Doing kitchen science: Part 2, household ingredients or kits

In an earlier post, I touted a “messing around” version of kitchen science. Here, I’ll suggest resources for a slightly more formal version: doing experiments with household ingredients or with a kit. (Next up will be exploring science via cooking and baking.)

Regular readers may remember that I promoted the creative aspects of the messing around version of kitchen science. But it’s not an either/or in contrast with the more formal versions, it’s a balance. Typically, pre-designed experiments offer lots of lessons in measurement, precise observation, experimental control, understanding experimental variables, math, and—if you use a notebook to record observations—written expression. But there’s nothing to prevent using some of those tools while messing around! Similarly, performing pre-designed experiments needn’t do away with creativity, as long as there’s also room to design and implement variations on the experiment. And with enough room for laughing and— yes—messing around, pre-designed experiments are just as fun, too!

Please note, science experiments can be dangerous! Before you launch in, understand what hazards the experiment presents (Eye danger? Poison? Explosion? Fire?) and what your grandchildren’s skills and tendencies are (Do they put things in their mouths? Knock things over? Get generally carried away?) Similarly, please be sure you have the required eye protection, gloves, or other safety equipment on hand. And supervise!

Starter kits and videos

If you’re just starting to do science with the grandkids—or if you’re worried about all the scary stuff I just said in the box!—you might appreciate having a science kit to help guide the activity. Here are some recommendations from Popular Mechanics, helpfully including comments on target age and interests as well as pros and cons of specific products. The suggestions in the link ring true because I have tried a couple of the products on the list with the grandchildren—Snap Circuits and National Geographic branded kits—and both have been great fun and educational. So I have high hopes for the other suggestions, but no promises! (NOTE: This blog doesn’t accept ads, and I don’t receive any products or compensation from manufacturers or publishers—and I can’t afford to try them all!—so I’m just passing along what sounds good to me.).

A girl examines a test tube containing an orange liquid. Laptop in the foreground. — Getty Images for Unsplash

Another way to get started on kitchen science is to check out online videos. This one from PBS is great. Why? The tone is fun, the experiments are easy, and it introduces a lot of concepts. Some of the concepts are about the underlying science—the episode discusses pH, acids, bases, concentrations, molecules, chemical reactions, exothermic reactions, and more. Other concepts are about experimentation: variables, controls, keeping a science notebook, and recognizing that failing at an experiment is part of the scientific method. All of these concepts are linked to a couple of easy-to-do experiments: “elephant toothpaste” (which is terrific foamy stuff made from hydrogen peroxide, yeast, water, and dish soap), and making a pH indicator from purple cabbage and distilled water. To add to all that, the video gleefully recommends opening up the experiments to the child’s ideas about what to try next, keeping that creative spark along with developing the concepts. Once you’re at the link, you’ll see that the series continues, presumably (I didn’t watch all of them) with similarly well-done content.

The one drawback to the PBS series is that the episodes are on the long side (25 minutes or so). If you want something quicker, Kelly’s Kitchen Science offers a few ideas, with good detail on the methods and the underlying science. The main drawback to this series is that she didn’t post more videos!

Moving outdoors

“Kitchen science” can morph into outdoor science, too. If the grandkids are into designing airplanes or building rockets, you’re probably moving out of the house. Ditto for enormously messy experiments—making a geyser from Mentos and Diet Coke, or exploding plastic bags, or exploring a musical science pool sound fun...outside! And outdoor science can include observational science as well as experimental: These posts on foraging and hunting bugs can get you started along those lines.

Here's hoping these starter ideas will inspire your creativity about ways you and your grandchild(ren) can learn and enjoy some science together. I know I’m excited about the introducing New Granddaughter to that musical science pool, one summer coming soon!

Philosopher Grandma Readers: It would be a great help to others if you can recommend specific books, kits, or links you’ve used to do science with your grandchildren (or ones to avoid spending money on!). Use the comments section, below.