SciencePreschoolers65 Comments
This is a fun experiment for preschoolers to predict and observe what dissolves in water. You’ll both have fun making predictions!
I’ve mentioned before that Henry’s really been into experiments lately. He’s created his own experiments as well as begs for others to do quite often.
Like I mentioned in the how to become a hands-on parent post, I go to Pinterest for a lot of my ideas.
On a whim when Henry asked for an experiment to do, I checked out my ‘Simple Activities at Home’ board. This post popped up: Does it Dissolve? from Little Bins for Little Hands.
Find out what dissolves in water!
So we set up a dissolve experiment station with stuff from the pantry.
I found a few things in my pantry that might dissolve, along with a few that I knew wouldn’t dissolve:
- Flour
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Orzo Noodles
- Cornmeal
- Oatmeal
- Colored Sprinkles
I started out setting out two pitchers of water. One would be for things that Henry thought might dissolve and the other was for things he didn’t think would “disappear.”
Making predictions is a great critical thinking skill for preschoolers to start developing!
But right off the bat, Henry predicted wrong. We realized how hard it was going to be to tell if the next one dissolved or not.
So, instead, I filled up seven different plastic jars with water. One pitcher for each pantry staple.
I gave Henry a funnel and a couple wooden spoons. And let Henry have at his experiment.
He predicted before pouring in each one if he thought it would dissolve or not. Then we observed to see what happened after he stirred for a bit.
He was wrong a lot. And I’m so glad it didn’t upset him.
He did really like when something changed the color of the water, though.
Some things changed the color or made it foggy, but they still didn’t dissolve.
The sprinkles were, of course, the most fun to watch.
They changed the color of the water, but the sprinkles didn’t dissolve.
I had a hard time choosing what to use for our experiment. I’m curious what other items we’d have to ‘test’ out.
What items in your pantry would you use in this experiment?
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abbi says
Cotton candy would be mind blowing!
Amber says
Very fun experiment. my 3 y.o. And I brought the experiment outside, and filled some jars up with lemon-lime soda. Than looked at the diff reactions. Some things make it foam and overflow.
Kayla says
So I absolutely love the idea of doing a science project for my preschooler! I’m going to try this today :)
sarah says
what if you add to it and change the water temperature since this would allow more item to dissolve
Khekhe says
Thank you so much! I now have ideas for my son’s e perimeter at school!
Valerie says
How long did It take to see the outcome? want to do this during my presentation in class but due to time limitation not sure if I will have enough time to wait (:
Trang says
Your posts are so helpful! Thank you for sharing all the great ideas which I can do with my 38 month-old girl from now on.
Roberta Bardin says
I to love this, as a student I have to find ideas for weekly activity plans and theses were awesome, I will be sharing you with my clss
emily lavalley says
does it have to be hot water?
Jamie Reimer says
No, not at all. We just did lukewarm water out of the faucet.
Jane says
I also LOVED the idea of dissolving tests with younger science minds, particularly in the rich prediction piece. I would also suggest Alka Seltzer tablets (even pieces of it) and biodegradable packing peanuts (these corn-based, eco-friendly foamy pieces dissolve in water and leave a distinctly corny smell as they dissolve in water) and as other test materials. Sprinkles are a GREAT idea!
Brandi says
Hi! I am new to your site…I love what I have read thus far! :) I have a daughter who just turned 4, and a son who will be 1 next week…
I am going to try this experiment with my daughter this week…thanks for the fun idea! :)
Amanda P. says
Thank you for the great idea, Jamie and Cara. I’m planning a water lesson for our homeschooling co-op (preK-2nd grade), and although the kids love it, I’m so tired of doing “Sink or Float?” experiments and food coloring experiments. This is a fresh idea that I haven’t come across on the hundreds of homeschooling and teaching websites I scan for ideas. So easy to throw together, cheap/free, and engages the children in real discovery. = Simple genius. :)
If you don’t mind, I might do a write-up about this on my own blog when I run the program with my kids. I’ll throw credit your way.
My list of pantry ingredients I plan on using, in addition to your suggestions:
Koolaid
Jello
cocoa powder
rice
broken up spaghetti
goldfish crackers
bits of torn bread
marshmallows
Samanta says
I really love this page when I showed it to my mom she was like surprised and said wow i love this page for u and every time I do a science project now i dont waste my time in other websites and just go here my 4th grade teacher was surprised about my science project
Cara says
I love your blog, so I was so thrilled to see you mention my post about our experiment. The Little Apple LOVES this activity, and we’ve done it many times. Great choice using colored sprinkles, by the way! I will definitely be including those next time. And I think for the youngest kids, setting up a cup/bowl of water for each substance is probably the best way to go. That way it doesn’t get all muddled, and they can stir stir stir! Happy Wednesday!
Christina says
I love this! My 4 year old is going to really enjoy it!
Jamie says
Would love to hear how it goes!
Rachelle | TinkerLab says
I love how you set this up with the canning funnel, and made it a real experiment for the kids to test and figure out. If you were to do it again you could try asking them what they’d like to test. Now that they’ve done it once they might have some ideas about what would and wouldn’t dissolve. Otherwise, a few more ideas: yeast, brown sugar, salt (various kinds).
Jamie says
I really like that suggestion Rachelle – to get the kids involved in choosing the ingredients and seeing what they think will happen with them.
Veronica says
That’s a great science experiment I’ll have to book mark for as my daughter get’s into Kindergarten and 1st grade. We love fun hands on activities like these. Thanks for sharing.