1 \ Bridge Building. This activity is a true test of engineering! Start by collecting different types of pasta like spaghetti, lasagna, or linguini. To connect the pieces of pasta you can use marshmallows, gumdrops, or other sticky candies. Let your children build their own bridges using the candies and pasta, then see whose can hold the most weight. Add matchbox cars or toy figurines on the bridge to see how much it can hold until it breaks!
2 \ Hover Craft Races. Organize a hover car race! This lesson in surface area and aerodynamics is sure to be fun for all ages. To build your cars you will need a balloon, a CD/DVD, hot glue, and the lid of a dish soup bottle. Start by gluing the lid to the CD, snap the part that seals it off. Then inflate the balloon, pinching it to hold in the air, put the mouth of the balloon over the lid. Put your creation on the ground, let go, and watch your hover craft take off! Your kids can race their creations, or giggle all day watching them zoom around the floor. They can keep inflating the balloons to play over and over.
3 \ Paper Bag Lungs. This fun lesson in biology will teach your littles about human bodies and lung capacity. You will need two straws and two paper lunch bags per kid, and some tape to seal the straws. Start by letting your kids decorate their lungs (paper bags) with veins. Lastly tape the straws onto the paper bags, sealing the bags completely into the straws. Your kids can now see how lung inflate! Blow into the straws and see their lungs fill up. Then can also test their lung capacity by taking a deep breath in, and exhaling into the straws to see how much the bags inflate. Does mom have bigger lung capacity than little brother? Let them explore different ideas.
4 \ Explore Osmosis. This fun and colorful experiment will teach your littles about the process of osmosis. They will be amazed watching flowers and veggies change color right before their eyes. For this experiment you will need white carnations, or a celery stalk with leaves, glass jars to fit these items, and food coloring. Create jars of different colors using water and generous amounts of food coloring, 15-20 drops at least, the more coloring the faster you will see changes in the leaves. Trim the bottom off the celery stalk or carnations to expose a fresh cut, then put them in the colored water jars. Over the next 2-24 hours watch osmosis take place as the colored water travels up the stem!
5 \ Build Race Car Ramps. This lesson in velocity and momentum is sure to bring lots of fun along with it. Gather supplies such as cardboard, hotwheels tracks, or wood around your home to build ramps. Let your kids see how different ramps effect the speed of their cars. If you make a steeper tamp does the car go faster? Do materials effect the velocity of your car? Let them find the answers for themselves.
