We’ve looked at plenty of chemical reactions at Dinky recently. But what about physical reactions? What are they?

Here’s a fantastic one to do at home with the whole family this holiday. Make your own butter! Yes, that is actually a science experiment :D

I made butter in just 8 minutes, but if you let the cream come to room temperature before you start you’ll do it even quicker!

Have you ever wanted to make crystals at home? There are a few science kits out there that you can buy but I was wanting something quicker, easier and cheaper! So this week I’m bringing you salt crystals!

You can grow some beautiful salt crystals at home by following the simple instructions in the free download. No fancy equipment need either – salt, water, sauce pan, a beaker (or jam jar), a feather and a clothes peg.

This does involve the use of hot water so please supervise kids closely.

This week has been all about Connections – the theme for this year’s British Science Week. I posted yesterday about the role of connections in coding and coding in connections! So this weeks Science Sunday is a screen free coding game called treasure hunt.

Coding is all about breaking down the task into its smallest parts which all connect together – in the right order – to make the program. This game is all about sequencing and attention to detail! It lays some great foundations for coding, and the skills are very useful in everyday life too.

How are we nearly half way through March already?! This year is racing by… Anyway, as we’ve been celebrating Spring our Science Sunday is inspired by flowers.

This is an open-ended play for children to explore the different parts of a flower. It's part sensory play, part flower-anatomy learning and part creativity. Once you've got the free download the other things are super easy to source.

After our very full on investigation into noise I thought you might appreciate a related activity that’s a bit less of a hullabaloo!

This is coat hanger sounds. As the name suggests it allows you to learn how sound travels using a wire coat hanger and string. And the best bit – only the person holding the string to their ears gets the full effect

As we’ve been thinking about the weather this week I thought I’d offer you a kid friendly “weather station” you can make at home. Making it is super quick and simple, then you need to observe it daily or more to watch for changes.

Thinking about the weather is a great British pastime to get the kids started on HAHA!

Seriously though, it’s interesting to get children thinking about the future, how it’s unknown, but we can make a good guess. I think this weather station is a great way to start this conversation.

Inspired by our electric circuits on Friday this weeks Science Sunday is static electricity… with cereal?! Hoop shaped cereal makes tying the thread much easier it’s lighter so will move more. We had to improvise :D



A great one for kickstarting some curious investigating from the kids.

It’s Valentines Day on Tuesday so here is a little heart themed activity to get your littlest ones thinking about the human heart.

This is another awesome crafty science experiment that is simple and you will have what you need already. It will appeal to both crafty and sciencey kids

We’re going to make skating bugs. Cardboard bugs that really skate on water!

As we've been celebrating Lunar New Year this activity has a lunar new year theme - although you could use it for any theme you like!

Fancy making some wax resist art?

It's quick and simple with beautiful results AND it’s science!

 

Thinking about penguins… Penguins are black and white. Black on their backs so that when swimming in the ocean they can’t be spotted by birds above. This is called camouflage.

What is camouflage? Imagine the animals are playing hide and seek. Camouflage is when they look like the places, they live to help them hide!

Start a conversation with your child through this simple penguin craft and experiment.

Inspired by our week exploring the topic of winter, we are constructing igloos! All you need is a paper plate, sugar cubes and PVA glue!

This activity could go so many different ways, and that’s great! It could be a conversation starter about igloos – what are they for, who needs them, what are they made out of?

Or your child might want to get creative and construct something other than an igloo – a tower? A maze? Who knows what it could be…

There are lots of other ways to explore this activity too. Let me know how you get on with it at home

This one is all about encouraging problem-solving, logical reasoning and critical thinking! Whoa – that sounds a bit much for a Sunday morning Alice?!

Actually, I’m talking jigsaw puzzles! Yep the humble puzzle can help your child develop all those things and many, many more. So here is how to make your own puzzle with your child, for your child with what you already have at home 😊

It's the last one this year and it had to be Christmassy. With the weather having been so cold recently I decided on Christmas Ice Baubles! These are for hanging outside only - inside it will leave you with a puddle!

My tip for this week is don't choose a penguin! The beak was very tricky to get inside the balloon 😬🐧😆 you can see on the pic that the beak is sticking out of the ice. Also, my string came out when I tied the balloon... I'd suggest tying the string around your item first to make sure it won't budge!

We’ve been spies all week, learning and practicing the science of sending secret pictures.

So, for today’s Science Sunday it has to be the classic invisible ink - lemon juice.



Grown ups, your little ones will need your help with this one as it requires the use of the oven.

We've been floating and sinking all week so now to try out a soap powered boat - yes please!

I know it sounds crazy but it’s true! Grab the download to find out how to make your soap powered boat at home today! Also includes a handy template to get you started.

Inspired by the week we’ve just had in space!

Imagine you have zoomed through space and landed on the moon! Let’s make some Moon dust and get out your favourite toys for some sensory moon play. I want to show you some of the super science you can explore along the way…

This week is water play potions! Simple water play is not to be underestimated both in its enjoyability, and its value to your child’s development. Put a scientific twist on your water play by adding different food colours to the water and watching the resulting colour mixing.

Get your download including ideas for containing the mess!

This week I bring you Healthy Teeth. Yep, you’ve guessed it, after the onslaught of trick or treat sweets, I thought this might benefit some of our reluctant teeth brushers out there…

The experiment uses eggs rather than teeth because eggshell is calcium carbonate, which is similar to tooth enamel. And, of course, because our teeth are to be looked after not experimented with!

This week it had to be inspired by Halloween so I bring you Taste Safe Slime…

Whaaat? That’s right it's slime that is safe to taste – perfect for young ones who explore everything with their mouths.

I want to be clear – this stuff does not taste nice! It’s not a substitute for a snack but it is made completely of food stuffs so it’s harmless.

How to make rice dance?

To make your rice dance all you need to do is stretch some cling film over a speaker, sprinkle a few grains of rice onto the cling film, and crank up the volume  and watch the rice dance!

Download the sheet above for more ideas and info on the science behind the groovy moves!