Children's Day is celebrated in some parts of the world during June, giving both parents and educators a great opportunity to set aside some time to spend with their children and students doing something fun and educational that supports their growth and development.

What better way to combine fun and education than through some spectacular science experiments?!

We’ve compiled a list of exciting, educational, and hands-on experiments that teach children about various aspects of science using common household items and ingredients that you’ve probably already got in your kitchen or classroom cupboard.

5 child-friendly science experiments

Children are natural scientists. They are curious and fascinated by the world around them. They ask insightful and oftentimes difficult questions about nature and how things work. Young minds, especially preschoolers and elementary pupils, need to be encouraged and stimulated to develop their natural inclination for scientific inquiry.

Children don’t need to wait until high school or college to appreciate and enjoy science experiments. There are many child-friendly science experiments that can be performed at home using materials that can be commonly found in your kitchen, bathroom, or garage.

Child-friendly science experiments are safe, but still need to be supervised by parents, guardians, or teachers. Here are our top five science experiments to do at home or school.

1. Why is the sky blue?

What children will learn about: Rayleigh scattering, Mie scattering What you will need: Some milk, a glass of water & a flashlight

This easy, instant experiment is great for addressing a common question that many children have as they start to become more aware of their surroundings - why is the sky blue?

Using only a glass of water, milk, and a flashlight, this experiment will teach children all about Rayleigh and Mie scattering.

First of all, take a clear glass of water and allow the children to observe it. This experiment works even better in a darkened room so that the effects can be seen more clearly. You then take a couple of drops of milk and allow them to settle in the water, before shining your flashlight through the glass (this can also be done by placing your phone in torch mode beneath the glass).

As you’ll see, the water looks blue as a result of the milk scattering the light in the same way the sky does. You can also create the effect of clouds by adding further drops of milk, or allow the children to look directly down into the glass to see the yellow sunset effect that occurs when the light from the sun has passed through a lot of sky.

2. Surface tension experiments: pepper & soap

What children will learn about: Surface tension What you will need: A bowl of water, pepper & liquid soap

A popular experiment with instant results that’s also really entertaining, the soap and pepper test is a great way to not only teach children about surface tension, but also show them the importance of using soap to wash their hands, an incredibly topical issue and important for good hygiene practices in general.

A simple and quick activity, you begin by tipping a good amount of pepper into the bowl of water so that the surface of the water takes on a ‘spotty’ appearance. You then get the child to dip the tip of their finger into the liquid soap, and then dip it gently into the pepper water. The pepper particles will be flung to the edges because the child will have broken the surface tension with the soap.

A great way to relate this to hygiene is by asking the children to imagine that the pepper particles are dirt or bacteria, and let children compare the difference when they dip their fingers in both with and without soap.

3. Making an electromagnet at home

What children will learn about: Electromagnetism What you will need: Insulated copper wire, a steel rod or bolt & a battery with crocodile clip components

This activity is a fun way of allowing your students or children to create their own electromagnet. Start by taking a small steel rod or bolt and wrapping the insulated copper wire around it, but leaving both uninsulated ends exposed so that you can connect them to the battery.

Once the rod is completely wrapped in the wire with the ends exposed, clip them to the battery. You can then tell the kids to go off in search of items that the rod will pick up, such as paper clips, coins, and even small toy cars for a mini-demonstration of how real cars are often picked up.

This experiment demonstrates how electrons with a negative charge create a magnetic field. These electrons are pushed by the force of the battery along the copper wire, which in turn magnetizes the steel rod, allowing things to be picked up.

4. Invent your own maze game

What children will learn about: Coding What you will need: Craft stationery, play counters & a dice

If you’d like to teach your students or children the basics of coding, getting them to invent their own game is the perfect method. Let your children design their own maze with treasure at its center. Now tell them to create their own ‘coding’ to allow players to move through the maze. You also have the option of corresponding this to dice if you wish.

By encouraging children to write their own ‘code’ in a fun way, you can teach them how developers go on to input code in order to make certain things happen. Who knows, you could be creating a spark in the mind of a future innovator!

5. Children’s science kits

Toy stores offer a wide range of children’s science kits that are highly educational and fun to play with. Many are functional, like electronic, microscope, chemistry, and astronomy kits.

Electronics kits are arguably the most fun to play with because these kits encourage creativity and critical thinking. They can teach kids to build devices and also do some basic programming, and typically include both electronic, mechanical, and software components.

For even more science experiments, download the free Arduino Science Journal app, a pocket-sized science lab which allows children to become scientists, wherever they are!