It’s never too early to introduce students to science. In fact, science learning begins with curiosity, and young children are naturally very curious and love to experiment.
Exploring science early on not only provides hands-on opportunities for students to discover the world around them and how things work. But it also fosters scientific thinking, which involves observing, asking questions, making predictions, testing ideas, documenting data, and communicating thoughts.
Using the Primary Science Set is a great way to introduce young students to scientific concepts and processes. Designed for little hands, the set includes real science tools, like a beaker, test tubes, goggles, and a magnifying glass.
You can also find 10 activity cards that cover living and nonliving things, physical science, senses, and more. Here are two simple science activities that you can do using the Primary Science Set:
What's That Smell?
Key Science Concept
Your sense of smell is one of your five senses.
Materials
- Large test tube, two small test tubes and tweezers from the Primary Science Set
- Blindfold
- Smelly items, such as lemons,, orange peel, pine needles, a cotton ball soaked in perfume, garlic, onion, mint, vinegar, rose petals, or pencil shavings.
What to Do
1. Use the tweezers to place one item to smell in each test tube.
2. Blindfold your partner, and ask her to sniff each test tube without looking. Can your partner correctly identify each smell?
3. Repeat this experiment with new smells.
4. Clean the test tubes well before reusing.
5. Bonus: Challenge your partner to describe the smell using one word!
Color Mixing
Key Science Concept
Primary colors mix to make secondary colors.
Materials
- Large test tubes, two small test tubes, eyedropper, and beaker from the Primary Science Set
- Blue and yellow food coloring
- Water
- Spoon
What to Do
1. Pour water into the two small test tubes.
2. Use the eyedropper to add 2-3 drops of blue food coloring into the first test tube, turning the water blue.
3. Repeat the previous step for the second test tube, but instead add 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring to turn the water yellow.
4. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of the blue and yellow water into the larger test tube.
5. What happens? Encourage students to describe the results!
