National Science Day: Try these Kindergarten DIY activities

Hello, young learners. We are happy that you have enjoyed making really interesting objects like a bird feeder and a kite in our previous editions. 

Today being National Science Day, our neighbourhood scientist Kiki asked me to think of some activities that are science-based. So, let’s explore two activities that are fun and easy to make, that too with things that you can mostly find at home. As an added bonus, you can learn science through them! 

Before we get started with the activities, you need to remember to have an adult nearby to guide you and help with some difficult steps.

Are you excited? Here we go!

Experiment 1 – Germination

One of the first science lessons you will learn is about how to grow plants, a process that’s called germination!

Things you need:

• Soil 
• A round plastic plate of 8 to 10 cm radius or a pot for the plant
• Seeds of wheat grass
• A glass of water
• Gloves (optional)

Procedure:

1. Take half of the soil and spread it evenly on the plate. Make sure an adult helps you out. Make sure you wear gloves while doing it. 

2. Sow all the seeds on the soil, spread it well. P.S: We use wheat grass because it grows fast! You can use any seed – especially sprouts – or mustard, which grow quickly.

3. Spread the rest of the soil on top of the seeds. Mix it well.

4. Water the seeds. Pour enough water so that it’s damp and not too wet!

5. Keep the plate/pot in the sun and wait for two days. Ensure you water it everyday. 

Little plants will begin to grow! You can also measure the height with the scale everyday and have a growth tracker!

Lesson Learnt:

• Plants grow from seeds.
• Seeds need water, sunlight and some nutrients from the soil.
• When they receive these three important elements, plants begin to sprout!

Experiment 2 – Sink and Float

It’s surely fun to play with water isn’t it? How does this idea sound: you play with water and learn some science from the activity!

Let’s get ready for a fun session of ‘Sink or Float’. 

Things needed:

• Any object – a ball, toy car or toy animals of different sizes. Avoid toys that absorb water. 
• A tub full of water
• A pen and paper

Procedure:

1. On the piece of paper, ask the adult to make two columns with the names ‘ SINK’ and ‘FLOAT’

2. Keep the toys and objects ready

3. In the tub filled with water (ensure it is not FULL), the child must drop all the objects, one at a time. 

4. When you drop the first object, take 20 seconds to observe if the object floats or sinks. Write the name of the object under the respective column.5. Drop all the objects you have kept and find out which of those sink and which float.

Lessons Learnt:

• In water, heavier (denser) objects sink
• In water, lighter objects float
• Objects sink or float because water underneath them push them up or pull them down. To test this, try pushing the lighter objects deep into the tub of water and remove your hand. The objects will jump right up and begin to float

Did you have fun while learning some important concepts in science? Please share your experience in comments or in an email to storyweavers@byjus.com. We will be happy to see some photos or videos too. 

Liked these activities. Try these too

Make your own bird feeder

Make your own kite