Science & DIY

🌋 Fizzing volcano ⏱️ 20 min 🎒 F to 4 Baking soda and vinegar react and make a gas called carbon dioxide. The gas makes bubbles that push the foam up and out, just like gas pushes lava out of a real volcano. 🌈 Walking water rainbow ⏱️ 15 min 🎒 F to 3 Water climbs up tiny gaps in the paper. This is called capillary action. It is how plants drink water from their roots up to their leaves. 🍇 Dancing raisins ⏱️ 10 min 🎒 F to 3 Gas bubbles stick to the wrinkly raisins and lift them up like tiny balloons. At the top the bubbles pop and the raisin sinks again. 🧂 Magic pepper escape ⏱️ 5 min 🎒 F to 4 Water has a stretchy "skin" called surface tension. Soap breaks the skin, and the water pulls away, taking the pepper with it. 🌱 Grow a bean in a jar ⏱️ 10 min 🎒 F to 3 The bean has food stored inside for the baby plant. With water and warmth, it wakes up: first a root grows down, then a shoot grows up towards the light. 🥚 Floating egg ⏱️ 10 min 🎒 1 to 5 Salt water is heavier (denser) than plain water, so it pushes up harder on the egg. That is why it is easier to float in the sea than in a lake. 🎈 Balloon magic (static electricity) ⏱️ 10 min 🎒 F to 4 Rubbing moves tiny particles called electrons onto the balloon. It gets an electric charge that pulls light things towards it. 🫧 Home-made lava lamp ⏱️ 15 min 🎒 1 to 5 Oil and water do not mix, and oil is lighter so it floats. The tablet makes gas bubbles that carry coloured water up; when the bubbles pop, the water sinks again. 🧊 Ice melting race ⏱️ 20 min 🎒 1 to 4 Salt lowers the temperature at which water freezes, so ice melts faster. That is why roads in Sweden are salted in winter. ❄️ Paper snowflakes ⏱️ 15 min 🎒 1 to 6 Real snowflakes always have six sides because of how water molecules lock together when they freeze. 🐦 Pine-cone bird feeder ⏱️ 20 min 🎒 F to 4 Small birds need lots of energy to keep warm in winter. Fat and seeds are like a power snack for them. ⭐ Salt-dough decorations ⏱️ 45 min 🎒 F to 5 Salt dries out the dough and stops it from going mouldy, so your decorations last for years. 🔭 Toilet-roll binoculars ⏱️ 15 min 🎒 F to 2 Looking through a tube blocks out everything around, helping you focus on one thing, a bit like real binoculars. 🐸 Origami jumping frog ⏱️ 20 min 🎒 2 to 6 The zig-zag fold stores energy like a spring. When you let go, the energy turns into a jump. 🍂 Autumn leaf rubbings ⏱️ 15 min 🎒 F to 3 The raised veins carry water through the leaf. They stick up a little, so the crayon catches them. 🏮 Paper lantern ⏱️ 15 min 🎒 1 to 4 The slits let the paper bulge out, turning a flat sheet into a 3D shape.