The exciting world of science. Every kid in the entire world should be interested in this subject.
It teaches some of the fundamental lessons necessary to understand future complex concepts and provides children with a better understanding of the world.
The thing is, not every kid enjoys staying still while listening to these concepts. They want to have fun and move their bodies and use their hands.
We’re here to combine education and fun by providing you with the best science games for kids. Let’s get started.
Science Games for Kids
Kids stay engaged longer when they’re interested in what they’re doing. If you make learning a fun activity, they’ll definitely learn.
Here’s a list of games that should help with that:
1. Play-Doh Solar System
Even at an early age, we are already interested in space, stars, and planets. That’s why the Play-Doh Solar System is an interesting way to teach your kid about the solar system.
First, you need to grab a pack of Play-Doh. Show your kid a picture of the planets and moons in our solar system and ask them to reconstruct them using Play-Doh.
For instance, your child can use blue and green to represent the Earth, red for Mars, blue for Neptune, and so on.
Once your child finishes all the planets, you need to align them according to their order in our solar system.
Then, you can go over each of the planets and mention different facts about them and what makes them unique.
For example, you can mention how scientists are currently determining whether or not we have neighboring life forms on Mars or how long it takes Pluto to revolve around the sun.
2. Paper Airplanes
Who would’ve thought that this childhood pastime was actually an excellent way to teach kids about the concept of aerodynamics?
The best part is that you only need several sheets of paper. First, you have to teach your kid how to make paper airplanes.
Since paper airplanes behave differently in the air, explain aerodynamic concepts like gravity, lifting, thrusting, and dragging to your kid.
Additionally, flying paper airplanes can be an avenue to teach your kid about the dynamics of pressure and velocity. You can also hold a contest on which airplane will fly the farthest.
3. Racing Ramp
For this activity, you will need several objects with different shapes, sizes, and weights. However, all of them should be capable of rolling down a ramp.
Next, you need to build a ramp. You can easily do this with various household materials like cardboard or a chopping board.
Ask your kid to roll the objects down the ramp and observe how each object behaves differently.
Then, talk to them about how the objects’ weight, size, shape, and even the force they apply to them affect their behaviors.
This exciting game is an excellent opportunity for you to teach your kid about weight and speed.
4. Color Chemistry
For this activity, you will need a glass of milk, a small plate, Q-Tips, and food coloring.
First, pour a few drops of milk into the small plate. Next, drop two different colors of food coloring into the milk.
Give your kid a Q-Tip and ask them to mix everything.
This activity will teach your kid how different colors mix to create a new color, like how red and green make yellow or red and blue make violet.
5. Water Bottle Bazooka
All you need for this activity is an empty water bottle. First, close the water bottle using its cap to trap the air inside.
Next, twist the lower half of the water bottle to compress the air and push all the molecules to the upper half of the bottle.
Slowly open the cap, releasing all the pressure inside and propelling the cap outward. Be very careful not to hit anyone or anything with it.
Upon doing so, the molecules will also assume a cloud-like appearance. You can use this activity to teach your kids how pressure affects the behavior of certain things.
Make sure that you also explain to them what’s happening to the molecules when you’re twisting the bottle’s lower half.
6. Secret Message
For this game, you will need grape juice, baking soda, Q-Tips, a brush, a piece of paper, and two small bowls.
Tell your kids that you’re going to write an invisible “secret message” on the paper, and if they can find out what it is, they’d get a reward.
To do this, pour ⅓ cup of baking soda into the small bowl, followed by ⅓ cup of water. Mix them together until they form a glue-like substance.
Then, grab a Q-Tip and dip it into the bowl. Once it’s wet, write a secret word on the paper. Continue dipping the Q-Tip into the bowl to get more of the substance when necessary.
While waiting for it to dry, grab the second bowl and pour grape juice into it. Then, ask your kids to dip the brush into the grape juice and paint over the “secret message.”
This should darken the word on the paper written with the baking soda.
You can use this activity to teach your kid about the relationship between acids and bases. The baking soda used in this activity is a base, while the grape juice is acidic.
7. Air Hockey Balloon
You can play this game on top of your dining table. All you need is a glue gun, a bottle cap, an old CD, and a balloon.
First, make a small hole at the center of the bottle cap before gluing it face down right in the middle of the CD where its hole is.
Next, inflate the balloon and use its opening to cover the entire bottle cap. Doing so should cause the air to flow into the hole of the bottle cap and right underneath the CD.
This significantly reduces the friction between the CD and the dining table.
Play with your kid by pushing the balloon from their side to your side. If the balloon loses all its air while on your side of the table, you lose.
This activity is extremely fun and will teach your kid the concept of air pressure and friction.
8. Balloon Hover Game
You can play this simple activity with your kid to learn about aerodynamics and air pressure.
You will need a pair of scissors, a CD (optional), colored paper, tape, two plastic straws with bendable ends, a pencil, and two balloons.
Grab a piece of colored paper and place the CD on top of it. Use the pencil and trace the CD to draw a circle on the paper.
Next, mark the center of the circle using the center hole of the CD. Cut the circle using a pair of scissors.
Then, cut a straight line from the edge of the circle to the center mark. This should allow you to make a cone out of the colored paper cutout.
Use the tape to secure the cone, so it doesn’t slide to the sides. Flip the cone over and cut the tip just small enough so that the plastic straws can fit.
Insert the bendable end of the plastic straw into the hole at the tip of the cone. Then, using tape, secure the straws. Make sure you don’t flatten the straw as you do so.
Inflate the balloons and place them inside the cones. Finally, blow air into the cone from the other side of the straw to lift the balloons.
The one who can keep the balloon in the air longer wins the game.
9. I Spy
I Spy is the best way to go if you’re looking for a science game where you don’t need to prepare anything. It’s basically a verbal guessing game where you and your kid take turns.
First, you have to observe your surroundings and find a specific object. Don’t let your kid know what it is yet.
Then, you need to describe it using your five senses. For example, if the object you chose is the TV, you just say, “I spy something rectangular.”
Your kid will then observe the surroundings and look for something rectangular.
If they guess incorrectly, you must add another hint like “I spy something noisy.” (If the TV is turned on.)
The game continues until your kid has guessed the object. Once they do so successfully, you will be the next person to guess the object your kid chooses.
This game improves your kid’s observation and classification skills, which are integral in studying science.
10. Build-a-Building
This is a relatively easy science game because you only need a box of toothpicks and a pack of chewing gum. Instruct your child to build a structure using only these materials.
The toothpicks are the structure’s pillars and support, while the chewing gum will connect one toothpick to the other.
Of course, your kid doesn’t have to chew the gum, as this could be extremely messy and unsanitary.
Tell your kid that the structure should be sturdy and tall. Then, you can use a small piece of cardboard to try and knock the structure to the ground by fanning it.
If you have a couple of kids, you can make this even more exciting by challenging them to each build the tallest structure they can using only the materials.
This activity is a great way to develop your child’s engineering skills.
11. Lego Maze
Did you know that you can teach your child basic coding with just a sheet of paper, a marker, a pair of scissors, and Legos?
To do this, grab a sheet of paper and draw a maze on it. It can be as simple or as intricate as you want, as long as it’s solvable.
Next, grab another sheet of paper and write different “codes” like “turn right,” “turn left,” “go forward,” and “go backward.”
Cut the codes and give them to your child. Place a Lego figure at the starting line of the maze and ask your child to complete the maze by giving you the codes one at a time.
For example, if your child gives you the code “go forward,” you have to move the Lego figure one step forward before giving the code back to your child.
This activity teaches your child that the right “code” can make inanimate objects move, complete puzzles, and solve equations.
12. Flying Rocket Ship
This one takes a bit of time, but we promise you (and your kid) that it’s absolutely worth it.
To do this, you need an empty plastic bottle, three pencils, a funnel, tape, a cork, baking soda, and vinegar.
First, grab the empty bottle and attach the pencils evenly to its sides. The pencils will function as the rocket’s “feet” or launching pad. You can also use popsicle sticks if you want.
If you want to make it more realistic, add some designs to the empty bottle to make it look more like a rocket ship.
Then, replace the bottle cap with the cork and make sure that it tightly seals the bottle. You can also add a layer of tape to the edge of the cork to make it a better fit.
Once you’re done building the rocket ship, go outside and look for a safe area. Open the bottle and fill at least ¼ of it with vinegar.
Grab the funnel and pour some baking soda before quickly sealing it with the cork. Turn the bottle upside down and watch it fly into the air.
You can also make this a game and build two or several rockets to see which one will fly the highest.
This game teaches your kid the chemical reaction between substances, how they create pressure inside the bottle, and how fun science can be!
Just be sure that you do it in a safe and empty environment.
13. NASA Space Games
If your kid loves outer space and video games, you can find numerous computer games developed by NASA online.
Through games like Explore Mars, Relay, and CubeSat Builder, your kid can explore outer space and even build a NASA spacecraft!
What agency is better equipped to create space learning games than NASA, right?
Bring Out the Scientist in Your Kid!
Every child is a scientist. They are innately curious and driven to explore and ask questions that even adults sometimes ponder.
As parents, teachers, or adults, it is our job to satisfy their curiosity. There’s no better way to do that than by keeping them interested.
With this list of the best science games for kids, we look forward to seeing your child grow into a natural scientist, answering questions through experiments.