First graders will cheer when you announce that they’ll get to do a real, hands-on science experiment. These 1st grade science projects are easy for kids to do, with concepts that will help build their science knowledge for the future.
To make it even easier to find the best science projects for 1st graders, we’ve given each a rating based on difficulty and the materials you’ll need:
Difficulty:
Easy: Low or no-prep experiments you can do pretty much anytime
Medium: These take a little more setup or a longer time to complete
Advanced: Experiments like these take a fairly big commitment of time and/or effort
Materials:
Basic: Simple items you probably already have around the house
Medium: Items that you might not already have but are easy to get your hands on
Advanced: These require specialized or more expensive supplies to complete
It’s never too early to start learning about how important it is to protect the Earth. Use sponge “fish” to see how polluted water affects the wildlife living in it.
Set young engineers loose with wood craft sticks, glue, and string to create a bird feeder. Then research the best seeds to fill them with, and hang them outside your classroom window to draw in some feathered friends.
6. Use colorful beads to learn about animal camouflage
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium
Animal camouflage is an important way for prey to protect themselves from predators. To learn how effective camouflage can be, place matching colored beads on top of a photo of wildflowers and see how long it takes students to find them all.
Butterflies are endlessly fascinating for children of all ages! With this bundle of free printables and activities, your students can become junior butterfly scientists.
Another creative use for play dough! Teach your students about the different layers of Earth and then have them create the layers using different colors of play dough.
Talk with your students about the planets in our solar system. Then, using slices of fruit, guide them in making a model of the location of the planets. (Love Saturn!)
Print the free bingo cards, then gather some glass gems or buttons to use to cover the spaces. This game would make for the perfect reward for good behavior since it is so fun!
Start in the morning: Have kids stand in one spot on the playground while a partner traces their shadow with sidewalk chalk. Ask them what they think will happen when they stand in the same spot during the afternoon, then head back outside after lunch to find out.
Capillary action is the name of the game, and your 1st grade science kiddos will be amazed at the results. Place celery stalks in cups of colored water, and watch as the leaves change color!
Apples turn brown when they’re cut open due to oxidation. Is there any way to prevent that from happening? This experiment aims to find out. Explore more apple activities here.
Animal adaptations allow creatures to live in just about every environment on Earth. Learn how claws help some animals survive and thrive by gluing plastic spoons to a glove.
Many plants take in more water than they need. What happens to the rest? Wrap a plastic bag around a living tree branch to see transpiration in action.
This is similar to the classic lemon juice and baking soda experiment many kids do at some point. But this one is better for younger kids since you don’t have to worry about them splashing the juice in their eyes. Kids will be just as astonished at the results as the yeast eats the sugar and produces carbon dioxide gas.
If you’re doing this STEM project in the spring, jelly beans make the perfect base. If you can’t get a hold of jelly beans, try substituting tiny marshmallows in their place. Make sure to have some extras on hand since little hands are likely to snack as they build.
Drop gummy bears into different liquid solutions to see how they change (or don’t) over time. Kids will learn about osmosis, as well as how scientists must be good observers.
This activity is a classic for a reason! And the first time students experience their very own volcano is magical. Watch the video and follow along with the free observation sheet provided at the link.
Peeps used to just be an Easter treat, but these days you can find them in different shapes throughout much of the year. Use them to practice making predictions and recording observations with this sweet experiment.
Learn about surface tension by dropping food coloring onto different types of milk (whole, skim, cream, etc.). Then use dish soap to break down the fats and surface tension, and watch the colors dance!
Your firsties are too young to remember the lava lamp craze, but this science project will give them a taste of it as they learn about liquid density. All you need is ordinary kitchen staples like oil and salt.
See the scientific method in action as kids hypothesize what will happen to various types of candy in the hot sun. Observe, record, and analyze your results to see if their predictions were correct.
This fun experiment is sure to delight any kid (or adult)! In the dancing popcorn experiment, kids learn about simple chemical reactions using only a few ingredients found in most pantries.
The several-foot-high geyser that shoots from the soda bottle is a fun and awe-inspiring hands-on activity that any scientist in the making can perform. Be forewarned though: You’ll probably want to perform this experiment outside.
The Egg and Vinegar Experiment, also known as the “Naked Egg Experiment,” demonstrates osmosis. Placing an egg in vinegar triggers a reaction between the eggshell’s calcium carbonate and the vinegar’s acetic acid, producing carbon dioxide bubbles. As the acetic acid dissolves the eggshell over time, the semi-permeable membrane remains, permitting water molecules to enter via osmosis. This influx causes the egg to swell.
Try these science activities to explore wind, rain, and more with your firsties.
Rookie Parenting
35. Create a weather vane
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium
A weather vane is one of the oldest scientific tools—they help people know which way the wind is blowing. Learn how to make your own with this cool weather experiment.
You need rain to make a rainbow. Simulate a rain cloud in a jar with shaving cream and food coloring, and see how the coloring saturates the “cloud” until it simply must fall.
Mombrite
37. Grow a rainbow
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic
Kids learn the colors of the rainbow along with chromatography as they watch marker streaks climb up and meet across a wet paper towel. The word might be a big one for little kids to learn, but they’ll love to see it in action!
This is an especially fun experiment during those chilly winter months. First, fill the can with ice and halfway with water. Then have the kids sprinkle salt in the can and cover the top. Finally, shake it and wait about three minutes for the frost to begin to appear.
First grade science students might not grasp the concept of supersaturated solutions, but they’ll still love a good crystal project! Grab some magnifying glasses and let them examine the salt crystals up close (try not to touch, as they’re very fragile) to see the cool geometric structures.
Looking for more? Try these experiments on a range of subjects to teach 1st graders all about science.
42. Learn how to make elephant toothpaste
While no actual toothpaste is produced, this experiment is an exciting and hands-on way to bring several science lessons to life. You’ll want to use some caution when performing it with kids. Some of the chemicals used can be irritating and the substance produced is hot, so you won’t want to actually brush anyone’s teeth with the foam, as tempting as that may be!
Equip students with magnets and send them out to explore and discover which objects the magnet will stick to and which objects it won’t. Record their findings on the free printable worksheet at the link.
No doubt your 1st grade science students have already encountered static electricity by rubbing a balloon on their hair. This experiment takes things a step further, letting kids explore which objects an electrically charged balloon can pick up and which it can’t.
Dig out some old crayons and use them for this easy experiment that demonstrates the difference between liquids and solids. When you’re done, you’ll have a cool piece of art to display. Discover more uses for broken crayons here.
This classic experiment will help your 1st grade science class understand that sound travels in waves, through the air, and across other objects. Watching their faces light up when they hear whispers in their cups will make your day!
A wonderful activity to teach about the power of the sun. Take your students out on a nature walk and collect leaves, flowers, twigs, etc. Then, have students lay out their finds on colored paper. Place them in a safe place (optimally for a few days). Remove the items and see the beautiful prints underneath.
Learn more: Sun Prints at All Science Fair Projects
Buggy and Buddy
50. Play a DIY pan flute
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic
These homemade flutes are fun to play, but they also help young kids learn about the properties of sound. Let them experiment with straw lengths to see what tones they can make.
Ask kids to build a person from Play-Doh and see if it will stand on its own. Then show them how adding drinking straws gives it structure and strength, and explain that bones do the same for us! Get more clever ways to use Play-Doh in the classroom here.
The Earth’s daily rotation gives us days and nights. This simple demo helps kids understand that. They draw a day scene and a night scene on a paper plate, then cover it with half of another plate that can be moved. This is an art project and 1st grade science experiment all rolled into one.
Continue your exploration of surface tension by adding water drop-by-drop to a penny. The surface tension will allow you to add far more water than you might think.
First Grade Adventurers
54. Test air pressure
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium
Teach your students about air compression and air pressure using a barrel, plunger, syringe, and flexible tube. Kids will definitely get a kick out of air wrestling and popping off their plungers using air pressure.
Do your students have lightning-quick reflexes? Find out with this easy experiment. One student holds a ruler vertically, while another places their hand just beneath and waits. When the first student drops the ruler, the second catches it as quickly as possible, seeing how many inches passed through their fingers first.
Ask students to predict whether a variety of items will sink or float in water. Then test each object to check their hypotheses.
Buggy and Buddy
57. Look into mirrors to discover symmetry
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic
By now, 1st grade science students may have noticed that mirrors reflect objects backward. Ask them to write the alphabet in capital letters, then hold it up to the mirror. Which letters are the same when they’re reflected? Use those findings to talk about symmetry.
This is the perfect way to introduce the concept of electricity to young students since the materials and steps are minimal. You will need a D battery, tinfoil, electrical tape, and a light bulb from a flashlight.
Tell your students you’re going to bend a pencil without touching it. Drop it into a glass of water and have them look at it from the side. Light refraction makes it appear to be in two pieces!
Make a simple balance scale with a coat hanger, yarn, and some plastic cups. Have students gather items from around the classroom, make predictions about which will be heavier, then test their hypothesis.
There is just something mesmerizing about bubbles and their iridescent shimmer. This activity, creating giant bubbles, will give your students a chance to examine them in a big way.
Grown-ups are always telling kids sugary drinks are bad for their teeth, so try this experiment to put your money where your mouth is! Eggshells are a good substitute for teeth since they’re both made of calcium. Leave eggs in different kinds of beverages to see which ones do the most damage to the shells.
Color mixing is one of those incredibly cool activities that kids will want to try again and again. Make ice cubes using primary colors, then let them melt together to see what new colors you can create.
Kid absolutely love creating and flying paper airplanes, so this experiment is sure to be a hit. Have your students create different-style planes and then experiment with thrust and lift to see which fly the farthest, highest, etc.
66. Learn about what scientists do
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic
Scientists have very important jobs and they can specialize in many different kinds of science. Learn the basics with this sweet video.
Forage Create Love
67. Dig for fossils
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium
Create an edible dig site and have a blast with your students as they dig for dinosaurs.
We love science activities that remind kids of the importance of good handwashing. Help them see why it’s so important with this simple experiment that uses glitter to stand in for germs.
Blue Marble
69. Turn pennies green
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Basic
This awesome experiment leads you through three steps: shining up pennies, turning them green, and turning them dark brown.
The baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment demonstrates a chemical reaction between an acid and a base. The baking soda acts as the base and the vinegar as the acid. When the two combine, carbon dioxide (CO2) escapes the container and causes the balloon to blow up.
Watch our how-to video for easy step-by-step instructions on the intricacies of the Egg Drop Challenge! The video includes fun ideas to spice up the Egg Drop Challenge and a few examples of how to craft the best device to hold your egg.
Bottle rockets are a fun and educational activity that can engage students in hands-on learning. By building and launching their own bottle rockets, students learn about the principles of physics, engineering, and aerodynamics.
What’s better than a slime recipe? A fluffy slime recipe!
75. Sidewalk chalk paint
Difficulty: Easy / Materials: Medium
Sidewalk chalk paint is a fun and easy way to add some color to your outdoor activities. Whether you’re looking to create vibrant designs or just have some creative fun, this simple recipe will let you make your own chalk paint at home.
So simple and so amazing! All you need is a zip-top plastic bag, sharp pencils, and some water to blow your students’ minds. Once they’re suitably impressed, teach them how the “trick” works by explaining the chemistry of polymers.
