What Absorbs Water: Absorption For Kids

Water activities are so easy to set up and perfect for young kids to play and learn with science. Every day materials and supplies become awesome preschool science experiments. There are tons of ways to investigate water science all year round! Explore absorption as you investigate what materials absorb water with this fun experiment below.

FUN WATER ABSORPTION EXPERIMENT FOR KIDS

WHAT ABSORBS WATER

We have played around with cotton balls and water before, watching the cotton balls fill up with water and then observing what happens to the cotton ball both wet and dry.

This time I decided to make the experiment a little more challenging by having him guess which items he thought might absorb the water and which might not. We talked about how some materials repel water (do not absorb). I had him make some guesses before we started to see what he thought. Time to experiment and observe!

WATER ABSORPTION EXPERIMENT

SUPPLIES:

 I put out the following materials in no particular order for our water science experiment.  Free to substitute materials for whatever you have available.

• sponge
• styrofoam tray
• napkin
• wax paper
• sock
• zip lock bag
• paper towel
• sandwich wrap
• construction paper
• aluminum foils
• of course cotton balls!

I also set out a bowl of colored water (better to observe with colored water) and an eye dropper for precise experimentation. Very simple set up. Use what you have in your cupboards, closet and recycling bin!

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EXPERIMENT SET UP

STEP 1. First think about which materials might absorb the water and which might repel the water.  Make your predictions!

STEP 2. Carefully fill the eye dropper and then squeeze some water onto each material.

THINGS THAT ABSORB WATER

Here is what we learned! As we tested each item with the water, I asked him what he thought. Did it absorb water? Did it not absorb the water? He definitely understood the difference, and we had fun checking out what each one did!  We can say that absorption is when something takes in another substance.

Materials that absorb water include; sponge, napkin, paper towel, face cloth, sock, paper, cotton balls.  Materials that don’t absorb water include; Styrofoam, zip lock bag, wax paper, aluminium foil, sandwich wrap.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Water Activities For Kids

To wrap up our water absorption experiment, he engaged in some free play. He experimented with different colors, adding more water to different materials, and using the sponge to pick up water!

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MORE FUN WATER EXPERIMENTS

• What solids dissolves in water?
• Walking Water
• Oil and Water Experiment
• Growing Crystals
• Water Cycle In A Bottle

AWESOME WATER SCIENCE AT HOME FOR KIDS!

Click on the image below or on the link for more easy science experiments with water.