AW2.1: Investigate properties of air and water (in all three states of…

Earth and Sky at Home Grades K–5

Make a rainbow on the kitchen floor, grow crystals on a windowsill and build a cloud in a jar. Three classic home experiments that actually work, with the real science explained for grown-ups.

• Where do rainbows come from? 45 min, plus 10 min outside on a sunny day

  Children split sunlight into colours with a glass of water, test whether the water is what makes the rainbow, and make their own rainbow with a hose mist. They finish able to explain that white light is a mix of colours that water bends apart.

• How do crystals grow? 40 min to set up, then 5 min a day for 5 to 7 days

  Children watch the grown-up make strong salt, Epsom salt and sugar solutions, set out dishes and a string, then check them every day for a week. They finish able to explain that crystals form when dissolved particles line up as the water leaves.

• How does a cloud form? 40 min

  Children watch the grown-up set up two jars of hot water with ice on top, add a wisp of smoke to one, and compare the clouds. They finish able to explain that clouds form when moist air cools and water collects on tiny specks.

Winter Science at Home Grades K–5

Make frost on the outside of a can, race ice cubes with salt and sugar, lift an ice cube with a piece of string, and look inside a real snowflake. Three kitchen-table winter experiments that actually work, with the real science explained for grown-ups.

• Can you make frost in a can? 40 min

  Children crush ice, pack it into two cans, add salt to one, and watch water and then frost appear on the outside. They finish able to explain that the water and frost came out of the air, not through the can.

• Why does salt melt ice? 40 min

  Children race three ice cubes covered in salt, sugar and nothing, then use a pinch of salt to lift an ice cube out of a glass with a piece of string. They finish able to explain that salt melts ice by mixing into the water, and that it makes the ice colder, not warmer.

• What's inside a snowflake? 45 min on a snowy day, or 40 min plus overnight without snow

  Children catch falling snowflakes on a chilled dark cloth and look at them with a magnifier, or, with no snow, look at freezer frost and grow crystals on a pipe-cleaner snowflake overnight. They finish able to explain that a snowflake is an ice crystal grown from water vapour, and why it has six sides.

Printable practice for AW2.1

These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to AW2.1 is partial.

• Winter Science at Home workbook included with the unit

  2 English-support pages, 1 word wall, 1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

Need just this outcome? Build a custom pack from these pages, with its answer key, in about a minute. Custom packs come with All-access and school licences.