"Science is Fun!"

Every week I try some science with my preschoolers.  I guess this might be the first time I called it science in front of them, because the declaration that, "Science is Fun!" rang through the room during our little experiment.

This week it was a simple and cheap lesson in cause and effect, observation, and fine motor development.  I provided a cake pan with a box of baking soda (the second day it was 4 boxes) dumped into it, two bowls of colored vinegar, and one eye dropper per student (the table was limited to four).  I demonstrated how to fill the eye dropper with vinegar and squirt it into the pan of baking soda once and then turned the group loose.

The vinegar was colored red from last year's volcano demonstration.  And when mixed with the baking soda, it made the most fantastic pink bubbles!  Kids could squirt over and over and get that fun effect over and over.  The reaction did eventually die out, but many continued to squirt even without the bubbles.  Some added the pink soggy baking soda to the vinegar left in their bowls and found that it would react again there.  Others enjoyed squishing the soggy mixture in their fingers.

I think every child had to come to the table at least once.  Some stayed for a long time.  Some left and returned.  I loved that it appealed to the kids on many levels.  I loved that they got to work out their fine motor and observation skills.  But most of all I love that "Science is Fun!" and I hope my preschoolers remember that as they grow.

Next week I think we are going to do cornstarch and water at the science table....