10 Science experiments for toddlers Follow FizzicsEd Articles: Comments 0 Starting science early Are there science experiments that a 2-year-old could do? Absolutely! Young children are rapidly learning about their world through their 5 senses and as such you can easily provide rich experiences that show how the world works just by targeting sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Beyond looking at the five senses, consider how you can teach toddlers about simple science such as pull and push/float and sink/hot and cold and more. The more you expose young kids to scientific concepts at an early age, the more you set them up for the future! Using our senses to learn about our world! When running science experiments with toddlers you do need to be aware of the materials that you are using; are they likely to cause an allergy issue or are there small parts that could cause a choking hazard. The following lists a variety of safe experiments that work very well with toddlers and early learners, although to be honest you can easily use these in primary school too! Create rainbow flowers! A colourful experiment early learners love to watch over time. Just needs a bit of food colour, water & some white flowers The classic volcano Simple ingredients Safe and engaging for kids! Colour mixing using milk & detergent Show that colours can move and mix together Kids love this! Make some slime! A tactile experience toddlers love Also good for discussing solids vs. liquids for young kids Coloured shadows & light mixing Get some coloured lights and mix them in the dark Links well with rainbows and simple colour mixing Ocean in a bottle Mesmerizing waves for kids! Show that oil does not mix with water Prove that air takes up space A simple concept that kids can struggle with Helps show that air fills spaces and can push on things The classic dancing sultana experiment! The sultanas rise and fall in soda water… why? A great way to introduce floating and sinking to toddlers Sherbet making made simple Teach toddlers to mix materials in a procedure What happens if you add too much of one ingredient? Observe sea monkeys! Teach toddlers to observe the natural world Great for teaching about life cycles Make an ant farm A classic way for young kids to learn about insects An observation experiment every child can do Happy teaching, Ben Newsome. NEW Primary science teaching book! “Be Amazing! How to teach science, the way primary kids love” Want more ideas for teaching science? Subscribe to the FizzicsEd Podcast! Love Science? Subscribe! Join our newsletter Receive more lesson plans and fun science ideas. PROGRAMS COURSES SHOP SCIENCE PARTIES Calendar of Events HIGH SCHOOL Science@Home 4-Week Membership 12PM: March 2024 Feb 26, 2024 - Mar 29, 2024 12PM - 12PM Price: $50 - $900 Book Now! PRIMARY Science@Home 4-Week Membership 2PM: March 2024 Feb 26, 2024 - Mar 22, 2024 2PM - 2PM Price: $50 - $900 Book Now! Light and Colour Online Workshop, Jan 18 PM Jan 18, 2024 2PM - 3PM Price: $50 Book Now! Light and Colour Online Workshop, Jan 18 AM Jan 18, 2024 9AM - 11AM Price: $50 Book Now! Lego Robotics, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024 Jan 24, 2024 9AM - 12PM Price: $50 Book Now! Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024 Jan 24, 2024 1PM - 4PM Price: $50 Book Now! Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park July 11 2023 Jul 11, 2023 9AM - 4PM Price: $100 Book Now! Fizzics Education STEAM Day: Robots vs Dinosaurs, Lalor, Apr 14 Apr 14, 2023 9AM - 12PM Price: $45 - $50 Book Now! Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park April 14 2023 Apr 14, 2023 9AM - 4PM Price: $100 Book Now! Science@Home After School 4-Week Membership: March 2023 Mar 06, 2023 - Mar 31, 2023 4PM - 5PM Price: $40 - $1200 Book Now! Featured Articles 5 ways in which VR is making education more immersive than ever before Topics China [1] Food [5] Outreach [35] STEM [228] Physics [6] Global [2] K to 2 education [1] Virtual reality [2] citizen science [1] Churchill Fellowship [19] Gaming [7] Ozscied [2] Teaching [266] Chemistry [5] International [1] Photography [1] Play [1] numeracy [1] Cleveland [1] Gifted [7] Podcasts [119] Television [2] design thinking [8] Chinese student visits [1] Parenting [4] preservice teaching [5] Higher order thinking [1] Club [4] History [4] Pop Culture [4] Toys & Gadgets [1] project-based learning [5] Science & Technology Camps [1] Lesson ideas [1] Comedy [2] Philosophy [1] Coding [14] Indigenous [3] Preschool [24] Video Conferencing [40] family [2] Design [2] Lab Tech [1] math [1] Pakistan [1] Cooking [3] Kids [36] Remote Education [18] Virtual Excursions [9] Inclusive education [6] Oceans [6] Leadership [1] Electricity [1] Agritech [1] Dinosaurs [7] Kids Parties [5] Robotics [12] Edutech [26] Classroom management [1] video conference [1] special needs [1] scholarship [1] Botany [1] Distance Education [51] Kitchen Chemistry [7] Safety [2] Distance Learning [19] Student encouragement [2] online [5] image [1] Africa [1] Apps [11] Eastershow [2] Maker Space [11] Scicomm [141] primary education [46] STEAM [10] virtual [2] gamification [1] Asia Pacific [1] Agriculture [4] Edchat [223] Maths [14] Scied [34] literacy [7] Higher education [4] Child online safety [1] Esports [1] Easter [1] Art [17] Edtech [68] Media [18] Science [6] secondary education [45] teacher [1] dis [0] biotechnology [1] curriculum [2] Augmented Reality [4] Education [212] Museums [31] Science News [4] Christmas [1] Vacation care [1] Film [1] computational thinking [2] high [1] AussieED [1] Educhange [5] Music [3] Social Media [8] experiments [6] middle school [2] Inquiry-based learning [5] digital technologies [5] Earth science [1] Awards [14] Environment [39] NASA [6] Soils [1] seasonal [1] Artificial Intelligence [4] List [1] Games [1] Medicine [1] Big History [1] Events [45] National Science Week [3] Space Science [33] competitions [13] Sustainability [12] Student investigation [2] Social Emotional Learning [1] CAST test [1] Biology [44] Farming [1] Outdoors [36] Sport [8] careers [10] UN SDGs [4] collaboration [1] Engineering [4] US Education [1] Books [3] Load More Topics
Starting science early Are there science experiments that a 2-year-old could do? Absolutely! Young children are rapidly learning about their world through their 5 senses and as such you can easily provide rich experiences that show how the world works just by targeting sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Beyond looking at the five senses, consider how you can teach toddlers about simple science such as pull and push/float and sink/hot and cold and more. The more you expose young kids to scientific concepts at an early age, the more you set them up for the future! Using our senses to learn about our world! When running science experiments with toddlers you do need to be aware of the materials that you are using; are they likely to cause an allergy issue or are there small parts that could cause a choking hazard. The following lists a variety of safe experiments that work very well with toddlers and early learners, although to be honest you can easily use these in primary school too! Create rainbow flowers! A colourful experiment early learners love to watch over time. Just needs a bit of food colour, water & some white flowers The classic volcano Simple ingredients Safe and engaging for kids! Colour mixing using milk & detergent Show that colours can move and mix together Kids love this! Make some slime! A tactile experience toddlers love Also good for discussing solids vs. liquids for young kids Coloured shadows & light mixing Get some coloured lights and mix them in the dark Links well with rainbows and simple colour mixing Ocean in a bottle Mesmerizing waves for kids! Show that oil does not mix with water Prove that air takes up space A simple concept that kids can struggle with Helps show that air fills spaces and can push on things The classic dancing sultana experiment! The sultanas rise and fall in soda water… why? A great way to introduce floating and sinking to toddlers Sherbet making made simple Teach toddlers to mix materials in a procedure What happens if you add too much of one ingredient? Observe sea monkeys! Teach toddlers to observe the natural world Great for teaching about life cycles Make an ant farm A classic way for young kids to learn about insects An observation experiment every child can do Happy teaching, Ben Newsome. NEW Primary science teaching book! “Be Amazing! How to teach science, the way primary kids love” Want more ideas for teaching science? Subscribe to the FizzicsEd Podcast!
This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
Thank you for looking to subscribing to our newsletter 🙂 Through this service you’ll be first to know about the newest free experiments, science news and special offers. PLUS: Get a free Kitchen Chemistry Booklet with >20 experiments, how to use variables plus a handy template!
Please fill out the details below and an email will be sent to you. Once you get that just click on the link to confirm your subscription and you're all done!