The third Sunday in June is widely known as Father’s Day in more than 70 countries, and this time around, it is happening on June 20th. A day to honor the father figures in a child’s life. This special date can be celebrated in many different ways depending on what you and your family want to do. The main goal is for a father and his kids to have a good and fun time, helping the bond they have grow even stronger. One perfect way to celebrate father’s day is with science experiments.
No, do not worry, it can be perfectly fun, safe, and entertaining to spend the day working on science experiments with your children while celebrating Father’s Day. Dr. Stephanie Ryan makes sure of that. Since April 2020, this Math and Science expert has been using her social media platform to share different experiments and ideas for parents and children to have fun while learning about the two most challenging — and often hated — subjects. This time around, she shares two experiments fathers and children can do together on this special Sunday.
What kid does not love to watch rockets launch into space? And what could be better than building your own rocket and watching it fly? Dr. Stephanie knows this, so she brings a rocket science experiment for children to have fun this Father’s Day.
All you need to build your very own rocket is a plastic container with a lid that can pop off, baking soda, water, vinegar, stickers, paint, and paper towels. The best option would be to find a film canister to fly around your backyard, balcony, or driveway. The trick to keeping the reaction from happening too fast is to mix your baking soda with a little bit of water to form a paste. You can make a clump of it inside a piece of paper towel so that it momentarily separates the baking soda from the vinegar! You place the baking soda in the cap. Add the vinegar to the cannister, pop the lid with baking soda paste on, and flip it. Mixing the ingredients in the container will create a reaction that allows you to launch your “spaceship” into “space”. Turn it into a family-friendly competition, trying to see whose rocket flies the highest. You can also add personal flair by adding stickers on the cannister and by adding food coloring to the baking soda paste. Pro-tip: Don’t do this on the grass. The vinegar can kill the grass and leave circular dead spots! Yikes!
Many fathers love cars and/or car races, and including their children in this passion. So, what better way to spend Father’s Day than with a homemade car race? Dr. Stephanie brings you the best experiment for this scenario: make your own race car.
What do you need? A 2-L bottle, four plastic caps of the same size, a straw, a wooden skewer, glue, tape, baking soda, vinegar, a cork, and paper towels. Similar to what you did with the rockets, you will use the reaction between baking soda and vinegar to propel your “car”. To turn the bottle into a car, you have two options. The first is the easiest: Tape a bottle to a toy car: If you want the task to be fully created by your family: you can cut the straw in half and tape them to the bottom of the bottle where you want the axles to go. Then, cut a wooden skewer in half and place each piece through the straws. Glue the caps onto each end of the wooden skewer and you now have a “car”.
Once you have built and decorated your car, wrap the baking soda in a small piece of paper towel or toilet paper. Pour vinegar into the botte, pop the baking soda into the bottle, put in the cork and step back! This can also be turned into a family-friendly competition by watching which car goes fastest and which one moves the furthest. You can hold another contest to see has the most creative decorations!
The best way to celebrate Father’s Day is by participating in activities that will allow fathers and their children to connect and enjoy the day. Dr. Stephanie’s quick, accessible, and fun science experiments are perfect for the occasion. Kids will have a fun afternoon watching their rockets fly, and their cars speed down the sidewalk while fathers get to join them in an activity they will remember for a long time.
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