Halloween is the perfect time to create a mad scientist potion station for kids!
Use science to encourage creative and imaginative play. Lil B and M-Woww loved creating their own mixtures, potions and thinking like a scientist.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This post contain affiliate links to products I personally recommend. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
We were inspired by Rachelle Doorley’s book, Tinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors .
Rachelle’s website, Tinkerlab has many ideas on how to encourage child led creative play and tinkering. I was pleased to see the book was also filled with creative ideas to inspire young minds.
To be honest, there is so much useful information in the book each chapter could have been its own book! There is a wealth of activities and step by step tutorials on how to stretch your child’s creative thinking. Even if you are not artistic yourself, the book gives you instructional information in a clear concise way to create the best learning environment with your child. I love in the beginning she even addresses on how to set up a space to give your child a space to create in.
I feel the book provides enough variety of activities that it would be beneficial to either a boy or girl and a wide range of ages.
If your child loves to create, build, experiment, concoct then they will enjoy the activities in this book.
Read below for how we set up our Mad Scientist potion station.
Materials:
Baking Soda
Vinegar (we mixed liquid watercolor in ours to create different colors -food dye would also work)
Oil
Water
Plastic Straws
Vases or Jars
Measuring Spoons
Tutorial:
Step 1: Before inviting my scientists to create I laid out all the materials in an inviting way. I also set up our mixing lab outside for easy clean up of any spills.
Step 2: I invited my scientists over to the table and together we discussed things scientists do. I gave them the safety googles to represent being a scientist. Lab coats would have been fun to have too (but we did not have any).
Step 3: As we discussed things scientists do we also inspected our materials. I demonstrated how to measure and scoop with the measuring spoons. I also showed them how to use a finger over the straw to trap liquid and move it to a new jar (you also could use an eyedropper or pipette).
Step 4: Next we made predictions about what would happen. We started with mixing oil and the water and then moved on to mixing baking soda and vinegar.
Step 5: Once I felt they had an understanding of the materials and tools we were using I stepped out the way and let them create their own potions and concoctions.
Lil B and M-Woww really got into this activity. Once they filled their individual bowl they would empty into a large bowl I had set aside and start again with a new potion in their individual bowl. This made easy clean up for me and kept them engaged in the activity. The other thing they really enjoyed was creating a name to go along with their potions.
Be sure to pick up your copy of Tinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors
is available on Amazon. The book is a must for encouraging creative thinking in all kids. We can’t wait to try out a few more activities from the book.
Tell Us What Concoction does your little inventor like to make?
If you are looking for ideas on how to create a potion station for older kids be sure to check out Planet Smarty’s summer Science potion station.
Leave a Reply