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Water-Flushing Science Experiment
Today’s activity is all about a science experiment that focuses on cause and effect. During this science experiment, your child will learn that they can do something (cause) to make something happen (effect). This teaches children to ask more questions to support their critical thinking skills.
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- A plastic bottle
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- A pin
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- Water
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- If you are doing this indoors, get a big bowl, tray or bin.
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- Optional: Food coloring
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2. Use the pin to make holes around the empty plastic bottle, preferably at the lower portion of the bottle.
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3. Fill the bottle with water and close the lid.
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4. Open and close the lid to see how water flushes out through the holes when you open it, and it stops when you close it.
Children begin to develop their observations and understanding of cause-and-effect as early as eight months of age. This understanding begins when they learn to call for their caregiver by crying, making noise, throwing an item, etc., and expecting their caregiver to react with a response.
Begin this activity by including your child in preparing for the process of this science experiment. Narrate the steps you are taking with them and ask them for assistance along the way – or better yet, let them complete the steps independently. Their involvement will allow them to observe the steps you take in order to get the bottle to flush the water out of the holes and what stops the water from flushing out the holes. Ask your child questions to provoke them to critically think about what is happening to the bottle such as, “What do you think is going to happen now?” and “Why do you think the water stopped coming out of the holes?”. Open-ended questions will allow your child to critically analyze what is causing the water to flush out and what is causing it to stop. This will provoke your child to ask and think about the “Why?”. Give them time to have fun with this experiment and to follow the curiosity this experiment ignites.
EarlyON