Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids

Your kitchen is a science lab waiting to happen. With baking soda, vinegar, food coloring and a few other everyday ingredients, children can explore reactions, density, plants and more. These experiments are safe, simple and exciting, with explanations to help children understand what's going on.

Safety first

• A grown-up should supervise every experiment.
• Never taste experiments unless you know they're food-safe.
• Protect eyes when mixing reactive ingredients.
• Wash hands afterwards.
• Do messy experiments on a tray or outside.

15 kitchen science experiments

1. Baking soda volcano

You need: baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, food coloring, a cup.

Put 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a cup, add a squirt of dish soap and food coloring, then pour in vinegar. It fizzes and foams!

Why: baking soda (a base) reacts with vinegar (an acid) and makes carbon dioxide gas.

2. Rainbow walking water

You need: six cups, water, food coloring, paper towels.

Fill every other cup with colored water (red, yellow, blue). Fold paper towels and connect the cups. Wait a few hours.

Why: water travels up the paper towel through tiny gaps (capillary action), and colors mix in the empty cups.

3. Dancing raisins

You need: fizzy water, raisins, a clear glass.

Drop raisins in the glass and watch them rise and fall.

Why: bubbles stick to the raisins and lift them up. At the top, the bubbles pop and the raisins sink again.

4. Magic milk

You need: milk, food coloring, dish soap, a cotton bud.

Pour milk into a plate, add drops of food coloring, then touch the middle with a soapy cotton bud. Colors swirl!

Why: soap breaks the surface tension and reacts with fat in the milk.

5. Oil and water

You need: oil, water, food coloring, a clear jar.

Pour water and oil into the jar. Add food coloring. What happens?

Why: oil is less dense than water and doesn't mix with it.

6. Lava lamp

Add a fizzy vitamin tablet (or a pinch of baking soda and a splash of vinegar) to the oil and water jar. Colored bubbles rise and fall.

7. Sink or float

Test fruit and vegetables in water. Does an orange float with its peel? Without its peel?

Why: the peel has tiny air pockets that help it float.

8. Egg in salt water

An egg sinks in fresh water but floats in very salty water.

Why: salt water is denser than fresh water.

9. Growing crystals

Dissolve as much salt or sugar as you can in hot water, pour into a jar and hang a string in it. Wait a few days.

Why: as water evaporates, crystals form on the string.

10. Red cabbage indicator

Chop red cabbage and soak it in hot water (grown-up job). Strain the purple liquid. Add lemon juice (turns pink) or baking soda (turns green or blue).

Why: cabbage juice changes color with acids and bases.

11. Butter in a jar

Shake cream in a sealed jar for 10–15 minutes until butter forms.

Why: shaking makes fat particles stick together.

12. Color-changing celery

Put celery stalks in colored water. After a day, the leaves change color.

Why: plants pull water up through tiny tubes.

13. Ice and salt

Sprinkle salt on ice and watch it melt faster. Put a string on an ice cube, sprinkle salt and lift the cube with the string after a minute.

Why: salt lowers the freezing point of water.

14. Bread mould (observation)

Put a slice of bread in a sealed bag and watch over a week. (Don't open the bag; throw it away sealed.)

Why: mould grows from tiny spores in the air.

15. Yeast balloon

Mix warm water, sugar and yeast in a bottle, stretch a balloon over the top and wait.

Why: yeast eats sugar and makes carbon dioxide, which inflates the balloon.

Recording results

Encourage children to:

• Draw the experiment setup.
• Predict what will happen.
• Record results with pictures, words or graphs.
• Explain what they learned.

Ideas by age

Ages 3–5: volcanoes, sink or float, color mixing, magic milk.

Ages 6–8: walking water, celery, crystals, lava lamps.

Ages 9–11: cabbage indicator, yeast balloons, egg density and designing their own experiments.

See also: STEM activities at home.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Explaining before they try. Let them predict and observe first.
• Skipping safety. Supervise every experiment.
• Worrying about mess. Use a tray and old clothes.

Frequently asked questions

What's the easiest kitchen science experiment for preschoolers?

The baking soda volcano or sink or float.

Are these experiments safe?

Yes, with grown-up supervision and common sense.

How do I explain science to young kids?

Keep explanations short and simple, and let them observe and ask questions.

How do I clean up after experiments?

Work on a tray, keep a towel nearby and wipe spills quickly. Vinegar and baking soda clean up easily with water.