"There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another."

It's science time again and we've been making water walk! No! we're not crazy but like myself, my little lab partner is very inquisitive and when we stumbled across this experiment online we knew we had to give it a try. When looking for experiments for a 5-year-old it can be difficult to find the right level of interest. I don't want to set up an experiment that is too simple so his attention sways but I also don't want something that he can't fully understand or get involved in. Walking water is the perfect experiment for a 5-year-old. 

You start off with an odd number of cups, preferably the same size. We used 7 but the experiment could work perfectly with 5, even 3 cups depending on the amount of food colourings you have to hand. We filled every other cup with water (around 2/3) and then mixed different food colours to the cups with water in (Red - Empty - Yellow - Empty - Blue - Empty - Red).

We then took 6 squares of disposable kitchen towel and folded them up, placing one end in the coloured water and the other in the empty cup, forming a chain along the 7. All that was left to do then was to wait, which was probably the most difficult task for Opeie as he wanted the magic to happen there and then. I knew that this was going to be annoying for Opeie so I set up another experiment while we waited, to teach Opeie how to test density (which I will write about very soon).

Well... I'm sure you can imagine what happened, no need for me to explain. The experiment turned out amazing! and was another great activity explaining the basics of colour theory!  Most importantly though the experiment was a fun and stimulating activity for my ever curious mini lab partner.

"Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science."

Recently we had every intention of having a Science week but one thing lead to another and that week we ended up having a couple of science days and moving on. We did lots of research together, reading books and I spent many evenings watching Youtube videos of fun experiments for me and Opeie to have a go at. He loves anything that makes a mess so we decided that our first experiment was going to be 'Magnetic slime'.

I thought it best to make the slime first and then ask Opeie for his hypothesis on what he thought was going to happen. I had never done this experiment before and I was really shocked at just how simple it was to make the slime, It is the perfect experiment for a 5-year-old as there is no huge amount of effort and the end result is great, So, Goggles on!

Firstly we filled a third of a jar up with PVA glue that we had picked up from our local pound store. You can pick up loads of great experiment ingredients from there and we managed to get things for another four experiments. We then added the same amount of water to the jar and gave it a stir. "It doesn't look like slime at all!" said my disheartened little lab partner.

In a separate jar, we mixed a small amount of water with a teaspoon of borax that we had picked up online. After also giving that a stir Opeie slowly added the Borax mix to the PVA and water cocktail, a little bit at a time. Very quickly the consistency of the mixture changed which got my lab partner very excited, we had slime! and it was great. greasy and gross, perfect for a children's science experiment.

Now it was time to add the final ingredient to our slime, iron fillings, which again we had picked up online. On the youtube video that I had watched, the people doing the experiment seemed to be very sparse with the Iron filings but we found that we needed to be quite liberal with them to get the effect that we needed, so if you are giving this a go don't be reluctant to put lots in.

And here is where we ran into our big problem. It turns out that you cannot get the desired effect from using fridge and other magnets that you may have around the house. For the experiment to work well you need a Neodymium magnet to get the sort of reaction that will make a science-curious child go 'Uhhhhhhh.....'. So at this point in the experiment, we had to scrap the slime, as it turns out that after making phone calls to every hardware store I could find in Shropshire, no-one sells Neodymium magnets. We did, however, purchase some online and two days later we went through all of the previous steps again, this time though at the request of Opeie we added some food colouring for effect.

At this point, I asked Opeie what he thought was going to happen when he held the magnet close to our slime. We had had a conversation about what a hypothesis was so he knew what was coming. We learned about magnets before so he explained that he thought that the slime would move towards the magnet, bright as a button that one.

The reaction from the slime was even better than I was expecting and Opeie's little face was all that I was hoping for. We had a brief chat about what was happening to the magnet and the slime but it was clear that Opeie had his own investigations to get underway, plus his friends had joined us outside and they all wanted a demonstration.

"I'm spinning around, move out of my way..."

I like to squeeze as many little activities as I can in to each day. The boys had their friend Keira round for the afternoon and they were playing indoors because of the rainy weather. They wanted to make strange concoctions with their test tubes and pippets so I sorted out some ingredients and bowls and let them get on with it. The rain soon stopped and inevitably they wanted to get straight outside on bikes and scooters which gave me the idea to merge the two activities together to show them how a centrifuge works.

I explained what a centrifuge was and how they are used and then we got started on our experiment by filling two small jars with oil, vinegar and mustard. We then turned Seth's bike upside down and attached one of the jars to the reflector. We then peddled the bike by hand as fast as we could. We had to start the experiment again when I realised we had filled the jars up too far but the second attempt went perfectly and the ingredients separated which the kids found really interesting.

There is so much time in a day, you can squeeze all manner if interesting little activities in to keep the kids entertained and we all love a mini science experiment.

Seths laboratory - The air pressure Eggstravaganza

I promised Seth a night of science but one thing lead to another and the time between Seth getting home from school and going to bed flew by. We had a mooch through Seth's science books though and found a quick experiment so that the evening wasn't a complete waste. 

Today's experiment

The air pressure Eggstravaganza:

Like me you probably remember this experiment from when you were younger, its quick and easy to do and fun to watch. All you need is:

• A Boiled egg (shell removed)
• Some matches
• A Bottle/Jar with a rim just smaller than the egg

 All you need to do for this very quick experiment is strike some matches and drop them into the bottle or vessel of your choice and pop the egg on top of the rim.

And then sit back and watch what happens...

 

How does it work?

The lit matches heat the air inside the vessel causing the warming air to expand. When the flame goes out the air cools and the pressure drops. The air outside of the vessel now has a higher pressure so it pushes its way inside pushing the egg in with it.

All very serious stuff!

Seth's Laboratory - Liquid layers / Testing Density

Its been one of those lazy sorts of weekends, Mrs M  was shattered when she got in from work on Friday night and we pretty much just vegged out. Not a lot has changed since then and Ive loved every minute of it, its been a lovely change. We have done a few little things, visiting Mrs M's sister and going to see her nan but apart from that its just been us playing with Opeie and keeping nice and warm in the house. We haven't even tidied the house much which really isn't like us. Its nice every now and again to have a weekend like this.

Seth hasn't been with us this weekend and as usual we really missed him and couldn't wait for him to get home this evening. We wanted to make the most of the time before he went to bed this evening so we set up a little science experiment to keep the boys entertained and get them thinking.

For this experiment we needed:

• A tall glass or Jar
• Water
• Cooking Oil
• Treacle
• Food colouring
• Selection of small items

  

Seth's and Opeie suited up and took a moment to go over the directions, safety procedures and where the exits where in case of emergency. Treacle is very dangerous don't you know!

Using three little pieces of tape we evenly sectioned off three spaces for the liquids to go so that it would be easy for the boys to know exactly how much they should pour in. First the water, followed by a few drops of food colouring (Seth chose blue but i think a red would have worked better as we were using black treacle).

After giving the mixture a little stir we added the cooking oil up to the next line. The boys were instantly hooked when they realised the liquids had separated and they couldn't wait to get the treacle in to see what was going to happen.

Next up the treacle, we had black treacle which i thought would have worked out better but we should have used light treacle as it turned the bottom of the jar into a bottomless abyss swallowing up everything we dropped in later in the experiment. The concoction looked great and the boys were really getting into the experiment.

The liquids were complete so then it was time to make use of the selection of small items. We had had a good rummage around the house looking for bits and bobs. I found lots of them in our messy draw (well we all have at least one).

 The boys couldn't wait to start dropping things into the mixture, these included Pasta, Lego (of course), coin, chalk, almond, nail, paper clip and a grape, Seth opted for a bogey but we swayed him away from that on, god knows what would have been next. Before dropping in each item we had a discussion about what we thought was going to happen and Seth came out with some interesting ideas and views.

One of our items was a chunk of lime, Seth's hypothesis was that if we dropped it in skin side down it would float at the top on the oil and if we dropped it skin side up it would sink down to the water, so we chopped the chunk in two and started our investigation. It was great how involved the boys were getting and i love hearing Seth's ideas. 

 The experiment took us about an hour with all of the discussions in between, Mrs M pointed out that we should have made all the things we we're dropping in roughly the same size to make it more accurate but it all went well and the boys really enjoyed it. the big discussion was whether the paper clip (that was coated in plastic) would have had a different outcome without the coating, but we'll save that for another day.

All our findings were documented and can be stored away for future experiments. I'm loving all the science that's going on in the house at the moment and Seth has been getting really excited at whats going to be next so stay tuned for our next visit to Seth's Laboratory.

So how does this work?

When liquids do not mix they will seperate and the most dense of them will be at the bottom of the container used. when you drop an object in to the mixture it will only sink until it has reached a liquid that is denser than they are. The size of a liquids molecules is what decides its density. The treacle has the largest molecules and they are packed together tight making it the most dense of the three. Water molecules are small but close together so it sits between the two and Oil is the least dense despite having large molecules as they are far apart.

Seths Laboratory - Elephant's Toothpaste.

Don't you just hate those awkward moments in life...

You've got this elephant at home and the poor thing has the dirtiest teeth you have ever seen but you don't have the sufficient paste to clean them!!! what do you do???

Luckily in one of Seth's science books there is an experiment to make 'Elephants Toothpaste', so as soon as Seth was out of school today we rushed home, put on our Lab wear and hit Seth's Laboratory ready for an early evening of Science. I'd set everything up ready apart from one ingredient which i had left to Mrs M to sort (more about that later).

  

For this experiment we needed:

• Empty plastic bottle
• 120ml hydrogen peroxide (no greater than 3-6 concentration)
• Washing up liquid
• Food colouring
• Dry yeast
• Hot water
• Funnel
• Baking tray or shallow pan

we placed the empty bottle in the shallow pan to avoid unnecessary mess and using the funnel we poured the hydrogen peroxide in to the bottle. We then added a few drops of food colouring (the colour isn't important), followed by a few drops of washing up liquid.

This is when we ran in to a problem... the one ingredient that Mrs M was left to sort out (Dry Yeast) was missing and in its place an empty box. So off to Asda i went as Seth has been desperate to do this experiment for weeks. It didn't take me long and i managed to grab some ingredients for future experiments. When i got back Seth put a teaspoon of dry yeast into a beaker along with two table spoons of hot water (not boiling). He then stirred it and added it to the bottle.

At this point Seth's science book says 'The liquid starts bubbling before producing a foam that SPURTS out of the bottle's neck'...

Sadly nothing but disappointment. Turns out we had used a bottle that was far to big so while we patiently waited for the 'spurting' to happen we decided to start from scratch.

So, same experiment smaller bottle and we changed the food dye colour as the colour hadn't come out in the first experiment. 

The experiment turned out a lot better, but Seth being the very serious scientist that he is he still wasn't completely satisfied...

 See... Serious face! i told you!

Seth then decided he was going to add the two experiments together...

Turns out it was just the catalyst we needed to get the 'spurting' in motion

And there you go, the spurting of a toothpaste like substance fit for our elephant and his poor dental hygiene.