The recent solar eclipse in North America had the media all abuzz with space related facts and
stories – there’s no better time to start introducing your little one to science and all its wonders.
The best kind of learning is hands on so why not get them involved and have them create their
own experiments?

10 Fun Science Projects for Babies:

There are many scientific crafts and DIY experiments that will have your child
learning and having fun, all while leaving them with a sense of accomplishment at the end. Here
are 10 enjoyable science projects brought to you by First Baby Laptop that you can do with even the littlest hands. Get your baby started on education and technology! White lab coat and goggles optional!

Pinhole projector

This activity was all the rage during the solar eclipse but pinhole projectors can be used for a
different purpose. Plus, this experiment can be done indoors. Find the instructions and the
science here . With your finished projector, you’ll just aim the pinhole at a light source in a dark
room (a lamp or bright window) and you should see an upside down shadow of the scene.
Requiring few materials and little assembly, this activity is perfect for any age. Younger ones will
enjoy the effects of the projected image and older ones can join in with actually making the
projector and discussing the science behind it.

Eclipse edition

It’s going to be a little while until we see the next solar eclipse depending where you are in the
world, but this one is worth bookmarking as it’s fun for all ages. To view the eclipse, it can be as
simple as poking a hole into one piece of paper and projecting the image onto another. But you
can even make it a little more fun and get your child’s breakfast involved! This short video
explains how to make an eclipse viewer using a cereal box and a few other household items.

Fizzing colors

Another visually appealing experiment that you can try with even the youngest of kids is
combining baking soda, vinegar and a splash of color. When baking soda mixes with acidic
vinegar, it creates a fizzing, bubbling reaction. This is enough to amaze your little ones, but
adding a pop of color makes this an exciting art-science project for all ages. Check out this great
idea for mixing fizzy reactions with vibrant colors.

Color changing milk

Another colorful reaction experiment that you can try is color changing milk. You just drop some
food coloring into milk, dip a Q-tip into liquid soap and then dip it into the milk. If you dip it where
the colors are touching and leave it in place for about 10 seconds, you’ll see how the colors
move away from the Q-tip and swirl around into one another. Get the instructions here .

Melting ice with salt

One of the fundamentals of science is the different properties of water and how to change those
properties, i.e through boiling or melting. It’s a great idea to start introducing your children to
these elements from a young age.

Instead of using hot water to melt ice, which can be dangerous, a safer experiment is to melt
salt with ice. With a little food coloring, you can demonstrate how salt melts ice while
encouraging your child to get creative. Get your little scientist experimenting with the way that
salt melts ice while creating pretty patterns. You can find some great inspiration for this project
here and here .

Fishing for ice

The fishing for ice task is a great simulator for little ones as you can show them what happens
before and after adding salt to ice. You just pop some ice cubes into cold water and dangle
string into the water, your little one will notice that the string just floats around the ice. When
they add the salt in, they’ll get a fun surprise as the ice sticks to the string and they can ‘fish’ it
out. Check out the full instructions here .

Float or sink

Perfect for all ages, easy to do and you can use any household items for this. All you need to do
is fill a container with water and grab some different items, it’s recommended to use items that
will dry out easily. Have your little one drop them into the water – this in itself should provide
endless amusement! But you can spark their curiosity even further by pointing out the fact that
some items float at the top and some sink to the bottom. They can even use their own toys
making it personal to them. This article has some recommendations for materials that sort-of
float and sort-of sink to get your little one thinking even more in depth about this experiment.

Homemade thermometer

A great activity for kids who are starting to understand a little more about temperature. You can
have your child help you to make the thermometer and then show them how it reacts to
exposure to different temperatures. As suggested here , you could pop the thermometer into hot
water or ice water to show how the solution moves up and down. Click the link for instructions
on how to make the thermometer with a few simple bits and bobs.

Ocean in a bottle

If you didn’t make it to the beach this summer, introduce your little one to the ocean by bringing
the beach to you! It takes just four components to make an ocean in a bottle; a bottle, water,
cooking oil and food coloring. By following these instructions, you can create an ocean scene
and teach your child all about the properties of oil and why it separates from water. To make the
ocean scene even more authentic, you could pop some seaweed, stones and even plastic fish
inside; a mouthwash bottle or any bottle with a wide rim is best if you want to do this.

Homemade snow globe

A fabulous activity for all ages is creating a snow globe. It’s super simple to make and you can
adapt it to be personal to your little one. They can stick something that they are interested in
inside the globe – dinosaurs, animals, plants, which is a great opportunity to educate them about
the science behind their interests.

You can put the emphasis on the experimental angle by having them investigate why the ‘snow’
falls and try out the best materials for achieving this effect, instructions are here and here . Or
get a little more in depth about mass and density with this post. Even if they aren’t involved in
making the snow globe, you’ll still have a toy that’s very stimulating for babies too!

The post Science Activities for 1-2 Year Old Babies appeared first on First Baby Laptop.