At 4th grade, children start to add greater complexity to their experiments and must document observations and scientific arguments more formally.
Encourage children to find topics that are meaningful to them – this will make the writing process much simpler and more exciting!
1. Colored Sugar Water
An engaging way for kids to understand density, this experiment only needs water, sugar and food coloring! Plus it teaches about chromatography and evaporation which are essential science skills for fourth-graders!
With this hands-on activity, students explore how magnets attract and repel metal objects. This simple project helps develop problem solving, creativity, and an increased understanding of science concepts.
2. Sundials
Kids find the science behind time telling fascinating, and this sundial project provides a fun way to explore this concept and gain an understanding of why it works.
Explain that as the sun travels over Earth each day, its rays reach different spots on our bodies causing shadows to move from side to side and shadow lines to be cast over time. Have them use a sundial every hour, marking their shadow line with chalk while writing in the hour number on it.
3. Milk Plastic
Before plastic was created from petroleum-derived sources, it was made out of milk (casein). Make a lasting impression with students with this amazing science experiment that uses milk as raw material for plastic production!
Make this exciting hands-on experiment an interactive learning experience as it shows kids a chemical reaction and explores color mixing at the same time, plus also introduce them to light refraction! This simple project provides them with invaluable skills.
This engaging science activity may seem more like magic than science, but it can help children understand light refraction principles as well as shadow dynamics.
4. Magnets
Kids can experiment with magnetics to learn that certain metal objects attract magnets, while also seeing how many paper clips they can collect with various magnets.
Mentos and Diet Coke volcanos are always an engaging experiment that help children learn about center of gravity and engineering concepts such as building pulley systems. Fourth graders especially will love this simple experiment!
Discover how heat affects everyday materials with this fast and straightforward science experiment. Do colored ice cubes melt at a similar rate as clear ones?
5. Color Changing Markers
Color changing markers add an intriguing dimension to any art project. Use them to demonstrate refraction and explore how colors interact and mix to form new hues.
Classic science experiment that never ceases to amaze! This fun science activity helps children learn the scientific method by isolating variables and tracking their progress.
Fourth graders will gain insight into kinetic energy with this engineering challenge that involves creating a Wigglebot. Furthermore, this project allows them to demonstrate engineering design skills when creating their pulley system.
6. Wigglebot
This science experiment for kids demonstrates how energy moves from object to object and serves as an excellent way of teaching them about gravity.
Introduce children to simple engineering with this Wiggle Bot activity! All that’s required are four AA batteries, a DC motor and a pop can; students then need to assemble their robot using Textas Leg Designer software in order to design its legs – with emphasis placed on length, balance and connecting all leg points securely so it wouldn’t topple over.
7. Agar Science
Students looking to gain more understanding of the scientific method will find this project an ideal way to do just that. They’ll get experience collecting data, developing hypotheses and testing their hypothesis before moving forward with any further project work.
Steve Spangler Science offers bacteria culturing kits to allow children to collect bacteria on surfaces throughout the house and cultivate it using an nutrient-rich agar medium. They can test toilet seats, door knobs and more to see which one has the highest bacteria count!
Milk plastic is another fun experiment to conduct with fourth graders, enabling them to create items like buttons and decorative buckles with this versatile material. Furthermore, this experiment helps children understand density!
8. Oceans
Building scientific skills and exploring their environment are at the center of these exciting 4th grade science fair experiments. Discover what happens when milk turns to plastic or explore erosion in a beach setting with simple hands-on projects.
This fun experiment allows children to explore ocean zones and density by filling a glass jar with several inches of sand, adding ocean toys, and then watching as objects sink or float.