I know that many people associate chemistry to lab coats or specialty ingredients. However, there are many simple and easy-to-find ingredients that you can use in chemistry projects. These simple chemistry projects are safe and easy to do with young children. Preschool and elementary-aged children can use these chemistry projects! It’s important that young children have positive associations with chemistry at a young age. This fosters an interest in this branch of science.
Most children learn chemistry at high school. This is where most kids are exposed to the subject.
This post is a huge compilation chemistry projects that can be used in science fairs, classroom demonstrations, at home, or with your children.
Let’s begin by talking about chemistry. Parents will also find a section that covers how to make chemistry projects at home. You can skip this section if you’re a teacher in the classroom and go straight to the projects.
What’s chemistry?
Chemistry is the science branch that studies matter. This includes all things that have mass and take up space. Chemistry also studies how substances interact, combine, and transform to create new substances.
These definitions are essential for chemistry projects.
– Elements A substance that can’t be separated from any other substances. There are 120 elements known.
– Atom The smallest elemental particle
– Molecules Groups of Atoms Held Together by a Chemical Bond.
– Ion A molecule or atom that has an electrical charge
Many people view chemistry as being about chemical reactions. But chemistry can also include studying the states and density of substances.
These are the five branches that make up chemistry:
– Analytical Chemistry
– Physical Chemistry
– Organic Chemistry
– Inorganic Chemistry
– Biochemistry
Home Chemistry Projects
Many chemistry project can be done at-home with basic materials. These projects are great for instilling a love of science and fostering a passion for it. My belief is that kids learn more when there’s a WOW factor. These are some guidelines and tips for home chemistry projects:
Safety First
These projects use easy to find and safe materials. However, you should always ensure safety precautions are taken and that an adult supervises. Why? You might be wondering why? There are some projects that require children to be careful with certain materials. These projects are intended to be demonstrations and are marked accordingly.
Materials
Use household supplies for chemistry. This is a classic chemistry experiment that will impress.
– A worthwhile investment
Safety goggles
Handwear
– Pipettes
– Large plastic cups
Place
– Be ready for messy reactions. Chemistry is a lot about chemical reactions. It’s a great idea to have a patio, gazebo, or garage.
– Plenty of space for work. Make sure everyone has enough room to sit down and work on their projects.
Access to water Clean-up is easier when you have water nearby. Place the water tank near a tap or sink.
How to Manage Messes
– Hose it all down. It depends on what project you are working on, but I would recommend chemical reactions outdoors. This will make it easy to clean up spillages.
– Painter’s Tarp & Trays A large plastic painter’s tarp can be used to keep spills contained and prevent them from getting outside. Also, I recommend using cookie sheets or trays for projects. The raised edges are great for containing bubbly brews. They also make it easier to wash and dispose of.
– Dump Station Keep a bucket close by to be used as a dump station. Spread it out on a plate and place each station.
Vinegar is a great way to dispose of grass. Slime bits clogs drains! It is important to think about where the liquid can be safely dumped.
Chemistry Projects For Kids
Below are the chemistry projects that kids can do. They are sorted by topic.
These projects can be placed in multiple categories if they are scientific or chemically related. They were only listed once.
Chemistry Projects With Chemical Reactions
What is a Chemical Reaction?
Chemical reactions are when chemical bonds in a substance either break down or are created. This means that the chemical reactions in which atoms are rearranged and broken bonds create new molecules. It is interesting that the number of original molecules does not change in the chemical reaction. They are just reconfigured.
This analogy is a great way to explain chemical reactions in children: Atoms are similar to letters, and molecules are similar to words. Chemistry can be described as a way to take apart words and arrange them to create new words.
Projects on Chemical Reactions
1. The process of applying paint to a surface with the use of milk as a medium
2. Citrus Battery
3. Toothpaste for Elephants
4. Densitylava Lamps
To create a density lava lamp, you will need to fill a plastic container with clear corn syrup, water and some food coloring. Make sure there is enough space at the top. Allow the liquids to settle before adding in an extra strong alka Seltzer tablet. As you watch the liquids react with each other, the oil layer will be dissolved.
5. An experiment utilizing plastic milk and a combination of curds and whey
6 . Color Mixing
Add water to three plastic cups. Next, add blue, yellow, and red food coloring to each cup. Make sure you have another cup of water that is uncolored. Use a pipette, an empty ice tray, and pipettes to help your child create different colors. Secondary colors are created from two primary colours. This is an easy visual representation of chemical reactions.
7. Chemical Timer
8. Blow balloons with Yeast & Sugar
9. Glittering Coins
– Collect dirty and tarnished pennies.
– Pour acidic liquids into small containers. You might try salsa, lemon, and lime juice.
Mix the ingredients together in a bowl.
– Add a few pennies to each container. Let it soak for five minutes.
– Wash them with soapy water. Allow to dry on separate towels.
Compare the outcomes! Which are the most shining? Which ones are the most dull? Which turned green?
Acids can cause sourness and corrosive effects. Acids include liquids like vinegar, tomato juice, and lemon juice. Copper pennies are made from it. Over time, oxygen can cause them to tarnishe (turn darker). The copper pennies will shine again if they are placed in acid.
Learn More About Acids And Bases
Most liquids can either be classified as an acid or base. Acidic liquids have lots of hydrogenions. Bases are liquids that contain many hydroxideions. To measure the acidity or basicity of a liquid, scientists use a scale called ph. The pH scale ranks lower for liquids with high levels of hydrogen ions. A liquid that contains more hydroxide ions will be more basic and rank higher on the ph scale. This is how it looks.
The solution is neutralized when acids and base are mixed.
Acid and base projects:
1. Baking Soda & Vinegar Volcano
2. Lemon Volcano
3. The Colorful Cabbage Juice Science Experiment. Acid Base Experiment using Cabbage
4. Moving Grains
5. Green Eggs & Ham
6. Fizzy Citrusy Beverage
7. Baking Soda vs Baking Powder Science Experiment
8. Exploding bags
9. Colorful Rubberized Ova
10. Surprise eggs
11. Rainbow Wizard’s Beer
Chemistry Projects With Fire (Carbon Reactions).
Carbon is essential for all life. Organic compounds are chemicals that include carbon. There are two types of carbon: One is in the form of graphite and diamonds, while the other is impure in coal, charcoal and soot.
SAFTEY WARNING: While carbon reactions are fascinating to observe, the presence of fire means these experiments should be monitored by adults.
Carbon Reactions projects:
1. Smoking Fingers
2. Fire Snake
3. Shiny Ovoid
4. Invisible Ink
Chromatography is a process which involves the separation of mixtures.
Chromatography is the separation of mixtures. The prefix -chroma is used to refer to color. Chemistry, however, means that it is a method for separating mixtures through slow movement of the particles.
This applies to liquids as well as gasses. This is a fantastic, in-depth explanation on chromatography.
Chromatography projects:
1. A laboratory technique used to separate compounds in a mixture by passing them through a material with different affinities for each component.
This project will show you how to separate black from other colours. Fold a coffeefilter in half. You will get a triangular shape when you fold the coffee filter in half again. Use a washable pen to color the coffee filter’s tip. Use a lot of ink to cover the filter. To a cup of plastic, add a little water. Watch the coffee filter’s black tip as it sits in the cup. Check the ink on the coffee filter again after a few hours. The black ink will move through the coffee filter as it absorbs water via capillary action. You will notice the ink being separated by water.
2. Flowers that have been subject to chromatography
3. Chromatography art
4. Chromatography bags
Colloids & Solutions/Solubility
Colloids are one type of homogenous mix, while solutions is another.
– Colloids refer to mixtures in that small particles are suspended in a mixture of substances, but not chemically linked. They can be separated but are very stable. Colloids include butter, smoke, fog, mayonnaise and gelatin.
– Solutions are mixtures that have the components of one substance completely dissolved within another substance. The solvent is the substance that dissolves the solute. Saltwater is an example solution.
For a deeper look at solutions and colloids, click here.
Colloid Projects:
1. Colloid Examples
2. Oobleck
3. Butter
4. Running a gel through a streak plating
Solutions/Solubility Projects:
5. Ice sculptures
6. Ice cream in bags
the Science Facts at Play printable
7. Skittles Sciences
8. Magical water blossoms
9. Diffusion art
10. How much does paint dissolve in a liquid?
11. Bleeding Blossoms
What are polymers and what purpose do they serve?
A polymer can be described as a substance consisting of many molecules in a long chain. Polymers are flexible materials such as plastic and gum.
Slime is the most popular polymer children love to make. While glue is already polymer, it can be made even more so by adding sodium tetraborate to (borax) to the mix. This makes it much harder for the proteins to move, forming slime.
You may also be familiar with plastic bags, instant snow, balloons and other polymers.
Polymer projects:
1. Simple Slime Recipe
2. Heat Sensitive slime
3. Make your own bouncy balls with a few simple supplies.
4. An experiment involving a plastic bag that appears to be magical is conducted.
5. Instant Terrariums
6. Learn to craft paper out of natural materials.
7. Skewer through Balloon
8. Dry Erase Figurine and Dryerase Drawings
9. Recycled plastic flowers
What are crystals?
Crystals can be described as a material made from patterns of repeating chemicals. There are four types if chemical bonds in crystals. These four types create four kinds of crystals. These are: Ionic, Molecular, Covalent and Molecular Crystals. By combining super saturated solutions (often with a type or salt of water), you can form crystals. The solution will settle over time. See the easy-to-grow crystals below. You can also go here for more information about crystal science.
Crystals Projects:
1. Borax Crystals Classic
2. Overnight Crystal Garden
3. Geodes that have eggs inside of them
4. Wind chimes made out of crystals
5. Scenic Crystalline Views
6. Candy rocks that contain crystals inside when broken open
7. Salt Crystals
Conclusion and More
Are you feeling inspired to explore chemistry with your kids? These projects will be great science fair projects. These topics should be used as a starting point. After that, you can ask questions, create hypotheses, conduct experiments, and make some observations.
As an adult, I can honestly say that I was captivated by chemistry projects. I’ve had many opportunities to work with children in camp, afterschool, and at my home with my kids. I’ve seen the reaction on their faces, as well the reactions on others, during demonstrations, or projects.
The book series Elements, Molecules, and Reactions, written by Theodore Gray, will be a hit with kids.
