1.

Chemical Reactions: Make a Penny Turn Green

Chemical reactions are such a great way to pique a childs curiosity. This experiment involving a chemical reaction is
quite simple and always amazes kids!

Materials for Turning a Penny Green

Copper pennies
White vinegar
Dish or bowl
Paper towel
free observation printable (optional)

Procedure for Penny Chemical Reaction

1. Fold a paper towel so that it fits inside your dish.
2. Place the pennies on top of the paper towel.
 The pennies placed on the paper towel
3. Pour vinegar over the pennies so that the paper towel is fully saturated.

Pennies with vinegar ready to be observed

4. Observe the pennies over the next few hours and days.
Tips
We left this experiment out for a few days, adding more vinegar as the paper towel began to dry out and flipping the
pennies over occasionally. The longer we waited, the more green they became!
Whats Going On
A chemical reaction has occurred! (A chemical reaction is the combination of two reactants to form something entirely
new.) A penny is made of copper. The vinegar on the paper towel helps the copper in the penny easily react with the
oxygen in the air to form a blue-green colored compound called malachite.
This is similar to why the Statue of Liberty (which is covered with a layer of copper) has turned greenish-blue. The
statue would naturally turn greenish-blue due to exposure to the oxygen in the air. However, because some rain has acid
from pollution in it, the rain speeds up the reaction (just as the vinegar caused the reaction with the penny).

2. Exploring the Density of Liquids with Salt

Materials for Science Experiment

Clear glass
Water
Vegetable oil
Food coloring
Salt
Science Experiment Procedure
1. Fill your clear glass about 2/3 of the way with water.

2. Pour vegetable oil into your cup. (You want to create a layer thats about 3/4-1 inch high.) What happens to the oil after
you pour it in your cup? Why do you think this happens?
3. Add one drop of food coloring to the cup. What happens to the drop of food coloring? Why do you think this happens?

4. Sprinkle salt into your cup and watch what happens!

5. Continue adding more salt and observe. (The kids started by doing small sprinkles of salt, then progressed to adding big
pinches of salt, and then spoonfuls of salt.)

Whats Going On?

In the beginning of the experiment, the oil settles above the water because it is less dense. When you add salt to the to the
cup, the salt sinks to the bottom of the cup since it is heavier than the other two liquids. The salt carries a blob of oil with
it. As the salt begins to dissolve in the water, it releases the oil which floats back up to the top.
 3. Exploring Surface Tension
Materials for Exploring Surface Tension

Water
Cooking oil (We used canola oil.)
Rubbing alcohol (optional)
Containers to hold the liquids (We used 4 oz Ball jars.)
Eye droppers
Toothpicks
Dish soap
Wax paper

Procedure
1. Use the eye dropper to place a few drops of water on some wax paper. Observe the drops closely. What do you notice?
2. Use another eye dropper to place some drops of cooking oil near the water drops. Compare the cooking oil to the
water. How are they the same? How are they different?
3. Look closely at other liquids like rubbing alcohol on the wax paper. Compare and contrast all the liquids.
4. Try poking the water drop with a clean toothpick. What happens?
Whats Going On?
The water drop on the wax paper looks kind of like theres a skin around it. When you poke it with a clean toothpick,
nothing happens, but, when you poke it with a soapy toothpick, the water spreads out.
Drops of water stick to each other. Thats why the surface of the water drops appear to have a skin-like layer on them.
This is called surface tension. Soap decreases the waters surface tension causing it to spread out.

4. Creating Light Patterns with a CD

Materials for Rainbow Science CD Activity

Blank or old CD
Paper
Scissors
Tape
Pencil
Sunny day
Directions for Rainbow Science CD Activity
1. Find an area of your house or outdoors to do the activity. Youll want to be able to access sunlight with your CD and
have an area in the shade to reflect the rainbows. (If you dont have a blank wall, you can use a piece of white poster
board.)

2. Use the shiny side of the CD to reflect the sunlight onto your poster board or blank wall and notice the rainbow. What
does it look like? Notice the shape and colors. What happens when you change the angle of the CD?

3. Now the super fun part! Trace your CD a few times onto paper so you have circles the exact size of your CD and cut
them out.
4. Cut out various snowflake shapes using the paper circles. (You can see our tutorial on how to make paper snowflakes
here.)
5. Tape one of your paper snowflakes over the shiny side of the CD and reflect the sunlight onto your poster board or
wall. How do the patterns of light look different than before?

6. Try out your other paper designs.

Whats Going On?
A CD is a mirrored surface with spiral tracks or pits. These tracks are evenly spaced and diffract the sunlight (separating
the colors). Because the CDs surface is mirrored, the light is reflected to your eye.
The paper is blocking some light rays from the CD, but letting others through creating all kinds of patterns and designs!

5. How to Make a Homemade Spectroscope

Materials for Homemade Spectroscope

Empty paper towel roll

Craft knife and/or scissors
Blank or old CD
Pencil
Small piece of cardboard or cardstock
Tape
Paint (optional)
Making a Homemade Spectroscope
1. If youll be painting your paper towel roll, youll want to do that first and let it dry. (This step isnt necessary, but its
hard for us to pass up an opportunity to paint something!)
2. Use a craft knife (an adult should do this) to cut a thin slit at a 45 angle toward the bottom of the cardboard tube.

3. Directly across from the slit, make a small peephole or viewing hole using your craft knife (another step for an adult).

4. Trace one end of your paper towel roll onto your small scrap of cardboard or cardstock. Cut it out.
5. Cut a straight slit right across the center of your cardboard circle.
6. Tape the circle to the top of your spectroscope.
7. Insert the CD into your 45 angled slit with the shiny side facing up.
Using the Homemade Spectroscope
Start by taking your spectroscope outside. Point the top slit up at the sky (NOT directly at the sun). Look through the
peephole. You will see a rainbow inside!
Now try your spectroscope with other light sources like fluorescent light, neon light and candle light. Compare what you
see!
Whats going on?
A CD is a mirrored surface with spiral tracks or pits. These tracks are evenly spaced and diffract light (separating the
colors). Because the CDs surface is mirrored, the light is reflected to your eye.
 6. Making Rainbow Reflections
Materials for Rainbow Reflection Science for Kids

Flashlight
CD
Blank white paper
Procedure for Exploring Rainbow Reflections
Look carefully at the blank side of a CD. What do you see? What happens when you tilt it back and forth?
Find a dark room in your house. Place the CD on the floor.
Tape a piece of white paper to your wall. Aim the flashlight at the CD so that it makes the rainbow reflect onto your blank
paper. What colors do you see? What different patterns can you make by moving the flashlight around?
Question to Spark More Curiosity & Critical Thinking
How do you think the colors are getting onto the paper?
Experiment with changing the distance from the CD to the paper. What happens? Why?
Whats Going On
White light (like light from the flashlight) is made up of 7 colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). The CD
separates the white light into the 7 colors that make it up, where they then reflect onto the wall. A CD is made of
aluminum (and covered with a clear coat of plastic.) It also has ridges in the metal which the light reflects off of.

7. Exploring Liquid Density with Sensory Bottles

What are sensory bottles?
Sensory bottles (or discovery bottles) are simply empty bottles filled with various materials. They make a fun sensory play
activity for babies, toddlers, and preschools and can even be used to encourage quiet time with children. Theyre really
mesmerizing to look at!
Exploring Liquid Density with Sensory Bottles
Materials for Sensory Bottle Science Experiment

Clear bottle (We used empty, plastic Voss water bottles like these that we found at our local grocery store.)
Water
Oil (vegetable oil or baby oil)
Food coloring
Optional: Super glue
Optional: Free printable recording sheet
Directions for Exploring Liquid Density with Sensory Bottles
1. Fill your bottle about halfway with water. Fill the other half with oil. What happens? Record your observation on the
recording sheet.
2. Be sure your bottle is closed completely and gently shake it a couple of times. Observe what happens over the next few
minutes. Record what you see.
3. Open your bottle and add a few drops of food coloring. What do you notice? Record your observations.
4. Gently shake the bottle a few times and record what you see.

5. What else could you add to your sensory bottle to observe? Try some of the ideas below (or your own idea) and record
your observations on the recording sheet.
Whats Happening?
Oil and water have different densities. Because the oil is less dense it rises above the water. When you add the food
coloring, it only colors the water because it is a water-soluble dye.