Activity: Exploring Science

Conduct simple experiments to explore God’s creations.

As a group or working in pairs, use the following experiment to illustrate the scientific method: make an observation, come up with a hypothesis (or informed guess) for why that thing would happen, use the experiment to test your hypothesis, and then draw conclusions.

Will It Float?

• Fill a bucket or bowl with water.
• Drop different objects into the water and discuss what things float and what things sink.
• Make a hypothesis about what makes an object float.
• Make small boats or rafts out of paper, foil, or other materials. Help any children who may need assistance so everyone can participate.
  • Ask the children to put rocks, beans, or other weights into the boats.
  • See which style of boat holds the most weight and talk about why.

Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.

Try one of the following experiments in addition to or instead of the floating activity.

• Balance and gravity: Talk about what makes a building or structure strong. Invite the children to make structures with simple materials, such as straight noodles and marshmallows or toothpicks (with rounded edges) and clay. See who can make the tallest and strongest structure.
• Chemical change: Gather milk, vinegar, and baking soda. Ask the children what they think will happen when you mix these ingredients together. Then mix 1 tablespoon (15 mL) vinegar with 7 tablespoons (104 mL) nonfat milk. The vinegar will cause the milk’s protein to clump together and form solids. Strain the solids in a dishcloth or paper towel for a few minutes. Then add ¼ teaspoon (1 g) baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and knead together to form a slime. The baking soda neutralizes the acid in the vinegar, allowing the milk proteins to return to a liquid form.
• Service idea: Pick up litter and trash at a local community center or church.

Encourage children to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:

• How can learning about science help you become more like Jesus Christ, the Creator?
• What can the process of experimenting on science teach us about experimenting on the word of God (see Alma 32:27–34)?