Science Experiments for 6-Year-Olds

A six-year-old can do something a four-year-old cannot: hold a prediction in mind, test it, and compare. That makes this a lovely age for real experiments. They still need an adult for pouring, cutting and anything hot, and they still want to move quickly, so keep each activity short.

Anyone teaching a child this age can use these: parents, grandparents, nannies, tutors or a small group. None needs special equipment, and nothing should be tasted.

A simple routine

Draw three boxes on a page: Guess, Try, Notice. Your child draws or writes in each. Younger writers can say it aloud while you scribble. Over a few experiments they will start using the pattern on their own.

1. Which paper towel soaks up the most?

Lay out two or three types of paper towel or kitchen paper. Cut equal squares, hold each over a cup and add water from a spoon, counting spoonfuls until the paper drips. Same size, same spoon, same cup: that is a fair test, and it is worth saying aloud. Record the count for each.

2. Does it dissolve?

Put 100 ml (a small glass) of water into each of four clear cups. Add a spoonful of sugar to one, salt to another, sand to a third and flour to the fourth. Stir for a count of twenty. Which ones seem to disappear? Which stay cloudy or settle? Do not taste. Ask where the sugar went.

3. Make it rain in a jar

Put about 3 cm (1 in) of warm tap water into a clear jar. Warm from the tap, not boiled. Put a small plate or lid on top, then place ice cubes on the lid. Within a few minutes drops form on the underside and fall back. This is a tiny water cycle. The lesson Can you make a mini water cycle? extends it for older children.

4. Paper bridge

Place two books 15 cm (6 in) apart and lay a sheet of paper across the gap. Put small objects such as coins on it. It sags. Now fold the same paper into a pleated fan and try again. Folding makes it much stronger. Ask: “What did folding change?” Count how many coins each shape holds.

5. Sound you can see

Stretch cling film or a thin plastic bag over a bowl and fasten it with a rubber band. Sprinkle a pinch of dry rice on top. Hold a metal tray or pot near it and tap it with a spoon, or call loudly, and watch the rice jump. Sound is a vibration. Our lesson Can you see a sound? is built on this.

6. Plant a bean

Put a dried bean between a damp paper towel and the glass of a clear jar, so you can see it. Keep the towel damp. Draw it every day or two. Ask what the bean needs and what you could change to test it, for example light versus dark, or water versus none.

How much to help

Let your child pour and measure, even if it spills.
Hold back from fixing mistakes straight away.
Say what you see before you say what it means. “The salt is gone from sight” is better than “it dissolved” until they have noticed it first.

When it does not work

Sometimes nothing happens. A tower falls, the rice does not move, the beans do not sprout. Say, “That is useful. What should we change?” Our post on what to do when your child’s experiment fails has more.

A short way to finish

Ask one question: “What was the most surprising thing?” Write down their answer in their own words and keep a folder. After a few weeks it becomes a record they will enjoy reading back.

Where to go next

For more at this age, try first science experiments for kindergarten, the lesson on which material keeps the rain out, and our parents page for how the lessons are laid out.