7 Backyard Science Experiments Using Household Items

Summer is the perfect time to take science outdoors! Your middle schoolers don’t need expensive lab materials to spark curiosity and learn a little science.

Here are 7 activities your middle schoolers can do this summer to broaden and enrich their understanding of science.

Baking Soda Balloon Inflation

What you need:

• empty plastic bottle
• balloon
• baking soda
• vinegar

What to do:

1. Put a teaspoon or so of baking soda into the balloon (a funnel can help).
2. Put a few tablespoons of vinegar in the plastic bottle.
3. Secure the opening of the balloon over the plastic bottle without letting the baking soda fall in.
4. Count down and then pull up the balloon so that the baking soda falls in.

What happens:

The baking soda and vinegar react in a chemical reaction and produce carbon dioxide which will fill the balloon.

Things to try:

What happens if you use more baking soda or more vinegar? If you tie off the balloon, will it sink or float?

Walking Water Rainbow

What you need:

• clear cups
• water
• paper towels
• food coloring

What to do:

1. Fill one cup with water. Add food coloring.
2. Fill a second cup with water.
3. Twist the paper towel to form an arch. Place each end of the arch into one of the cups and watch what happens.

What happens:

The colored water will travel, via capillary action between the cups.

Things to try:

What happens if you put food coloring in the second cup? Can you do this with multiple cups and multiple arches of paper towels?

Solar Oven S’mores

What you need:

• pizza box
• aluminum foil
• plastic wrap
• graham crackers
• chocolate
• marshmallows

What to do:

1. Line the pizza box with aluminum foil.
2. Place a marshmallow in the box. Cover with plastic wrap to keep it safe from insects.
3. Place your pizza box in a sunny location.
4. After a few minutes, check your marshmallow to see if it melted.
5. Make a s’more by placing your marshmallow on your graham cracker and covering it with chocolate.

What happens:

The aluminum foil collects heat and transfers it to the marshmallow causing it to melt.

Things to try:

Try different positions of the pizza box – is open better than closed? If you angle the top toward the sun, can you get the marshmallow to melt faster?

Bubble Geometry

What you need:

• 1/3 cup liquid dish detergent
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• Shallow pan
• pipe cleaners

What to do:

1. Mix the ingredients together in the shallow pan.
2. Bend the pipe cleaners into various shapes – try squares, circles, triangles.
3. Dip the pipe cleaners into the soap solution and try to make a square bubble!

What happens:

Bubbles always make spheres because a sphere has the lowest surface tension.

Things to try:

Try using more or less dish detergent to see what combination of ingredients makes the biggest bubbles.

pH Detective

What you need:

• red cabbage
• water
• pot
• lemon juice
• baking soda
• clear cups

What to do:

1. Indoors – cut up the red cabbage and boil it in water for 10 minutes. Drain the cabbage and save the water.
2. Let the water cool.
3. The cabbage water is a pH indicator. Pour a little into clear cups and see what color it changes in lemon juice (an acid) and baking soda (a base).

What happens:

Red cabbage contains pigments called anthocyanins. These pigments change color in acids and bases.

Things to try:

Line up several cups of cabbage water and see what colors you can create.

DIY Water Filter Challenge

What you need:

• plastic cups
• gravel
• sand
• cotton balls
• coffee filter
• dirty water (try adding vegetable oil or soil to water)

What to do:

1. Using the various materials as filters, try to devise a way to “clean” the water. Caution: Even if the water looks clean, it is NOT safe to drink!

What happens:

Gravel, sand, cotton balls and coffee filters will act as filters. Gravel will filter out large objects, sand will filter out smaller objects, and cotton balls and coffee filters will filter out the smallest objects. These filters will NOT filter out bacteria!

Things to try:

See if you can get dirty water completely clear.

Ice Cube Race

What you need:

• ice cubes
• aluminum foil
• plastic wrap
• assorted containers – egg cartons, styrofoam cups, ziploc baggies, paper towels

What to do:

1. Create a container using whatever materials you want to try to insulate an ice cube and prevent it from melting.
2. Wrap your ice cube in your container and place it in the sun. See how long you can keep the ice cube from melting!

What happens:

Some substances act as insulators and some act as conductors of heat.

Things to try:

Create several containers and test them to see which keeps the ice cube frozen the longest.

Tips for Success

• Adult supervision is recommended for younger children.
• Perform experiments outdoors on an easy to clean surface.
• Protect plants from spills.
• Encourage your students to record their observations in a notebook or journal.

In conclusion

Backyard science doesn’t require a laboratory—just curiosity and a few everyday supplies. These simple experiments can inspire questions, build observation skills, and help students see that science is happening all around them.