Water Science Projects and Experiments for Learning and Family Fun

Written By: Frank Bongiorno

Water is everywhere! Water is in every part of our everyday lives, including inside our bodies. We drink water, we cook with it, and we swim and bathe in it. But how much do you actually know about water? There's a lot of interesting science related to water, and you can explore and learn by doing fun water activities and experiments at home. Anyone can create, watch, and learn with these ideas, and many of them can be great fun for the entire family! These activities can teach you about measurement, how water changes from a solid to a liquid, how different substances interact with water, and more. Many of these experiments can be done inside, and some are perfect for taking outside on a hot summer day.

• Distillation of Water Science Fair Project: In this project, students can take impure water and create chemically pure water through distillation.

• Size and Weight Illusion Experiment: Use water to show how our senses of sight and touch can affect and sometimes trick each other.

• Oil and Water Science Experiment for Kids: Most people have heard that oil and water don't mix, but this experiment lets you see for yourself.

• How to Make Ice Swirl Gift Wrap: Use ice to make this eco-friendly gift wrap for your next holiday or celebration.

• How to Recycle Markers Into Watercolors: You probably have a junk drawer somewhere full of old markers, and this project can help you get more use out of them by using water and markers to make watercolors.

• Colored Water Transfer Play for Toddlers: The youngest kids can have a blast moving different colors of water between containers, and they will have no idea how much they are learning in the process!

• Ice Grab for Toddlers: This fun toddler activity is a great way for older kids to play with their toddler siblings. Toddlers will love trying to grab different pieces of ice around obstructions.

• How Pollution in Water Spreads: Using household items, this experiment can show you how easily pollution spreads through water, and it's an excellent activity for families to learn together.

• What Dissolves in Water? Experiment with water and different substances and see if you can predict which ones will dissolve when placed in water.

• Flinker Lab: Learn about floating, sinking, and how to make your own "flinker" in this fun experiment.

• Alphabet Ice Excavation Activity: Practice letter recognition and work with different states of matter with this activity.

• The Water Cycle: This interactive virtual lab teaches all about the water cycle.

• Rain in a Jar: Make your own rainstorm in a jar and learn what causes rain to fall outside.

• Estimating Home Water Use: Use this resource to get the whole family involved in figuring out how much water you use and where every member of the family can save water every day.

• Effect of Pollution on the Acidity of Rainwater: Everyone has heard of pollution, but not everyone understands all of the effects that it can have. This experiment shows how acid rain is formed when pollution is released into the atmosphere.

• Just Add Water: This single experiment teaches about light refraction, surface tension, and adhesion.

• Experiment With Hot and Cold Water: How do hot and cold water interact, and does it matter which one is added on top? Find out in this experiment using simple household items.

• Fireworks in a Glass: This beautiful experiment is one the whole family will have fun with.

• How to Make a Cloud in a Jar: Learn about the different states of matter and bring a little piece of the sky into your house by making a cloud in a jar.

• Edible Aquifer: Follow these instructions using sweet treats to show how water is contained within the ground and how pollutants can seep into the water supply. Then, you can reward yourself by eating the results!

• How Marine Mammals Stay Warm: Make a blubber glove and dip your hand into ice water to feel like a whale or seal.

• Water Filtration Challenge: Work in teams to design and build a water filtration system.

• Water Drop Shapes: Experiment to see what shapes water droplets can form and how they can move and interact.

• Finger Wrinkle Hypothesis: Why do your toes and fingers get wrinkly in the bath? This experiment dives into this phenomenon.

• Rainbow in a Glass: Use candy to create a rainbow of your very own inside a glass.

• Make Glowing Water: Create eye-catching glowing water using science!

• Water Footprint Calculator: Use this calculator to see how much water you use, and then figure out where you can cut back to conserve water.

• Air Pollution Lab: This simple food-coloring-and-water experiment shows how much pollution in the environment may affect us even when we can't see it.