Density experiments are asked for on a fairly regular basis around here. I don't think my son realizes this is school stuff. Every now and then on a Sunday evening he will ask me if he can mix a bunch of stuff together in a bowl. I try to say yes as much as possible except when he wants to pour half a bottle of honey into a bowl of vinegar. That's when frugal mom radar goes flying up and I have to think quick. Last time he asked for one of these experiments I was thrilled that I already had a plan in place from a site I found while perusing Pinterest. E is for Explore is this fabulous website filled with cool yet simple-to-implement science and math experiments. And that is where I found a layering experiment video we could follow along and do at home that would not use up the next morning's milk supply.
We altered the amounts of the individual ingredients to fit into a half pint-sized mason jar and skipped the liquids I didn't have on hand. (maple syrup and dish soap) My example shows what happens if you don't follow the instructions exactly. Don't you just love it when someone does that for you? You see the middle section of ours where it looks all white but has a fading color going up through it? That shows where we tried to pour the liquids down the side of the jar as instructed but forgot to use the turkey baster. It really does make a difference using the turkey baster. We also dropped solid objects in like the video suggests. You can see the die floating at the top of the bottom layer if you look very carefully at the top picture. Now that the kids have done this experiment with a plan of order and instructions, I think we'll try it again next time my son asks to pour a bunch of stuff into a bowl. Except, I'll let him choose the liquids and try to place them in order by density to see what he remembers.
Density experiments are asked for on a fairly regular basis around here. I don't think my son realizes this is school stuff. Every now and then on a Sunday evening he will ask me if he can mix a bunch of stuff together in a bowl. I try to say yes as much as possible except when he wants to pour half a bottle of honey into a bowl of vinegar. That's when frugal mom radar goes flying up and I have to think quick. Last time he asked for one of these experiments I was thrilled that I already had a plan in place from a site I found while perusing Pinterest. E is for Explore is this fabulous website filled with cool yet simple-to-implement science and math experiments. And that is where I found a layering experiment video we could follow along and do at home that would not use up the next morning's milk supply. 
We altered the amounts of the individual ingredients to fit into a half pint-sized mason jar and skipped the liquids I didn't have on hand. (maple syrup and dish soap) My example shows what happens if you don't follow the instructions exactly. Don't you just love it when someone does that for you? You see the middle section of ours where it looks all white but has a fading color going up through it? That shows where we tried to pour the liquids down the side of the jar as instructed but forgot to use the turkey baster. It really does make a difference using the turkey baster. We also dropped solid objects in like the video suggests. You can see the die floating at the top of the bottom layer if you look very carefully at the top picture. Now that the kids have done this experiment with a plan of order and instructions, I think we'll try it again next time my son asks to pour a bunch of stuff into a bowl. Except, I'll let him choose the liquids and try to place them in order by density to see what he remembers.
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