floating and sinking experiment eyfs

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

Understanding the world: science.

Sink or Float

The easiest science lesson to do with little children is the sink or float lesson. It’s a very visual lesson and once completed, you can leave the water play out for the children to experiment for themselves.

It opens a discussion about suitable materials for boats, children can make predictions and easily see the results of their predictions.

I have done this lesson with children as young as 2 years old. They enjoy the instant nature of the experiments and are able to see which objects sink or float instantly.

picture from myteacherpages.com

I wouldn’t expect children to be writing anything down about this experiment. When I do this experiment, I write a lot of notes about what they children have said, or video their predictions, and take photos of their independent play.

I would use as large a tub as you have in your classroom but it is essential that the sub is see-through. I usually empty a toy box and fill that with water.

Page two of the Smartboard has a possible plenary activity or a starter activity you could use as a discussion point.

I try to always incorporate ICT into my lessons and I have found some interactive games for the laptops you could use or to have on your interactive whiteboard.

If you must do a worksheet for this activity, there are a number available. I like this one from JenMarzolo.com .

Kids Activity Blog has a nice worksheet as well as Kiwi Crate.com . Personally, I think the best website is having the children draw their own worksheets. I have included what I would make as a worksheet .

This worksheet has space for writing comments the children have made, a photo of the children playing in the water and space for the child to draw the experiment independently. At the bottom of the worksheet, I have a large space for the child to write their own name (a writing target!) and the learning objectives from the planning which links directly to the Early Learning Goals. You could also ask the children to label their diagrams.

Although, with photographs, independent drawing and Magic Moment cards , you don’t really need to use a worksheet.

I hope this has been useful! Please leave a comment!

3 comments:

I found this very helpful. I am fairly new to early years(nursery 3-4 year olds). I find the children fascinating and fun to be with but I do struggle to think of activities that are going to be at the right level and engaging and also address a range of learning objectives - so this is very useful. thanks so much.

Thank you! Very useful.

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Crafts and Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers to Tweens

Sink or Float Experiment for Preschoolers

Last updated on October 28, 2019

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Set up a sink or float experiment  to teach toddlers and preschoolers about density and buoyancy. This play-based learning activity combines a science activity  and a water activity, and for some extra fun, we’re adding a colourful twist. 

My kids love science. Thankfully, there are tons of easy science activities that we can do at home to quench their thirst for scientific discovery. A simple sink or float activity is a great beginner science experiment that will introduce your toddlers and preschoolers to density and buoyancy .

Physics for Preschoolers

This sink or float experiment is a simple physics experiment that will encourage your child to make predictions and observations about buoyancy and density. Through their observations, they’ll learn that buoyant objects float and dense objects sink, and if they want to be true little scientists, they can even record their predictions.

Low-prep activity for indoors or out

We love to do this low-prep activity in the backyard when the weather is nice. I set up this particular sink or float experiment three days ago and the kids have set it up themselves every day since. We’ve been enjoying it on the patio so they can get as wet and wild as they like with it.

Indoors, kids can do this activity at the kitchen sink, in the bathtub or on the floor with a tub or basin filled with water.

Engage their senses with a colourful twist!

We love adding a packet of   jello powder or juice crystals to the water. Not only does this colour the water, it gives it a wonderfully fruity scent.

The kids get a thrill out of watching the water change colour, and the pop of colour and the scent have educational benefits as well : kids retain more information when more than one sense is engaged.

What you’ll need for a sink or float activity

• waterproof toys and household items (see suggested items below)
• a container to do the experiment in i.e. plastic tub, basin, pot, bucket etc.
• drinking straws (optional)
• Jello or juice crystals (optional)

Note:  If you’re doing this experiment indoors, place a plastic table cloth or some beach towels under the bin to soak up any spills.

Suggested items for a sink or float experiment:

Items that sink.

• metal utensils
• toy car/truck
• glass gemstones or marbles (not suitable for toddlers)

items that float

• stick or popsicle stick
• bathtub toys
• foam shapes
• rubber ball

How to do an educational sink or float experiment

Start off by collecting the items for your experiment. If you give your kids a list of things to collect, this  part of the activity can be a fun little scavenger hunt for your kids.

Fill a tub or bucket with lukewarm water.

If colouring your water, you can add it now or once the toys have been added.

Before adding your objects to the water, ask your children to predict which objects they think will sink and which will float.

In a classroom, this can be done by a show of hands in favour of an item sinking or floating. If you’re doing this activity with a large group, it can be fun to have a tally beside each item to indicate each child’s hypothesis.

Now, have the kids drop the objects, one by one, into the water one observe what happens.

Once all of the items are in the water, you can extend the activity by giving the kids drinking straws to blow the floating items around. This is a fun way to teach children about kinetic energy as the air they blow through the straw propels the floating items forward.

The science behind the sink or float experiment

Before explaining why items sink or float, ask your children why they think an object sinks or floats. They may guess it’s because of size or weight or construction.

Then, explain that items sink or float based on their density . Density is determined by how close or far apart molecules are within an item. Molecules are tiny and only visible by a microscope. You can refer to this article to help explain this  to your kids. I’ve also listed a few books below that you can read with your kids before doing the experiment.

You can also use this opportunity to explain why blowing through a straw moves the floating items around the bin (kinetic energy).

Once you have prompted their learning by explaining the science behind the activity, allow your children to replicate the experiment as many times as they please. This will help to solidify their knowledge and reap the benefits of play-based learning.

Since first doing our sink or float experiment, my kids have set up their own version of the activity every day since. It’s been amazing to see their fascination with such an educational activity.

More easy science activities:

Three Chemical Reactions for Kids

Water Displacement Experiment for Preschoolers

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Reader Interactions

Lindsay Robinson

April 14, 2020 at 11:22 pm

Hi, I really enjoyed reading about your lesson. Thank you for the ideas. Where did you get the clear plastic buckets?

Jackie Currie

April 16, 2020 at 8:59 am

I’m not sure where that bucket came from, but if you search for “clear ice buckets” on Amazon, there are quite a few options there, Lindsay.

December 10, 2021 at 3:50 pm

What if, before explaining why things sink or float, you help them figure out ways to test their hypothesis? For example, if they guessed size, can they figure out what size is the cutoff? Can they find any objects that sink at a size they predict would float, or vice versa? Same with weight or whatever other theory they come up with.

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Float or sink experiment sheet

Subject: Physics

Age range: 5-7

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

5 November 2024

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This resource is intended for a floating and sinking lesson. The pupils can make predictions before carrying out the experiment. This resource can be edited to suit learning environment and items used.

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