Ravina Sewani

Things you will need:Plastic/polythene bag, Sharpened pencils. How to:Make sure that all the steps are carried out by your children. You can keep an eye on them for protection.<ol><li>Take a gallon size storage bag and fill about half of it with water.</li><li>Take a few pencils and sharpen them.</li><li>Poke these pencils one by one straight through the bag – in from one side and out from the other side.</li><li>Observe what happens!</li></ol> Why does the water not leak out from the bag?The poly bag is made of molecules which are able to seal themselves around the pencils and prevent the water from leaking. Happy Gaming!

Significance:This fun activity teaches basic concepts of science.

Leak Proof Bag

Things you will need:Water, cooking oil, blue food colouring, 2 litre transparent bottles, funnel. How to:Make sure that all the steps are carried out by your children. You can keep an eye on them for protection.<ol><li>Fill about half of your bottle with water using the funnel.</li><li>Now, add several drops of blue food colouring. If you are using liquid colouring, you can directly add 3-4 drops. If you are using powdered food colouring, mix the powder with a small amount of water. Now add these coloured drops to the jar.</li><li>Shake the bottle properly so that the food colouring mixes well.</li><li>Next, using the funnel, add vegetable oil in the bottle but leave a few inches at the top. Close the lid of the bottle.</li><li>Turn the bottle over slowly fro 2-3 times and observe what happens!</li><li>You can make this activity more interesting by adding a few shells, water animal toys, glitter colour. You can also mix blue and green food colouring to produce a more ocean-like colour in the bottle.</li></ol> Happy Gaming!

Significance:The activity will greatly enhance your child’s motor skills and help them learn about ocean and its life in a fun way. It also teaches about different densities of oil and water.

Ocean Bottle

Things you will need: skittles candies (use can use M&amp;M or Gems as well), water, plate or bowl How to:Pour some water into a dish or a bowl and add a couple of candies to this dish. You will immediately observe a few changes. If you are using skittles candies, you will see that the 'ss' part of the candy quickly dissolves and starts to float on the water. The colours dissolve slowly and begin to mix with the water in the dish. You can make this experiment fun by placing several candies in different shapes and see the colours dissipating in various shapes. Why does this happen?Candies are made of sugar hence they dissolve in water. Sugar dissolves in water because both water and sugar are polar compounds. It is known that "like dissolves like" hence sugar dissolves in water. Happy Exploring!

Significance:This activity will introduce your child to the concept of solute and solvent and is also a fun and attractive experiment for kids.

Skittle Candy Experiment

Things you will need:2 parts of corn flour and 1 part of water, food colouring, container, toys. How to:Make sure that all the steps are carried out by your children. You can keep an eye on them and help them with risky steps for protection.1. Take a container (the size will depend on the amount of ingredients which you take).2. Add corn flour and water in this container in the ratio of 2:1 (2 parts of corn flour and 1 part of water).3. First add the corn flour and then slowly add the water with constant stirring.Note: You can change the goop consistency as you want. If you want a harder consistency, add more corn flour and if you want a smooth running consistency, add more water.4. To make it attractive, you can also add food colouring or water colour in the mixture and a few toys, small containers and spoons. Happy Gaming!

Significance:This activity will enhance your child’s sensory skills and motor skills.

Goop Making

Things you will need:Black clay (a lot of it), rolling pin, glowing star stickers. How to:Make sure that all the steps are carried out by your children. You can keep an eye on them and help them with risky steps for protection.<ol><li>Roll the clay into a flat circular or any shape.</li><li>Kids can randomly lay out the star stickers on this rolled out clay.</li><li>Alternatively, you can show them pictures of constellations and they can lay out the star stickers in the shape of the constellations.</li><li>If you repeat this activity some other time, you can make it more fun by displaying planets.</li></ol> Happy Gaming!

Significance:The child gets an idea about stars, planets and constellations. It also enhances their motor skills while handling the play dough.

Space Play dough

Things you will need:All purpose flour, food colour, water, baking powder, salt, microwave, paint brush or ear buds, thin white cardboard. How to:Make sure that all the steps are carried out by your children. You can keep an eye on them for protection.<ol><li>Take a small bowl and mix 1 cup of flour, add a pinch of baking powder and 1/4th TSP of salt.</li><li>Add water and stir until you get a smooth, thin paste.</li><li>Next, add your food colouring and mix well. Remember, if you are using powdered food colouring then first mix it water and then add a few drops. Be careful while doing this, as the consistency of the paste should not get changed.</li><li>Take your cardboard and dip your paint brushes or ear buds in the paste and start creating shapes, letters or anything you want to draw. Once you are satisfied with your art, place it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Help your child put it in the microwave.</li><li>Remove your artwork and observe how it has puffed up beautifully.</li></ol> Why does the art work puff up?Baking powder in the mixture helps the all purpose flour rise up and create beautiful art. Happy Gaming!

Significance:The child will develop fine motor skills and will enjoy the colourful art.

Puffy Paint Art

This a very simple science activity which brings with it all the fun. Be ready to get your hands and house dirty. It is better to do it outside your house but not at a public place. Things you will need:dish soap, warm water, vinegar, red food colour, baking soda, 2 litre soda bottle, mud. How to:The first step is to make the cone of the volcano. Place the soda bottle on the floor. Around it start moulding the mud in the shape of an actual volcano i.e. like a cone/pyramid. Be careful while doing this. Do not drop mud in the bottle and do not cover the mouth of the bottle Let the mud around it set and let it become firm enough to hold the bottle in place.Now, fill 3/4th of the bottle with warm water and add red food colour. Next, add 1 tablespoon drops of dish soap or a detergent. Then add 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Now, slowly add vinegar into the bottle and observe the volcano erupting!Be very careful while adding vinegar. For the first attempt, it’s better to make kids sit a little away from the volcano. Wear gloves for better protection. Happy Gaming!

Significance:This will help in making your child more curious.

Volcano making

Things you will need:liquid food colouring, cotton swabs, milk, dish soap, water and shallow pan. How to:Make sure that all the steps are carried out by your children. You can keep an eye on them for protection.<ol><li>In a shallow pan, carefully pour a little quantity of milk that covers the bottom of the pan, just a thin layer of milk covering the bottom&nbsp;of the pan.</li><li>Next, add several drops of different liquid food colouring in the milk.</li><li>In a small bowl, mix a small amount of water and 2/3 drops of dish soap. Mix it well.</li><li>Pick up a cotton swab and dip it in the dish soap and water mixture.</li><li>Now comes the magical part! Then put the cotton swab in the milk – pressing it down in one spot and holding it there for about 15 seconds. Observe the magic.</li></ol> Why does the colour start spreading?When the dish soap mixes with the milk, it breaks down the fats in the milk. The molecules in soap run around and join with the fat molecules in the milk. Normally this process would be invisible but because there is presence of the food colouring, it helps you to see the movement taking place. Happy Gaming!

Significance:This activity will develop curiosity in your child and provide early science knowledge. This activity develops motor skills of your child.

Magic Milk

Things you will need:Salt, water, white glue, watercolours, ice tray, pencil, dropper or paint brush, cardboard. How to:Make sure that all the steps are carried out by your children. You can keep an eye on them for protection.<ol><li>Write different words on the cardboard – name of the child, city you live, or you can write numbers or letters too.&nbsp;</li><li>Trace the words with glue.</li><li>Sprinkle sufficient amount of salt over glue.</li><li>Drop watercolours on these traced letters using droppers.</li></ol> Happy Gaming!

Significance:This activity will improve your child’s motor skills, co-ordination skills, letter and colour recognition skills.

science activities

Activities are an interesting way to teach important life skills to children. Here are a few suggestions for you.