Kitchen Science
| What is this unit about? |
| Read this unit and learn fun ways to explore science right in your own kitchen. Kitchen science will use low-cost supplies that you already have on hand. You don't have to be a scientist to explore science with preschool-age children. It's far more important that you make it fun and show the children your curiosity. |  |
| Ask Questions |
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More important than having the answers is having the questions. Learning how to ask and respond to questions is the most important skill you need to teach children science. The best way to respond when a child asks you any question is to ask, "What do you think?" Lis |
ten carefully to what the child says. If you are a good listener, most children will begin exploring their own ideas. Sometimes children figure out an answer to their question all by themselves. Most often, one question leads to another. The best answer to a question that you don't know the answer to is, "Let's find out together." Go to the library and ask the librarian to help you to find a book that explores the topic. This teaches the children the most valuable skill of all - how to find the answer to their own questions. |
Kitchen experiments and concoctions |
| The following kitchen experiments and concoctions offer good hands on learning for older preschool children and should be supervised by an adult. | |
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Dancing Rasins |
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| Use a little chemistry. Let the kids do as much as possible. Here's how: Get a clear plastic drinking glass and fill it about three quarters of the way full of water, and then mix in a tablespoon of baking soda. Stir the mixture until the water becomes clear again. Drop about five raisins into the water. Ask the children what they think will happen when they put the raisins in: Will they sink or float? Say, "Now we're going to put some vinegar in the water mixture. What do you think will happen to the raisins?" Pour four tablespoons of vinegar into the glass. Watch the raisins. (If you need to, you can add more vinegar to get even more action.) How does this work? When baking soda and vinegar are mixed, gas is let off, forming little bubbles in the water. Some of those bubbles stick to the raisins and give the raisins a ride up. |  |
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Peppy Pepper If you spill the pepper, don't sneeze! Here's a neat way to pick it up. Pour some salt and pepper into a shallow bowl and mix them together. Place the scooping end of plastic spoon (with the bottom down) over the salt and pepper. The spoon must be close to the salt and pep per, but not touching. Then take the same spoon and rub it on a wool cloth while you slowly count to 20. Now watch what happens when you hold the spoon over the salt and pepper again. Take a look underneath. The reason this happens is static electricity. Like a magnet, the spoon lifts the light pieces of pepper. It can sometimes pick up the heavier salt grains if you put the spoon really close. Like most static experiments, this will work better on dry days. |
| Getting Set for Cooking |
| Balloon Blowing Machine Can you blow up a balloon without using your mouth? Yes! Start by putting one cup of warm (not hot) water into a container. Then add one packet of active dry yeast. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and mix with a spoon. Pour half into a small narrow-mouth soda bottle and cover the neck of the bottle with a balloon. Leave the other half in an uncovered bowl. Place both containers in a warm place and leave them for an hour or more. Ask the kids what they think will happen. When you come back, take a look at the foam that the yeast and sugar mixture created. Why did this happen? A packet of yeast contains huge numbers of microscopic dried yeast cells. When mixed with water and sugar, the yeast eats the sugar and makes carbon dioxide gas. When you make bread, this gas makes the bread rise. In this experiment it makes the balloon blow up. Just as when making bread, if the water is too hot or too cold, it will kill the yeast and the experiment won't work. These ideas came from Hocus Pocus Stir and Cook: The Kitchen Science Magic Book, by James Lewis, New York , Meadowbrook, 1991. You can find more great ideas in this book. Check your library for other books of fun science experiments you can do at home. |
Kitchen concoctions
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Oobleck:
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If there are any spills, you can wait for the mixture to dry up and change back to powdery cornstarch; then you can sweep or vacuum it up. |
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An old pie tin makes a good container for this. Put it on top of several wet paper towels, on top of your protected table surface. Place ½ cup of cornstarch in the pie tin. Add ¼ cup of water gradually. Check the consistency. This should be a strange mixture: it flows like a liquid, but if you suddenly squeeze, it will feel like a solid. If it is too runny add more cornstarch to the mixture. If you take Oobleck in your hand and squeeze it, you can make a ball, but when you open your hand it will become runny and flow off the sides of your hand and between your fingers. Ask the kids what will happen if you squeeze it. Ask them why it happens. Ask them what it reminds them of. Great fun! |
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This can be messy, so it's best to do this activity outside or to cover floor and table in the kitchen with plastic and then newspaper. Clean up by rolling up the newspapers and putting them into the garbage - do not put any of these mixtures down the sink.  |
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| You can find liquid starch in the laundry section of your grocery store. First, let the children feel the glue with a finger. Ask them what it feels like. Then tell them you are going to add something and it will change the glue. Gradually pour starch into the glue and mix. If the mixture is too sticky, add more starch. Let the children touch the finished product, and ask them how it feels. Ask if they are surprised. |  |
Put 2 teaspoons of baking soda in the film canister and then add 2 teaspoons of vinegar. Quickly put the lid on. Ask the children what they think will happen and watch as the lid is popped off. Add more baking soda and vinegar if needed. Ask the children if they are surprised. |
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Controlling the Mess While the kitchen is a great place for science because it is easier to clean up, if you have some space outside with a table you may want to do some of these messy activities outside. Save cardboard containers like oatmeal boxes to mix messy concoctions in. Then when you are done you can simply put the container in the garbage instead of taking the time and effort to clean it. Cover floors and tabletops: Use an old shower curtain, plastic tablecloth, or garbage bags covered with newspaper. This keeps the surface from getting slippery and prevents wetness from leaking through to make it messy. To make set-up fast and easy, keep your supplies in a box so that you have all the things together when you need them. Use these clean-up tips and don't worry about the mess! |
Summary You can explore kitchen science with children even if you don't know much about science. The two most important abilities are sharing your sense of curiosity and fun, and asking the children good questions such as "What do you think will happen" and "Why do you think it happened?" This can make a great conversation happen among the children as they compare their ideas. When you encourage the children to talk to one another, they learn from each other's ideas. |
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