What experiments do you let your DC do inside?

[GymNovice]

Science experiments, like slime but presumably not volcanoes. What do you let them do inside on the dining room table?

None. That’s what school is for. Sorry kiddos.

That is kind of my feeling but I'm trying to loosen up a bit and get the kids off the screens

Mainly science experiments are done in the kitchen as they tend to be too messy for elsewhere.
e.g. extracting DNA, growing crystals, hovercraft CDs.

You can do the red cabbage litmus paper test thats quite easy and clean to do.
I'm not the best to advise though as we chopped up bulls eye in the kitchen and experimented with spinning sugar that I'm still finding 10 years later.

I was always of the opinion of if they're learning and having fun we just did it on a day when there was time to clean up afterwards.

Anything that doesn't involve explosions inside on a wipe clean floor, explosions have to be outside. Nothing in carpeted rooms.

that I'm still finding 10 years later.

Science is a kitchen activity!
Chromatography (washable feltips and coffee filters)
Flowers or celery in coloured water
Baking soda in honeycomb cooking
Growing crystals
And, filmed for school, bicarb and vinegar, collect the gas, and pour it over a lit candle.

We also have a snap curicuts electronics kit which is used quite heavily - that one isnt restricted to the kitchen!

Billy where did you get the bulls eye from? DS was fascinated by the bulls heart at the secondary open days!

Vinegar and bicarb is massively popular with my daughter. We have a tray with sides from IKEA and it’s all done in small glass yoghurt pots, so not very messy.
Water play in a tray on the floor with a few towels. Counts as science as she is often seeing what floats and doesn’t.

Trying to figure out how to entertain 6 8-10 year olds on a rainy afternoon without destroying my house!

Cornflour and water isn't too messy if cleaned up straight after.

Pretty much anything on the kitchen table - tiled floor & blinds

Nothing on the dining table -carpet & curtains

But frankly 6-8 of them, they’d be luckily to be allowed a glass of water each 🤣

Cubs website has some age suitable ones
scouts.org.uk/cubs/activity-badges/scientist/

I'm a science teacher I can't wait for DD to be old enough for a chemistry set.

One of my 11yo's favourites is to buy a whole fish and carry out a dissection.

I'm not sure I could set that up, there might be complaints. But maybe I can get hold of a microscope (recommendations?). Do you think that would interest them?

A microscope and pond water!

Copper sulphate or alum crystals.

Nicking magnesium strips from the school science lab and trying to burn them!

I'm sure there were others. I remember one with a potato but it went really smelly.

Split stem of a white rose and put each half into 2 cups with different coloured water so you get a 2 toned flower when the petals change colour.

Glass of lemonade with some raisins which go up and down in the bubbles instead of just sinking.

Custard powder dancing on the speaker.

Fill the bath/ kitchen sink part way. Loads of Playdoh/ plasticine. Marbles. Build a boat each. Winner is the one who can put most marbles in before it sinks (done on every secondary school open day and appeals endlessly to 4-11 year olds)

@ColdRainAgain we got the bullseye from a local butcher, no charge. 😊

Lots of non-messy indoor experiments (I used to love doing them):

Mixing lights. Put coloured paper (Quality Street wrappers work well) over torches, shine them on white paper in a dark place.

At that age, I loved experiments where I was a test subject, blindfolded to make sure there was no cheating. Test directional hearing: one child tries to point in direction of a sound, firstly with both ears open, then with one ear covered. Identify objects by touch, using feet instead of hands: tricky! Taste test to identify small pieces of fruit, especially while holding nose. Also which parts of the body could tell whether they were being poked with one pencil, or two (about 1cm apart).

Custard powder dancing on the speaker.
ooooh DH would not be happy if I touch his precious speakers

I'm trying to think of things that could go alongside each other...
Plasticine boat/marbles
Tower from spaghetti and marshmallow (would you let them eat the marshmallows after?)
CD Hovercraft

I like the light idea, maybe set that up in a bedroom with Lego/Playmobil and give them a camera to make a video?

Inside we stuck to domestic science mostly! Kids like to eat their experiments, bread is a good starting point as it's science meets food. We did do volcanos and crystals at points but the chemistry set etc stayed in the garage (I blew a hole in my parents fence though I don't think they include much fun stuff these days!)

A definite vote for cornflour and water it's a very special mixture indeed! Great for discussion around solids and liquids
m.youtube.com/watch?v=idCFb3DqWkk

Another favourite is stacking coloured water. You'll need a tall see through glass jug or similar. You'll need about five food colours. Measure out 5 x 100ml of water and then add a little food colour so you have five different colours. Then add in sugar, they need to be in increasing volumes so for instance no sugar, x1 tps, x2 tps, x3 tps and x4tbs. Pour the sugar solution with most sugar in the tall glass jug and then slowly pour the next less one with sugar and repeat until you finish with the one with no sugar. The trick is to pour the solution in realllllly slowly so you get a lovely rainbow effect.