55 Easy Kindergarten Science Experiments for Hands-On Learning

Every day is chock-full of new discoveries when you are a kindergartner. These hands-on kindergarten science experiments and activities take advantage of kids’ boundless curiosity. They’ll learn about physics, biology, chemistry, and more basic science concepts, gearing them up to become lifelong learners.

To make things even easier, we’ve rated every one of these kindergarten science experiments based on difficulty and materials:

Difficulty:

Easy: Low or no-prep experiments you can do pretty much anytime
Medium: These take a little more setup or a longer time to complete
Advanced: Experiments like these take a fairly big commitment of time or effort

Materials:

Basic: Simple items you probably already have around the house
Medium: Items that you might not already have but are easy to get your hands on
Advanced: These require specialized or more expensive supplies to complete

Jump to:

Plus, click the button below to receive a copy of our free printable Science Experiment Recording Sheet.

Science Experiment Recording Sheet for Preschoolers

Food Science Experiments for Kindergarten

What better way to dive into the world of science than to play with your food? These food science experiments for kindergartners are sure to grab their interest.

Apple science investigation worksheet for kindergarten science experiments — Preschool Play & Learn

1. Use apples to learn what science is all about

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

This apple investigation is a great way to start. It encourages kids to examine an apple using a variety of techniques to learn its properties. Get a free printable worksheet for this activity at the link.

Learn more: Apple Investigation

Plastic cup with layers of foods representing soil layers, including topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock — Super Teacher Blog

2. Eat your way through soil layers

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium

Layer a variety of foods to represent the soil layers, from bedrock on up. If candy doesn’t fit your school’s nutritional guidelines, use fruits, yogurt, granola, and other healthy options. Either way, the results are scrumptious!

Learn more: Edible Soil Layers

Kindergarten science student holding a handful of homemade raisins — Learn Play Imagine

3. Dehydrate your own raisins

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Have students dry grapes in the sun over a period of days to see them turn into raisins. Then talk about the process of dehydration as a method of preserving food.

Learn more: Making Raisins

A sheet of edible glass made from sugar as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Go Science Kids

4. Cook up edible glass

Difficulty: Medium / Materials: Basic

Just like real glass, this edible glass is made from tiny opaque grains, but in this case from sugar instead of sand. Cooked and then cooled, it becomes what’s known as an “amorphous solid.” So cool!

Learn more: Edible Glass

Kindergarten science student using a dropper to add blue water to a lowercase H made from salt and glue — A Dab of Glue Will Do

5. Paint with salt

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

OK, little learners probably won’t remember the word “hygroscopic,” but they’ll enjoy watching the salt absorb and transfer colors in this neat kindergarten science experiment.

Learn more: Salt Painting

Tall glass vase of water with unpeeled orange floating and peeled orange sunk at the bottom as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Playdough to Plato

7. Explore buoyancy with oranges

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Expand your exploration of buoyancy with this cool demo. Kids will be surprised to learn that even though an orange feels heavy, it floats. That is, until you peel off the skin!

Learn more: Orange Buoyancy

Yellow bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap, with popcorn on top, next to a boom box — Premeditated Leftovers

8. Bounce popcorn with sound waves

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Sound may be invisible to the naked eye, but you can see the waves in action with this demo. The plastic wrap–covered bowl is the perfect stand-in for an eardrum.

Learn more: Popcorn Sound Waves

9. Dancing rice

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

A fun twist on the baking soda and vinegar chemical reaction that will get your kindergartners wiggling. This version showcases colored water and grains of rice.

Learn more: Dancing Rice

10. Grow rock candy

Difficulty: Medium / Materials: Basic

Discover how crystals form by growing your own colorful, edible rock candy through a simple and fun science experiment that demonstrates the process of crystallization.

A bowl of ice cream with sprinkles and a cherry on top as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Delish

11. Mix up some ice cream in a bag

Difficulty: Medium / Materials: Basic

Believe it or not, there’s actually a lot of interesting chemistry that goes on behind making ice cream. Try this method and enjoy a delicious treat with your kindergartners afterward.

Learn more: Ice Cream in a Bag

House model built of toothpicks and gumdrops, with construction paper pig inside (Kindergarten Science Activities) — Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten

13. Build a Three Little Pigs STEM house

Difficulty: Medium / Materials: Medium

Can your little engineers create a house that protects a little piggie from the Big Bad Wolf? Try this kindergarten STEM challenge and find out!

Learn more: Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge

Series of photos showing a science experiment using crystallization to turn eggshells into geodes as an example of kindergarten science experiments — TinkerLab

14. Make egg geodes

Difficulty: Medium / Materials: Medium

Engage your students in the steps of the scientific method to create these stunning lab-grown geodes. Compare the results using sea salt, kosher salt, and borax.

Learn more: How To Make Egg Geodes

Water Science Experiments for Kindergarten

Water play is a kindergarten favorite, so use it to engage them in these projects and activities. They make science for kindergarten students to much fun!

Clear vases filled with colored water, each with a white carnation inside — Little Passports

15. Change the color of flowers

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium

This is one of those classic kindergarten science activities everyone should try at least once. Learn how flowers “drink” water using capillary action, and create beautiful blooms while you’re at it!

Learn more: Dyed Carnations

White ceramic bowl turned upside-down with ice cubes on top. A person is pouring water onto the ice from a plastic bottle. — Only Passionate Curiosity

16. Create a tower of instant ice

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Place a water bottle in the freezer for a couple of hours, but don’t let it freeze all the way through. Then, pour some of the water onto a couple of ice cubes perched on top of a ceramic bowl and watch a tower of ice form.

Learn more: Instant Ice

17. Assemble a lava lamp

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Help your students make their very own lava lamp using simple household ingredients. Then personalize the lamps by adding a couple of drops of food coloring to each bottle.

Jars of colored water in a circle, with paper towels running from one to the next as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Messy Little Monster

18. Watch colored water walk

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Fill three small jars with red, yellow, and blue food coloring and some water. Then place empty jars in between each. Fold paper towel strips and place them in the jars as shown. Kids will be amazed as the paper towels pull the water from full jars to empty ones, mixing and creating new colors!

Learn more: Rainbow Walking Water Experiment

Mason jar of blue water, with a tornado-like shape showing inside — One Little Project

19. Create a tornado in a jar

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

As you fill in the weather during daily calendar time, you might have a chance to talk about severe storms and tornadoes. Show your students how twisters form with this classic tornado jar experiment.

Learn more: Tornado in a Jar

Student's hand lifting an upside-down jar from a bowl of green water, with water kept inside the jar by air pressure — A Mothership Down

20. Suspend water inside a jar

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Lots of kindergarten science activities involve water, which is terrific because kids love to play in it! In this one, show your students how air pressure keeps water in a jar, even when it’s upside down.

Learn more: Water Suspension Experiment

21. Watch popcorn kernels dance

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Here’s an activity that always feels a bit like magic. Drop an Alka-Seltzer tablet into a glass of water with popcorn kernels, and watch as the bubbles cling to the kernels and make them rise and fall. So cool!

Learn more: Dancing Popcorn Experiment (With Free Student Printable Recording Sheet)

Child's hand placing items in a bin of water to see if they sink or float — Buggy and Buddy

22. Find out what sinks and what floats

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Kids learn about the property of buoyancy and get some practice making predictions and recording the results with this easy experiment. All you need is a container of water to get started.

Learn more: Sink or Float?

Clear jar filled with water, with shaving cream floating on top and water coloring dripping from the shaving cream — One Little Project

23. Make it rain with shaving cream

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Here’s another neat weather-related science experiment. Make shaving cream “clouds” on top of the water, then drop food coloring in to watch it “rain.”

Learn more: Shaving Cream Rain Clouds

Glass of water with piece of paper behind it showing arrow pointing to the right. Piece of paper not behind water has arrow pointing left. — Go Science Girls

24. Bend light with water

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Light refraction produces some incredible results. Your students will think it’s magic when the arrow on the paper changes direction … until you explain that it’s all due to the way water bends the light.

Learn more: Light Refraction Activity

Balloon Science Experiments for Kindergarten

Student's hand holding a blue balloon over a tissue paper butterfly, with wing attracted to the balloon as an example of kindergarten science experiments — I Heart Crafty Things

25. Move a paper butterfly’s wings with static electricity

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium

Part art project, part science lesson, all fun! Kids make tissue-paper butterflies, then use the static electricity from a balloon to flap the wings.

Learn more: Static Electricity Butterfly

Two kids hands holding balloon rockets. — Hands On Teaching Ideas

26. Race balloon rockets

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Introduce little ones to the laws of motion with easy-to-make balloon rockets. When the air shoots out one end, the balloons will sail off in the other direction. Whee!

Learn more: Balloon Rockets

Helium balloons floating with a bag attached to the string — Mess for Less

27. Lift a bag with balloons

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium

You’ll need helium balloons for this one, and kids are gonna love it. Ask them to guess (hypothesize) how many balloons it will take to lift various items in a bag attached to the strings.

Learn more: Helium Balloon Experiment

A student's hair is attracted to a purple balloon above their head as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Cool Science Experiments

29. Inflate a balloon without blowing into it

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Teach your students the magic of chemical reactions using a plastic bottle, vinegar, and baking soda to inflate a balloon. This classic experiment is a wonderful way to explore science for kindergarten kids. Check out more balloon experiments here!

Learn more: Balloon Baking Soda Experiment

Child holding up a balloon with an enlarged blue fingerprint on it (Kindergarten Science Activities) — The Natural Homeschool

30. Blow up your fingerprints

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

You don’t need a microscope to look at fingerprints up close! Instead, have each student make a print on a balloon, then blow it up to see the whorls and ridges in detail.

Learn more: Balloon Fingerprints

More Kindergarten Science Experiments

We’ve got even more ideas about teaching science to kindergarten students here, from plant and dirt science to static electricity and more.

A packet of homemade recycled paper tied with twine as an example of kindergarten science experiments — The Craftaholic Witch

31. Craft some recycled paper

Difficulty: Medium / Materials: Medium

Teach your kindergartners how to transform something old into something new. Use scrap paper, old newspapers, and magazine pages to create beautiful handcrafted paper.

Learn more: Homemade Paper

Kindergarten science student holding a model of the spine made from string and egg carton pieces up to their back — Mombrite

32. Create a model of the human spine

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Kindergarten science students love to learn through play. Make this simple egg carton spine model to encourage your students’ interest in the human body and how it works.

Learn more: Spine Model

Leaf floating in a bowl of water — KC Edventures With Kids

33. Discover how plants breathe

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Kids might be surprised when you tell them that trees breathe. This kindergarten science experiment will help prove it’s true.

Learn more: Leaf Transpiration

34. Learn how germs spread

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

There’s never been a better time to add a handwashing experiment to your list of kindergarten science activities. Use glitter as a stand-in for germs, and learn how important washing your hands with soap really is.

Paper bag and cotton balls with scented items like spices — Raising Lifelong Learners

35. Explore the properties of mystery items

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Mystery bags are always a hit with kids. Tuck a variety of objects inside, then encourage kids to feel, shake, smell, and explore as they try to determine what the items are without looking.

Learn more: Guess That Scent Science Experiment

Child's hands holding a spray bottle over colorful ice cubes on a wood surface as an example of kindergarten science experiments — The Play-Based Mom

36. Play with fizzing ice cubes

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

While kinders may not entirely understand the concept of acid-base reactions, they’ll still get a kick out of spraying these baking soda ice cubes with lemon juice and watching them fizz away!

Learn more: Fizzing Ice Cubes

Small bottles labeled cherry, almond, cucumber, grapefruit, peppermint — Share and Remember

37. Sniff scented sensory bottles

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium

Here’s another way to engage the senses. Drop essential oils onto cotton balls, then seal them inside spice bottles. Kids sniff the bottles and try to identify the smell.

Learn more: Smelling Sensory Bottles

Plastic bottles filled with pipe cleaners and metal springs with a large blue mar magnet (Kindergarten Science) — Left Brain Craft Brain

38. Play with magnets

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium

Magnet play is one of our favorite kindergarten science activities. Place a variety of items into small bottles, and ask kids which ones they think will be attracted to the magnets. The answers may surprise them!

Learn more: Magnet Jars

Worksheet showing drawing of a boot, covered with various materials like plastic, foil, and paper — Science Sparks

39. Waterproof a boot

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

This experiment lets kindergartners try their hand at “waterproofing” a boot with a variety of materials. They use what they already know to predict which materials will protect the paper boot from water, then experiment to see if they’re right.

Learn more: Waterproof a Boot

Child examining dirt on a white tarp with a magnifying glass as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Go Science Kids

40. Get your hands dirty

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Ready to explore soil science? Scoop up some dirt and examine it more closely, looking for rocks, seeds, worms, and other items.

Learn more: Dirt Science

Bartholomew and the Oobleck book next to a bowl of thick green liquid — ABC’s of Literacy

41. Mix up some Oobleck

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Perhaps no book leads so perfectly into a science lesson as Dr. Seuss’ Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Just what is Oobleck? It’s a non-Newtonian fluid that looks like a liquid but takes on the properties of a solid when squeezed. Weird, messy … and so much fun!

Learn more: How To Make Oobleck

Red pipe cleaner twisted into the shape of a Q, with crystals grown on it (Kindergarten Science Activities) — Gift of Curiosity

42. Grow crystal letters

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

No list of kindergarten science activities would be complete without a crystal project! Use pipe cleaners to make the letters of the alphabet (numbers are good too), then grow crystals on them using a supersaturated solution.

Learn more: Crystallized Letters

Child using a magnet to move a metal marble through a paper maze
as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Go Science Girls

43. Play a marble maze game

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium

Tell kids they’re going to move a marble without actually touching it, and watch their eyes widen in surprise! They’ll have fun drawing mazes to guide a metal marble through with a magnet from underneath.

Learn more: Magnet Marble Maze

Jar with stuffed with paper towels and plant growing. — How Wee Learn

44. Germinate a seed

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

There’s something about seeing a seed develop roots and shoots with your very eyes that’s just so incredible. Sprout bean seeds in paper towels inside a glass jar to give it a try.

Learn more: Seed Germination Experiment

Elephant Toothpaste feature — We Are Teachers

45. Mix up a batch of elephant toothpaste

Difficulty: Moderate / Materials: Basic

Who knew toothpaste could be so fun? Simple and astounding, the main ingredients for this cool experiment are yeast, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap.

Learn more: Elephant Toothpaste Experiment (Plus Free Worksheet)

46. Experiment with slime

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Slime is one of those irresistible things kids love! We tested four unique formulations to see how they turned out. Find your favorite and get creating!

Learn more: How To Make Slime (Plus Worksheet)

Layers of different liquids in a glass jar as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Green Kid Crafts

47. Learn about density in a fun way

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Different liquids have different densities, and when you mix them all together in a glass jar, they separate into pretty layers.

Learn more: Layers of Liquid Density Experiment

A simple catapult built from popsicle sticks and rubber bands — Discovery Place Science

48. Build a catapult

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Build a simple machine—a catapult—using craft sticks, a plastic spoon, and rubber bands. Your students will have a fun time seeing how far they can fling objects across the room.

Learn more: Craft Stick Catapult

Colorful foam erupts out of a lemon volcano — STEAM Powered Family

49. Watch a lemon volcano erupt

Difficulty: Moderate / Materials: Basic

Create a chemical reaction with natural materials with this fun twist on the baking soda vinegar version. Roll a few lemons to get the juices flowing, then add the rest of the ingredients (including a variety of pretty food coloring) and watch the lava flow.

Learn more: Lemon Volcano

50. Create 3D art with a salt pendulum

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Learn about the science of swinging with a funnel pendulum on a string, and create an art project of beautiful swirls of colored salt.

Green oxidized pennies as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Blue Marble

51. Turn pennies green

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

This awesome experiment leads you through three steps: shining up pennies, turning them green, and turning them dark brown.

Learn more: Turn a Penny Green

A child looks at the rainbow created on his hand as the sun shines through a prism in his other hand — HiMama Activities

52. Explore prisms

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Imagine creating a rainbow from a simple piece of glass and a ray of sunshine. Your kids will love this simple activity. After they explore with the prisms for a while, get out the paper and crayons and let them create their own.

Learn more: Prism Rainbows

53. Demonstrate the power of a pulley

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Simple

Introduce your kindergartners to another simple machine, the pulley, with this simple activity. All you need is a rolling pin, two chairs, and some string. Gather a few items from around the classroom to experiment with the pulley’s lifting power.

Three colored paper clips hand suspended from a wooden ruler with magnets glued to the bottom — Buggy & Buddy

54. Defy gravity with magnets

Gravity is a fascinating topic and a hard one to understand. This simple activity involves metal paper clips and their attraction to magnets.

Learn more: Paper Clip Gravity Activity

Two tin buckets hold a variety of objects as an example of kindergarten science experiments — Discount School Supply

55. Create echoes

Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic

Drop a variety of objects of different sizes, shapes, and materials into a tin bucket and see if you can hear the difference in the sound each object makes. Try the experiment again, this time with the sound muffled by a cloth in the tin bucket.

Learn more: Sound Science

Get my free printable

If you liked these science activities for preschoolers, grab a copy of our free printable recording sheet for your students, which can be used with any of the science experiments above.

Keep the learning going with these Kindergarten Math Games That Make Numbers Fun From Day One.

Plus, sign up for our newsletters to get all the latest teaching tips and ideas straight to your inbox!

Source link

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

55 Easy Kindergarten Science Experiments for Hands-On Learning

Food Science Experiments for Kindergarten

1. Use apples to learn what science is all about

2. Eat your way through soil layers

3. Dehydrate your own raisins

4. Cook up edible glass

5. Paint with salt

7. Explore buoyancy with oranges

8. Bounce popcorn with sound waves

9. Dancing rice

10. Grow rock candy

11. Mix up some ice cream in a bag

13. Build a Three Little Pigs STEM house

14. Make egg geodes

Water Science Experiments for Kindergarten

15. Change the color of flowers

16. Create a tower of instant ice

17. Assemble a lava lamp

18. Watch colored water walk

19. Create a tornado in a jar

20. Suspend water inside a jar

21. Watch popcorn kernels dance

22. Find out what sinks and what floats

23. Make it rain with shaving cream

24. Bend light with water

Balloon Science Experiments for Kindergarten

25. Move a paper butterfly’s wings with static electricity

26. Race balloon rockets

27. Lift a bag with balloons

29. Inflate a balloon without blowing into it

30. Blow up your fingerprints

More Kindergarten Science Experiments

31. Craft some recycled paper

32. Create a model of the human spine

33. Discover how plants breathe

34. Learn how germs spread

35. Explore the properties of mystery items

36. Play with fizzing ice cubes

37. Sniff scented sensory bottles

38. Play with magnets

39. Waterproof a boot

40. Get your hands dirty

41. Mix up some Oobleck

42. Grow crystal letters

43. Play a marble maze game

44. Germinate a seed

45. Mix up a batch of elephant toothpaste

46. Experiment with slime

47. Learn about density in a fun way

48. Build a catapult

49. Watch a lemon volcano erupt

50. Create 3D art with a salt pendulum

51. Turn pennies green

52. Explore prisms

53. Demonstrate the power of a pulley

54. Defy gravity with magnets

55. Create echoes

Get my free printable

Keep the learning going with these Kindergarten Math Games That Make Numbers Fun From Day One.

Plus, sign up for our newsletters to get all the latest teaching tips and ideas straight to your inbox!

You Might Also Like