In order to bring processes in the natural sciences biology, chemistry and physics closer to children, you can carry out small experiments in kindergarten. In addition to quick tests, you can also plan a long-term project.
What you need:
- plant seeds
- possibly tadpoles or caterpillars
- Water
- Salt
- Prisma
- magnet holder
Small experiments in the field of biology
- Grow plants with the kids to show them the process of growth. The easiest and fastest way to do this is with cress. Cress seeds don’t even need soil. A paper kitchen towel that is always kept damp is sufficient as a base. The germs sprout after just a few days and the children can monitor the growth every day. Such growth experiments are also possible with flower seeds. Germination and growth take much longer, but the children are rewarded with the first flower. Later you can plant the flowers you have raised in the kindergarten garden with the children. And since these are “own products”, these plants will certainly continue to attract attention.
- Obtain tadpoles or caterpillars from a pet shop and inquire about the rearing conditions (temperature, food). To keep the animals you need a large transparent plastic container or a small aquarium. There is certainly a place for this in the kindergarten . Both animal species are very well suited to teaching children about the process of metamorphosis. The tadpoles, for example, eventually get legs and the tail disappears more and more until finally a frog emerges. The ugly caterpillars will retreat into a cocoon and reappear as beautiful butterflies.
chemistry in kindergarten
- Every substance that exists can take three different forms. Solid, liquid and gaseous states of aggregation. A substance can change its appearance again and again due to temperature changes. For experiments in kindergarten, you can best demonstrate this principle with water. Ice from the freezer melts at room temperature and turns into steam when heated on a stove. The steam condenses on the window, for example, cools down and then becomes liquid again.
- There are apparently uniform substances that in reality consist of different substances. Fill a glass about halfway with water and add 2-3 tablespoons of salt. Mix well until everything is dissolved. Now the glass has to be left standing until the water has evaporated and the salt remains as a whitish crust on the bottom of the glass. A taste test will show the children that it is really salt.
Physical experiments in kindergarten
- Demonstrate with a prism, for example a cut glass block, that sunlight actually consists of many different types of rays, which only together result in bright light. Use this to explain how a rainbow is formed. This is one of the simplest experiments in kindergarten.
- With simple magnet holders, you can show children the power of magnetism through its plus and minus poles. The magnets will stick to metallic surfaces, like a fridge, but they can’t be brought together. If you remove the magnets from the holders, the children will find out during their experiments that certain sides of the magnets attract or repel each other and thus better understand the principle of the different poles. They can also find out which metal objects are attracted by magnets, such as paper clips.
