What is Surface Tension?

Surface tension is

the property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of its molecules.

The cohesive forces between liquid molecules are responsible for the phenomenon known as surface tension. The molecules at the surface of a glass of water do not have other water molecules on all sides of them and consequently they cohere more strongly to those directly associated with them.

USGA

A classic kids surface tension experiment is the one where you drip water drop by drop onto a penny. You can also observe surface tension by floating a paper clip on the surface of water.

Bugs also use surface tension to hang out on ponds and streams. Leaves during a rain storm also demonstrate water's cohesive nature.

For this water drop race experiment, surface tension is responsible for the spherical shape of the water droplets. The waxy paper keeps the water from being absorbed away by the surface they sit on.

However, even if your child is too young to grasp the concepts of surface tension and the bonding properties of water molecules, it's still a super fun indoor activity that will make kids say, "Cool!!!"

Water Drop Surface Tension Experiment

Observations

Kids will start to notice ways in which they can control their water drops. Young scientists can explore surface tension strength by blowing air through the straw extra hard, which will cause larger water drops break up into smaller water beads.

Kids will also learn how to blow water beads together to merge them into larger droplets. No doubt, they will have fun sucking water drops up the straw and blowing them back out! My kid loved blowing his off the table to "plop" on the floor! (It's just water, after all.)

Conclusions

Whether or not you use this surface tension experiment to go into depth about how water molecules, tension and cohesion work, water drop races provide lots of entertainment!

I absolutely loved how this project has the added bonus of keeping the kids busy for an extended period of time without a lot parental involvement. And because it's just a small amount of water that is used, you won't have to worry about everything getting wet or the kids making a big mess to clean up!

More water experiments

• Water refraction is just like magic!
• Amaze your kids with a leak proof hole in a bag!
• Make a coin jump off a bottle
• All our favorite indoor water activities

I First Published this idea 3/16/09.

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A. Helps motivate reluctant bathers to get in the bathtub;

B. Reinforces literacy concepts in a surprising way; and

C. Reveals a basic science concept to young children.

Well, you've come to the right place! This bath time "ice fishing" activity does all three!

From personal experience I know that this bath time motivator activity really works. I used to do it all the time because the surprise factor involved was just the trick need to encourage the kiddo to get in the tub when he was going through an "I hate baths!" phase.

(This post contains affiliate links which may earn commission.)

It's very easy to put together. While this kids bath activity does require you to plan in advance, it only takes 3 minutes to put together.

My kid loved this so much he would ask for a "scrambled word mystery" every night!

VARIATIONS:

If your child is working on counting, place a number and the corresponding number of toys in the ice block.

Alternatively, if you want to try some basic math, freeze an equation. For example freeze a 1 and 2 and add 3 toys.

For younger children who might not appreciate the literacy or numbers twist, simply freeze toys in a block. That is just as much fun.

MORE BATH TIME MOTIVATORS:

• Bath time bubbles using science.
• Bubble bath car wash

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Note: this post contains affiliate links.

Truthfully, a classic bottle of bubbles and a bubble wand are really all you need for fun, but since bubbles are such a fun way to spend time outside during the summer, mix it up a little with these delightful bubble activities for kids! There are giant bubbles, bubble snakes, bubble art and bubble activities for preschoolers!

You'll need to start with an easy homemade bubble solution. Here's how to make a good bubble solution:

Slowly stir 1 cup of dishwashing liquid (best not to use a "natural" kind) into 6 cups of hot water. Next stir in 1 TBSP of glycerin. You can use it immediately, but the bubble solution improves if you let it sit over night.

Next, use your homemade bubble solution for one of these fantastic bubble activities!

Homemade Bubble Blowing Tools

Make personalized homemade beaded bubble wands. We show you how to make them and they are great party favors or a birthday party craft activity.

Experiment by blowing bubbles through kitchen utensils! The Wonder Years shows you how it's done.

Learn how to make the most gorgeous rainbow bubble snakes at Housing a Forest

Giant Homemade Bubble Wand at Scientific American. And if a science magazine says it works, then it works!

Blowing Bubbles with a recycled water bottle at Projects for Preschoolers

Bubble Play

These bubble play activities use dish soap instead of bubble solution.

Toddler bubbles sensory fun with toy cars. This activity is always a HUGE hit with toddlers, preschooler and even older kids sometimes!

Make bubble foam for more sensory play. Busy Toddler gives you the recipe.

Bubble Art

Did you know your kids can turn those bubbles they love to blow into fantastic art worthing of framing? Try these ideas!

Chasing Colorful Bubbles Art at Childhood Beckons

Blown bubble painting from Nurture Store.

Popped bubble art from Broogly.

Happy summer!

For more fantastic summer fun activities check out these ideas:

• Top 10 tag games for kids
• Old-school fun: rolling down a hill
• How to make a scooter slalom in your driveway or at the park

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Because our bathroom is so small, my kids play with water in the living room and I'm here to say I lived to tell the tale. Give these indoor water play ideas a chance. (Note: this post contains affiliate links.)

TIP: Clicking on the orange links below will give you more information about each idea.

MORE: For non-water play ideas, visit my Ginormous List of Indoor Activities for Kids

Easy Indoor Water Activities for Kids

Simple water play with cups and spoons. When my 2 year old got cranky, this was my favorite go-to idea to stop whining instantly. And isn't that what we all want?

Homemade sailboats. The boys love blowing them around with straws.

Bubble bath toy car wash. For nearly 2 years this was my most viewed indoor activity. It is incredibly simple and my boys NEVER got tired of it.  You can set it up as we did in the original post or keep it super simple for a toddler, by putting a few cars in a tupperware on the table. We've also taken the water play activity to the next level with an exploding car wash. You can use any toys your kids love.

Frozen water surprises.  I started freezing items in ice blocks as a way to get my bath-resistant 3 year old into the tub, but over the years we have kept it up. Even my now-9 year old still loves it. We primarily use small toys, but I sometimes give it a literacy twist as I did with this frozen word scramble.

Thin ice exploration. This indoor water play idea was inspired by a trip to the park where my boys became enamored with the thin ice-y coating on the lake.

Bath bubble science experiment. Turn a plastic container into a fun lesson about air pressure!

Funnel and hose free play. Give your kids a funnel and a length of vinyl tubing. I absolutely recommend doing this one in the bathtub, which means parental supervision is required. (You might still be able to keep one eye on a good book, though!)

Plastic lids in the bath. I don't know why, but when my son was younger he thought they were best bath toys ever. Wash the lids from milk cartons and yogurt containers and toss them in the bath for some freebie toys!

Explore density. Have you ever tried the classic float and sink science experiment?

Painting on a chalkboard. Painting with water is super fun.

Water transfer activity. This easy idea uses kids' fine motor muscles and hones their concentration skills.

Ocean in a bottle. Water doesn't need to splash on the floor in order to be entertaining. An ocean in a bottle is very calming.

Leak proof bag science experiment. We actually did this outside. The potential for a lot of water all over the place is higher than most, so perhaps the bathroom, kitchen or laundry room (dare to dream!) might be best.

Fog in a bottle. Learn about the weather!

Magic jumping coin. Learn about how water temperature affects pressure.

Water drop races. With straws and wax paper, your kids can learn about surface tension and water molecules(or, you know, just have fun).

What about you? Do your kids get a kick out of playing with water? What is their favorite indoor play idea?

The post 16 Indoor Water Play Ideas for Kids appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

I wanted to do the experiment outdoors and as long time readers (give yourselves a round of applause) know, we live in an apartment so I packed up the supplies as we headed out for a day at the park. It made a nice break when the kids started whining about going home and bought me some more time away from the apartment.

What you need:

• Sealable plastic bags
• Sharp pencils
• Water
• Bored or enthusiastic children

Instructions:

1. Fill the bags with water. When we got to the park we found this awesome drinking fountain station set up! (Sorry about bad photo, I accidentally had my camera set to 1600 ISO!) We did get a few curious looks when we filled our bags, but never mind!

2. Close bags.

3. Poke pencils through bags. My 9 year old lay the bag flat, but it works better if you are holding the water-filled bag upright.

Be sure not to push the pencils all the way through the bags. The tip needs to be poking out one side, and the eraser needs to be sticking out the other side (see top photo). However, if you pull the pencil completely out the other side, the bag will leak. Obviously.

There was a lot of free play with this science experiment because naturally, water is always a draw for my kids.

The science behind it:

Steve Spangler explains the leak proof bag science experiment works because plastic bags are made from polymers. Poking the pencils through the bag only separates the molecule chains, it doesn't break them. My 9 year old is only starting to understand the concept of molecules, so this was a great starting point for him. Of course, my 5 year old was more interested in what happened when you pulled the pencil out!

What was my 5 year old's favorite part?

He could create his very own personal drinking fountain.

Summer Science Camp so far:

On this blog: Ice cube on a string,  Solar oven, Homemade compass, Balloon rocket race

At Coffee Cups and Crayons: Mentos geyser, Dancing raisins, Liquid layers, Homemade silly putty

What science projects are you doing this summer?

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We took a walk in the park during the winter break and the lake was covered with an ultra thin covering of ice. They loved poking their sticks in it and throwing rocks onto it to see it crack.

When I started to feel the need to go indoors where it was warm, I promised the kids we would make our own thin ice at home. Ice play is part of our regular summer routine (see five fun ways to play with ice) but now was our chance to make it part of our winter fun, too!

I filled several containers with a few inches of water and stuck them in the freezer. How long it takes to freeze into a thin layer will depend on your own freezer settings, but check it after an hour, and then you can gauge how much longer you need to keep it in there. You want it around ¼ to ½ inch think so it doesn't melt too quickly once the play begins.

I put a bunch of towels down for easy clean up. I gave the kids chopsticks since they didn't bring their sticks home and gave them a small bowl of stones to add to their play. Of course, they added a few toy cars, as they usually do. This activity kept them busy for quite some time and they didn't even fight over it (miracle of miracles).

It would be fun to combine thin ice play with a snow vehicle sensory tray, but we didn't have any snow that day.

If you are feeling particularly ambitious and a thicker style ice play is desired try our frozen word scramble, mining for ice treasures (via Let's Explore), building with colored ice sticks (via Creative Family Fun) or even simple ice and water play (via Toddler Approved).

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Shell Activities for Kids

Even though kids don't necessarily need any shell extension activities other than just enjoying and exploring the natural beauty of shells, it's still fun to bring the shells home and use them in our everyday play and add them into the mix of our other indoor activities.

Do you wash the shells after you bring them home? I insist upon it ever since we had a little beach fly incident. (Fortunately that incident occurred with shells that were closed up inside a jar. Whew!) Give your kids a bucket of soapy water and a scrub brush so they can pretend to be scientists, cleaning and polishing their specimens. I think Kiddo liked squeezing the soapy sponge as much as he liked digging around in his new shell collection!

Add in a magnifying glass to complete the study...

Kids still can't get enough seashell fun? Try one of these ideas:

• In the past, we've used seashells as objects for still life art drawings.
• I've got some easy instructions for how to make an ocean in a bottle. Every ocean needs some shells.
• Shells are fun to add to sorting activities. Use tongs or chopsticks to sort them into muffin tins.

Watch the video of ocean in a bottle to see just how much fun adding shells can be...

The post Shell Activities for Kids appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

*Remember small ice cubes can be a choking hazard. Supervise young children at all times.

Stay Cool this Summer with Ice

Playing with water and ice never gets boring. Here are a few easy ways to get started: 

Simply.

A bucket filled with ice cubes is sure to spark some free play. Provide your children with small containers and spoons for scooping. Add some toy animals and you have an instant arctic habitat. Toy helicopters and airplanes might circle overhead looking for someone to rescue. If you have a small kiddie pool, purchase a few bags of ice from the corner store and fill it up. You kids might decide to hop right in!  

Colorfully.

Add a few drops of food coloring to water before freezing. Put the colored cubes in a large bin of water and watch what happens when the colors mix. Children will enjoying swirling the colors with popsicle sticks. You can also use the colored cubes to “paint” or the sidewalks, or provide them with paper to create a masterpiece. 

Archaeologically.

Become an ice excavator. Freeze toys or other objects in blocks of ice. For extra interest use containers of varying shapes and sizes. Paper cups and plastic storage containers work well. Give your children a few tools (nothing too sharp) so they can chip away at the ice in order to get the treasure. The hotter the sun, the faster the ice will melt to help your little archaeologists. You can also provide a large bucket of water in which to float the ice treasures.

Scientifically.

Try an easy ice and string science experiment with ice and salt. Place a wet piece of string on an ice block and sprinkle with salt. Wait a minute or so and the string will adhere to the ice, allowing you to pick it up.  

Deliciously.

Did you know you can make ice cream in a bag? Full instructions and a video: how to make ice cream in a bag.

And parents can play, too: fill a tall glass with ice, add your favorite beverage, sit back in the shade and watch your kids play.

The post 5 Ways to Play With Ice this Summer appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

Toy Car Wash

This is the easiest idea, and it keeps my son busy every time I set it up. Simply fill a pan or tray with warm soapy water (bubble bath or dish soap works), add cars and voilà! It also works with toy animals and if you like, add a sponge or scoop to extend the fun.

You'll find more easy activities on our Giant List of Indoor Activities for Kids.

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In the past few weeks my two year old has turned into the biggest whiner in the universe. I can tolerate a lot of things, but I really, really, really hate whining. I just want to poke my eyes out when people whine.

It order to stem the tide of whine I put out some cups of water on the floor and let New Kid have at it.

Is it crazy to let my 2 year old play with water on the living room floor? Maybe. But by God, the whining stopped.

As you can see, even his six year old brother joined in the wet fun.

Need more anti-whining ideas: 42 EASY indoor ideas for toddlers

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