Sometimes the thought of doing experiments with your toddler can fill even the most adventurous parent with dread. The very thought of collecting every spare container in your house, a hunt for ingredients you haven’t got for an experiment that only lasts a minute or two or doesn’t work at all can be pretty disheartening.

But it doesn’t have to be that way! Science is really only exploring the world around you and as our under 5’s are natural explorers, you don’t need a lot of expensive (or messy) stuff to do some great science with them.

We’re joined by Abigail White, founder and franchisor of LoveScience & Mini Boffins, who has 5 easy experiments to do with your toddler that won’t cost you a penny.

1 – Changing Shadows

You need: a toy, pens and paper

• Choose a fairly large toy, the taller and more unique the shape, the easier it is to see. 
• Lay some pieces of paper on the floor in the sun and place the toy on it so that you can see the shadow it casts. (As it ist highly likely that toy will be in demand at some point during the day, remember to mark out where you have put it) 
• Draw around the shadow that the toy makes.  
• Wait about an hour and check the toy again, the shadow will have moved and changed shape, draw around it again. 
• Keep going all day and you will have a lovely arc of toy shapes.

The science: as the sun moves across the sky the toy will block the light at a slightly different angle. This makes the shadow move around in an arc. 

2. Magic Diamonds

You need: paper, scissors, pencils and a bowl of water

• Cut out a square of paper about 3cm x 3cm.
• Colour it in and draw a picture in the middle. 
• To make the diamond, fold the corners of the square into the middle so that the picture is covered up – make sure the points don’t overlap. 
• Very carefully place the diamond in the water with the points on the top. The points of the diamond will start to open out as if by magic and your picture will be revealed. 
• You could extend this by changing the size of the squares or the type of paper.

The science: paper is essentially woven so there are tiny gaps between the strands. When it gets wet, these strands swell up and push against each other forcing the folded points to open. 

3. Invisible Ink Pictures

You need: paper, lemon juice, a hairdryer, or cotton bud

• Using the cotton bud, draw a picture on a piece of paper in lemon juice. 
• Leave it until all the wet spots have dried out.
• Put the hairdryer on its highest heat setting and use it to heat up the paper. 
• As the paper gets hotter, the picture will start to appear. 
• You can also iron the paper or put it in the oven to get the same effect. 
• This is also a great way to ‘age’ paper for older children’s school projects. 

The science: When the lemon juice is heated up, it starts to break down and carbon is released. When this carbon reacts with oxygen in the air, it turns the lemon juice a darker colour. 

4. Release The Frozen Toys – Toddler Experiments

You need: water, a freezable bowl, plastic toys, salt, a squeezy bottle, optional food colouring

• Arrange all the toys in the bowl. You can just use your favourite toys or use leaves and animals to make a jungle theme, planets, spaceships and cut-out stars to make a space theme – you get the idea.
• Fill the bowl with water and put it in the freezer – if you use cooled, boiled water, you will get clearer ice.
• When it has frozen, take it out of the freezer and turn it out onto a tray –  you will have a frozen dome with your toys trapped in the middle. 
• Fill the squeezy bottle with water, and food colouring if you like, and add a couple of teaspoons of salt. 
• Squirt the salty water all over the frozen dome, it will start to melt and you will be able to rescue the trapped toys!
• If you don’t have a squeezy bottle, you can use a medicine syringe or a jug to pour the water over the dome.

The science: using salt makes the ice melt at a lower temperature . Think about putting salt on the roads in the winter. This means that the dome will start to melt quickly – you can use warm water to speed the process up even further.

5. Chromatography Art

You need: dark felt tip pens, kitchen roll, water

• Lay the kitchen towel out on a plate or tray and draw penny-sized blobs with the felt tip pens, make sure you leave plenty of white space in between the blobs
• Now dip your finger in the water and put it in the middle of one of the blobs. The water will be absorbed by the kitchen towel and the ink will start to run. When it stops spreading, dip your finger in the water again and put it towards the edge of the blob to keep extending it out. 
• Repeat with all the blobs.
• Dark colours will separate out into different colours  and you’ll get a lovely tie dye type effect. 
• When it dries, the kitchen towel will also be slightly see-through. You can cut it into shapes or draw a frame around it to look like a stained glass window.  They look lovely stuck to a window on a sunny day.

The science: felt tip pens are made up of different colour inks. When they dissolve in the water, they start to spead along the kitchen towel. The ink with the smallest molecules will travel farther that the bigger ones and so the colours all spread out. 

Thanks to Abigail – LoveScience

Abigail is a former secondary science teacher who set up LoveScience in 2013 to give primary and nursery-aged children access to good quality practical science. It is now an award-winning franchise that runs clubs for thousands of children a year across Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Scotland. We’re more than grateful for these toddler science experiments and hope you enjoy them too!

**Disclaimer** The toddler experiments listed here are suggested activities only and should always be carried out under adult supervision. It remains the responsibility of the parent/carer to assess the suitability of any activity carried out with children based on their age and ability. Evolution Education Ltd (t/a LoveScience) cannot be held responsible for any accidents or injuries caused during carrying out these experiments

Want To Get Out And About, Have Fun With Your Baby Or Toddler, And Meet Other Parents?

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