3 fun science experiments you can do at home with your children

It’s British Science Week from the 11^th– 20^th of March, so we thought we would celebrate by doing a special science themed post! Here at Tutor Doctor we’ve found 3 fun and super easy science experiments you can do with the kids at home. Whether you want to spend a lazy Sunday trying out all 3 or a spare afternoon trying out just one- we guarantee you will have a bundle of fun!

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano
Learn About: Chemistry
This experiment is all about chemical reactions. The combination of baking soda and vinegar creates a fizzy overflow, which makes carbon dioxide turn into gas. Just watch your child’s face as the volcano erupts!
You’ll Need

• 1/4 cup vinegar (up to a cup if you have a large bottle)
• 2 tablespoons baking soda

Instructions

1. Place the vinegar in the bottle using a small funnel.
2. Add in the baking soda into the vinegar as fast as you can
3. Stand back and watch the volcano erupt

(Make sure you do this experiment with some tea towels around or somewhere that you can clean up easily- it can get quite messy!)

Invisible Liquorice
Learn About: Light and Perspective
Watch your children be amazed whilst they try and figure out if the liquorice melts or simply disappears. This experiment is all about how oil redirects light, causing half the liquorice to vanish!
You’ll Need

• Liquorice or candy straws
• One tall drinking glass
• Cooking oil

Instructions

1. Pour the oil into the glass
2. Put the liquorice stick into the glass
3. Lean it against the side of the glass
4. Now look at the side of the glass and slowly turn it. Does the liquorice get wider and narrower, or completely disappear? 

What’s happening? Oil bends light- in fact, it can bend the light so much that, if you hold the glass the right way, the liquorice leaning against the side of the glass is completely hidden from your eyes. Cool or what?

Dye your own flowers
Learn About: Capillary Action
This experiment is all about how plants drink water. Using food coloring you can watch the liquid seep through the plants veins and towards the flower and petals. Watch it change colour right in front of your eyes!
You’ll Need:

• Three white flowers. If you don’t have flowers, celery works great as well
• Four glasses of water
• Food Colouring: blue, yellow, green, red
• Sharp knife (Adult Use Only!)

Instructions:

1. Firstly, get your kids to mix food colouring into each glass, the stronger the colours the better.
2. Add two flowers to two colours and leave to one side.
3. (Parents only!) Take your last flower and carefully cut the stem down the middle ensuring it is still in tact
4. Now take the two remaining coloured glasses and part the stem, placing each half of the stem into different coloured glasses. Your flower will now be drinking from two different coloured liquids
5. Finally place the water glasses away from the sunlight and watch what happens. Wait a few days and keep observing the petals for super cool results!

Fun Science Fact About Plants!
Xylem and Phloem are the name of the two plant tissues that carry water. Together, these tissues form the main capillary action that help plants drink water and nutrients so they can survive.
For more information or to get involved in British Science Week head over to the website here: https://www.britishscienceweek.org.