
This week is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) week. We have some fun and engaging experiments for you to try at home.
As this is a short week and we get our holidays on Thursday the activities are divided into three days. Today we will be exploring the world of science. Tomorrow we will be constructing some items for technology and engineering day and Wednesday we will investigate mathematics.
We hope you all have fun trying out our exciting activities with someone at home. Enjoy and make sure to send on your pictures and videos to your teacher. We love to see how you are getting on!
Day 1: Science
Parental guidance is advised for all experiments.
Experiment 1:
How to do a Volcano Science Experiment
Maybe try this experiment outside, not to destroy the kitchen 🙂
Materials:
- 50ml Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of Baking Soda/Bicarbonate Soda
- Food colouring (optional)
- Pint glass/large glass
Instructions:
- Place 3 to 4 tablespoons of baking soda into the glass jar.
- Add a few drops of food colouring to ½ cup vinegar. Pour vinegar over the baking soda and watch it fizz.
- You can also create a hollow mountain structure from paper mache, cardboard, or clay and place a cup containing the baking soda inside. Leave the top open as the volcano’s vent. Pour the vinegar into the vent and over the baking soda and watch the miniature volcano erupt.
Hypothesis(Explanation):
Bicarbonate of soda is a compound of sodium, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen.
These compounds break up when they come in contact with vinegar. The carbon and oxygen separate to form a gas, carbon dioxide.
Experiment 2:
Vinegar Pops

Materials:
- Ice Tray
- Vinegar
- Food Colouring (optional)
- Baking Soda
Instructions:
- Fill up ice tray with vinegar. Add food colour if you desire.
- Put ice tray in freezer for four to six hours.
- Pop out your Vinegar Pops and dip them in a plate of baking soda.
- Wait a few minutes and watch the bubbling begin.
Hypothesis(Explanation):
When you have an acid (vinegar) and a base (baking soda) mixed together there is a chemical reaction. That chemical reaction releases carbon dioxide and results in the bubbling.
Extra Experiments:
- If you did try it with food colouring, try doing it without it and vice versa.
- Add lollipop sticks to the ice trays when you freeze the vinegar. Does it work better, worse, or the same?
- Try doing the experiment with citric acid instead of vinegar. Some examples of citric acid would be lemon or lime juice.
Experiment 3
Make it Rain

Materials:
- Glass jar
- Ceramic plate
- Hot water (parental guidance with this part)
- 6/8 ice cubes
Instructions:
- Pour the hot water into the canning jar.
- Cover the jar with the ceramic plate face up.
- Wait 3 minutes to continue to the next step.
- Put ice cubes on the plate.
- Now observe your homemade water cycle. You will see the formation of cloud/water vapour in the bottle.
Hypothesis (Explanation):
The cold plate causes the moisture in the warm air, which is inside the jar to condense and form water droplets. This is the same thing that happens in the atmosphere. Warm, moist air rises and meets colder air high in the atmosphere. The water vapour condenses and forms precipitation that falls to the ground as rain or snow.
Extra Experiments:
- Do two separate experiments at the same time. Have all the variables controlled except for the temperature of the water. Have one hot and one cold. How does it affect the experiment?
- Try using a paper plate instead of a ceramic plate. Which one worked better? Could the results have anything to do with absorption? Or not?
- Now think on a bigger scale, the world scale. Draw a picture of your experiment, but draw it to reflect what happens in the world’s water cycle.
We would love to see how your experiments went. Send your teacher some photos on Dojo.
Here are some more websites for you to explore the world of science.
Websites:
https://www.steamsational.com/science-experiments-for-kids/
https://www.steamsational.com/volcano-science-experiment/
http://www.sciencefun.org
Ms. Rowsome and Ms. E. Kavanagh.