Fun Summer Science Projects with Kids

For a long time now, grandparents have gifted our kids subscriptions to project kits from KiwiCo. These shoebox-size packages come in the mail each month and they are great. They are hands-on, science-related kits that come with everything you need to build or make something. We've had kits where the kids made a model solar system, a manual carpet sweeper, a projector, a camera obscura, a pendulum, a coin-eating robot, a spirograph, labyrinths, and more. There are different "Crates" available aimed toward different age ranges. M received the playful, arts and crafts Koala Crates (ages 2 - 4) for a while, but we recently switched her subscription to the slightly more involved and more science-oriented Kiwi Crates (ages 5 - 8); W used to get Kiwi Crates, but for a while tried out Atlas Crates (geography and culture, aimed at ages 6 - 11) and more recently has gotten Tinker Crates (science and engineering for ages 9 - 16+). All the kits come with a booklet of instructions as well as a booklet of extra information and ideas on that month's theme. My daughter, especially, absolutely loves her Crates and wants to dig into them as soon as they arrive. My husband or I sit nearby the kids while they work on a kit, to help interpret directions or give tips, but try to keep our hands out of it and really let it be their creation. The projects are always age-appropriate; they always include challenges but are very doable.

Some of the benefits of the KiwiCo kits are:

• practice following written/visual directions to create something 3-D
• fine motor practice
• extra science learning
• opportunities to see a big project through to completion by doing various smaller steps
• practicing new skills that can take a little tinkering and persistence-- like weaving, or connecting wires...

Literally the one con to these kits is:

• what to do with the stuff they create each month??

These homemade toys get played with for a while and are a nice subject for show and tell with grandparents, but a lot of fun is in the creating and learning. Afterward they can fill up their bedrooms and cover every available surface and become one of our main sources of clutter. It'd be better if I was one of those moms who could just throw it away after a couple of weeks. (I'm always looking for a better storage/display/disposal system for these creations and would seriously love ideas if anyone has any!)

One more neat thing is that each kit comes with a published book on a related topic. Sometimes the books are picture books-- fiction, nonfiction, and even poetry. But several times the accompanying book has been a fat resource book full of more ideas for cool science projects! We've had a stack of such books sitting around and we weren't getting around to trying many of them out during the school year. It felt like an embarrassment of riches. So this summer I gathered and bought some of the supplies that some of these projects called for and we've been enjoying trying them out. Some of them have been more exciting than others. Our favorite book with the most exciting (and involved) projects is Recycled Science.

The highlight of this random science inspiration we've enjoyed from these books lately has been popsicle stick chain reactions-- creating a woven chain of jumbo popsicle sticks. It takes patience and motor coordination to make it hold together in the beginning (each stick is bent a little to tuck under and over the others to hold together). When you unhook the beginning of the chain, all the stored energy is released and they seem to explode in sequence. My 10-year-old created these again and again, making longer and longer ones, and always wanting them filmed in slow-motion. (We got the inspiration from Recycled Science, but found clarity on the finer details of how to do it with this YouTube video.) Highly recommended!

Another project we tried from the same book was this simple siphon idea. Start sucking through one end of the tube (and stop in time!) then watch the water flow from one container to the other because of atmospheric pressure. Now my kids know what to do if their car ever runs out of gas.

We also made great bubble solution and a big bubble wand (from the book Maker Lab: Outdoors) to make some giant bubbles. It was addicting to keep trying to make the biggest, longest-lasting one (or, in M's case, to jump and try to pop them).

We've also made a barometer, a butterfly feeder, a contraption to grow bean seeds hydroponically, and a really cool vinegar-and-baking-soda bottle rocket-- none of which we photographed...

Some of these random summer projects were more sensational or memorable than others. But either way the project-making itself has been fun.