Ten science activities you can do at home

8 m

Mar 19, 2020

Make a Thaumatrope

The thaumatrope has been tricking our eyes since the 1800s. With this toy, you can make two drawings on separate papers merge into one!

Percussionality

Thought to be the oldest type of instrument ever invented, percussion instruments provide a tempo (or beat) to the melody. Experiment with different materials and play to the beat of your own drum.

String-o-lin

Make a string instrument out of cardboard! The NAC Orchestra’s includes 39 string instruments, each one adding a new sound to the symphony.

Nothing completes an orchestra like a swelling woodwind section, and now you have the chance to make your own ‘woodwind’ instrument. Who needs a saxophone when you have paper, Popsicle sticks and a little creativity?

Compass

Long before the age of GPS, navigators and explorers found their way using a compass. In this activity, make your own to bring on your next adventure!

Solar Still

Over 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, yet only 2.5 percent of that is drinkable freshwater. This freshwater can contain contaminants, and still needs to be purified before drinking. However, there’s a very simple way to purify water – using materials already in your kitchen!

Make a Kazoo

Instruments make sound through vibrations, which send waves through the air. Test this phenomenon out for yourself by making your own kazoo!

Flipbook

Did you know animators take advantage of a simple optical illusion to make their characters appear to move so smoothly? Although animators are helped with powerful computers, you can make your own cartoon animation using the same principles as the professionals!

Broken Pencil Illusion

Seeing isn’t always believing, especially when refraction is involved! See how water bends light, “breaking” a pencil right before your eyes.

Insulating Sound

Sound is made of waves in the air that are caused by a vibration. In this activity, find out what happens if you make it harder for sound waves to reach your ears.

Author(s)

Melissa Gruber

Melissa Gruber is a Strategic Communications Officer at Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation. She’s worked for national advocacy, funding and programming organisations across the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Melissa is driven by her passion for the power of cultural institutions to improve social outcomes but also to allow us to imagine the world as it could be.

Catherine Émond

Catherine found her passion for educating in museums settings. She works at the Canada Science and Technology Museum as part of the Visitor Experience team. She enjoys testing and creating ingenious activities for Exploratek, the museum’s maker studio, where she invites people to try a variety of tinkering challenges. She’s inspired by visitors’ creations and loves coming up with new Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) projects to try out.