I thought I would introduce the concept of gravity to my son and have him experiment around the house, finding out how it works. There are so many low or no-prep hands-on gravity activities that you can do with young kids to introduce this concept! We love easy preschool science activities!

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What is Gravity?

Earth’s gravity is the force that keeps everything on the planet’s surface and makes things fall to the ground. Good thing!

Imagine you are standing on the ground, and there’s an invisible force pulling you down toward the Earth. That force is called gravity. It’s like a giant magnet that attracts everything with mass toward the center of the Earth.

The Earth is super big and has a lot of mass, which means it has a strong pull. That’s why we don’t float away into space like astronauts do when they’re far from Earth. Instead, gravity keeps us firmly planted on the ground.

Have you ever watched a NASA video of an astronaut floating around inside his/her ship?

The Moon also has gravity, but its pull is not as strong because it’s much smaller than Earth. That’s why astronauts can jump higher on the Moon than on Earth!

Even if you can jump really high, you’ll still come back down!

Now, the Earth’s gravity doesn’t just work on you; it also works on everything around you, living and nonliving! It pulls down the trees, the buildings, and even the air you breathe. That’s why things always fall when you drop them. The Earth’s gravity is pulling them like the glass of milk that my son knocked off the table this morning!

When you throw a ball up in the air, it comes back down because of gravity!

Gravity is a fantastic force that keeps our feet on the ground, helps things stay where they are, and makes the world work together. Without gravity, everything would be floating around in space. So, we can thank Earth’s gravity for making our planet such a fantastic place to live!

TIP: Get kids talking about what types of things they think gravity effects in their life!

Why Science Is Important For Preschoolers!

Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, check things out, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change as they change!

Indoors or outdoors, science is amazing! Let’s introduce our younger kiddos to science at a time in their development when they have so much curiosity about the world around them!

Science surrounds us, inside and out. Preschoolers love looking at things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and of course exploring stored energy! Check out 50 awesome preschool science projects to get started!

There lots of easy science concepts that you can introduce kids to very early on! You might not even think about science when your toddler or preschooler pushes a car down a ramp, plays in front of the mirror, plays with a magnetic wand, or bounces balls over and over again.

See where I am going with this list! What else can you add if you stop to think about it? Science starts early, and you can be a part of that with setting up science at home with everyday materials.

Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. Check out our helpful science resources below.

Helpful Science Resources To Get Your Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

Fun Ways To Demonstrate Gravity

Here’s my son at age 3, exploring a book filled with pictures of kids testing out gravity. Then, we had a blast jumping, falling, dropping, rolling, and pouring things together. I think he got the idea that what goes up must come down (unless it gets stuck)! Here are super quick ways to demonstrate gravity in 2 minutes.

  • Pour water into a glass.
  • Knock something (not breakable) off a table.
  • Fall onto a bed or a pile of cushions.
  • Push a toy car down a toy ramp (Hotwheels tracks).
  • Toss a pile of socks in the air.
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Books About Gravity

Here are some simple and engaging book ideas that will introduce the concept of gravity in a fun way, making them suitable for preschoolers and kindergarteners who are just beginning to explore scientific concepts.

“Newton and Me” by Lynne Mayer: This beautifully illustrated picture book introduces young children to the concept of gravity through the story of a young boy and his toy. It’s a charming and easy-to-understand book for preschoolers.

“Gravity” by Jason Chin: While this book is suitable for older preschoolers and kindergarteners, it features stunning illustrations and a straightforward explanation of gravity that young children can enjoy with the help of an adult.

“What Is Gravity?” by Lisa Trumbauer: This book from the “Rookie Read-About Science” series is designed for young readers and provides a basic introduction to gravity. It includes simple text and colorful pictures, making it perfect for kindergarteners.

“I Fall Down” by Vicki Cobb: Geared toward preschoolers and kindergarteners, this book explores the concept of gravity in a playful way. It features interactive experiments and encourages young children to think about gravity in their daily lives.

“Gravity Is a Mystery” by Franklyn M. Branley: Part of the “Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science” series, this book is aimed at early elementary readers but can be suitable for kindergarteners with adult guidance. It uses simple language and illustrations to explain gravity in a way that young children can grasp.

Gravity Activities For Kids

How do you explain gravity to young kids? You show them! Take a look at these playful, hands-on activities that get kids moving and explore how fun gravity is. My son loves anything gross motor involved, and gravity activities can incorporate lots of movement for young kids.

You might also like to incorporate these fun air resistance activities too.

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Some activities share an easy description to get you started, as they are meant to be low to no prep. In comparison, some activities have links to explore further how to do the activity!

Note: While the concept of gravity is much more involved than the simple examples below, it’s just the right amount of information for our youngest scientists! For older kids, check out these gravity experiments!

Dropping Objects

Have kids drop various objects (e.g., balls, feathers, toys) from different heights and observe how they fall. Explain that gravity pulls objects down towards the Earth.

Feather and Coin Test

Place a feather and a coin side by side. Ask kids which one will hit the ground first when dropped. Demonstrate that they both fall at the same rate due to gravity.

Water Balloon Toss

Fill water balloons and play catch. Discuss how the balloons fall because of gravity pulling them downward.

Jumping

Show how gravity affects us by performing jumping jacks, jumping on a trampoline, or simply jumping in place and feeling the force pulling us back to the ground.

Magnet Play

Use a magnet and a variety of metal and nonmetal objects to show how magnetic pull is stronger than gravity. Check out all sorts of fun magnet activities here.

Balancing Act

Use a ruler or stick to balance various objects on the edge. Talk about how gravity keeps them stable or causes them to fall. Check out our balancing apple or balancing animal activities to try this!

Paper Airplanes

Fold paper airplanes and see how gravity pulls them downward when thrown. make our paper airplane launcher here.

Rolling Race

Use toy cars or balls to race down ramps at different angles. Discuss how gravity influences their speed. Check out our ramps and friction activity for preschoolers or this fun apple race gravity demonstration.

Waterfall Experiment

Pour water down a sloped surface and watch it flow due to gravity. Build a water wall!

Floating and Sinking

Test different objects in a water basin to see which ones float (buoyancy) and sink due to gravity. Try this sink or float experiment!

Marble Run/Maze

Build a simple marble maze and observe gravity pulling the marbles through the tracks. Use paper towel tubes to create a marble coaster.

Helium Balloons

Compare regular and helium balloons to show how gravity pulls one down while the other floats up.

Quick explanation: Gravity is still pulling down the balloon but the special gas inside keeps is different than regular air so it keeps it floating instead. In fact, if you don’t tie down a helium balloon it will float away until the gas inside slowly leaks out.

Musical Chairs

Play musical chairs and discuss how gravity keeps everyone seated until the music stops.

Bouncing Balls

Show how gravity causes a ball to bounce back up after hitting the ground. Have fun tossing and bouncing different balls. See how you can incorporate this into gravity art below.

Fly Swatter Balloon Tennis

Play a fly swatter balloon tennis game where kids try to “swat” falling balloons to show gravity in action.

Gravity Art

Place a large sheet of paper on the floor. Have kids stand up and drip paint onto paper placed on the floor and watch how gravity creates unique patterns. Try using eye droppers or basters! Alternatively, you can take it outside and have kids drop small bouncy balls covered in paint onto the paper. Fun, messy, process art for kids!

Collapsing Towers

Build towers with various materials (e.g., cards, paper cups) and let kids knock them down to see gravity at work. Try this paper cup tower challenge to get started!

Rolling Downhill

Walk outside and have fun rolling balls or toys down a hill to see gravity’s influence. If you are daring roll yourself down the hill.

Playground Fun

Take a trip to the playground and point out how gravity affects you on the slide, monkey bars, and swings! Gravity is always pulling you back down and can make the monkey bars quite challenging!

Slinky Play

A slinky loves gravity and a set of stairs. If your kids have never played with a slinky, it’s a must-try activity.

Remember, preschool-age kids learn best through hands-on play, so try to make these activities engaging and interactive. Encourage their curiosity and ask open-ended questions to help them explore the concept of gravity further. I love the question, “What do you think will happen if_______?”

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Printable Preschool Activities Pack

Get ready to explore this year with our growing Preschool STEM Bundle.

What’s Included:

There are 4 fun preschool themes to get you started. This is an ” I can explore” series!

Each unit contains approximately 15 activities, with instructions and templates as needed. Hands-on activities are provided to keep it fun and exciting. This includes sensory bins, experiments, games, and more! Easy supplies keep it low cost and book suggestions add the learning time. 

9 Comments

  1. AWESOME explanation and such a variety of ways for children to experience gravity! I am in love with your indoor slide combo – wherever did you get it?

  2. I always thought of gravity as too complicated to explain to my preschooler but you nailed it with these fun ways to show gravity in action! The slinky is an awesome idea. My daughter would have a blast falling down and throwing things in the air only to see them fall, all in the name of science! 🙂

  3. What a simple but fun way to explain the meaning of gravity and what it can do. I think reading gravity’s definition in a book makes it more complicated. I am sure Liam did enjoy the whole activity just looking at the photos.

  4. It’s called Rhapsody by Cedar Works. We were lucky to purchase this from a friend used so the cause was significantly lower. S cool to have! Everyone is always jealous when they come over.

  5. Gravity is a fascinating subject. Love a giant slinky experiment – so fun! Thanks for sharing with Afterschool!

  6. I love these simple experiments! I am featuring it today as part of a round up of Science activities for After School.

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