Simple kitchen experiments work best, because they use what you already have and give results your child can see. I describe five in 5 Kitchen Science Experiments Any Kid Can Do, and each one practices a step from the book. They are meant for ages 4 to 8 with a grown-up nearby.
The five experiments and their chapters
- Floating egg test (Chapter 4). Two glasses of water, salt in only one, an egg in each. It is a clean example of changing one thing, just like the two flower pots on page 46.
- Baking soda volcano (Chapter 3). Before pouring, have your child predict: "I think more baking soda will make a bigger eruption." Then test it.
- Sugar crystals (Chapter 5). Crystals grow on a string over 3 to 7 days. Your child draws or photographs them each day, keeping track like Detail Dog with his clipboard. A grown-up handles the hot water.
- Paper towel race (Chapters 3 to 5). Put a drop of colored water on equal pieces of different paper towels, wait 30 seconds, measure how far it spreads, and chart the results. It is a whole research cycle in one afternoon.
- Bread mold (Chapters 5 and 6). Put three sealed, labeled bags of bread in the fridge, at room temperature, and in a warm spot. Check and draw them daily for a week, then present the findings like the Squad's poster on page 94. Keep the bags sealed and throw them away unopened when you're done.
Turning an experiment into research
Have your child record four things in a notebook: the question, the prediction, what we did, and what happened. That is a complete research report with the same structure scientists use.
Tips
- Ask for the prediction first. "What do you think will happen?" comes before every pour.
- Celebrate surprises. When a guess turns out wrong, point to page 77, where Professor Hoot says "Even a 'No' is a discovery!"
- Color the matching page afterward. It connects the mess on the counter to the step in the book.
For a place to record all of this, see What is Detail Dog's Data Journal?