Fizz Boom Read!: Science Crafts for School Age Kids

A staple of my summer reading program every year is a program that consists solely of crafts based on the year's theme. This year due to popular demand I did two sessions of crafts for Grades K-2 and two sessions for Grades 3-6. The kids at my library always love to do crafts, but I have to admit I was a little shocked how popular they were this year.

Out of the several crafts we did, here are my favorites.

• Magnet painting: The K-2nd graders loved this one. I had a set of magnetic balls and bar magnets which we used to mix colors on paper plates. After the colors were mixed the kids turned the plates over to create a design on a piece of construction paper. You could pretty much create the same effect by using magnets and metal washers.

• Skeleton Hand Anatomy: I also did this one with the K-2nd graders. The kids traced their hands on black paper and used Q-Tips to fill in bones. Some kids even started to break up the Q-Tips to make smaller "bones". Paint could also be incorporated or you could have kids do their feet instead.

• Candy Chromatography: This was one that I saved for the 3rd-6th graders. They had a blast with it. They didn't even complain that there wasn't much extra candy to eat! To do this project all you do is place Nerds candy on coffee filters and use a straw or dropper to drop water on the candy. This creates cool designs on the coffee filters. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this one. For an idea of how it turns out head here.

• Salt painting: Of all the crafts the 3rd-6th graders did the salt painting was the messiest. They drew a picture with glue on black paper and sprinkled it with salt. They then added a drop of water mixed with food coloring and watched it spread. I have to say it worked pretty well. I especially loved that one of the kids' project said "I love science!"

This post is part of Thrive Thursday, a blog hop in which librarians share school age program ideas. This month's roundup is hosted by Sara at Bryce Don't Play. Head over and check it out for more great ideas!