Science activities can be found throughout any house.
Children can use plain white rice (although it adds a little fun when it is coloured with food colouring and dried) and measuring spoons and cups. This helps them gain a better understanding of measurements.
A bathroom scale can be used for weighing various objects. Have the children estimate the weight of objects and then place it on the scale to see how close they were.
Tools such as hammers, screw drivers and wrenches can be used under close supervision.
Measuring tapes can be used in a guessing game similar to the one done with the bathroom scale
Although it can be a little expensive, a small aquarium can be a valuable tool for science and discovery. Children can learn what is necessary to keep their fish healthy.
Small snails can often be found near ponds and are great for the kids to collect.
Sea shells can be purchased fairly inexpensively at most dollar stores. The children can examine them closely with magnifying glasses.
Conch shells are great for 'hearing the ocean'
Search the internet or magazines such as "World" for various forms of sea life. Print or cut out the picutres and group them into their proper category, mammal, fish, crustaceans.
Science acitivities that relate to a camping theme are numerous.
Large branches (or even a tree stump if you can find one) can be used to count the rings to determine the tree's age.
Examining different types of leaves, how they look, feel, smell and their colours.
Learning how different plants have defence mechanisms (ie rose thorns)
Carnations or celery can be used to show children how plants absorb water. Trim the bottoms of white carnations or celery stalks on an angle for maximum water absorbtion.
(Leave the leaves on the celery)
Place them in cups of different coloured water (dyed with food colouring) Within a few hours the children will be able to see the flower or celery leaves take on the colour of the water.
The circus theme can bring many interesting science and discovery activities.
I use this opportunity to teach the children about colours ( after all the circus is a colourful place)
Use paint or food colouring in the primary colours (red, blue and yellow) to mix and create the other colours.
Older children are able to understand more abstract concepts and I use this opportunity to teach them about gasses. Fill a balloon with ordinary air and another with helium. The helium is lighter than carbon dioxide (which is what is blown into the other balloon and therefore it floats.
Bubbles are a great activity with this theme as well. Older kids can learn why bubbles are always round (the air within the soap will take on the maximum space available, which is in the form of a round bubble)
The youger children can try to catch bubbles on their fingers.
Since planets and stars are not visible in the day we rely on a lot of books for space science. Discuss what makes a day (Earth rotates on it's axis once in 24 hours) and what makes a year (Earth revolves around the sun once every 365 days) Make a chart to compare days and years on each planet. I will post the numbers as soon as I dig out the chart :)
For older children, discuss the seasonal changes, (the Earth's tilt on it's axis)
Gravity is also a good science topic for space. Try seeing which will fall faster when dropped from the same height, a feather or a tennis ball. Ask the children to imagine the world without gravity. How would we stop ourselves from floating away. (You'll love some of their answers!
Props are very helpful when discussing these things, whether they be the planets the kids made or balloons to represent each planet and the sun.
Fall is a great time for learning about trees. Take the kids on a nature walk and collect as many different types of leaves as you can. There are many books in the library that the children can find their leaves in and see what type of tree they come from. What other things come from those trees? (ie chestnut trees)
The leaves can be preserved by waxing them (place the leaf between 2 peices of wax paper, place a tea towel over the top peice and iron on a meduim heat for 2 minutes)
It's also a great time to learn about what many animals do to prepare for the winter.
Fall is also the season for planting your spring bulbs. Tulips, daffodils and other annuals are a great way for kids to get into the garden. And don't forget to harvest your fall vegetables.
Apple picking is a great way for the children to learn how the same thing (an apple tree) can produce so much variety (various types of trees, ie red delicious, granny smith, etc)