Science Experiments Teaching Resources
Unlock science experiments for kids and a love of experimentation in your classroom with ready-made experiments created for your primary students by science teachers just like you!
This extensive collection of Australian science curriculum-aligned experiments was created to save you time on your lesson plans and help you help your students learn to discover brand-new knowledge about the workings of the world around us!
New to teaching students to conduct experiments or just looking for some handy tips? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a way to explain what an experiment is, plus some handy terminology!
What Is a Science Experiment? A Kid-Friendly Definition
If it's your first time introducing experiments, a definition may come in handy. Here's how we explain the meaning of this concept to students:
A science experiment is a way to test a hypothesis or investigate a question in a systematic and controlled manner. Experiments allow us to ask questions, form hypotheses and discover new information.
What Is a Fair Test?
In order to set the stage for successful experimentation, students need to understand how to set up fair tests — also known as controlled experiments.
A fair test is an experiment in which all variables — except for the independent variable — are kept constant and controlled. The goal of conducting a fair test is to ensure that any observed changes or outcomes can be confidently attributed to the independent variable being tested.
Here's what students should know about fair tests:
- Controlling variables means keeping them the same or at the same level across all groups or conditions in the experiment.
- Without controlling variables in a fair test, it becomes difficult to determine the true cause-and-effect relationship between the independent variable and the observed changes.
- A fair test should be an experiment that can be replicated. That means that other scientists should be able to repeat the experiment and achieve similar results by following the same procedures and controlling the same variables.
Creating a rain cloud in a jar is a fun science experiment for kids that allows students to see the actions of water vapour and condensation in action in the classroom.
What Is an Independent Variable in a Science Experiment?
You know that your students will need an independent variable to ensure the success of their science experiments, but do you need a handy definition to explain what these are? We've got you covered!
Here's how to explain these core components of any good experiment to your young scientists:
An independent variable is a factor in an experiment that a scientist deliberately changes or manipulates to test their hypothesis. Changing the independent variable can help you determine if it has an impact on the outcome or on the dependent variable — which should not be changed or manipulated.
As noted earlier, in order to have a true fair test, students need to control or keep constant all other variables except for the independent variable.
Independent Variable Example
For example, let's say a student wanted to run an experiment to determine if plants grow better in conditions where classical music is played than in conditions where there's no sound or rock music is played.
In this type of experiment, the sound introduced to the plant would be the independent variable. It would change, while other variables — such as the amount of sunlight and water the plant received — must remain the same.
What Is a Control in an Experiment?
The independent variable will change in a student's experiment, but the control will do the exact opposite!
The control in a science experiment refers to any variables or conditions kept constant or unchanged throughout the experiment. It's just as important to the fair test that these stay constant as it is that the independent variable is changed.
Control Example
For example, in the plant and sound experiment described above, the amount of water and sunlight would be controls as neither would change.
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Inquiry Project - Template
A diverse template to help students craft inquiry questions to produce different types of projects.
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Experiment Design Sequencing Activity – Basic
A worksheet to develop younger students’ understanding of experiment design.
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Balloon Car Experiment – Speed Racer
Use this hands-on balloon car experiment when teaching your Year 4 students about thrust force and its effect on the speed of objects.
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Make an Eggshell Disappear - Science Experiment Booklet
Investigate chemical reactions with this hands-on experiment booklet.
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Rainbow Water Density Tower - Science Experiment Booklet
A fun science experiment about density and physics.
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Science Experiment - Angles of Reflection
A science experiment that explores reflected light.
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Salt Water Density Experiment
A hands-on science experiment about salt water density.
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Air Resistance Force Investigation
Use this engaging air resistance force experiment when teaching your students about air friction and the effect it has on the effectiveness of a parachute.
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Science Experiment Recording Sheet
A recording sheet to use when completing a Science experiment.
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Electricity Investigation - Worksheet
An investigation of whether electricity moves better through different wire gauges.
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Blubber Me Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how blubber works as an insulator.
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Natural and Processed Materials Video – Solid Wood vs Laminate
Explore natural and processed materials with this science experiment video perfect for your Year 4 science unit!
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Growth and Change Unit Plan
This Biological Sciences unit explores how living things grow and change. Animal offspring (including humans) are compared with their parents and plants are grown from seed in order to observe change over a period of weeks.
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A-Planting We Will Go!
A 60 minute lesson in which students will plant seeds following the procedure of the scientific method.
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What Snacks Do Ants Prefer?
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate which foods ants prefer to eat.
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Knowing Matters!
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore how knowledge of states of matter and their changes can help inform practices and decision making.
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Changing States of Matter
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the way solids, liquids and gases change in different situations.
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Sound Research
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how sound travels.
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Line Up the Light
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate if light travels in a straight line.
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Now I Understand - Building a Solid Conclusion for an Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will learn how to build solid scientific conclusions for experiments.
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Science Experiment - Suck It Up!
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate materials and their absorptive properties through a scientific investigation.
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Fake Plastic Trees - A Demonstration Comparing Properties of Natural and Processed Materials
A 60 minute lesson in which students will compare the properties of natural and processed materials through a demonstration.
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Adding Heat
A 60-minute lesson in which students will investigate what happens when heat is applied to a range of solids.
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Shine Bright, Electric Light!
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how changes to electrical circuits affect their components.
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Shelter Building Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how a shelter can protect a living thing.
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Flood Simulation Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how town planning can reduce the impact of flooding.
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Making a Mini Water Cycle Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how the water cycle works.
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Living Things Need Food
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how plants and animals get energy to survive.
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Creating Oxygen Experiment
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how plants make oxygen.
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Light and Shadow - Design an Experiment
An assessment task in which students will demonstrate an understanding of light and fair testing.
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True Colours
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how the colour of an object depends on the properties of the object and the colour of the light source.
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Reflecting Light
A 60 minute lesson in which students will use mirrors to investigate some of the properties of reflected light.