!

How does it work?

A supersaturated solution is unstable—it contains more solute (in this case, sugar) than can stay in solution—so as the temperature decreases, the sugar comes out of the solution, forming crystals.

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