Find a sibling, parent, or guardian and ask them to help you.

Sunscreen Painting

Do we really need to wear sunscreen? Let’s find out what sunscreen really does.

Materials: Q-Tips, Sunscreen, Dark-colored paper, Sunny Day

1. Predict what will happen to the paper when sunscreen is painted on it and put in the sun.
2. Squeeze some sunscreen into a little cup or plate and have your child use Q-tips to “Paint” a picture on the dark-colored paper.
3. Set the paper outside in the sun (Put rocks on the four corners to weigh it down) or by a sunny window for a few hours.
4. Come back and observe what happened…take the rocks off the corners. What is the difference in the color of the paper? Why did this happen?
5. Discuss how sunscreen protects our skin from some of the harmful UV rays of the sun. The rocks also protected the paper just like hats and clothing can protect our skin from the sun also.
   
   

Bouncing Balls

Let’s have fun with balls!

Materials: Different kinds of balls (ping pong, baseball, football, rubber, playground, etc.)

1. Bounce a ball back and forth between child and adult.
2. Explore bouncing: push hard, push soft, stand close to each other, stand farther apart, bounce high, bounce low, etc.
3. Try bouncing different kinds of balls.
4. Bounce a ball off a deck (safely and supervised at all times) or a step.
5. Have discussions about why different balls bounce differently. (materials made from, weight, force, etc.) Introduce the idea of gravity.

Wonderful Water

Fill your sink or a bucket ½ way with water.

Gather some objects from around your house (i.e.: spoon, orange, straw, rock, etc.) and predict if you think they will float or sink. Then put the object in the water to find out.

FLOAT: The object sits on the surface of the water.

SINK: The object goes under the surface of the water.

Why did the object either float or sink?

Learn more about sinking and floating on YouTube with your child! Click here to watch a video about what sinks and floats

Toy Sorting

Scientists love to sort things! Can you sort animals like a scientist?

1. Get a pile of plastic animals or stuffed animals or any toy animals.
2. With an adult, how many different ways can you sort them?
   • Little or Big; Farm or Zoo; Pets or Wild; Long tail or Short tail; Baby or Adult
     
     

Water Cycle In A Bag

Where does rain come from? Let’s find out!

Materials: Quart-sized Ziploc bag, Sharpie marker, colored water, tape

1. Use the Sharpie to draw a sun in the upper corner of the bag and a cloud towards the top of the bag.
2. Pour ¼ cup of water and a few drops of blue food coloring into the bag. Seal tightly.
3. Tape the bag to a window. Predict what will happen to the water in the bag.
4. Observe over time as the water warms in the sunlight, it will evaporate into vapor. As the vapor cools, it will begin changing into liquid (condensation) just like a cloud. When the water condenses enough, the air will not be able to hold it and the water will fall down in the form of precipitation (rain). The cycle keeps going on forever!
5. Learn more about the water cycle on YouTube with your child! Click here to watch a video about the water cycle

Find a sibling, parent, or guardian and ask them to help you.

Really Cool Ramps!

Let’s make some ramps and see how fast a toy can roll down the ramp!

Materials: Ramps: cardboard, pieces of wood, plastic storage tub lids, etc., toy cars, balls, marbles, a can of soup, etc.

Items to put on ramps to cause friction: towels, sandpaper, rubber mats, etc.

1. Set up 2 ramps side by side (use steps, a table, stacks of books to get the angles) and have your child grab two items to roll down the ramp. Predict which one will roll the fastest. Let the items go. Have discussions about what rolled the fastest and why.
2. Keep choosing different items to “race”.
3. Change it up by adjusting the angle of the ramp and the weight of the items (i.e.: use two trucks that are the same, but put blocks in one of them).
4. Add items to the ramp that will cause friction (when two items rub against each other) like a towel or sandpaper or rubber mats. Make predictions and observe what happens now.
5. Relate to real life: when a ball rolls down a hill or going down a slide.

What Will I Wear?

Why do we wear different clothes in the summer and the winter?

Materials: Clothes from your child’s closet

Today’s activity is all about role playing and making choices about what to wear when the weather changes.

1. Today it is sunny and hot. Find one piece of clothing that you could wear today.
2. Today it is cold and snowy. Find one piece of clothing that you could wear today.
3. Today it is rainy and cool. Find one piece of clothing that you could wear today.

Keep up a running discussion about why we choose different clothes based on the weather.

Then change it up and go into the adult’s room and the child gives the directions and the adult picks clothes from his/her closet. Make some silly choices to add some fun and to talk about.

Draw A Flower Garden

What are the parts of a flower?

Materials: Sidewalk Chalk

1. Go on a nature walk and try to find different kinds of flowers. Point out that flowers have stems, leaves, petals (flower). Talk about what is making the plant stay in the ground. (roots). What did the flower grow from? (seed)
2. Use the internet to find a picture of a flower that shows the roots and seeds.
3. Learn more about plants on YouTube with your child! Click here to watch a video about parts of a plant
4. Go outside and use sidewalk chalk to draw a giant flower(s) on your sidewalk or driveway.

 Parts of a Flower
 Talk about what each of these parts does.

• Seed
• Roots
• Stem
• Leaves
• Flower/Petals

Extension: What does a flower need to grow? (sun, water, soil)

Plant a seed and take care of it and watch it grow.

Weather Symbols

What does a meteorologist do?

1. Watch the weather portion of a news broadcast on TV or from the internet. Discuss the career of a meteorologist.
2. Point out the symbols you see during the broadcast.
3. Give your child squares of paper and help him/her draw and color weather symbols:
   • Sun
   • Cloud
   • Cloud/Sun
   • Rain
   • Snow
   • Lightning
   • Hail
   • Wind

Every day, have your child pick the symbols for the day and post on the refrigerator. Discuss the symbols during breakfast and talk about what clothes are appropriate to wear for that weather.

Watch a nightly weather forecast to make predictions for the next day.

Water Play

Let’s play with water!

Materials: Sink or Plastic Tub of water, Ladles, Spoons, Measuring Cups, etc., Watering Can or Pitchers, Bath toys or other small plastic toys, Bowls or other containers, Strainers, Towels, Ice Cubes, Small Spray Bottle, Paintbrush/Paper

1. Set up a water play area outside or inside (put a towel under the plastic tub).
2. Add toys to the water.
3. Encourage your child to scoop out toys with the ladle or spoons and engage in conversation about what the child is doing. 
4. Use measuring cups to talk about more/less, full/empty, and heavy/light. Use the strainer.
5. Add ice cubes to the water and talk about float/sink, melting, etc.
6. Have child use a small spray bottle to squirt the items in the tub.
7. Paint with water on the sidewalk or on paper.

Amazing Animals

National Geographic has a fun website called Amazing Animals where you can find out the most unique and interesting facts about animals from all over the world in a video series. Click here to visit this National Geographic website.

Choose an animal that you would like to know more about.

Have fun exploring other links on this website.

Walking Water

How can you make water walk? Let’s find out!

Materials: 7 clear cups, Food Coloring, Paper Towels

1. Line the 7 cups in a row and fill cups 1, 3, 5, and 7 up most of the way.
2. Next add food coloring:
   • 5-10 drops of red food coloring to glasses 1 and 7
   • 15 drops of yellow food coloring to glass 3
   • 5-10 drops of blue food coloring to glass 5
3. Take a paper towel and fold it in half width wise. Fold it again, and again, and again. Now put one side of the folded paper towel into one glass and the other side of the paper towel in the next glass. Repeat with the remaining cups. (Paper Towel 1 is folded between glasses 1 and 2. Paper Towel 2 is folded between glasses 2 and 3. Paper Towel 3 is folded between glasses 3 and 4 and so on)
4. Make predictions about what is going to happen. It takes a little while, but your child can observe the colors “walking” between the paper towels and making new colors.
5. Discuss the results with your child and talk about mixing colors and the fun idea of capillary action. (Capillary Action is what brings the water up from the ground through the roots of a plant and up the stem to the leaves.)
6. You can extend this activity by putting a white carnation in a glass of colored water and letting your child observe what happens.

Click here to watch a YouTube video with more information

Nature Hike

Go on a nature hike with a friend or family member. Take a bag with you and collect interesting items that you find on your hike.

When you get home sort the items into different piles and talk about why you put each item in each pile.

• soft items and hard items
• sort by color
• sort by size
• sort by shape

Then sort your items by living or non-living.

Living: Items that can move on their own, need air, eat/drink, grow and reproduce.

What does it even mean to be alive? Click here to watch a fun YouTube video on living and nonliving things

Example: A leaf is living because it can grow.

Rocks Rock!

Go on a Rock Walk with a friend or family member. Take a bag to collect interesting and fun rocks.

When you get home, look closer at your rocks:

• What is the same and different about your rocks?
• Which one is your favorite…why?

Things you can do:

• Clean your rocks with water.
• Use Sharpies or paint to decorate your rocks.
• Then place them in your yard or go on another walk and set them down randomly for others to enjoy. Get a container and start a rock collection.

Of all the rocks in the world, how many types are there? Click here to watch a YouTube video to learn how to become a rock detective

Sun Prints

Did you know that you can make sun prints with colored paper and pennies? Let’s get started!

Supplies: Piece of dark colored paper, Pennies, Tape, Sunny Day

• Find a spot in your yard or inside your house by a window that faces the sun.
• Put the paper in that spot. Tape it down if you are outside so that it doesn’t blow away.
• Lay your pennies on the paper to make a design that interests you.
• Leave the paper in the sun for a few hours.
• What do you think will happen to the paper that is under the penny? Why?

After a few hours:

• Touch the pennies…are they hot or cold? Why?
• Move the pennies and look at the paper. What happened? Why? Is this what you thought would happen?
• The pennies blocked the sun’s UV rays so the paper didn’t fade under the pennies…wow, what a powerful sun!!  This is why we wear sunscreen to protect our skin.

Do you know why it's important to wear sunscreen? Click here to watch a YouTube video with the answers!

Oh No, I’m Melting!

Why do you have to eat an ice cream cone quickly in the summer? What happens to the ice cream if you eat too slowly? The answer: It melts.

Have you ever wondered what other items melt if left in the sun? Let’s find out!

1. Get a cupcake pan or a tray.
2. Get small items from around your house (i.e.: a crayon, a piece of chocolate, a marble, a paper clip, a Lego, etc.) and put one item in each of the cupcake holes in the pan or just lay them on the tray.
3. Put the cupcake pan or tray in a sunny window or outside. What do you think is going to happen to each item?
4. Come back in about 5 minutes and then 5 minutes after that and then 5 minutes after that.
5. What is happening to the items? Why is that happening?
6. What are the items made out of that melted? What are the items made out of that didn’t melt?
7. Write on your Bingo Board: A ____________ melts because it is made out of ___________.
8. Make sure to clean up your experiment!
9. Click here to go to YouTube and watch "Save the Snowman"

Animal Cam: San Diego Zoo

It is so exciting to see real, live animals playing and eating.

The San Diego Zoo has animal cams that let you watch the animals live! Click here to have fun watching their animal cams!

• Click on an animal that you would like to watch.
• What was that animal doing?
• If you didn’t see an animal, where do you think it was?
• Draw a picture of an animal that you saw. Make sure you draw that animal’s habitat.

PBS has a great video about zoo field trips. Click here to watch their video.

Incredible Insects

Have you ever noticed that we see a lot more insects during the summer? Why do you think that is? 

Go in your backyard or go on a nature hike with a friend or family member. Take a stick with you.

As you walk, use your stick to gently turn over rocks, wood, piles of leaves, etc. to look for insects. Our world is full of bugs, but how will you know it is an insect?

 *Insect bodies have:

• 3 body parts
• 6 legs
• antennae

 *Things to think about:

• Is a worm an insect?
• Why or why not?
• Do insect babies look like their parents?
• Why are most insects good for our environment?
• Make sure to treat the insect gently and leave it in its environment.

When you get home, use materials from around your home to create your own insect. (i.e.: egg cartons, pipe cleaners, plastic lids, pom pom balls, bubble wrap, etc.) Make sure your insect has 3 body parts, 6 legs, and antennae.

Did you know you can identify an insect in three easy steps? Click here to watch a YouTube video and learn how!

Save Me!

You are going to be an archeologist who has discovered a primitive life form. Your job is to safely get the object out of the ice.

1. In the morning, get a small cup (a Dixie cup works great) or an ice cube tray. Fill the cup or tray ½ way with water and put in the freezer all day. Right before bedtime, add a small Lego figure or other small toy to the cup or tray and add water to the top. Freeze this overnight.
2. The next day, take the frozen figure out of the freezer and put on a tray or plate. What tools and resources can you use to safely get the figure out of the ice? (i.e.: toothpick, salt, metal spoon, warm water, tweezers, etc.) Remember, you want the figure to be safe so don’t use a hammer or throw the ice cube on the ground.
3. Talk with a friend or family member about your experience. Why do archeologists have to work carefully and slowly? What can we learn from these finds?
4. Archeologists are the scientists who solve the great mysteries of human history. Click here to watch a YouTube video and learn more about archeologists

Making Mud Pies

Let’s get messy! Ask an adult to help you find some old clothes and get a few buckets or old containers, a shovel or spoon, some pitchers of water or a hose, and let’s go outside.

1. Dig up some dirt from different places and put each different dirt in its own container. Feel the dirt and think about what makes each pile of dirt different.
2. Add some water to the container and stir it up really good. What is happening to the dirt? Why is it changing? Now it’s not dirt; wet dirt is called ____.
3. What are some things you notice in the dirt? (i.e.: rocks, insects, big chunks, sand, etc.)
4. Does adding water change the way the dirt smells? How?
5. Which mud is the smoothest? The stickiest? The darkest? Why is dirt different?
6. Leave the containers in the sun to dry for a few days. Turn the containers upside down and get the mound of dirt out. Look it over…what happened to the mud? Why did that happen?
7. Add some water (a little bit at a time) to the dirt. What is happening now?
8. Make sure to clean up your experiment!
9. Did you ever think you'd want to learn more about dirt? Click here to watch a YouTube video about dirt!

Visiting Climates
Click here to visit NASA and learn about climate and weather! Review the Big Questions at the bottom of the page and list one thing you learned new for each.

Habitat Matching
PBS produced a video about matching animals and their habitats. Click here to learn how to create your own matching game! Draw pictures of animals and their matching habitats.

Wild Weather Shelter
Build and test a windproof building from materials around your home! You may use a fan, piece of paper, or even your mouth to produce wind!

If I Had Animal Teeth…
Draw a picture of yourself with animal teeth! Explain where you would live and why you would need this adaptation to survive.

Nature Scavenger Hunt
Create a nature scavenger hunt! Then, go for a walk or in your backyard and search for each item.

Science Magic
Search for reflective items in your kitchen. Next, fill a clear, glass bowl or cup with water. Add items to the bowl or cup to witness refraction!

Community Cleanup
Go for a walk with your family! Put on some gloves, bring a trash bag, and pick up trash you see on the ground to help clean up your neighborhood. Click here to watch an informative PBS video about plastic pollution. (Scroll to the bottom.)

Here comes the sun…
Create a model or act out the process of photosynthesis to illustrate how energy transfers from the sun!

Complicated Machines
Can you make a simple task more complicated? Get a shoe box, craft supplies around the house, and a marble to create a Rube Goldberg Machine! Your objective is to get a marble to fall out of the shoe box. Your machine should have at least three moves! Click this link to learn more about Rube Goldberg and his machines.

Get in Balance
Learn how to balance items on a seesaw! Start with the intro to learn how, then complete the lab and/or the balance game! Click here to visit the Phet simulation website and learn about balance!

It's in the Clouds
What’s up with the weather? Go outside and start a cloud journal. Look outside several times throughout the day and week. Sketch the clouds you see and make predictions about the weather. Use the diagram to help with identifying the cloud types. Click here to visit the National Center for Atmospheric Research and learn about clouds!

On Shaky Ground
The Virtual Field Trips site has a virtual field trip of San Franscisco and Alaska’s earthquake areas. Click here to go to the website. Then scroll to field trip #3 and view the slideshow. When done, scroll back up to field trip #2 and view the Madison River Valley earthquake area slideshow. What do you notice and wonder?

Alive or Not?  
Go take a walk around your neighborhood. What things can you see that are biotic? What things do you see that are abiotic? How are the biotic interacting with the abiotic? How have humans impacted the environment around you? Share your learning with an adult.

Zoo Safari
Go on a wildlife search at home! Click here to visit the Cincinnati Zoo and explore animals from around the world! What is your favorite animal and what is its habitat?

Owl Evidence
Ever wonder what an owl eats? Wait no longer! Click here to do a virtual owl pellet dissection!

Poke But Don't Soak
This cool demonstration will amaze your family and friends! Try the Poke but Don't Soak challenge! Click here to visit the website and learn how - with permisson from an adult, probably over the sink! What do you notice? What do you wonder? Try answering why with a little research!