Little Homeschool Blessings: DIY Homemade Science Kit

For Li's homemade Christmas present from me this year, I decided to make him a science kit.

He loves it even more than I hoped he would. He is always asking to do a new experiment and we have so much fun doing them together.

If you want to make your own, I've provided you with a materials list and instructions for each experiment below.

I started by making labels for the experiments and the box.

I printed off the directions and attached them to card stock.

I wanted to make him something that made it truly his gift, so I made a name badge.

Then I gathered my materials placed them in the box and it was ready to go.

Materials Needed

box or container size 18" X 12"

small jars (glass or plastic) or baggies for materials

safety glasses

lab coat (men's sized white dress shirt)

scientist badge

6 T. baking soda

2 c. vinegar

quart size baggie

gallon size baggie

toilet paper square

balloon

handful of cotton balls

2 liter clear pop bottle

16 oz clear water bottle

ivory soap bar

1 c. white school glue

2 t. borax

geode kit

several different kinds of candy

food dyes

1 1/4 c. vegetable oil

salt container

1/4 c. corn syrup

handful of raisins

2 T. dish soap

1 1/4 c. flour

1 T. yeast

several pieces of uncooked spaghetti

1/2 c. 20 oz volume peroxide

play dough

clear pop

clear plastic cups

test tubes

science kit

Make a Lava Lamp
Clean Pennies with Vinegar
Exploding Volcano
Break Your own Geode
Cloud Dough
Elephant Toothpaste
Dancing Fruit
Gak
Cotton ball with Colored Water
The Floating Egg
Exploding Sandwich Bag
Balloon Magic
Puffed up Soap
Dissolving Candy
Playing with Density
Swimming Spaghetti

Experiment Directions

~Exploding Volcano

Form a volcano with play dough. Put 2 T baking soda and 1 T dish soap in cup. Add 5 drops of red and yellow food dye to the cup. Then add 1 oz vinegar.

~Break your own geode

Use the kit.

~Cloud Dough

Mix 1 ¼ cups flour to ¼ cup oil

~Color Mixing

Mix different colors of food coloring with water and then mix those together.

~Elephant Toothpaste

Wear your safety goggles. In a 16 oz bottle placed in a baking dish, put 8 drops of food coloring, add 1 T. of liquid dish soap, and mix it. In another cup, mix 3 T warm water and 1 T yeast for 30 seconds. Pour it into the bottle with a funnel. Then add ½ c 20 volume hydrogen peroxide.

~Dancing Fruit

Pour clear pop into one cup and water in another. Then drop raisins into the water and see what happens. They should sink to the bottom. Then the pop. The fruit will go down, up, down, up.

~Gak

Mix 8 oz white school glue and 2 t borax that is dissolved in 1 c. water in a large gallon sized bag. You can remove when mostly solid.

~Cotton Ball With Colored Water

Put some food coloring in water. Mix and play with the cotton balls.

~The Floating Egg

Put water in a glass. Carefully drop an egg into the glass. Remove it and add salt. Stir the salt in and carefully drop the egg in.

~Exploding Sandwich Bag

Wrap 1 T. of baking soda in a square of toilet paper. Pour 1/4 c water and 1/2 c white vinegar into the baggie. Partially zip the baggie, drop the packet in and seal the baggie. Put the baggie down outside and watch!

~Balloon Magic

In a bottle, put 1 c. vinegar. Add 1 T. baking soda to a balloon. Attach it to the top of the bottle. When ready tip balloon up and watch it blow up.

~Puffed up Soap

Put ivory bar soap on a microwave safe plate. Then in the microwave. Set your microwave for 2 minutes. Watch expand. Stop microwave when soap stops expanding.

~Dissolving candy

Put candy in different solutions: water, oil, vinegar

~Playing with Density

Put 1/4 colored water, 1/4 oil, and 1/4 corn syrup in glass.

~Swimming Spaghetti

Put 1 c water and 2 t. baking soda in a glass. Stir until the baking soda is dissolved. Break some uncooked spaghetti into 1-inch pieces. Put about 6 pieces in the glass. Add 5 t. vinegar to the mixture in the glass. You can continue adding vinegar.

~Lava Lamp

Fill a glass about three-quarters full of cold water. Stir in a few drops of food coloring. Add a half inch layer of cooking oil. Wait until the oil and water have separated into two layers before the next step. Sprinkle salt on top of the oil. Keep adding salt to see what happens.

~Clean Pennies with Vinegar

Pour vinegar on a plate. Add greenish colored pennies.