Fun Science Experiments for 4th Graders

Fun Experiments to Do at Home

You can help your 4th grader learn how to be a scientist by conducting experiments at home. He or she can practice the scientific method by making a hypothesis for each of these experiments below. When the experiment is finished, have your 4th grader record the results in a journal, graph or table. Encourage your child to interpret the data gathered from the experiment and explain the results.

Solid or Liquid?

This is an experiment that will boggle your 4th grader's mind because it will test the theory of states of matter.

You will need:

• One cup of cornstarch
• ½ cup of water

Pour the cornstarch in a bowl and slowly add the water so it is the consistency of cake batter. You can choose to add a few drops of food coloring as well. Have your 4th grader write down what it looks and feels like when it is left alone and when he or she plays with it.

The mixture of cornstarch and water make a substance called suspension. Suspension is another state of matter, which acts like a liquid when it is sedentary because the molecules in the substance are relaxed and feels like a solid when it is being touched because the molecules are lined up.

Sugar Crystals

In this delicious experiment, your 4th grader will see how heat affects the property of matter.

You will need:

• ½ cup of water
• Medium saucepan
• One cup of sugar
• Wooden spoon
• Two paper cups
• Two craft sticks
• Plastic wrap

Pour the ½ cup of water into the saucepan, then slowly stir in the sugar until it stops dissolving. Place the saucepan on low heat on the stove for two to three minutes or until all the sugar is dissolved, you may need to stir the substance with the wooden spoon occasionally. Then, turn the stove on medium-high until the mixture is boiling for one minute or until the solution is thick and clear, then turn the heat off. Carefully pour the mixture into the paper cups along with a craft stick in the middle and cover the cups loosely with the plastic wrap.

Leave them out overnight and you will enjoy a crystallized sugar treat the next day. Remember to have your child predict what the sugar will look like in the morning. His or her hypothesis with either be confirmed or disproved the next day.

Colorful Milk

This experiment will help your 4th grader learn about different interactions of matter and how various properties change it.

You will need:

• One shallow dish
• Food coloring
• Liquid dish soap
• Room temperature whole milk

Pour a ½ inch of milk into the dish. Next, put different colors of food coloring into each of the four corners of the dish. Finally, put one drop of dish soap in the middle of the dish. Have your child observe what happens when the soap is added.

Liquid molecules have cohesive forces that causes surface tension. The dish soap lowers the surface tension of the molecules in the milk, which changes the shape of the molecules. When this occurs, the food coloring pigments get moved around.