Did you even know it was possible to make a thermometer at home? And out of a bottle?  Annie from Bird and Little Bird is here today with this intriguing science project: how to make a homemade thermometer. Fortunately, no mercury is required.

How to Make a Bottle Thermometer

These makeshift thermometers are one of those stand-by science projects that I ran across again and again during my years as a teacher. I never quite understood why they were supposed to be so cool — until we made one.

Indeed, this little experiment turns out to be weirdly, ridiculously fun. Maybe it is because it works so well while still being so easy to make. Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the effects of the experiment can be relatively dramatic, making it almost like a toy rather than an instructional tool. My daughter and I had great fun making a bottle thermometer, you will too!

Materials

All of the materials are common household items you may already have at home!

• empty glass bottle
• water
• rubbing alcohol
• food coloring, any color
• a clear straw
• modeling clay
• a marker

Step by Step

Begin by gathering up all of your materials. We used a glass bottle from the bulk section at the grocery store (it used to hold maple syrup) and a clear plastic straw that we snagged the last time that we stopped for a smoothie.

Fill the bottle ¼ full of plain water. Next, add an equal amount of rubbing alcohol so that the bottle is half full. Add a few drops of food coloring.

Place the straw in the bottle, and holding it so that it does not touch the bottom but is suspended slightly in the liquid, wrap the modeling clay around the top of the bottle and the straw.  This will hold the straw in place and prevent it from falling farther into the bottle.

MORE: Weather experiment: How to make fog in a bottle

Pay attention to how far up the straw the liquid now comes.  Use the marker to mark the outside of the bottle at the spot where the straw goes from being filled with liquid to being empty (i.e. the line where the liquid stops filling the straw).  This line indicates the current temperature where the bottle is at the moment.

Now, move the bottle to different locations where the temperature is likely to differ. Notice how the liquid either rises or sinks down in the straw. Have your child notice when the liquid rises and falls relative to how warm they think it the location is.

In warmer temperatures, the liquid will rise. In cooler temperatures, it will sink. 

Although different locations in a single room may not yield dramatic results, kids will love to experiment with more extreme temperatures. Try placing the bottle in direct sunlight, on a porch outside on a warm day, or in the refrigerator to see the liquid in the straw rise and fall with the temperature variation.

As an extension, kids can record their observations to practice learning the scientific method.

MORE: Weather tracking experiment for kids

The Science at Work

Your kids will be eager to know the science behind how a bottle thermometer works!

Liquid expands when it is warmed, and contracts when it cools. There is only so much space at the bottom of the bottle, so when the colored liquid gets warmer, it rises in the bottle and is forced up into the straw. 

When the liquid is in a cooler environment again, it will begin to contract, forcing the straw down. While experiment won’t give you an exact temperature, it will show relative temperatures, allow kids to generally see which environments are warmer or cooler than others.

MORE: Easy home science experiments

Annie Riechmann is an educator, blogger, and mama to two small people who lives in the Boston area. Annie is also the creator and publisher of Alphabet Glue, a literacy themed e-magazine for families.  She is a big believer in tree climbing at any age and of wearing knee-high striped socks.  You can visit her at her online abode, Bird and Little Bird, where she writes about everything from books and babies to laundering snowpants and the joys of putting a husband through residency.

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You may not immediately of science and art as natural partners. After all, science is traditionally taught as being defined by data and testing, while art is the result of spontaneous creativity. However, these science art projects for kids demonstrate there is beauty in science and give kids a way to explore the artistic process through scientific exploration!

Don't forget to explore how math and art projects will wow your kids, too!

Spin Art

Harness the power of centripedal force to create unique art with a common kitchen tool: a salad spinner! Drop washable paint (for easy clean-up) onto plain paper and place in the bottom of the spinner. The rotation makes the paint fly in a circular motion, creating interesting designs. Get the details for how to make spinner art at home here. Afterward, use the paper for cards, bunting, and wrapping paper.

More Science Art Projects

Over at Babble Dabble Do, Ana shares how to make amazing salt pendulum paintings.

The creative genius behind TinkerLab shows kids how to grow their your own geodes to learn about the scientific method and chemical reactions.

Pink Stripey Socks has some creative suggestions to explore art materials like a scientist! What a fun way to encourage artists to apply scientific principals to their work.

Over at Left Brain Craft Brain, you'll find instructions for a great last minute boredom buster that combines creativity with science as a way to learn about the science behind flight.

Want more activities that combine science and art? Our STEAM Kids book contains over 50 projects! Learn more about STEAM Kids here.

The post 12 Science Art Projects: Explore and Create appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

It's the perfect opportunity for older kids who to learn about the scientific method and it's great for younger kids who are still simply exploring the wonders of science.

Strain out the cabbage. Set for cooking (if you think boiled cabbage is tasty) or add it to the compost pile.

Allow the cabbage juice, which is now a bright purple color, to cool completely.

Cabbage Juice Experiment Instructions

While the cabbage juice is cooling, prep your work area.

Preparation and Set-Up

Arrange your empty cups or bowls on a table or other protected surface. Write the name of each household item on a label and place next to each cup. Place a small amount of the corresponding powder or liquid into each cup.

Decant the cabbage juice into a liquid measuring cup or jar for easy pouring and fill a number of cups half full with the purple liquid.

MORE: Top 10 After-School Science Experiments

Mix the Materials

Now comes the fun part!

Mix your chosen ingredients into the separate containers of cabbage juice and watch what happens!

Kids will observe that the different combinations provide a range of results, depending on whether you are adding a base or an acid to the cabbage juice. Sometimes the liquid will turn pinker, other times it will stay purple or head towards blue or green.

After the initial mixing of each base or acid to the cabbage juice, my kids started to engage in a free for all. Suddenly, when they added baking soda to the vinegar-juice combo the color changed again, and it started fizzing! They thought it was great fun (as you will see if you watch the video, below) to start mixing and matching however they saw fit. That's the magic of science!

MORE: Learn about Liquid Density with a Salt Volcano

The Science Behind the Experiment

Cabbage juice is a ph indicator that changes color according to the acidity of the substance added to it. Red cabbage contains anthocyanin, a water-soluble pigment that changes color depending on the substance added to it.

The more acidic the substance, the pinker it gets. The less acidic, the closer to yellow the juice gets. A neutral ph will appear blue.

Tips

Tip #1. It's perfectly reasonable to want to approach this science experiment in a methodical manner, meticulously recording results and observations. That's great for a classroom or homeschool lesson.

For us, this experiment was an after-school science exploration and my kids didn't want to do the recording part, which was fine for our purposes. Sometimes learning about science is just having fun with no further obligations.

Tip #2 Some ingredients will fizz when combined. Let it happen, set it up somewhere where kids can experiment without worrying about mess.

Just like with our simple kids science lab, you should let the kids explore the scientific reactions however they want. Please supervise closely if using any harsh ingredients.

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You just need to be able to produce the necessary carbon dioxide. We chose two different methods to perform this easy at home science experiment that will wow your kids. The first method uses yeast, and the second uses a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.

This simple experiment is a great boredom buster when you and the kids are stuck inside. When you are done, be sure to visit my giant list of Indoor Activities for Kids for more ideas.

MORE: This project would make a great addition to our DIY summer science camp!

How to Blow up a Balloon with Yeast

The first inflation experiment uses the same ingredients that make bread rise. The combination of yeast and sugar creates carbon dioxide, the gas that expands inside the balloon to "blow it up!"

Supplies

• Yeast. We used standard dry yeast available at any grocery store
• White sugar
• Measuring cup
• Spoon
• Plastic bottle
• Balloons
• Funnel
• Water

You'll also want a towel to protect your work surface and facilitate clean up!

Instructions

Use the funnel and scoop two spoonfuls of sugar into a plastic bottle.

Leaving the funnel in place slowly pour water into the bottle until it is about three quarters full.

Next, add several spoonfuls yeast. It's helpful to leave the funnel in place. We didn't measure out the yeast to any specific quantity. It's helpful to dry the funnel before adding the yeast.

Two heaping spoons is plenty and when mixed with the sugar will produce enough carbon dioxide to have an effect on the balloon.

The next step is fun for all kids! Tighten the cap on the plastic bottle and then shake vigorously! If you've done shaken container painting with your kids, you know they love to shake things that make noise!

Finally, remove the cap from the bottle and stretch the base of the balloon tightly over the bottle's neck.

Now comes the hard part. Waiting!

Just as bread dough takes time to rise at room temperature, the yeast-sugar-water mixture will need time to produce the necessary gas to inflate the balloon. While you are waiting for the gas to develop, start the next balloon science experiment: inflation with vinegar and baking soda.

At the risk of losing my blog's G-rating, here is what the balloon looked like after about 30 minutes.

As you can see, it's not a huge inflation of the balloon, but the carbon dioxide gas did give the balloon some lift! If your child is disappointed with the results, remember that failure can help kids think like scientists.

How to Blow up a Balloon with Baking Soda and Vinegar

This second balloon chemistry experiment is a little more dramatic than the yeast experiment. And what kid doesn't love a little drama?

Materials

• Plastic bottle
• Balloon
• Spoon
• Funnel
• White Vinegar
• Water
• Baking Soda
• Measuring cup for pouring (not for measuring)

Instructions

First, place the funnel in the neck of the deflated balloon. Scoop baking soda into the funnel and shake down into the balloon. You'll want to fill the balloon with as much baking soda as possible.

The baking soda might block the opening of the funnel if you put too much in at one time. If necessary, use a toothpick to break up the clumps and help it pass through.

Next, pour some about a cup of vinegar into the bottle. Exact measurements are not necessary. Save some of the vinegar for the cabbage juice indicator experiment, next!

Add some water to the bottle so that it is about two-thirds to three-quarters full. You want to raise the level of liquid so that the gas reaches the balloon instead of staying in the bottle.

Finally, carefully place the baking soda filled balloon on the neck of the bottle and hold the balloon straight up so that the soda falls into the bottle.

Immediately, the balloon will begin to inflate. Bigger, bigger, bigger!

This is a very satisfying indoor activity for a preschooler (like my four year old) or older child who loves to watch dramatic action and reaction! Some preschoolers may enjoy talking about the science behind the experiment, but even if they don't they are still learning something!

And some little scientists might just like to play with vinegar and baking soda in a preschool science lab or an exploding toy car wash, making a big bubbling, oozing and fizzing mess! That's good too. All in the spirit of getting through the day with your kids.

DON'T MISS: 10 Easy After School Science Experiments for Kids

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How to Make a Coin Jump Off a Bottle

You can prep the jumping coin science experiment in just a few minutes and you only need a few common household items!

Science Behind the Trick

The reason the coin jumps off the bottle is because of thermal expansion. The warm air created with your hands pushes upward with more strength than cold air, making the coin jump!

For younger kids, the experiment itself doesn't provide hours of entertainment, but a bowl of water, a coin and a bottle do, so let your kids enjoy some sensory play after observing the cool science trick. Sure, the table will get really wet, but that's what towels are for!

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Remember: Magnets are hazardous if swallowed. Do not give magnets to children who still put things in their mouths! If your child ingests a magnet seek medical help immediately. Use caution and always supervise kids exploring with magnets. Keep magnets away your electronic equipment.

Note: This post contains affiliate links that earn commission from qualifying purchases.

Telescoping Magnet Pick Up Tool

My kids can not get enough of this magnet pick up tool, or the "magic wand" as my youngest son calls it. He loves it when I scatter hardware like washers and bolts on the floor. He then "cleans up the mess" with his magic wand!

Magnet Busy Jar

This magnet busy jar is a twist on the classic calm-down sensory jar idea. Fill a jar with a non-magnetic material, add in some paperclips and then use this handheld strong magnet wand to find the pieces. Watch our how-to video for the instructions and to see how the busy jar works.

Magnetic Building Set

Before you recycle those tin cans, turn them into a magnet building set so kids can put their natural engineering skills to use. Or, use the set to build robot-like creations. My youngest even uses his magnet pick-up tool to stack the cans in a tower. Read the instructions here and make your own magnet building set.

Write Magnetic Poetry

My kids love to write poetry and construct funny sentences and phrases with our Really Big Words magnetic poetry kit. If you don't want the magnets taking over your fridge, use a magnetic bulletin board instead.

Obstacle Course

Use a Tegu magnet building block set and a couple of metal baking trays to design and build an ever-changing obstacle course for toy cars and trucks. If you don't have a Tegu set, you could use the pieces from the diy magnet building set.

Painting with Magnets

If your child seems more interested in art than science, painting with magnets is the perfect compromise. With this project, kids explore the intersection between science and art. Plus your kids can make some really cool designs!

Make Magnetic Bookmarks

You can encourage your kids to read, explore the science of magnets and give them a crafting project all at the same time! What could be better? These magnetic bookmarks are very easy to make and ensure your kids never lose their place when reading.

Watch the how-to video and then make a batch of bookmarks for yourself and for gifts.

Indoor Magnet Snake Game

One day when the kids were bored and I refused to allow them to veg out on screens, they came up with what I like to call a "sanity-saving indoor magnet game." It involved our new, flexible magnet snake wand, all the letter magnets from the fridge, any magnet blocks we had, and a large bucket.

The boys invented their own rules and added in a "floor is lava" twist. It's the craziest of all these magnet activities and you have to see it to believe it.

Make a Compass

Kids will learn about the science of Earth's magnetic poles when they learn how to make a homemade compass. This is a great at-home science project for tweens who love geography, maps and exploring nature, but are stuck inside for the afternoon. Follow up with some of these great geography activites or these map activities.

STILL NEED IDEAS? Visit our giant list of indoor activities for kids to keep them off screens while you stay sane.

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This magnet busy jar was a really easy activity to put together and provided lots of screen-free entertainment. It's a bit like those I-Spy sensory jars parents make for their kids, and just as easy (if not easier!) to make. My kids love the magic of magnets and with proper supervision, they offer a good science lesson.

Disclaimer: Adult supervision is required. ALWAYS supervise children when playing with magnets. Magnets are dangerous if swallowed. DO NOT give magnets to children under 3 or to any children who may put them in their mouths. If a child ingests a magnet, seek medical help immediately.  

Note: this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Make a Magnet Play Busy Jar

What you need:

• Filler material. We used rice and red lentils
• Lightweight metal objects such as paperclips, thin washers and other hardware
• Jar, glass or plastic
• Optional: glue or tape
• Magnet wand. You can also use a large, strong magnet but a wand works better for little hands.

TIP: this magnet wand and Bingo chip set is perfect for the magnet busy jar activity. If you watch the how-to video below you will see it in action.

Instructions

Fill a clear container (I used glass, but if you are worried about it breaking, then plastic will also work) with paperclips and some thin metal washers. Lightweight objects work best.

Pour in a cup or two of red lentils for color. You can use rice instead of lentils, if you prefer. Fill jar ⅓ to ½ the way up.

Optional: secure lid of jar with glue or tape.

How to Play

Glide the magnet wand along the outside of the container. The magnetic attraction will lift the paperclips and washers. Kids will enjoy using the wand to manipulate the paperclips and other metal objects.

It's fun to shake the jar so that the objects are covered with the rice or lentils because then the wand raises them out of hiding! With practice, kids can use the wand to control the movement of the objects and create chains of paperclips that hang from the lid.

Need more easy distractions for your children? You'll find lots on our Giant List of Indoor Activities for Kids, or check out all 9 of our favorite ways to play with magnets, or make these magnetic bookmarks.

***ALWAYS supervise children when playing with magnets. Magnets are dangerous if swallowed. DO NOT give magnets to children who might put them in their mouths.

Idea first published 2009, updated 2023.

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At some point, every parent has had the preschool weather song, "What's the weather... what's the weather... what's the weather like today?" stuck in their heads. Our weather tracking activity turned that song from a glance out the window into a scientific study of temperature patterns over the course of a month.

Prepare for the Activity

The weather and temperature tracking experiment is and easy science project to do at home, and makes checking the daily temperatures fun! The good news is that you don't need a pre-prepared weather tracking worksheet. Your child will make their own!

Materials

Graph paper

Ruler

Two different colored markers. We used red and blue.

A black marker.

Tape or pushpins. I recommend painter's tape as it won't ruin your walls.

Make the weather tracker

Use a ruler and the black marker to draw a straight line along the bottom of the graph paper (the x-axis), leaving room for a row of numbers below.

Next, draw a straight line from the left hand corner of the x-axis to the top of the paper (the y-axis).

Label the x-axis with numbers 1-30 or 1-31, depending on the month (you know the drill for February).

Label the y-axis with numbers for the temperature. Your starting number will depend on the month and whether you are using Fahrenheit or Celsius. For example, if it's July in Hawaii and you're recording Farhenheit, you might start with 60, if it's January in Finland and you're using Celsius, you might start with -30.

We tracked the weather in November in New York, so it made sense to have a range from 20 to 70 degrees F.

Finally, with tape or pushpins, tack the graph to the wall in a convenient location.

Weather Tracker Instructions

Now that you've made your weather tracker, it's time to record the temperatures.

Every morning, with your child, check the previous day's temperature. You can do this online, with a weather app, or on a news program. We have a thermometer on our window. It's fun to notice the temperatures during the day, but it's not an accurate way to get a reading.

Next, record the daily high and daily low on your weather graph. Plot the high with your red pen and the low pen by placing a dot at the point where the values of the date (x-axis) and temperature (y-axis) meet. (Use a non-bleeding pen if you are concerned about accidentally marking up the wall.)

After the first day, you'll be able to start to connect the points on the graph with a line. By the end of the month, your child will be able to observe the fluctuations in temperature over the course of the month!

Variations

There are a number of ways to make this temperature tracking activity more advanced, involving math practice, including the following:

1. calculate the difference in high and low temperature every day
2. track the discrepancy between the predicted and the actual temperatures
3. calculate the change in temperature from one day to the next
4. calculate the average high and the average low temperature

In addition, little weather scientists may enjoy recording weather patterns, like whether or not it was sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.

Idea first published 2011, updated 2023.

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Fruit Ripening Experiment

This fruit-based science experiment is very easy and the best part is the tasty treat reward for young scientists when they finish collecting their data! We used pears for this project, but you could use any fruit you wish.

What you need:

• Underripe pears, or other fruit
• Pen
• Paper bag
• 1 apple

Procedure

Label the paper bag with the date.

Place half the pears in the paper bag with an apple. Set aside on the counter.

Place the remaining pears out on the counter.

Check the pears every day to see which ripens faster.

Optional: Each day, when you check the pears for ripeness, record your findings on a chart, noting if any of the pears appear to be ripening. Are they getting softer? Are the pears changing color?

We decided that the pears in the bag ripened only one day sooner than those on the the counter.  However, as we didn't eat them all on the first day, we also observed that the difference in ripeness became more pronounced the longer we let the pears ripen.

In any case, we gobbled them up!

MORE: Five farmer's market activities for kids

Why does fruit ripen faster in a paper bag?

Of course, young scientists will want to know the science behind the fruit ripening experiment!

It has to do with ethylene gas! Some fruits produce ethylene gas as they ripen. It just so happens that both pears and apples produce ethylene gas. (Perhaps we should do the experiment without an apple and compare results!)

Ethylene gas is a "naturally occurring plant hormone produced by plant cells that aid in the ripening and aging process of fresh products" 

The paper bag traps the ethylene gas produced by the fruit. The fruit becomes surrounded with higher levels of the gas than normal, which speeds up the ripening process

Not every fruit ripens faster in a paper bag. A great extension project would be to determine which fruits ripen faster in a paper bag and which ones do not!

MORE: Best At-Home Science Experiments

Books about Pears

Book titles are affiliate links.

Mr Putter and Tabby Pick the Pearsby Cynthia Rylant is one of the funniest books in this easy reader series! My kids laugh and laugh as Mr. P. and Tabby slingshot pears over the fence.

Too Many Pears! by Jackie French. I love this book about Pamela, the pear-loving cow. Pamela can't stop eating pears and she'll do anything to keep eating her favorite fruit.

Happy Eating!

MORE: 10 Ways Kids Can Help in the Kitchen

First published 2010, updated 2023.

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So next time your kid writes his name in the bathroom mirror help him understand how fog works with this fog in a bottle science project!

Fog in a Bottle Instructions

Gather your materials and follow the three step instructions!

Step by Step

1. Fill a jar or bottle with HOT, HOT water for 60 seconds.

2. Pour out most of the water and then place a plastic bag with ice cubes over the top.

3. Fog will start to form inside the bottle.

Nows here's the interesting part... while the adult will find watching the bottle akin to watching paint dry, the kid will be fascinated with watching how the fog forms, then water droplets form and then water drops run down the inside.

Alternatively you can always fog up a bottle by just breathing into it.

Project extensions

Try these project variations and ask kids to delve deeper into their scientific inquiries!

• Try adding food coloring to the water. Is the fog also colored?

• Does the fog form more densely at the top of the bottle, or near the water? Why do you think that is?

• Before adding the bag of ices, add a few drops of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) to the water. How does this affect how quickly the fog forms?

• Read this primer on how fog forms and the different types of fog by the National Weather Service. What type of fog do you think is created by this experiment?

Add a literary element to your science explorations with these wonderful weather poems!

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