Science Made Simple

Children are engaging the scientific method from the time they are infants. They are constantly forming hypotheses, testing theories, analyzing results, retesting and coming to conclusions. All of this is happening as an infant repeatedly drops objects from their high chair to the floor. What does that object sound and look like when I drop it? What kind of splash does milk make compared to cereal? Children are gaining knowledge and an understanding of the world in a very practical way.

When we cook and bake with our children, we are conducting science experiments. Take some time before you put the ingredients away to set up a simple science experiment. Children can form an hypothesis, test a theory, analyze results and come to conclusions by simply adding different ingredients to lemon juice. What happens when you add baking soda, baking powder, flour, salt or raisins? Compare this to what happens when you add these same ingredients to water. Lemon juice is an acid and will react with the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to create c02, so will create lots of bubbles. The same will happen with baking powder because it also contains baking soda along with cream of tartar which is also an acid.

Cut an apple and remove the seeds. Examine all the parts with a magnifying glass then try it with different varieties of apples. Some will have white flesh (McIntosh) and others a yellow flesh (Gala). What happens when the flesh turns brown? Some apples brown faster than others. Why is that? Use some lemon juice from the first experiment to see how it affects the browning process. Next try a taste test. Apples and other produce contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidaze (PPO) that reacts with oxygen and iron containing phenols found in the apple. The oxidation reaction forms a sort of rust on the apple. Lemon juice slows the reaction by reducing the pH on the surface of the apple.

A simple biology experiment uses white flowers and water in a vases with food colouring added. For comparison, you can use white carnations, gerbera daisies, lilies or chrysanthemums and place them in vases with a couple of different colours. Over time the coloured water is absorbed through the xylem which is a tissue of thin tubes inside the stem. Water is transported up the xylem to various parts of the plant including the flower. The experiment can be revisited over a period of days. Will the colours be taken up differently in the different flowers? How bright will the colours be? What will it look like after an hour? After 3 hours? After 3 days?

Children are naturally curious and full of questions. Parents do not need to be scientists to give their children the opportunity to experience science. Visit Pinterest and search for "simple science experiments". There are lots of great experiments and the explanations about why they work the way they do. Now let’s make science simple!

Written by Joyce Williams RECE, Parent Support Coach