Sink or Float Experiment is a fun hands-on science experiment for younger learners. It’s probably the easiest experiment you’ll ever do because you use items around your house. The hardest part might be finding a dish deep enough, but you can just use the kitchen sink with a stopper or the bathtub! Otherwise – it’s easy and you can do it many times with many different objects.
Sink or Float Experiment
I’m sure there is an actual step-by-step experiment sheet somewhere online, but we just went ahead and did it the Layton Way. Winging it. It worked, I really don’t think there is a wrong way to do this experiment. However, I went ahead and created Sink or Float sheets to document what we tried and which column the object ended up at, sink or float. You can print the worksheet and use for your experiments too.
Sink or Float requires a few items around the house:
Roasting dish, bucket, sink, tub, etc. I used a 13×9 roasting tin. They’re cheap at the grocery store and usually in a pack.
Fill dish with water. Keep paper towels handy – you will make a mess.
Add items around the house and document if they sink or float.
Items used: lego, Hot Wheel, pencil, wedding ring, glasses, envelope, orange, avocado peel, candle stick, fork, penny, quarter, screw, old battery, chalk, and sponge.
Be sure to use things you will not mind getting wet!
Titanic Remembrance Day
If you have older children who have tried the Sink or Float Experiment, encourage them to learn about the Titanic or Glaciers.
Websites we’ve used:
Titanic, https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/titanic
Glaciers, https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-glacier?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products