Introduction
The learning-by-doing approach is an educational technique to introduce a rather complex concept to a child with the help of experiential learning. This means that the theoretical concept is supported by an experiment that makes a child understand the concept more clearly because of practical evidence. This is also very helpful in generating a lot of curiosity among children and making them more interested in the learning process.
Your child might be able to retain a lot of information after the experiment is over. Hands-on learning is also an encouraging method to promote self-study among kids as they get the desire to explore more. The good part about this approach is that it's very versatile and can be used to explain different concepts about various disciplines.
Top DIY Experiments to Perform at Home
While doing experiments at home to make a child understand a concept, it is important to remember that the experiment has to be easy yet effective. Parents should also take care of safety precautions, and this experiment should be practically executable at home. Ticking all the boxes, here is a special list curated with some DIY experiments that you may perform at home for your kid.
Bubble Science Experiment
To do this experiment at home, you would need a straw, some detergent or liquid soap along with ¼ cup of water, 1 tablespoon of glycerine, and a big container to put all the solution. The experiment begins with preparing the bubble solution by mixing water, detergent, liquid soap, and glycerin into a container.
Now ask your kid to take the straw and dip it in the detergent solution and try to blow a bubble on a dry surface that can be a table for anything else. You will see that the bubble quickly pops on being touched. Now wet the dry surface with some water and ask your kid to blow the bubble again. This time the bubble wouldn't pop. This is an effective experiment that can help them understand the process of evaporation as on a dry surface the bubble evaporates very quickly.
Self-Inflating Balloon
A self-inflated balloon can be made with 1 teaspoon of baking soda, a funnel, a water bottle, a small balloon, and some vinegar solution. Start with keeping the bottle on a steady plane and then fill half of it with vinegar. Now with the help of a funnel, put the baking soda into the balloon and let it settle at the bottom. The next step is to stretch the mouth of the balloon and put it over the bottle opening. The baking soda will fall into the vinegar and sometimes the balloon will inflate. This can be done to teach kids about chemical reactions and the formation of gas because of which the balloon inflates.
Jumping Leaves
Jumping leaves is a very interesting experiment that requires a person to have some scissors, tissue, paper, a sweater, and a balloon. All you have to do is use the scissors and cut the tissue paper into the shape of a leaf. Now inflate a balloon and rub it with a sweater or even your hair. Put this balloon over the tissue leaves and see how they start jumping. This experiment is done to explain static electricity.
Floating Egg
If you want to teach your kids the concept of sinking and floating, then this can be just the right experiment for you. For this, you will need some warm water, a jar, egg, salt, and a spoon. Take a jar and fill it with water. Now put the egg inside it, and you will see that it sings. The next step is to remove the egg from the jar and then keep adding salt to the water until it stops dissolving. Now put the egg into this new salt water and see if the egg will float. This is because the density of saltwater is greater than the density of normal water, which is why the egg floats in saltwater.
Homemade Volcano
A homemade volcano is a science experiment that kids love to see. It's very aesthetically pleasing and interesting to make as well. The process begins with taking 1 tablespoon of baking soda, half a cup of vinegar, a few drops of food, and color, 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and 2 tablespoons of water. Make a small hill with the help of POP or cardboard and create a hollow space in the middle.
Now, simultaneously mix vinegar, soap solution, water, and food color in a cup. Also, add some baking soda to this cup and place this cup at the bottom of the hollow space inside the hill. To see the lava eruption, pour the vinegar in the hollow space of the volcano. The mixture of baking soda and vinegar creates carbon dioxide gas that gives the impression of lava.
Dancing Raisins
Dancing raisins is yet another very simple, yet extremely exciting experiment. To do this, you only need some clear soda and raisins. Fill a glass with some soda and then drop the raisins into the glass. The raisins go through this tumultuous movement of going up and down up and down. It seems like the raisins are dancing and children are likely to have a really fun time watching this. This is because carbonated soda releases small bubbles of carbon dioxide. These bubbles get attached to the surface of the reason and make them float up and down.
Conclusion
These science experiments are not just fun, but also highly educational. Parents may incorporate these experiments in daily life to explain a concept to their kids in a more fun and interesting manner so that they remember the lesson for a long time.
References
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1242694.pdf
https://www.thoughtco.com/equation-for-the-reaction-of-baking-soda-and-vinegar-604043
https://www.dns-tvind.dk/examples-of-learning-by-doing/
https://smowl.net/en/blog/learning-by-doing-definition-methodology/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resources/project/make-a-volcano/
https://www.smallstepforstem.com/static-electricity-balloon-and-paper/
The views expressed are that of the expert alone.
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