VanCleave's Science Fun

Your Guide to Science Projects, Fun Experiments, and Science Research

MATH: Measuring

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Young children generally do not understand fractions, but they know when they are given the smaller piece when a candy bar is divided. I love the idea of letting one child divide a candy bar and the other gets to pick his or her portion. What a great way to encourage kids to learn about […]

Apple Slice With Star

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Dried apples have unusual, but very interesting characteristics. Discover For Yourself Ask an adult to cut an apple in half, cutting across the apple as shown in the diagram. 1. Allow one-half of the apple to dry. Place the apple piece near a window so that it receives direct sunlight if possible. Place something, such […]

Types of Salt

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Sodium Chloride is a compound made of two elements, sodium and chlorine. The common name for sodium chloride is  Table Salt. There are different varieties of table salt. Some differ in additives, while others differ in how they are processed, which affects their texture. Table Salt (iodized) Most table salt in the United States is […]

Stone Soup Activity

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Stone Soup is a wonderful story to encourage kids to share with each other. The video is one version of the story “Stone Soup.” Another tells of a solder who set up a cooking pot outdoors. He added water and a stone to the pot and started a fire beneath the pot. Periodically he would […]

Saturated Solution

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Question from Anthony & Glynnis How many Alkaseltzer tablets can dissolve in water? Facts to Consider: AlkaSeltzer + water produces water + salt + carbon dioxide gas The carbon dioxide gas escapes leaving the salt dissolved in the water, this is called a salt solution. Saturated Salt Solution = A solution made by adding salt […]

Extract Red Cabbage Juice

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How to Prepare Red Cabbage pH Indicator While the cabbage shown is definitely purple, it is commonly called RED cabbage. With that out-of-the-way, I have a brand new way to extract the colored juice from this cabbage. FREEZE IT!! This was one of those serendipitous discovery. Not wanting to discard an old partial head of […]

Challenge 1: Separate Salt and Sand

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This challenge is to separate and collect the individual parts of a mixture. Make the Mixture: Combine equal amounts of table salt and sand. One-fourth cup of each will work. Teacher Tip: Be sure to use sand and not dirt. Part of the dirt will dissolve. You want only sand, which does not dissolve in […]