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Teaching Resources & Guides > Science Lessons > Eyes & Vision  

Eyes & Vision

Do you know how your vision works?

Read on to find out about the incredible properties of the eye–and how its features affect your vision.

Eyes & Vision Science Lesson

Eye anatomy.

The human eye is one of the the most complex and sophisticated sensory organs in the body.

Its unique automatic focusing system outstrips that of any camera, and its light sensitivity is ten million times greater than the best film designed so far! Before taking a look at how the eye works, let’s start with a basic overview of how it is built.

The outside layer of the eye is made up of the sclera and the cornea.

The sclera is the firm white tissue that covers all of the eye except the very front. It helps maintain the shape of the eye and protects the inner parts.

The cornea is the transparent portion at the center front part of the eye that allows light through.

A thin outer mucous membrane called the conjunctiva covers the inside of the eyelids, the cornea, and the front portion of the sclera. It helps lubricate the eye.

The middle layer of the eye contains oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood vessels, most of which are located in the layer of tissue called the choroid .

Near the front of the eye is the ciliary body , a group of muscles and ligaments that attach to the lens. These muscles change the shape of the lens as they relax and contract.

The final component of this layer is the iris , a group of muscles that controls how much light enters the eye by adjusting the opening, or pupil . The iris contains pigments that determine your eye-color.

When you look at a person’s eye, you can see parts from each of the first two layers: the “white” of the eye is the sclera, the front transparent part is the cornea, the iris is the colored part, and the pupil is the dark hole in the center.

The eye’s inner layer is composed of the retina : thin tissue that contains blood vessels and light-sensitive photoreceptor cells called rods and cones.

Every human eye contains about 120 million rods and 7 million cones.

The rods are very sensitive to low-level light, but they cannot distinguish color.

Cones need much more light to function than rods do, but they provide color information and sharp detail.

You may have noticed that in dim light color looks much less vibrant; that is because the rods that help you see in the dark are more or less “color-blind.” The retina also contains a dark pigment called melanin (also found in skin and hair cells) – this reduces reflection of light when it enters your eye.

The blood vessels and the optic nerve (the nerve that conducts electrical impulses to the brain; see the following article to learn more) connect to the retina at a spot called the optic disc .

On this disc there are no rods and cones; this is your blind spot. You don’t usually notice your blind spot, because your two eyes work together to “cover up” each other’s blind spot.

The macula is a small spot in the center of your retina. On this spot is a small pit called the fovea . When light is focused on this spot we get the sharpest image, because the fovea contains very tightly-packed photoreceptor cells. Macular degeneration is a common eye disease that is caused by the deterioration of the macula and results in partial blindness.

The three layers fill only a small part of the eye; the large middle area isn’t empty, though! The area between the cornea and the lens is filled with a transparent liquid material called the aqueous humor. The area between the lens and the retina contains a clear gel-like substance called the vitreous humor. Both of these humors help give shape to the eye and are part of the focusing process.

Your eye is a very delicate organ. The sclera and cornea protect the inner parts of the eye, but there are other protective parts as well.

Most obvious are your eyelids. With the eyelashes , your eyelids help keep outside particles from getting in your eye.

They also help spread tears , which keep the eye moist and wash away anything that gets past the eyelids. Tears are produced in the lacrimal glands and contain antibodies and anti-bacterial enzymes. The tears that your lacrimal glands produce regularly are drained away into the nasal cavity.

When you produce extra tears, though, they will spill out – this is called crying!

How Vision Works

In order to see, your eye must focus light on the retina, convert the light into electrical impulses, and send those impulses to your brain to be interpreted.

It is an amazing and complex process, but you do it constantly without even trying!

Focusing the light. When light bounces off an object and reaches the eye, it must be bent so that its rays arrive at the retina in focus.

Four different surfaces bend the light as it enters the eye: the cornea, the aqueous humor, the lens, and the vitreous humor.

When all four of these bend the light appropriately, you see a focused image of the object.

The eye can focus objects at different distances because the ciliary muscles push and pull to make the lens change shape. When you look at an object that is far away, the ciliary muscles relax and the lens has a flattened shape.

When you look at an object that is close by, the ciliary muscles are contracted and the lens is thickened. This is one of the features that makes the eye superior to any manmade camera.

To adjust a camera lens for the distance of an object, you must move the whole lens forward or back. If our eyes worked the same way, we would need long tubes sticking out of our eyes so the lenses could move back and forth.

Instead, our lenses just change shape to adjust for the distance of an object. This takes up much less room, and is probably more attractive!

In addition to focusing the light, your eye can control how much light gets in.

The colored part of your eye, called the iris, controls the size of the pupil, the opening that lets light through.

In dim light, the iris will cause your pupil to expand, allowing as much light as possible into your eye. In bright light, the iris causes the pupil to contract so that less light can enter.

Converting the light. What happens when the focused light reaches your retina? It triggers a complex chemical reaction in the light-sensitive rod and cone cells.

Rods contain a chemical called rhodopsin , or “visual purple,” and cones contain chemicals called color pigments.

These chemicals undergo a transformation that results in electrical impulses being sent to the brain through the optic nerve.

Interpreting in the brain. When the electrical impulses arrive in the visual cortex of the brain, the brain analyzes the color and light information from the rods and cones and interprets them as light.

The brain flips the image (the light was projected on your retina upside down) and fills in for the blind spot if necessary (read more on this in the science project below).

All this happens almost instantaneously, allowing you to read a book or enjoy a beautiful sunset. Some of the information from the retina is sent to the visual reflex system in your brain. This allows you to react quickly to visual threats.

If you see something coming toward your head, your visual reflex system processes this and causes you to duck before you have time to think about it!

Eyes & Vision Science Projects

Eye chart vision test.

A Snellen eye chart is used to determine how “normal” your vision is. It sets a standard for what most people should be able to see when they stand 20 feet away from the chart.

20/20 vision just means that when you stand 20 feet away from a Snellen eye chart, you see what a normal human being can see.

If you see 20/40, that means that when you stand 20 feet away from the chart, you see what a normal person sees standing 40 feet away from it. The higher the second number, the worse your vision is. 20/200 (you see at 20 feet what a normal person sees at 200) is the number for legal blindness in the United States.

20/20 vision isn’t perfect, it’s just “normal.” You can have better vision than 20/20. If you have 20/10 you see at 20 feet what most people see at 10. Some animals, like hawks, might have 20/2 vision!

You can use our Snellen eye chart * to compare vision within your family or with your friends.

(This will only give you an approximate idea of your vision. Your optometrist has much more precise tools to find out exactly how well you can see.)

Each line of the chart is labeled on the left side. The second to last line is 20/20.

Tape the eye chart to a wall, making sure it is in plenty of light. Stand twenty feet away from the chart and begin reading each line.

Have a family member or friend watch to see that you are reading each letter correctly. The last line that you are able to read will give you an approximate idea of your vision.

If you can read the very bottom line, your vision is 20/10! Now try covering one eye and just testing the other one. Is one eye better than the other?

Have all of your family members try reading the chart. Do some of you have better vision than others? If you wear glasses, what is your vision with them on and what is it without them?

* Instructions for downloading : The Snellen Eye Chart PDF is 11″ x 17″, so to print correctly you will need to set your print options to “tile.” Printer choices will vary, but you should do something similar to this. Open the PDF and choose Print. Under the page scaling options, select “tile all pages.” This should print the chart on four sheets of paper. You will need to trim the edges so the pieces match up, and then tape or glue them together.

(You can also order an already-printed 11″ x 17″ copy of our Snellen Eye Chart.)

Blind Spot Experiments

The spot where your optic nerve connects to your retina is called the optic disc. There are no photoreceptor cells on this disc, so when an image hits that part of your retina, you can’t see it.

This is your blind spot. You don’t notice this blind spot in every-day life, because your two eyes work together to cover it up.

To find it, draw a filled-in, 1/4″-sized square and a circle three or four inches apart on a piece of white paper.

Hold the paper at arm’s length and close your left eye. Focus on the square with your right eye, and slowly move the paper toward you. When the circle reaches your blind spot, it will disappear!

Try again to find the blind spot for your other eye. Close your right eye and focus on the circle with your left eye. Move the paper until the square disappears.

What happened when the circle disappeared? Did you see nothing where the circle had been?

No, when the circle disappeared, you saw a plain white background that matched the rest of the sheet of paper.

This is because your brain “filled in” for the blind spot – your eye didn’t send any information about that part of the paper, so the brain just made the “hole” match the rest.

Try the experiment again on a piece of colored paper. When the circle disappears, the brain will fill in whatever color matches the rest of the paper.

The brain doesn’t just match colored backgrounds. It can also make other changes to what you see. Try drawing two filled-in rectangles side by side with a circle in between them. A few inches to the right of this, draw a square.

Close your right eye and focus your left eye on the square. Move the paper until the circle disappears and the two separated bars become one bar.

How did that happen? The circle in between the bars fell on your blind spot. When it disappeared, the brain filled in for the missing information by connecting the two bars!

Here is one final experiment with your blind spot. In this instance the brain doesn’t match the blind spot with its immediate white background, but instead with the pattern surrounding it.

Draw a line down the center of your page. On one side draw a small square and on the other draw rows of circles. Color the center circle red and all the others blue.

Close your left eye and look at the square with your right eye. As you move the paper, the red circle should disappear and be replaced by a blue one!

Technology: Improving Eyesight

The general design of the human eye is practically flawless – but each individual eye isn’t.

If you are using contacts or glasses to read this article, you know that your eyes aren’t perfect.

Perhaps you are nearsighted and can’t see objects that are far away very well.

Or maybe you are farsighted and have trouble seeing things close-up. Both of these conditions occur because of the shape of the eyeball.

If your eyeball is too short, the light rays will focus the image behind your retina, instead of on it. This produces farsightedness. If your eyeball is too long, the light rays focus the image in front of the retina, making you nearsighted.

The technology of vision correction has developed over centuries.

The first known eyeglasses were made in the 13th century out of quartz set into bone, metal, or leather.

Eventually the technology for glass-blowing allowed a fine enough quality of glass to be used for lenses.

The biggest problem with these early glasses was keeping them on. It took almost 400 years before someone developed the side arms to rest on the ears!

Most people bought ready-made glasses that would have helped their vision without correcting it precisely.

For example, Benjamin Franklin had two pair of glasses, one for near and one for far. He got tired of changing them, so he cut the lenses in half and repositioned them so that he could see both near and far using the same glasses – the first bifocals!

With the advance of technology, vision-testing equipment has become more and more precise.

Now to obtain a pair of glasses, you must go to an optometrist who will determine exactly what type and strength of lenses you need.

Concave lenses are used for nearsightedness because they bend light away from the center – this stops the light from focusing too far in front of the retina.

Convex lenses are used for farsightedness because they bend light toward the center, causing the light to focus sooner so the image is not focused behind your retina.

Lenses can also be made that will correct other problems in the eye, such as astigmatism , which is an irregular curvature of the cornea.

Contact lenses are a popular alternative to eyeglasses. These lenses fit directly on the cornea, where they “float” on a layer of tears.

They were under experimentation as early as the mid-19th century, though quality and comfort left much to be desired. Now millions of people in the United States use either soft or hard lenses.

Soft contact lenses are made of flexible, water-absorbing plastics. They are more comfortable to wear than hard lenses, which are made of more rigid plastic that does not form to the eye as well. Hard lenses, on the other hand, produce a sharper image.

Some people want a more permanent solution to their vision problems. In recent years, procedures such as LASIK (laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis) surgery have been developed to remove the need for external lenses like glasses and contacts.

While external lenses change how the light is bent so that it focuses on your retina, laser surgery reshapes the cornea itself.

The process involves a tightly focused beam of ultraviolet light, called an excimer laser. The surgeon first uses a sharp scalpel to cut a flap in the top layer of the cornea, then directs the laser into the middle layer.

As the laser pulses onto this surface, it vaporizes a microscopic portion of the cornea. By controlling the number and location of the pulses, the surgeon controls how much of the cornea is removed.

Noteworthy Scientist: Charles Bell (1774-1842)

Do you ever wonder how great artists can paint a human face that looks perfectly realistic? One of Charles Bell’s contributions to art was an anatomy textbook especially for artists, called Essays on the Anatomy of Expression in Painting .

Charles Bell was an artist himself, as well as a surgeon and anatomist. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a Church of England minister.  His older brother John was a surgeon, author, and teacher of anatomy at the University of Edinburgh.

Studying with his brother, Bell developed both his artistic talent and his medical knowledge. After he graduated from the University with a degree in medicine, Bell assisted in teaching his brother’s anatomy class and publishing a four-volume Anatomy textbook.

Eventually Bell moved to London where he did extensive research on nerves, wrote many books and treatises, opened a school of anatomy, and worked as a surgeon.

In 1815 he cared for the wounded after the bloody battle of Waterloo, his skill in surgery holding him in good stead.

His battlefield experience led him to create illustrations of gunshot wounds to be used by surgeons.

Bell’s research on the brain and nerves proved foundational for modern neurology.  He determined that nerves only sent information one way: some took sensory information to the brain, and some took commands from the brain to the rest of the body. He also traced nerves from special sensory organs (such as the eye) to specific parts of the brain.

Through all his research and medical illustration, Bell recognized the hand of a Creator. In 1836 he was invited to contribute to a collection of works “On the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God as Manifested in the Creation.”

He agreed, and wrote a treatise called The Hand; its Mechanism and Vital Endowment, as Evincing Design .

Bell was knighted by King William IV in 1831, and in 1835 he accepted a position as professor of surgery and returned to Scotland.

He continued to work in his field up until his death in 1842.

More on Eyes & Vision:

•  Eyesight for Young Students
•   Two Eyes (vs One)
•  Cow Eye Dissection

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43 Science Experiments to BLOW Your Kid’s Mind!

August 2, 2024 by Sarah 2 Comments

Science is really cool. There are so many amazing things in this world of ours. So many science experiments for kids that just make me stop and say, “whoa” … or “wow” … or “What the …!!” (depending, of course, on my company).

Children, as we know, are naturally curious. They naturally want to learn all about the world around them. This is part of the reason I adore doing science experiments with young children. Hearing the “whoas” and the “wows” (but not “what the…” thankfully) from my little ones is just awesome.

These are easy science experiments for kids that will do just that.

But before we get started, I think you’ll love this fun science experiment where we turn milk into… plastic?! Grab the step-by-step instructions delivered to your inbox so you can start on this fun activity right now:

43 Easy Science Experiments for Kids that Will BLOW Your Kid’s Mind

Ready? Let’s get right to them …

How Wee Learn Science Experiments for Kids

Super Cool Walking Water Experiment – A simple and beautiful look into absorption and color mixing. What a fun way to capture children’s natural curiosity.

Why Do Leaves Change Color? – This experiment answers a question that most kids ask during the fall! What a super cool, but super simple way for them to experiment and get the answer themselves.

How are Stalactites Formed? – Help children answer this question with a simple, hands-on science experiment! Kids will learn about saturation and mineral deposits along the way.

Messy (but Awesome!) Science Experiments

Dancing Oobleck by Housing a Forest – This delightfully messy experiment explores how oobleck interacts with sound waves. There is even a video of the oobleck “dancing” and moving all around!

Exploding Baggies by Inspiration Laboratories – A few simple ingredients and kids can make these exploding baggies! Add some paint and they can create art at the same time.

Why Are There Craters on the Moon by I Can Teach My Child – A super hands-on way to determine why the moon has craters. So easy to set up, but packed with meaningful information to answer kids’ questions.

Fun Flower Science Experiment by Happily Ever Mom – Let the kids pick some flowers, then bring out the hammers to explore the concept of pigments.

Scented Rainbow Science by Fun-A-Day – Grab a few ingredients from the kitchen to set up this colorful, and deliciously-scented, easy science experiment for kids. The kids will “ooooh!” and “aaaah!” as they jump right into testing chemical reactions.

Expanding Ivory Soap by Happy Hooligans – Explore what happens when you place Ivory soap in the microwave! This experiment always leads to wide-eyed, excited children, and they’re learning about how air molecules expand in heat.

Melting Ice Science Experiment with Salt and Color by The Artful Parent – Experiment with how salt melts ice, then watch as the colorful liquid highlights the process even more. A beautiful mix of art and science!

Science Experiments for All of the “WHY?” Kids

How Many Balloons Can Lift a Bag? by Mess for Less – Grab some helium-filled balloons to answer this question. Perfect for a birthday party or any day!

Easy “Quicksand” Density Experiments  by LalyMom – Have you ever wondered what would happen to Hexbugs in quicksand? A rather funny premise to an experiment, with really interesting results!

Simple Earthquake Science by The Chaos and The Clutter – If your house is like mine, you have Lego bricks and building blocks accessible. This experiment turns those materials into an exploration of tectonic plates in a super easy and fun way.

Tornado in a Jar by Coffee Cups and Crayons – Show the kids how to wield the forces of nature in a pickle jar! I love how simple this experiment is, and how captivating it is to children.

Physics for Kids: Water, Mirrors, and Reflections by My Nearest and Dearest (link no longer available) – Encourage kids to find out how moving water distorts images.

Experiments with Air Drag and Streamlined Shapes by Sugar Aunts – Test out air drag using toy cars, a blow dryer, and paper!

Underwater Sound Experiment for Kids by Still Playing School – Little ones learn how sounds change underwater with this simple but engaging experiment.

Classic Science Experiments 

Making Ice Grow by Teach Preschool – Whoa, this experiment is seriously cool ( cool , teehee). Children can create their own mini ice towers.

DIY Crystal Landscapes by Babble Dabble Doo – Create gorgeous, delicate crystals using a few household ingredients. This experiment touches on the concepts of crystallization and evaporation, and it is just a cool process to watch!

Chewing Gum Science by Meet Penny – What kid wouldn’t want to grab some gum for a science experiment? This one is sure to engage any reluctant learners. 

Ice Cube Experiment by Mess for Less – Can you pick up an ice cube with a piece of thread? Super simple kitchen science that is sure to wow.

Coloring Wild Carrot by Fireflies and Mud Pies – Test out evaporation and capillary action while creating beautifully colored plants. This science experiment for kids is so EASY and absolutely stunning too.

Balloon Experiments with Candy by Learn~Play~Imagine – Mix candies with soda to blow up balloons! Which candy will create the biggest reaction?

Science Experiments You Might Not Have Seen Before

Visual Science Experiment for Kids – Fire Needs Oxygen by Mama Smiles – In addition to being an easy, engaging experiment, it also touches on fire safety.

Make a Lava Lamp Science Experiment by Hands On As We Grow – The kids are sure to love this colorful, bubbling chemical reaction! We just did this one today at a friend’s birthday party and boy was it a hit!

Pepper Science for Kids by Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails – The materials for this experiment are found right in the kitchen! Explore surface tension using pepper and dish soap.

Hopping Corn Science by One Time Through – Make corn “hop” using a simple chemical reaction. Kids will love measuring, pouring, and observing!

Rainbow Paper from Science Kiddo – Explore color theory while making some seriously cool art! Just a few ingredients are needed for this project, which is even better.

Easy Friction Experiment by Carrots Are Orange – Can a jar of rice be picked up using just a chopstick? Children explore the concept of friction as they answer that question!

Rainbow Science for Kids: Exploring Prisms by Buggy and Buddy – Grab some prisms and set about learning about light refraction. This science exploration is perfect for even very little scientists!

Homemade Invisible Ink by Fun-A-Day – Test different liquids and see which works best as invisible ink. A simple experiment that uses household items and pulls the kids into scientific thinking.

Make an Egg Bounce by Science Sparks – Children know that eggs crack when dropped, but do they know how to make an egg bounce? They can find out in this kitchen science experiment.

Even More Ideas!

Apple Science Experiment by Pre-K Pages – What happens to apples when they come into contact with different liquids? Let kids discover the answer using items on-hand in the house.

Pine Cone Experiment for Kids by Lemon Lime Adventures – Experiment with how pine cones open and close! What a fun way to find out more about nature.

Elephant Toothpaste by Fun at Home with Kids – A foamy exothermic reaction that is sure to impress the kids!

Salt Water Density Science Experiment by Little Bins for Little Hands – Children try to make items that had previously sunk in water float using a simple ingredient from the kitchen.

Make a Sun Print Shirt by KCEdventures – Test the effect of the sun while creating wearable art.

Blubber Experiment by Gift of Curiosity – Kids can experiment with how arctic animals stay warm in the winter!

Dry Ice Bubbles by Not Just Cute – This amazing experiment lets children explore dry ice to make bubbles. They can try the bubbles on different surfaces to see what keeps them stable and what makes them pop.

Ice Cream in a Bag by I Can Teach My Child – The kids will love this science experiment that ends in a tasty treat.

Colored Ants by Life With Moore Babies – This is definitely an amazing experiment to share with the kids! Use food coloring in sugar water, then test to see if the ants’ stomachs show the coloring!

There you have it! 43 “Wows” or “Whoas” to engage and inspire those little curious minds (and the bigger minds too!).

Science is SO cool. I hope you found a few science experiments that are nice and easy, yet still amazingly cool for your kids!

I also encourage you to check out some of my family unit studies for hands-on fun that is all planned out for you! My family unit studies use an integrated approach, so you will cover science, but also literacy, math, history, geography, and so much more—all through hands-on fun.

And the best part? My unit studies work for children ages 4 to 12, so the whole family can learn together.

Browse through the ever-growing library, peruse a sample or two, and find your next adventure right here:

How Wee Learn Family Unit Studies

https://shop.howweelearn.com/collections/family-unit-studies

Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend,

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August 20, 2015 at 9:36 am

Awesome collection!!! Thank you fro including mine, I’m so glad to have this resource!

August 23, 2015 at 8:47 pm

Thank you Laura – very glad you find it helpful. Love you post!

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Visual Cliff Experiment (Definition + Examples)

Do you have a fear of heights? If you do, how long have you had that fear of heights? If you are anything like the children in psychology’s Visual Cliff experiment, you might have been holding onto that fear since you were a baby.

What Is the Visual Cliff Experiment?

The 1960 Visual Cliff experiment is the most famous look at how depth perception develops. The visual cliff experiment is a great look into how the fear of heights develops and how psychologists used different forms of research to observe that development. 

What Is the Purpose of the Visual Cliff Experiment?

The researchers behind this experiment wanted to learn whether or not depth perception, or our ability to perceive three dimensions, is an innate skill or something that is learned. This speaks to one of the biggest debates in psychology: nature vs. nurture . Are our skills learned, or are they set in stone through genetics? Are our fears learned, or are we doomed to have certain fears due to our family history?

For this reason, researchers chose to work with infants of varying ages as well as baby animals: rats, calves, and cats. What does the visual cliff phenomenon suggest about the nature versus nurture debate in human development ? The results of the experiment, the researchers believed, could show if there was a certain age in which depth perception was learned or whether it was a skill present in every child that was born.

Who Conducted the Visual Cliff Experiment?

Psychologists E.J. Gibson and R.D. Walk put together the visual cliff experiment, which was used to measure depth perception in infants.

How Did the Visual Cliff Experiment Work?

The psychologists developed a test in which babies were placed on a large table of Plexiglass that was about a foot off the ground. One side of the plexiglass was covered in a tiled pattern that you might see on any floor. The other side of the plexiglass was left as it is – completely transparent. The pattern continued on the floor below the plexiglass.

Babies or animals without depth perception may not perceive the depth between the two blocks of the tiled pattern. They would see the pattern as continuous and could walk freely over the Plexiglass without fear. With depth perception, things get tricky. The way that the experiment was set up gave the illusion of a visual “cliff” without putting the babies in danger.

The researchers put the baby on the side with the first side of the Plexiglass and their mother on the other side. If the baby were to crawl to the mother, they would have to make a decision about whether or not to cross the visual cliff. If the baby was hesitant, thought the researchers, then it was presumed that the baby could perceive the depth and was scared to fall off the visual cliff.

The Visual Cliff in Animals vs. Babies

In order to get a wider perspective on the development of depth perception, researchers conducted a similar version of the visual cliff experiment with animals.

Like babies, researchers used infant animals. These animals included participants who were just a day old. These early studies suggested that depth perception was innate in most animals – even the youngest participants might avoid crossing the “visual cliff” and stay on the side that appeared to be safer.

But the results of this study , like the results of the studies focused around infants, aren’t so cut and dry. Researchers also took note of whether some of the participants were raised in the dark or raised in the light. The kittens that were raised in the dark were less likely to have developed depth perception than the ones raised in the light. Rats weren’t hesitant to run across the glass cliff, as they rely on smell and touch more than vision. Even when researchers studied animals, they found that motivation isn’t as simple as what you see.

Visual Cliff Experiment Results

What happened when the babies were put to the task of walking across the cliff? There isn’t one solid answer. Some babies refused to walk across the visual cliff. Others could feel that the glass was able to support them on the path to their mother but still refused to cross out of fear. But most of the babies (27 out of 36 in the experiment) walked to their mother without any issues.

What did these findings say about depth perception? At the time, researchers believed that the results told a story about depth perception. They believed that depth perception was something that wasn’t developed until later. If the babies easily crawled to their mothers, they must not have depth perception, right?

Well, this isn't exactly correct.

Are The Visual Cliff Experiment Results Still Relevant?

Since 1960, this experiment and similar variations have been conducted to take a deeper look at how babies processed what was going on around the glass cliff. These researchers have realized that there is a lot more that goes into the baby’s choice to crawl than just visual maturity. While some say that the experiment has been " debunked ," psychologists may argue that this is exactly how experiments are meant to work. As we learn more about conducting these experiments, the more we learn about psychology.

The results from studies as recent as 2014 have changed the way that we look at the results and depth perception in general. Let’s look at why the babies of the 1960s may have behaved in the way that they did, even if they did have depth perception.

Feeling the glass underneath them

The tactical sensation of the glass, even where the illusion of the “cliff” began, may come into play. If the baby felt that the glass supported them, they might have been more comfortable walking over it.

Reassurance from their mother

In the original experiments from 1960, the baby’s mother on the other side of the plexiglass used a toy as a stimulus to motivate the babies across the visual cliff. But many have pointed out that there is more to the baby’s motivation than just the toy. Not only did the babies rely on their sight and sense of touch to reassure them that the glass was safe, but they also relied on the facial expressions of their mother. The babies who saw a happy, smiling mom on the other side of the “cliff” were more likely to crawl across the cliff without fear.

Experience crawling

Why might a baby not want to crawl across the visual cliff? The answer seems simple – fear of heights. The baby, like anyone approaching a cliff, does not want to fall and hurt themselves.

But as anyone who has been around babies knows, they don’t always have a sense of fear. A baby might put their hand on a hot stove or stick their fingers in a light socket without fear. Is the fear of heights the only innate fear in humans?

Not exactly. Researchers have taken a look at the experience of babies who participate in visual cliff studies and found something interesting. Babies who learned to crawl early on were more likely to cross the glass than babies who learned how to crawl later in their development. When babies first learn how to crawl, they quickly find out that they risk falling over or getting a boo-boo. Over time, they face that fear and learn when those consequences might actually take place. Experience crawling, including encountering situations in which the baby might use their sense of touch or a mother’s reassurance to make a decision, plays a role.

Biological Factors

Lucky for psychologists, there are ways that we can measure whether a person experiences fear. Our body responds to fear or threatening situations in a variety of ways: our breath and heartbeat become faster, our pupils change, or we might sweat. In more recent years, psychologists have used these metrics to assess how depth perception or fear plays into the baby’s decision to crawl over the visual cliff.

What they found was that very young infants ( as young as three months old ) experienced some sort of biological reaction to the visual cliff. These babies just happened to “face their fears” even after perceiving the depth on both sides of the cliff.

All in all, researchers now believe that depth perception can be found in the youngest of infants, the fear of heights is not innate to all humans.

Visual Cliff Experiment Conclusion

There is a lot that goes into this study: the development of sight, fear, experience walking, and even the facial expression of the mother or researcher on the other side of the “cliff.” The original experiments on the visual cliff didn’t exactly account for all of this when the research was conducted and the findings were published. Keep this in mind as you continue to learn about psychology and the experiments that have shaped our understanding of the world around us. Human beings are complex, and our motivation cannot be attributed to just one factor, innate or otherwise.

Related posts:

• Where is the Primary Visual Cortex Located?
• The Psychology of Long Distance Relationships
• Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI Test)
• Operant Conditioning (Examples + Research)
• Trust vs Mistrust (Psychosocial Stage 1 Examples)

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10 Awesome Science Experiments your Teachers Forgot to Show You!

If you are a science teacher who wants to find cool things to show the students, these are some great ideas.  If you crave more inspiration, there’s a website called Science Toys that’s a great resource for demonstrating scientific principles using everyday household products.

1. Lenz’s Law in action . Watch what happens when you drop a magnet down an aluminum tube. It’s oddly relaxing to watch. Then, if you liked that, it’s even slightly slower through a copper tube .

2. This mesmerizing trick only requires milk, food coloring, and dish soap.

3. Supersaturation . This was one of the few things I found intriguing in my very boring, general chemistry class.

4. Rubin’s Tube. A real life fire visualizer that reacts to music.

5. Centrifugal force. As long as it’s in a fast enough circular motion, the water and the cup don’t fall down on the experimenter’s head.  Maybe someone who spins poi should experiment with these. Then maybe one can mix water-poi with fire-poi…

6. Cymatics: Visual Vibrations. This just requires a speaker, an amplifier, a signal generator (computer) and some sand.

7. Homopolar motor demonstrates the Lorentz force.

8. Crush cans using the power of air pressure. Vigorously boil a small amount of water in a can and upturn it in a bucket of cold water.

9. Non-Newtonian fluid .  Simply mix cornstarch and water.  The key is to add just enough water so that the cornstarch and water mix will flow very, very slowly.  It will feel very trippy when you try to touch it or play with it.

10. Create a cloud in a bottle.  All you need is a bicycle pump, water, rubbing alcohol and a bottle. I love this one because it ties in with meteorology and requires a bicycling pump.

Was that cool or what?!  Which one of these were your favorite? Do you remember any science demonstrations that really made an impression on you when you were in class? Please share your thoughts!

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Easy Science Experiments For Every Classroom: DIYs, Observations, Discussions, And Exploration

January 13, 2024 //  by  Suzanne Bucknam

Are you searching for the perfect way to engage your students in the world of science? Look no further! We’re excited to share a collection of the easiest science experiments that are proven to be classroom favorites. These hands-on and visually captivating activities, ranging from candy making to creating lava lamps, transforming eggs into gems, and even making balloons that don’t pop, will revolutionize your lessons. Read on and see which experiments will grab your kiddos’ attention!

1. Making a Magnifying Glass with Ice

Have your kiddos make their very own magnifying glass out of ice! Help them to shape frozen water into handmade lenses that can focus sunlight and let them start a fire with ice. If starting a fire isn’t right for your kiddos, then their homemade magnifying glasses will still work to enlarge tiny details, so there’s still lots of fun to be had.

Learn More: Steamsational

2. Floating Eggs

Shatter your kiddies’ expectations by revealing salt’s hidden talents! Have your young scientists hypothesize whether eggs will sink or float when placed in salty water. They’ll be amazed as the eggs bob to the surface as they add salt to the water, illustrating concepts of density and liquid properties through a classic hands-on experiment.

Learn More: Science Kids

3. Frozen Vegetable Oil Prints

Fuse art and science in this creative experiment! Begin by having your students freeze oil with a drop of food coloring in it overnight. They can then use the semi-solid result to print a colorful masterpiece! Watch how combining STEM and art makes challenging concepts like states of matter beautifully clear.

Learn More: Mini Monets and Mommies

4. Making a Better Bubble

Set the challenge – who can create the best bubble?! You won’t need to give your kiddos much encouragement before they’re researching and tweaking bubble recipes for this idea. Once they’ve found the ultimate formula, challenge them to demonstrate it in action by seeing who can produce the biggest bubble.

Learn More: Red Tricycle

5. Making Rock Candy

Satisfy your kids’ cravings for knowledge by growing sweet crystalline treats! Set them up with water, sugar, and food dye to make rock candy, and let them see crystallization unfold firsthand! Making their own sugary snacks illuminates the scientific process deliciously.

Learn More: Play Learn Grow

6. Capillary Action Experiment

Recreate tiny blood vessels using simple materials from home! Your learners will be amazed as they watch colored water climb through paper towels, visualizing capillary forces firsthand. Needing just paper towels, water, and food dye, you probably already have everything you need for this cool experiment!

Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me

7. Making a Non-Newtonian Fluid (Oobleck)

Defy intuition with oobleck, an otherworldly goop that’s somehow both solid and liquid! By combining cornstarch and water, your kiddos will be able to explore this non-Newtonian physics phenomenon. They’ll be delighted and baffled as the goo oozes and then stiffens at the slightest force.

Learn more: The Montessori-Minded Mom

8. Making a Leak-Proof Bag

Unlock your students’ ingenuity by challenging them to engineer waterproof bags! Give them simple materials to use and then let their creativity unfold through designing, testing, and refining the ultimate dry bag. Watch perseverance and problem-solving blossom through this hands-on engineering project.

Learn more: Steve Spangler Science

9. Tornado in a Bottle

Summon mesmerizing vortexes and model forces of nature! Have your kiddies layer liquids in bottles, then encourage them to swirl their homemade tornadoes and watch as they come to life! As they observe the dramatic forces in action, concepts of centripetal motion will whirl to life.

Learn More: Cool Science Experiments

10. What Do Sugary Drinks Do To Your Teeth?

Convey the destructive effects of sugary drinks with a simple egg! Have your kiddos place an egg in a beaker and add a sugary soda. They’ll be astounded to observe that over time, the egg becomes bendy and malleable. This shocking demonstration is the perfect way to spotlight the health impacts of sugary drinks on your little learners.

Learn More: Feels Like Home Blog

11. Static Detectives with Homemade Electroscope

Turn your students into static detectives with this homemade electroscope activity. Have your learners use a clear jar, paperclips, aluminum foil, and a balloon to create this simple homemade electroscope, and they’ll embark on a fascinating quest to investigate static electricity and learn about scientific instrumentation.

Learn More: The Homeschool Scientist

12. Making Gummy Bears Grow

The science of diffusion becomes a teddy bear picnic! Captivate your students by having them place gummy bears in a bowl and add water. Let them watch diffusion in action as the gummy bears soak up the water and expand to gigantic sizes!

Learn more: Mama Smiles

13. Inertia Demonstration

Introduce the abstract concept of inertia using simple coins and cards! Have your learners place a piece of card over a glass, then place a coin on the card. Once in place, have them quickly pull the card away and they’ll be amazed as the items fall into the glass, revealing inertia in action!

Learn More: The After School Life

14. Build a Hydraulic Elevator

Guide young engineers by having them build hydraulic elevators! Provide syringes, straws, and plastic bottles, and let your class engage in some creative problem-solving as they create a water-powered elevator. As their prototypes rise, so will your students’ persistence, collaboration, and STEM skills.

Learn More: Teach Beside Me

15. Walking on Eggs

Hatch an improbable feat by having your students walk on fragile eggshells! Set up some trays of eggs on the ground, then ask a young volunteer to test the theory by gently standing on the eggs. When the delicate shells unexpectedly support their weight, the concepts of physics and engineering will crack wide open!

Learn More: Steve Spangler Science

16. Magic Milk Experiment

Use simple household ingredients to guide your kiddies through incredible colorful chemical reactions. Set up bowls of milk, then encourage your students to dip cotton swabs in food coloring and dish soap before dipping them into the milk; vivid colors will come alive as the soap reacts with the proteins of the milk

Learn More: Crafts by Amanda

17. Making Fizzing Lemonade

Turn lemons into hands-on learning opportunities by having your kiddos mix up some fizzy lemonade! Have them combine lemon juice and baking soda to create this fun chemical reaction they can see and taste for themselves.

Learn More: Learn with Play at Home

18. Reflecting on Mirror Experiments

Enter a world where light meets mirrors! Using mirrors, you can guide your students to explore the interesting science of light reflection, opening their eyes to how light interacts with different surfaces.

Learn More: Hands On As We Grow

19. Oil and Water Discovery Bottles

Bring the concept of density to life inside these fun discovery bottles! Have your learners layer colorful oils, water, beads, and glue inside a bottle, and then observe the contents separate and shift. This colorful experiment is a super way for them to visualize this intriguing scientific concept.

Learn More: Play Trains

20. Ballooning with Vinegar and Baking Soda

Prepare for liftoff! In this hands-on activity, challenge your kids to inflate a balloon using a classic kitchen chemistry reaction using baking soda and vinegar! As the chemicals react, the gad created will fill the balloons, allowing you to provide an engaging and dynamic lesson on this cool scientific process!

Learn More: Kids Academy

21. Separate Salt and Pepper

Challenge assumptions and defy expectations by having your kiddos attempt the seemingly impossible – separating combined salt and pepper! Give them simple materials like a plastic comb and let them use the power of static electricity to magically capture the pepper.

Learn More: YouTube

22. Standing on a Pile of Paper Cups

Reveal the surprising strength hiding in everyday items like paper cups! Have your kids stack some paper cups in a pyramid, then invite them to climb on top without crushing them. This demonstration lets them jump feet-first into the world of logic-defying physics principles!

Learn More: Science Sparks

23. Making Ice Grow

Reveal water’s hidden powers by guiding your students in creating their very own icy landscapes! Start by super cooling some bottles of water in the freezer then let them pour to create icy towers before their eyes. Once agitated by the pouring, the supercooled water will freeze, crystallizing concepts about the freezing properties of liquids.

Learn More: Teach Pre-school

24. DIY Cabbage PH Indicator

Empower your young chemists by having them use cabbage to reveal markers of acidity! Show them how to extract the indicator pigments from cabbage, then watch as these change color at different pH levels as you allow them to add drops of lemon. What a flavorful introduction to everyday kitchen chemistry.

25. Making a Monster Popcorn From Soap

Sculpt slippery hot monsters from soap to model Charles’ Law! As your kiddos heat and mold melting soap into wild creatures, they’ll observe expansion from heat firsthand. Their artistic designs are sure to bring these key physics concepts to life in a super creative way.

Learn More: Techno Eager

26. Turn a Penny Green

Teach your learners patience as they make observations over time in this next idea. Have them submerge pennies in vinegar and salt, then track the gradual chemical reactions, as their pennies turn green. Reactions are the main attraction of this lesson!

Learn More: Mess for Less

27. Make Gummy Worm Dance

Bring chemistry to life by having your students make gummy worms wiggle! Let your learners add worms to baking soda and vinegar and watch as the bubbles created by the chemical reaction make the candy worm dance. The dancing worm is sure to make this challenging science concept simply unforgettable!

Learn More: Playdough to Plato

28. Growing a CD Garden

Repurpose old CD cases into planters overflowing with life! Have your students plant sprouted seeds into soil-filled plastic CD cases and observe growth going on under the soil through the clear sides of the case. As plants flourish, the scientific process unfolds sustainably through reuse and repair.

Learn More: Rookie Parenting Science

29. Egg in a Bottle

Captivate your littles with magic that you can prove! In this experiment, you’ll harness air pressure to magically shove an egg into a bottle! Start by lighting some paper on fire and dropping it into a bottle, then quickly sealing it with the egg on top. The shrinking oxygen inside the bottle forces the egg through the top, showing atmospheric forces at work.

30. Sticky Ice Experiment

Reveal salt’s magical effect on freezing with a sticky ice experiment! Have your kiddos immerse string in icy saltwater then find ice sticking when pulled out. This super practical experiment demonstrates how salt lowers water’s freezing point in a simple, hands-on way for learners.

31. DIY Solar Oven

Empower your young engineers by having them harness the sun’s heat to build solar ovens! Guide them in angling mirrors to generate and trap heat in a box to cook food using only sunlight. Let trial and error pave the way for their learning about renewable energy and its uses.

Learn More: I Can Teach My Child

32. Build Your Own Barometer

Unlock air pressure mysteries by having your kiddies construct their own barometers! Let them use everyday materials like a tin can, balloons, a rubber band, a paper clip, and a straw to assemble their own device, and discover how scientific instruments channel the invisible forces shaping our natural world.

Learn More: Edventures with Kids

33. DIY Kinetic Sand

Let your kids get their hands dirty making magical kinetic sand! Encourage them to follow the simple instructions for combining oil and cornstarch to create sand that oozes and bounces unlike anything else. This super sensory activity is a fun way to demonstrate and play with non-Newtonian fluids.

Learn More: Artsy Fartsy Mama

34. Float/Sink Experiment

Spark hands-on predictions by testing classroom items to see if they’ll float or sink! Set up a bucket of water and have your students hypothesize buoyancy outcomes, then put their predictions to the test. This fun exploration is sure to make a splash and will set the stage for deeper scientific understanding.

Learn More: Paper Scissors Crafts

35. No Bursting Balloon

Shatter expectations by having your kiddos pierce balloons with no pops! Have them place tape on the balloon then insert sharpened sticks through the tape without bursting it! This astounding demonstration is sure to leave your learners speechless and will encourage them to be more flexible in their thinking.

Learn More: Crazy Science Show for Kids

36. Making Rain

Create your very own miniature storms to model the science of rain! Have your learners chill metal containers to collect water condensation, then add some heat underneath. As the air in the container heats and begins to circulate, the water evaporates and then condenses into rain, demonstrating this meteorological process beautifully.

37. Egg Shell Geode Crystal

Grow dazzling crystals that reveal the hidden powers of chemistry! Have your kids fill cleaned-out egg shells with solutions of water, food dye, rock salt or borax then watch on as the liquid evaporates and shimmering crystals begin to form inside the hollow shells. What a stunning way to demonstrate the principles of super-saturated solutions and evaporation!

Learn More: Science Bob

38. Liquid Layers Density Experiment

Open young eyes to density by filling jars with brilliantly colored liquid layers! Have your learners add liquids of varying densities and observe the colorful bands that form. The concept of density comes to life in this colorful, visual experiment!

Learn More: Coffee Cups and Crayons

39. Making Butter in a Jar

Explore the science of our food with this next experiment. Let your students get hands-on experience in separating solids and liquids by churning their own butter. Pour heavy cream into a jar and let them shake until it separates, to form butter and buttermilk. After all their hard work, your kids can then use their butter to make themselves a well-earned snack!

Learn More: Little Bins for Little Hands

40. Soda Geyser with Mentos

It’s explosion time! Have your kiddos bring science to life as they place a few Mentos into a bottle of soda and back away before it erupts. The exciting experiment is a classic and unforgettable hands-on way to show a chemical reaction in action!

Learn More: Know Your Meme

41. Skittles Experiment

Roll out the rainbow and let your kids explore diffusion using Skittles. Have them place a few Skittles on a plate and cover them with water before stepping back to watch the reaction that takes place. This colorful experiment will certainly intrigue your pupils and make them eager to learn more about this amazing process!

42. Baking Soda Volcano

Build excitement for chemical reactions by having your students construct fizzy baking soda volcanoes! Allow your students to create playdough or paper mache volcanos with a cup of baking soda and food dye in the center. Add vinegar to the cup and watch as the volcanoes erupt and spring to life! Who knew chemical reactions could be so much fun!?

43. Will it Dissolve?

Grab your learners’ attention with this fantastic inquiry-based learning idea. Have them make hypotheses about the solubility of different items or substances and then set them loose on investigating! As they test their theories, this exploratory learning opportunity fosters their inquisitive spirit and scientific thinking skills.

Learn More: The Picky Apple

44. Colored Celery Experiment

Reveal plants’ hidden highways by creating different colors of celery! Have your kiddos place crisp white celery stalks in cups of dyed water and get ready to observe the excitement as they watch the plants drawing up the pigments in the water. This demonstration creatively showcases plants’ natural capillaries in action!

Learn More: Tinker Lab

45. The Dance of Pepper and Soap

Get your kiddies ready for a captivating performance as they make pepper dance in this next activity! Watch as the wonders of surface tension are put on show as the pepper shoots across the water’s surface as it’s repelled by the soap. It’s a simple yet powerful way to visualize an otherwise invisible concept.

Learn More: Big Bang Education

46. Sprouting Seeds in a Sandwich Bag

Join us on a journey into the world of plant biology! Unleash your learners’ scientific curiosity by encouraging them to sprout seeds in a simple sandwich bag. As they witness the miracle of life, you can start some stimulating discussions about the process of germination and plant growth. 

Learn More: Mom Brite

47. DIY Lava Lamp

Together with your eager kiddos, you can create a lava lamp to demonstrate the concept of liquid density. Let them add oil, water, and food coloring into a plastic bottle, before adding an Alka-Seltzer tablet. The chemical reaction of the tablet dissolving will create a cool lava lamp effect. They’ll marvel at the beautiful interplay of colors and bubbles while hypothesizing and learning.

Learn More: Experience Camps

48. Paperclip Pontoons

Welcome to a magical world of science where a simple paperclip defies gravity and floats on water! Use this activity to engage your kiddos in hands-on learning about surface tension, turning an everyday phenomenon into a captivating science experiment.

Learn More: Science Wonder How To

49. Magnetic Labyrinth

Venture into the thrilling world of magnetism with this cool maze idea. Challenge your kids to design their own maze and then use magnets to navigate it! They’ll not only be putting their creativity to the test but also delving deeper into the principles and science behind this force.

50. Thermometer from Trash

Turn your classroom into a mini weather station and engage your students in understanding how temperature changes can be recorded and measured. The exciting part of this experiment is that they can make it all happen using recycled items – a plastic water bottle, rubbing alcohol and a straw is all you need to bring this science experiment to life. 

Learn More: What Do We Do All Day

51. Delicious DNA

Transform your classroom into a vibrant genetics lab! Use colored marshmallows and licorice to replicate a DNA helix. It’s a fun, engaging, and flavorful way to introduce your young scientists to the complex world of genetics. You’ll have them eating out the palm of your hand! 

Learn More: Science Project Ideas

52. Vanishing Color Wheel

Have your youngsters dive into an intriguing mix of art and science with the Vanishing Color Wheel! Encourage them to construct their own color wheel, and let them watch in wonder as the colors blend to become white when spun. This activity offers them a firsthand experience of color theory in action.

53. Hydroponic Wonders

Welcome to the future of farming – right in your classroom! Guide your students to grow plants without soil, introducing them to the intriguing world of hydroponics. This project will allow them to research, build, and record: scientific skills that they will use for years to come.

54. Purification Through Filtration

Transform your classroom into a mini water purification station with this filtration experiment. In this hands-on activity, your kiddies will make a homemade water filter using a plastic bottle, gravel, and charcoal. What a super way to explore the importance of clean water and the science behind how it’s achieved.

Learn More: Generation Genius

55. Catapulting Marshmallows

Take your class on a fun-filled leap into physics! By setting the challenge of constructing a marshmallow catapult, your kids will investigate the principles of energy and motion, all while enjoying the fun of launching marshmallows across the room.

Learn More: The Gazette  

56. Secret Messages with Invisible Ink

Let your kiddos play spies for the day with this cool chemical reaction activity. Using just lemon juice, they can write invisible messages, which reveal themselves under heat. This fun-filled experiment is the perfect introduction to basic chemistry and heat reactions.

Learn More: Popular Science

57. DIY Weather Vane

Welcome your students to the world of meteorology and have them create their own weather vane. Using simple materials they can create their weather vanes, and then use them to monitor and record the direction of the wind. What an engaging and hands-on way to learn about weather patterns and observation.

58. Crystal Suncatcher Creations

Bring some magic to your classroom with this beautiful crystal-growing activity! Your learners will use simple materials like pipe cleaners and string to grow borax crystals overnight! Creating these sparkling decorations provides your students with a kaleidoscopic lesson about supersaturated solutions and their products.

Learn More: Steve Spangler

59. The Simple Straw Flute

Turn your classroom into a symphony of science with this simple straw flute experiment. By encouraging your kiddos to construct and play their own straw flutes, your class will gain a deeper understanding of sound waves and pitch, all while creating unique melodies. A symphony of science- what’s not to love?

Learn More: Sask Science Centre

60. Plastic Bag Paratroopers

Your class will be eager to launch into this thrilling exploration of gravity and air resistance with this next activity. As they create and test their own parachutes using plastic bags, they’ll gain hands-on experience with these two fundamental forces of physics. Look out below!

Learn More: wikiHow

61. Cartesian Diver Exploration

Pressure and buoyancy come to life in this exceptional experiment. Have your kiddies create a Cartesian diver and submerge them into the fascinating study of physics with pressure and gas. As they put pressure on the outside of the bottle they’ll be amazed that the divers move in response, like magic!

Learn More: Ronyes Tech

62. DIY Compass

Chart a course through the mysteries of Earth’s magnetism with this DIY Compass activity. As your kiddos build their own compasses, they’ll learn about the incredible magnetic forces that shape our world and help us navigate.

63. Slime Science

Allow your littles to get gooey and hands-on with slimy science! Have them create their own batch of slime using one of these simple recipes and let them dive into the world of polymers in a most entertaining and memorable way. Learning about viscosity has never been so sensory! 

Learn More: Mini Science

64. Leafy Laboratory

Encourage your learners to step into the vibrant world of plant pigments with this amazing chromatography experiment! Start by collecting and crushing up leaves, before adding some rubbing alcohol. Then add the chromatography paper to the solution and watch as the leaf pigments separate on the paper to give a colorful insight into both botany and chemistry.

Learn More: Playdough To Plato

65. Moldy Sandwich Science

Turn your classroom into a mini biology lab! Encourage your class to grow mold on bread under different conditions, teaching them about fungi, bacteria, and decomposition, and also the importance of washing our hands! What a brilliant way to transform a mundane phenomenon into a captivating learning experience.

Learn More: Mad About Science

66. Yeast Inflation

Blow up your students’ interest in biology next! By using the gas produced by yeast to inflate a balloon, your keen scientists will observe the process of fermentation firsthand, enhancing their understanding of microbiology.

67. Static Tricks with Balloon and Can

Get your learners ready for a hair-raising exploration of static electricity! They’ll be delighted to observe how a balloon and a can magically attract each other, or roll a can without even touching it! What a fantastic way to illustrate the invisible but powerful force of static electricity. 

Learn More: Instructables

68. Cloud in a Bottle

Welcome to the atmospheric science lab! Bring the wonders of weather into your classroom using a plastic bottle, some rubbing alcohol, and a bicycle pump. By creating a cloud inside a jar, your kiddies will gain an up-close understanding of the process of condensation.

Learn More: National Geographic Kids

69. Sponge Soak-up

Dive into the concept of absorption! Through a simple hands-on activity using everyday items like a sponge, paper towels, and plastic bags, your kiddos can investigate absorption. They’ll discover how absorption works by testing different materials, bringing this everyday phenomenon to life.

70. Prismatic Rainbow Creation

Step into the vibrant world of light and color! Have your learners explore the concept of light refraction by encouraging them to create their own rainbow with a prism and sunlight, turning your classroom into a mini rainbow factory. Who knew science could be so colorful?

As you can see, there are tons of science experiments for kids you can do with items you have in your home right now. What fun science activities does your child enjoy?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best science experiments.

The best science experiments are the ones that answer a question your child has. When choosing science experiments for kids, always follow your child’s interests.

How do you do a simple science experiment at home?

When setting up a science experiment to do at home, it’s a good idea to set aside a time wherein there are no distractions. This will ensure that your child gets the most out of the experiments.

It’s also a great idea for parents to read about and practice the experiment ahead of time. This way, you know what’s going to happen and are ready to answer any questions.

What are some fun science experiments?

Fun science activities for kids are in no short supply. The list above is a great resource for kids’ science activities. Pinterest is a great resource, as well!

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The Psychology of Small Multiples

You confuse, you lose.  The point of using visualizations is to allow us to tap into our brain's skill at interpreting visual complexity.  The human brain is better at interpreting visualizations which use as few dimensions as possible. By splitting a big visualization up into smaller and simpler visualizations, known as "small multiples", the great skill of our brain - understanding patterns - comes into play.

Look at the chart below. It is hopeless. Sure, a bit of care has been put into making it look better than most line charts. However, what does it tell us?

You need to put in hard work to extract insight from most line charts (that have more than a few series of data). Good practice in data visualization is to use small multiples instead. In this post, I illustrate what this means, and explain why our brains find such visualizations superior.

The challenge is the chart, not the data

When visualizations are difficult to read, it is tempting to blame the intrinsic complexity of the data. This is often not the real story. The whole point of using visualizations is to allow us to tap into our brain's skill at interpreting visual complexity. Consider a photo of a friend. It is substantially more complicated than the chart above. Yet, we can quickly look at the photo and obtain key conclusions: who is in it, when it was taken, whether they are happy or sad, and perhaps what they were doing.

What makes the chart above difficult is that the key information – the lines – appear to our brains as essentially flat lines of different colors. But our brains have little experience in analyzing such patterns, and thus we struggle to interpret the chart. When I look at it, it conjures to my mind nothing so much as... spaghetti. And, that is not a good thing, as I do not look for patterns in spaghetti.

Small multiples

The next visualization shows the same data, but with the performance of each brand represented as a separate graphic. This is known in the visualization literature as small multiples .

It is much easier for our brains to decode this chart, as:

• The line representing each brand is not flat, which makes it easier for our brains to see the patterns.
• One of the key features of the chart – the difference between the brands – is communicated by the location of the lines, rather than color. This helps us because our brains are much better at interpreting patterns in space than in color. (If you doubt this conclusion, think back to the example of the family photo: you can still get all your key conclusions when the photo is in black and white).
• The individual graphics have been ordered to make it easy to see the average difference between the brands. This helps us to appreciate the data in two different ways. First, in terms of the average performance of each brand. Second, in terms of each brand’s trend.

A simple visual experiment

A simple visual experiment quickly illustrates the underlying reason why small multiples work so well. When you look at the image below, you can immediately spot the odd one out.

One bar is "odd one out" by virtue of colour (green)

Similarly, it is easy to spot the odd one out with the next image.

With this final image, even though it is very simple, it takes a little longer.

What makes this last one a bit harder? The first visualization used three dimensions: vertical position, horizontal position, and color. The second visualization also used three: vertical position, horizontal position, and direction. The final uses four dimensions. Every dimension increases the cognitive load, making it slower for us to see patterns. When we switch from the line chart at the beginning, to the small multiples, we are cutting a whole dimension out (color). Our brains return the favor by being quicker to spot the patterns.

Bringing color back into play

Having gained the psychological benefits of the small multiples, we can bring color back into play in a secondary role. The visualization below uses color to highlight statistically significant trends. In this case, the red dashed line indicates a significant decline in performance (i.e., time is negatively correlated with Brand C’s performance).

There are really two broad principles underlying why small multiples are desirable:

• In general, our brains are better when we create visualizations which use as few dimensions as possible. We get confused by high dimensional visualizations. This is the point emphasized by the experiment.
• By splitting a big visualization up into smaller and simpler visualizations, the great skill of our brain - understanding patterns - comes into play. I have written about this in much more detail in The 5 Second Rule and the Need to Create Instantly Recognizable Visualizations.

Acknowledgements

All the visualizations in this post were created in Q ( www.q-researchsoftware.com ).

The visual experiment is adapted from Figure 6: Green, Marc. 1998. Toward a Perceptual Science of Multidimensional Data Visualization: Bertin and Beyond. http://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs448b-06-winter/papers/Green_Towards.pdf . The more general principle, about focusing on lower spatial dimensions rather than color comes from Jacques Bertin's( 1967) Sémiologie Graphique. Les diagrammes, les réseaux, les cartes,  Translation 1983.  Semiology of Graphics  by William J. Berg.

About Tim Bock

Tim Bock is the founder of Displayr. Tim is a data scientist, who has consulted, published academic papers, and won awards, for problems/techniques as diverse as neural networks, mixture models, data fusion, market segmentation, IPO pricing, small sample research, and data visualization. He has conducted data science projects for numerous companies, including Pfizer, Coca Cola, ACNielsen, KFC, Weight Watchers, Unilever, and Nestle. He is also the founder of Q www.qresearchsoftware.com, a data science product designed for survey research, which is used by all the world’s seven largest market research consultancies. He studied econometrics, maths, and marketing, and has a University Medal and PhD from the University of New South Wales (Australia’s leading research university), where he was an adjunct member of staff for 15 years.

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10 of the BEST Science Experiments for Kids

May 28, 2021 By Emma Vanstone 1 Comment

Here at Science Sparks, we’ve tried a lot of science experiments over the years; some have been brilliant on the first go, some have taken a LOT of tweaking, and some have been a complete disaster! Most have been great fun, whatever the outcome. To save you and your budding scientist the disasters, I’ve put together a list of the BEST science experiments for kids !

The BEST Science Experiments for Kids

1. mini baking soda rocket.

Up first is my mini baking soda powered rocket . A fun way to do this activity is to split it into two parts.

Design the Rocket

It needs to stand up with a gap between where the cork fits and the floor. Remember not to add too many decorations or it will be too heavy.

Launch the Rocket

Experiment with different amounts of baking soda and vinegar to find the best rocket fuel !

The rocket must be placed on a hard surface to launch.

2. Skittles Experiment

If you haven’t tried the good old skittles experiment, where HAVE you been?

Pour water over Skittles on a plate and watch as the colours dissolve from the candy into the water.

Investigate using different temperatures of water and even different types of sweets. If you have any Skittles left over at the end, another idea is to try some candy chromatography .

3. Elephants Toothpaste

Babble Dabble Do has the most amazing version of this explosive science activity. Elephant toothpaste is always fun!

4. Colour Changing Potions

Everyone loves a fizzy potion, but it’s even better if you can get it to change colour!

If you use red cabbage indicator juice as the base liquid for a traditional baking soda and vinegar potion , it will change colour as it reacts.

5. Chromatography

Chromatography is a visual way to separate the different dyes in inks. All you need is some non-washable felt tip pens, filter paper and water. It’s a brilliant colourful science investigation for kids .

A fun twist on this activity is to use candy instead of felt-tip pens. Watch as the candy colours separate as they travel up the filter paper.

6. Create a Chain Reaction or Rube Goldberg Machine

A Rube Goldberg machine uses the principle of a chain reaction to achieve an end goal. Examples are popping a balloon or delivering an item to someone.

7. Lolly Stick Explosion

A craft or lolly stick explosion is a fantastic group activity or science demonstration.

They take some time to set up but are worth the effort.

Oobleck is made from cornflour and water . It’s called a Non-Newtonian liquid as it feels solid when you squish it between your fingers but turns back into a liquid when the pressure is released.

9. Absorbing with Sugar Cubes

This activity uses sugar cubes to learn about absorption and properties of materials , especially whether they are waterproof or not.

The idea is to build a tower of sugar cubes and test different materials to see which can save the higher cubes. It’s a lovely visual, hands-on experiment.

10. Bouncy Egg

Do you know how to make an egg bounce ?

First, you need to remove the shell by soaking the egg in vinegar. This leaves just the membrane behind. Once you’ve washed off the shell, you can bounce the egg.

Take care with this one, as eventually, the egg will break!

What do you think? Have I missed any? What would you add to the list? Perhaps a mento geyser ?

More of the best science experiments for kids

Make dry erase pictures float with The Best Ideas for Kids.

Create a lens with jello and Science Fun.

Make a bouncy ball with The 36th Avenue , and then find out why balls bounce !

Set up a colourful fizzy rainbow with Messy Little Monster.

Make water travel down a string with Rookie Parenting.

Last Updated on April 9, 2024 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

November 09, 2022 at 4:15 pm

Love the experiments! I really want to try one!

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37 of Our Favorite Easy Art Projects for Kids

Get their creative juices flowing.

The stress of tests and social dynamics can prove challenging for students, and for this reason, they need an opportunity to express themselves freely. Art provides a powerful outlet for creative expression while also proving therapeutic. Plus, a good art project can be particularly effective at getting kids to unplug from their devices. A simple art project can even fill some of downtime during the day for early finishers. Regardless of whether you teach preschool or high school, there is an art project for everyone. So gather some art supplies and try one of these easy art projects for kids!

Easy Art Projects for Pre-K Students

1. paper bag jelly fish.

As far as easy art projects for kids go, this one is perfect for preschoolers since it works on their hand-eye coordination and their cutting skills in particular. In addition to paper bags and scissors or pinking shears, you will need some paints, paintbrushes, googly eyes, and glue. If you’re really feeling ambitious, you can grab some sparkles too!

Learn more: Paper Bag Jelly Fish at No Time for Flash Cards

2. Tissue Paper Apple

Since everyone associates apples with fall and the start of school, this will be the perfect craft to start the school year off on the right foot. Simply draw an apple outline on a piece of paper and have small red and green tissue paper squares ready to be crumpled and glued by tiny hands.

Learn more: Tissue Paper Apple at Burlap + Blue

3. Fork Print Tulips

This project is both cute and simple, requiring only a fork, some heavyweight paper, and some paints. This project would be especially perfect for a Mother’s Day gift.

Learn more: Fork Tulip at Toddler at Play

4. Paper Bag Monster

First, paint the bag any color you want. Once dry, cut out shapes from card stock and assemble your monster!

Learn more: Paper Bag Monster Puppets at I Heart Crafty Things

5. Paper Plate Lion

All you need to re-create this adorable lion is orange and black paint, paintbrushes, paper plates, and scissors. Grab some Popsicle sticks to glue to the back and you’ll have a ferocious puppet show on your hands in no time! ADVERTISEMENT

Learn more: Paper Plate Lion at My Bored Toddler

6. Popsicle Stick Rainbow

Grab some blue card stock, cotton circles, and Popsicle sticks and have your students work on their gluing skills. This craft will prove effective at teaching little ones their colors. Choose either colored Popsicle sticks or have kids color them themselves.

Learn more: Popsicle Stick Rainbow at My Bored Toddler

7. Paper Plate Octopus

Kids love octopuses, especially adorable ones like these! This craft would be perfect for little ones still learning to count since they have a whopping eight legs to make.

Learn more: Paper Plate Octopus at Simple Every Day Mom

8. Macaroni Necklace

A staple of many of our childhoods, macaroni necklaces work on the dexterity of little fingers while also making perfect gifts. Add in some large beads as well for variety.

Learn more: DIY Macaroni Necklaces at Made To Be a Mama

Easy Art Projects for Elementary School Students

9. paper plate snake.

Have your students paint a paper plate with watercolors and then once dry, help them cut it in a swirl shape. Finally, add some googly eyes.

Learn more: Colorful Paper Plate Snakes at Pink Stripey Socks

10. Paper Roll Koala

This super-cute koala would make an adorable desk buddy since it stands up on its own. Kids will enjoy personalizing their koala’s face!

Learn more: Paper Roll Koala at Arty Crafty Kids

11. Leaf Pattern Drawing

We just love art projects that fill the entire page, and this one certainly fits the bill. The combination of crayon and watercolor paint create this multi-dimensional leaf print.

Learn more: Leaf Pattern at Art Projects for Kids

12. Woven Rainbow Fish

This project is perfect for working on students’ hand-eye coordination while being a cursory introduction to sewing. It’s challenging enough for even upper elementary school students while still being relatively simple.

Learn more: Rainbow Fish at Crafty Morning

13. Thumbprint Bugs

These thumbprint doodles are just so sweet and would perfectly complement a science lesson all about bugs. After having students try their hand at some of the thumbprint examples, let them use their imagination to see what other ideas they can cook up. You can even have them create bug jars out of card stock to put their new friends in!

Learn more: Thumbprint Bugs via Toot’s Mom Is Tired

14. Umbrella With Rain

Another fun art project that is really affordable to create since you only need paper plates, some paints, a roll of string, and some blue beads. We just love this clever approach to creating raindrops!

Learn more: Umbrella With Rain at Easy Peasy and Fun

15. Popsicle Stick Pencil

Nothing says back to school more than a cute pencil-themed craft. Have students add their names to them and then use them to decorate a September bulletin board in your classroom.

Learn more: Popsicle Stick Pencil at Crafty Morning

16. Craft Stick Airplane

Kids will unquestionably go crazy over these clothespin-and-Popsicle-stick airplanes. Regardless of whether they choose paint or permanent markers, students will enjoy personalizing their tiny flying machines.

Learn more: Craft Stick Airplane at Making Life Blissful

17. Pom-Pom Caterpillars

Since kids love pom-poms and caterpillars, this will be the perfect craft to grab their attention. Make sure to supply them with a fun variety of pom-poms and googly eyes.

Learn more: Pom-Pom Caterpillar at Easy Peasy and Fun

Easy Art Projects for Middle School Students

18. chalk christmas lights.

This is the perfect easy art project to do around the holiday season. You’ll need to create a stencil from card stock so you can create your light shapes. Once that is done, you can begin creating “light” with some chalk pastels. A silver Sharpie can be used to create your light string since it will show up nicely against the black paper.

Learn more: Christmas Light Chalk Stencil Art at Buggy and Buddy

19. Gratitude Journal

This project doubles as an art and writing activity since students can use their finished journals for writing prompts. These personalized journals beat store-bought ones any day!

Learn more: Handmade Gratitude Journal at Kids Activities Blog

20. Textured Hot-Air Balloon

This project is the perfect excuse to use up all your crafty odds and ends like feathers, glitter, and sequins. We love how unique each creation will be once they’re done.

Learn more: Textured Hot-Air Balloon at Artsy Momma

21. Layer Cakes

Regardless of students’ experience with oil pastels, this project will be a good introduction to the medium. Have students follow a step-by-step tutorial for drawing the outline of the layer cake, then let them use the pastels to bring their drawings to life.

Learn more: Cakes at Little Yeti

22. Chalk Planets

This is an inexpensive way to enhance a science unit on space while still getting creative. It’s inexpensive too since all you will need is some black paper and chalk.

Learn more: 18 Awesome Art Projects for Your Classroom at Teach Junkie

23. Back-to-School Rocks

Kids love painting rocks so why not make it school-themed? Show students some of these examples to copy or let them come up with some of their own, then spread them around the school’s grounds.

Learn more: Painted Rock Ideas at Color Made Happy

24. Dictionary Page Drawing

Easy art projects for kids that also double as vocabulary lessons? Yes, please! This project will prove especially educational as students are tasked with illustrating a word on an old dictionary page.

25. Paper Collage Painting

Students will enjoy creating their collages from a variety of materials. Even better—this project is a great way to encourage recycling since old cereal boxes and other food labels can be ripped into strips and repurposed.

Learn more: Painting With Paper at Megan Coyle Artist & Illustrator

26. Crayon Resist Art

This simple project can be done without a lot of instruction and will work for students of any age. This project runs on the same idea as some Easter egg–decorating kits in that the paint or dye sticks to the areas not covered in wax, or in this case, crayon.

Learn more: Fun Watercolor Resist Art at Kids Activities Blog

27. Number Art

If you have some math whizzes in your class, they will likely enjoy this number-themed art project. Grab some large number stencils and paints and you’ll be ready for this low-setup project.

Learn more: 5th Grade Number Project at Art Room Blog

28. Woven Baby Turtle

Select three mini Popsicle sticks, paint them, and then glue them together to form your turtle’s body. Finally, select your yarn and weave it around your turtle. Be sure to have a lot of fun colors to choose from!

Learn more: Weaving Cute Baby Turtles at Pink Stripey Socks

Easy Art Projects for High School Students

29. yarn-wrapped letter.

All you will need to create this craft is some leftover cardboard, a bunch of different yarns, and some scissors. Teens especially will enjoy this project as the end result can be used as decoration in their bedrooms and eventually their dorm rooms!

Learn more: 14 Crafts for Teens and Tweens at Art Bar Blog

30. Elevated Macaroni Necklace

Some easy art projects for kids and teens can even double as fashion! Despite their association with preschool, these are definitely not your little brother’s or sister’s macaroni necklaces. Swapping out twine with an actual chain makes these necklaces look surprisingly high-end.

Learn more: 12 Pasta Necklaces We Need Right Now at Mum’s Grapevine

31. Neuro Doodle Design

This is a simple and mindful art project that can be enjoyed by students regardless of their art experience. This art process was invented by Russian psychologist and architect Pavel Piskarev in 2014.

Learn more: Simple Mindful Art Project at Inside Out Art Teacher

32. Crepe Paper Flowers

This is the perfect project for early finishers to do since each flower only takes 5 minutes to create. In addition to being a fun project, these flowers would also make for beautiful classroom decor.

Learn more: Easy Crepe Paper Flowers at DIY Candy

33. CD Fish

Easy art projects for kids that utilize outdated technology? Why not? Although this project could work for any age group, older kids will be able to personalize their fish using a variety of add-on materials. Be prepared to explain to your students what CDs are since they were born long after their demise!

Learn more: Make Your Own Fish Aquarium at Super Simple

34. Pencil Sculpture

While this project can get complicated, simpler structures can be completed using fewer pencils. The preparation is minimal, requiring just a bunch of pencils and elastics, but the reward will be big when you see what your students create!

Learn more: Geometric Sculpture From 72 Pencils at Instructables

35. Ribbon Garland

This project is another good time-filler since it can be worked on and then picked up again later and continued. It’s also a good lesson in recycling since you can ask students to bring in any fabric or ribbons that may be sitting around their houses unused.

Learn more: Easy DIY Fabric Garland at Project Nursery

36. Origami

Origami paper is inexpensive and can be bought in bulk, making this an affordable and low-preparation art project. Additionally, it is perfect for high school students who are better equipped to follow along with an instructional video.

Learn more: 12 Origami Projects for Kids at Mom Loves Best

37. Layered Landscape

Keep those cereal boxes and old magazines since they’re perfect for ripping up to create layered art! We especially love how much room there is in this project for individual creativity.

Learn more: Layered Landscape at Art Camp Studio

What are your favorite easy art projects to do in the classroom? Come and share your ideas in our  We Are Teachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus,  get ideas for great auction art projects .

You Might Also Like

16 Art Projects That Only Require Basic Supplies

Kids don't need specialized supplies to make amazing art. Continue Reading

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Homeschool Science for Kids

Science designed for your homeschool family

Vision Science Project: Near Point

January 25, 2021 By Janice VanCleave

What is the Near Point for Your Vision?

The closest distance for distinct, clear vision without straining is called the near point. 

Discover Your Vision’s Near Point

Materials: book or page with print flexible measuring tape

1. Hold an open book close but not touching your face. 2.  With both eyes open, slowly move the book away from your face. Stop when you can read the print on the page. Then, move the book toward and away from your face to find the best distance where you can read the print with no strain. 3.  Measure the distance from the book to your eyebrow.

• Note: The image shown features a ruler, but a flexible measuring tape   might be a safer way to measure this distance without a possible eye injury.

The near point is the closest distance that an eye can focus on.  An optometrist checks this by moving a printed sheet toward your eyes and asking you to say when the sheet is easiest to read. The near point for  “Normal” vision is 10 in ( 25 c m “> 25  c m). 

This simple near point vision distance experiment was taken from:

Janice VanCleave’s Biology for Every Kid 

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

Clues for developing a simple experiment into a science project.

Science project question:.

1. Does age affect near point vision distance? In other words, does age affect how far away something has to be held in order to read it?

Note that these questions identify cause/effect variables. Age is being considered as possibly affecting  near point vision distance. 

• What is possibly being affected:  near point vision distance
• What might cause  near point vision distance  to be affected: Age

The bottom line is that science projects entered into the science fair are expected to be more than a simple experiment. Instead, science fair projects are expected to be cause/effect experiments. Following are examples of questions for a simple experiment and a cause/effect experiments.

Simple Experiment : What is your near point distance? Cause/Effect Experiment:  What affect does age have on near point vision distance?

Notice that the Cause/Effect example is stated so the answer requires more than a yes or no answer.

Example Hypothesis: 

Based on the fact that I see older people at church holding their song books as far away as possible, I predict that near point vision distance increases as age increases.

Experiment to Test the Hypothesis

Clues: 1. Use   the procedure above to measure the near point vision distance for different ages.

2. Design a chart to record the distance measurements and ages. This recorded results is called data .

3. The more data collected the more credible will be the conclusion for this project.

4. A control experimen t is a standard you will compare your data with. For this project, select the median age  and its near point distance as the control. For example: The   m edian  age of {10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 23, 26, 30, 40, 50, 55}  would be the middle number in the set, which is 23. If there are two middle numbers, average them.

5, Analyze the results and write a conclusion that states your hypothesis and whether your experimental results  does or doesn’t supports your hypothesis.

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Related posts:

• Developing A Science Fair Project
• Science Project Question
• Hypothesis: A Science Process Skill
• Vision: Why we see things
• What is Torque?
• Tutorial for Using Science Process Skills

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Simple Science VISUAL Experiment: Snowstorm in a Jar | FREEBIE | Speech Therapy

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Thank you for checking out my Simple Science VISUAL Experiment FREEBIE for Snowstorm in a Jar!

This freebie will allow your students or clients to easily follow & make a simple science experiment, Snowstorm in a Jar. It is perfect for incorporating science and hands on learning into classroom lessons and group sessions.

Using this experiment you will be able to target the following skill areas : Vocabulary, Grammar (Nouns & Verbs), Answering/Asking Questions, Following Directions, Sequencing, Expressive Language, Social/Pragmatics, Basic Concepts, and Science.

HERE IS WHAT YOU GET:

• Simple Science VISUAL experiment: listing all tools, supplies, & step by step directions needed
• Vocabulary cards: You will easily be able to teach and review ingredients, tools, and actions with the provided vocabulary cards. *They also work as VISUALS!*
• Comprehension Card with visual answer choices

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I LOVE seeing and hearing how you use my resources! It truly warms my heart! Be sure to TAG ME on Instagram @live.love.speech so I don't miss your posts!

Thank you so much!

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Explore the natural world through science and sustainability

How to Visualize Photosynthesis: A Simple Science Experiment

Looking for a science experiment that visualizes how photosynthesis works? Check out this simple outdoor science project that requires very few materials and can be done at home or school!

Introducing kids to the process of photosynthesis can be tricky, as this complex chemical process isn’t easily seen; it just kind of “happens” all around us, all the time. The idea that a living organism takes one type of gas from the atmosphere and, with the help of water and sunlight, makes an entirely new type of gas that is essential to our survival, along with food for itself seems almost magical. When looking for a way to help my kids understand how plants perform photosynthesis, I stumbled upon an easy and free experiment that allows them to see the oxygen gas created by green plants.

What is Photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose (sugar). It is a complex series of chemical reactions that take place in specialized organelles called chloroplasts, which contain the pigment chlorophyll.

During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere and water (H 2 O) from the soil is combined with light energy to produce glucose and oxygen (O 2 ). This process is essential for life on Earth, as it provides the basis for the food chain and produces the oxygen we breathe.

What is the Chemical Equation for Photosynthesis?

The overall balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis is:

6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + light energy → C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2

where CO 2 is carbon dioxide, H 2 O is water, C 6 H 12 O 6 is glucose, and O 2 is oxygen.

The coefficients in front of each chemical formula give us a bit more information about the “recipe” needed to produce food for the photosynthesizing organism. It takes 6 molecules of carbon dioxide combined with 6 molecules of water in the presence of sunlight to create 1 molecule of glucose and 6 molecules of oxygen.

How Does Photosynthesis Work?

As in most things in science, the process of photosynthesis can be described in even more detail than the general balanced equation shown above. Photosynthesis is a complex process that occurs in two main stages: light-dependent reactions and light-independent reactions (also known as the Calvin cycle). Typically this level of detail wouldn’t be taught to students until high school level biology. Here’s a brief overview of how photosynthesis works in more detail:

Light-dependent reactions:

The first stage of photosynthesis occurs in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplasts, where light energy is absorbed by chlorophyll and other pigments. This light energy is used to create high-energy molecules such as ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate), which are needed for the second stage of photosynthesis.

Light-independent reactions (Calvin cycle):

The second stage of photosynthesis occurs in the stroma of the chloroplasts, where carbon dioxide is fixed into organic molecules such as glucose. This process is known as the Calvin cycle and requires the ATP and NADPH produced in the first stage. In the Calvin cycle, carbon dioxide molecules are combined with molecules of the 5-carbon sugar ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) to form an unstable 6-carbon molecule. This molecule is then broken down into two molecules of a 3-carbon sugar, which can be used to create glucose and other organic molecules.

Overall, photosynthesis is a complex biochemical process that converts light energy into chemical energy, producing oxygen and organic molecules as byproducts.

What Types of Organisms Use Photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis is used by a wide range of organisms to produce food. The most well-known photosynthetic organisms are green plants, which use chlorophyll to convert light energy into glucose. However, many other types of organisms use photosynthesis as a source of food, including:

• Algae: These are a diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that can be found in a wide range of environments, including freshwater, marine, and terrestrial habitats. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from single-celled organisms to large, multicellular seaweeds.
• Cyanobacteria: These are a group of photosynthetic bacteria that are capable of fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere. They are often found in aquatic environments, but can also be found in soil, on rocks, and in other habitats.
• Photosynthetic bacteria: In addition to cyanobacteria, other types of bacteria are capable of photosynthesis, including purple bacteria and green sulfur bacteria.

For our purposes of creating a simple photosynthesis science experiment, we will be focusing on green plants.

Free Visualizing Photosynthesis Science Experiment Printable

To help make this science experiment more meaningful, I’ve created a free printable that you can use to guide your students’ learning. The printable includes:

• Creation of a hypothesis
• Visual observations before and after the experiment
• Analysis and conclusion questions

To get your copy of this free printable, simply enter your name and email address below!

FREE Visualizing Photosynthesis Science Experiment

Materials needed for visualizing photosynthesis science experiment.

This simple science experiment requires very few materials and can be set up within minutes. Here are the supplies needed to conduct this visualizing photosynthesis science experiment.

• 5-7 freshly picked green leaves
• 5-7 small pebbles or other small objects to weigh down the leaves
• shallow dish or tray with sides
• direct sunlight
• free printable “Visualizing Photosynthesis” student sheets

I have found that the results of this experiment are best when it is conducted outside with access to direct sunlight, as opposed to running the experiment inside in front of a window. However, if you have access to a greenhouse, or have old windows that are not double-paned, this experiment may do well indoors.

Instructions to Conduct the Visualizing Photosynthesis Science Experiment

The initial set-up of this science experiment is quite simple and, depending upon the time of year it is conducted, you may begin to see results within an hour.

• On the free printable provided, make a hypothesis about what you think will happen to the surface of the leaves when left undisturbed in direct sunlight for an hour. 
• Place 5-7 freshly picked leaves face up in a shallow dish or tray.
• Position the dish in direct sunlight.
• Sketch one or two of the leaves chosen for your experiment.
• Place a small pebble on the center of each leaf. Be careful not to cover the entire leaf with your object, as sunlight needs to be able to reach the leaf.
• Pour enough water into the dish to just cover all of the leaves. 
• Allow the leaves to sit undisturbed for an hour in direct sunlight.
• After an hour, observe the leaves.
• Create a second sketch of the leaves you chose at the beginning of the experiment, noting any differences that have occurred. Make sure to take a close look at the surface and edges of the leaves.
• If no changes have occurred, allow the leaves to sit undisturbed for another hour in direct sunlight, then reobserve.
• Answer the questions that are found on the visualizing photosynthesis printable .

Typical Results of the Visualizing Photosynthesis Science Experiment

Once the leaves have sat undisturbed for one hour in direct sunlight, learners should see small bubbles form on the edges and tops of the leaves. These bubbles contain oxygen and are the direct result of photosynthesis. The purpose of the water in the experiment is to visualize the oxygen gas; without the water, the gas bubbles would not be trapped and would simply enter the air.

Be sure to have the students complete the questions on my free printable on their own or in small groups before discussing it as a class. It may be helpful to display the chemical equation for photosynthesis to remind students that the creation of oxygen gas is part of photosynthesis.

More Science Experiments About Plants

If you enjoyed this simple science experiment about plants, you may also like the following:

• How to Propagate Plants in Water with Kids
• How to Regrow Vegetables from Food Scraps
• How to Grow Your Own Popcorn
• Teaching Kids How to Grow Potatoes

How to Visualize Photosynthesis: A Science Experiment

Instructions

To download the free printable for this science experiment, click here .

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Solomon Asch Conformity Line Experiment Study

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

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Solomon Asch experimented with investigating the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform .

He believed the main problem with Sherif’s (1935) conformity experiment was that there was no correct answer to the ambiguous autokinetic experiment.  How could we be sure that a person conformed when there was no correct answer?

Asch (1951) devised what is now regarded as a classic experiment in social psychology, whereby there was an obvious answer to a line judgment task.

If the participant gave an incorrect answer, it would be clear that this was due to group pressure.

Experimental Procedure

Asch used a lab experiment to study conformity, whereby 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA participated in a ‘vision test.’

Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naive participant in a room with seven confederates/stooges. The confederates had agreed in advance what their responses would be when presented with the line task.

The real participant did not know this and was led to believe that the other seven confederates/stooges were also real participants like themselves.

Each person in the room had to state aloud which comparison line (A, B or C) was most like the target line. The answer was always obvious.  The real participant sat at the end of the row and gave his or her answer last.

At the start, all participants (including the confederates) gave the correct answers. However, after a few rounds, the confederates started to provide unanimously incorrect answers.

There were 18 trials in total, and the confederates gave the wrong answer on 12 trials (called the critical trials).  Asch was interested to see if the real participant would conform to the majority view.

Asch’s experiment also had a control condition where there were no confederates, only a “real participant.”

Asch measured the number of times each participant conformed to the majority view. On average, about one third (32%) of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the clearly incorrect majority on the critical trials.

Over the 12 critical trials, about 75% of participants conformed at least once, and 25% of participants never conformed.

In the control group , with no pressure to conform to confederates, less than 1% of participants gave the wrong answer.

Why did the participants conform so readily?  When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought “peculiar.

A few of them said that they did believe the group’s answers were correct.

Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group ( normative influence ) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are ( informational influence ).

Critical Evaluation

One limitation of the study is that is used a biased sample. All the participants were male students who all belonged to the same age group. This means that the study lacks population validity and that the results cannot be generalized to females or older groups of people.

Another problem is that the experiment used an artificial task to measure conformity – judging line lengths. How often are we faced with making a judgment like the one Asch used, where the answer is plain to see?

This means that the study has low ecological validity and the results cannot be generalized to other real-life situations of conformity. Asch replied that he wanted to investigate a situation where the participants could be in no doubt what the correct answer was. In so doing he could explore the true limits of social influence.

Some critics thought the high levels of conformity found by Asch were a reflection of American, 1950’s culture and told us more about the historical and cultural climate of the USA in the 1950s than then they did about the phenomena of conformity.

In the 1950s America was very conservative, involved in an anti-communist witch-hunt (which became known as McCarthyism) against anyone who was thought to hold sympathetic left-wing views.

Perrin and Spencer

Conformity to American values was expected. Support for this comes from studies in the 1970s and 1980s that show lower conformity rates (e.g., Perrin & Spencer, 1980).

Perrin and Spencer (1980) suggested that the Asch effect was a “child of its time.” They carried out an exact replication of the original Asch experiment using engineering, mathematics, and chemistry students as subjects. They found that in only one out of 396 trials did an observer join the erroneous majority.

Perrin and Spencer argue that a cultural change has taken place in the value placed on conformity and obedience and in the position of students.

In America in the 1950s, students were unobtrusive members of society, whereas now, they occupy a free questioning role.

However, one problem in comparing this study with Asch is that very different types of participants are used. Perrin and Spencer used science and engineering students who might be expected to be more independent by training when it came to making perceptual judgments.

Finally, there are ethical issues : participants were not protected from psychological stress which may occur if they disagreed with the majority.

Evidence that participants in Asch-type situations are highly emotional was obtained by Back et al. (1963) who found that participants in the Asch situation had greatly increased levels of autonomic arousal.

This finding also suggests that they were in a conflict situation, finding it hard to decide whether to report what they saw or to conform to the opinion of others.

Asch also deceived the student volunteers claiming they were taking part in a “vision” test; the real purpose was to see how the “naive” participant would react to the behavior of the confederates. However, deception was necessary to produce valid results.

The clip below is not from the original experiment in 1951, but an acted version for television from the 1970s.

Factors Affecting Conformity

In further trials, Asch (1952, 1956) changed the procedure (i.e., independent variables) to investigate which situational factors influenced the level of conformity (dependent variable).

His results and conclusions are given below:

Asch (1956) found that group size influenced whether subjects conformed. The bigger the majority group (no of confederates), the more people conformed, but only up to a certain point.

With one other person (i.e., confederate) in the group conformity was 3%, with two others it increased to 13%, and with three or more it was 32% (or 1/3).

Optimum conformity effects (32%) were found with a majority of 3. Increasing the size of the majority beyond three did not increase the levels of conformity found. Brown and Byrne (1997) suggest that people might suspect collusion if the majority rises beyond three or four.

According to Hogg & Vaughan (1995), the most robust finding is that conformity reaches its full extent with 3-5 person majority, with additional members having little effect.

Lack of Group Unanimity / Presence of an Ally

The study also found that when any one individual differed from the majority, the power of conformity significantly decreased.

This showed that even a small dissent can reduce the power of a larger group, providing an important insight into how individuals can resist social pressure.

As conformity drops off with five members or more, it may be that it’s the unanimity of the group (the confederates all agree with each other) which is more important than the size of the group.

In another variation of the original experiment, Asch broke up the unanimity (total agreement) of the group by introducing a dissenting confederate.

Asch (1956) found that even the presence of just one confederate that goes against the majority choice can reduce conformity by as much as 80%.

For example, in the original experiment, 32% of participants conformed on the critical trials, whereas when one confederate gave the correct answer on all the critical trials conformity dropped to 5%.

This was supported in a study by Allen and Levine (1968). In their version of the experiment, they introduced a dissenting (disagreeing) confederate wearing thick-rimmed glasses – thus suggesting he was slightly visually impaired.

Even with this seemingly incompetent dissenter, conformity dropped from 97% to 64%. Clearly, the presence of an ally decreases conformity.

The absence of group unanimity lowers overall conformity as participants feel less need for social approval of the group (re: normative conformity).

Difficulty of Task

When the (comparison) lines (e.g., A, B, C) were made more similar in length it was harder to judge the correct answer and conformity increased.

When we are uncertain, it seems we look to others for confirmation. The more difficult the task, the greater the conformity.

Answer in Private

When participants were allowed to answer in private (so the rest of the group does not know their response), conformity decreased.

This is because there are fewer group pressures and normative influence is not as powerful, as there is no fear of rejection from the group.

Frequently Asked Questions

How has the asch conformity line experiment influenced our understanding of conformity.

The Asch conformity line experiment has shown that people are susceptible to conforming to group norms even when those norms are clearly incorrect. This experiment has significantly impacted our understanding of social influence and conformity, highlighting the powerful influence of group pressure on individual behavior.

It has helped researchers to understand the importance of social norms and group dynamics in shaping our beliefs and behaviors and has had a significant impact on the study of social psychology.

What are some real-world examples of conformity?

Examples of conformity in everyday life include following fashion trends, conforming to workplace norms, and adopting the beliefs and values of a particular social group. Other examples include conforming to peer pressure, following cultural traditions and customs, and conforming to societal expectations regarding gender roles and behavior.

Conformity can have both positive and negative effects on individuals and society, depending on the behavior’s context and consequences.

What are some of the negative effects of conformity?

Conformity can have negative effects on individuals and society. It can limit creativity and independent thinking, promote harmful social norms and practices, and prevent personal growth and self-expression.

Conforming to a group can also lead to “groupthink,” where the group prioritizes conformity over critical thinking and decision-making, which can result in poor choices.

Moreover, conformity can spread false information and harmful behavior within a group, as individuals may be afraid to challenge the group’s beliefs or actions.

How does conformity differ from obedience?

Conformity involves adjusting one’s behavior or beliefs to align with the norms of a group, even if those beliefs or behaviors are not consistent with one’s personal views. Obedience , on the other hand, involves following the orders or commands of an authority figure, often without question or critical thinking.

While conformity and obedience involve social influence, obedience is usually a response to an explicit request or demand from an authority figure, whereas conformity is a response to implicit social pressure from a group.

What is the Asch effect?

The Asch Effect is a term coined from the Asch Conformity Experiments conducted by Solomon Asch. It refers to the influence of a group majority on an individual’s judgment or behavior, such that the individual may conform to perceived group norms even when those norms are obviously incorrect or counter to the individual’s initial judgment.

This effect underscores the power of social pressure and the strong human tendency towards conformity in group settings.

What is Solomon Asch’s contribution to psychology?

Solomon Asch significantly contributed to psychology through his studies on social pressure and conformity.

His famous conformity experiments in the 1950s demonstrated how individuals often conform to the majority view, even when clearly incorrect.

His work has been fundamental to understanding social influence and group dynamics’ power in shaping individual behaviors and perceptions.

Allen, V. L., & Levine, J. M. (1968). Social support, dissent and conformity. Sociometry , 138-149.

Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgment. In H. Guetzkow (ed.) Groups, leadership and men . Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.

Asch, S. E. (1952). Group forces in the modification and distortion of judgments.

Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological monographs: General and applied, 70(9) , 1-70.

Back, K. W., Bogdonoff, M. D., Shaw, D. M., & Klein, R. F. (1963). An interpretation of experimental conformity through physiological measures. Behavioral Science, 8(1) , 34.

Bond, R., & Smith, P. B. (1996). Culture and conformity : A meta-analysis of studies using Asch’s (1952b, 1956) line judgment task.  Psychological bulletin ,  119 (1), 111.

Longman, W., Vaughan, G., & Hogg, M. (1995). Introduction to social psychology .

Perrin, S., & Spencer, C. (1980). The Asch effect: a child of its time? Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 32, 405-406.

Sherif, M., & Sherif, C. W. (1953). Groups in harmony and tension . New York: Harper & Row.