Best Physics Experiments For Kids

Rolling, bouncing, racing, zipping, squishing, and more! Physics is fun, and these simple physics experiments are perfectly fun physics for kids you can even do at home or with small groups in the classroom. Whether you are exploring laws of motion, sound waves, or light, physics is everywhere!  Make sure to check out all of our science experiments for all year round learning and play.

THE BEST PHYSICS PROJECTS FOR KIDS

FUN PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Can physics be playful? Absolutely, and we will show you AMAZING physics projects for kids that are easy to set up, budget-friendly, and of course playful! Hands-on is the way to go with our young scientists, explorers, and engineers.

From catapults to rockets and ramps to light and sound, you will find a little bit of everything to start enjoying physics at home or add to your classroom lessons with your kids. We even have some free fun printable packs to help you get started at the bottom of this page.

Oh and if you are looking for an equally awesome collection of chemistry experiments for kids, we have that too!

WHAT IS PHYSICS?

Physics is most simply put, the study of matter and energy and the interaction between the two. How did the Universe begin? You might not have the answer to that question! However, you can pull off these cool physics experiments to get your kids thinking, observing, questioning, and experimenting.

Let’s keep it basic for our younger scientists. Physics is all about energy and matter and the relationship they share with one another. Like all sciences, physics is all about solving problems and figuring out why things do what they do. Keep in mind that simple physics experiments can involve some chemistry too!

Kids are great for questioning everything, and we want to encourage…

• listening
• observing
• exploring
• experimenting
• reinventing
• testing
• evaluating
• questioning
• critical thinking
• and more…..

In the physics experiments below, some of the things you are going to learn a little bit about are static electricity, Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion, simple machines, buoyancy, density, and more! And all with easy household supplies, so you can still do awesome physics projects at home on a budget!

Encourage your kids to make predictions, discuss observations, and re-test their ideas if they don’t get the desired results the first time. Science always includes an element of mystery that kids naturally love to figure out! Learn more about using the scientific method with kids here.

We have a brand new series surrounding the NGSS science standards so you can work all these great ideas into your lesson plans.

Looking for easy science process information and free journal pages? 

We have you covered…

—>>> FREE Science Process Pack

SIMPLE PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS

You will love these neat physics project ideas we have to share with you.  I handpick my selections based on what I think my son would enjoy, what supplies are needed, and what amount of time needs to be dedicated to each activity.

Click on each link for the full descriptions of each of the experiments and activities.

AIR PRESSURE CAN EXPERIMENT

Learn about atmospheric pressure with this incredible can crusher experiment. 

AIR RESISTANCE EXPERIMENT

Whoa! A physics experiment in under 10 mins and all you need to do is go raid the computer printer! Make simple air foils and learn about air resistance.

AIR VORTEX CANNON

Make your own homemade air cannon and blast down dominoes and other similar items.  Learn about air pressure and the movement of air particles in the process.

BALANCING APPLE EXPERIMENT

Can you balance an apple on your finger? We explored balancing apples and gravity with real apples for our Ten Apples Up On Top Dr Seuss theme and it was pretty challenging! Now let’s try to balance a paper apple (use our FREE printable template to make your own).

BALLOON CAR

There are I am sure many ways for you to come up with a balloon car. I have two balloon car design suggestions to get the creative juices flowing! You can make a LEGO balloon car or you can make a cardboard balloon car. Both work off of a similar principle and really go.  Find out which makes the fastest balloon car,

BALLOON ROCKET

Explore fun forces with an easy to set up balloon rocket project. See it here along with more easy physics ideas. Although theme for a holiday, this simple experiment can be turned into any fun theme. You can even race two balloons or set it up outside!

BUOYANCY

Pennies and foil are all you need to learn about buoyancy. Oh and a bowl of water too!

CAPILLARY ACTION

Check out these fun ways to demonstrate capillary action. Plus, all you need is a handful of common household supplies.

COLOR CHANGING FLOWERS

Learn about the forces of capillary action as you change your flowers from white to green. Or any color you like!  Easy to set up and perfect for a group of kiddos to do at the same time.

DENSITY TOWER EXPERIMENT

Explore how some liquids are heavier or more dense than other liquids with this super easy physics experiment.

DROPS OF WATER ON A PENNY

How many drops of water can you fit on a penny?  Explore surface tension of water when you try this fun penny lab with the kids.

EGG DROP PROJECT

Check out our mess-free version of a classic science experiment.  This egg drop challenge is a great way to introduce younger kids to the scientific method as you test out ideas to protect your egg from cracking.

Here’s an egg drop project suitable for older kids by Lemon Lime Adventures.

EGG RACES

Let the egg race experiments begin!  Which egg will roll to the bottom of the ramp first? Help your kids make predictions as to what will happen with different size eggs and different angles of ramps. Older kids may also find learning about Newton’s 3 Laws to be interesting, and explore how they can apply those ideas to their egg races.

ELECTRIC CORNSTARCH

Can you make oobleck jump? Learn about static electricity with this fun cornstarch and oil experiment.

FLOATING RICE

Can you lift a bottle of rice with a pencil? Explore the force of friction with this easy physics experiment.

HOW DO SHARKS FLOAT

Or why is it that sharks don’t sink in the ocean? Learn about how these great fish coast around through the ocean and buoyancy with this simple physics activity.

Check out more awesome shark week activities here.

HOW TO MAKE RAINBOWS

Explore light and refraction when you make rainbows using a variety of simple supplies. Awesome hands-on science for kids of all ages.

KALEIDOSCOPE FOR KIDS

Learn how to create a kaleidoscope for simple physics.

KITE BUILDING

A good breeze and a few materials are all you need to tackle this Kite making physics project at home, with a group or in the classroom. Learn about forces needed to keep a kite up in the air, as you fly your own kite.

LAVA LAMP

Explore physics with common items found around the house. A homemade lava lamp (or density experiment) is one of our favorite science experiments for kids.

LEGO PARACHUTE

If your mini-figure was about to go skydiving, would they have a LEGO® Parachute? And would their parachute actually work and carry them safely to the ground? Experiment with different materials to see what makes a good parachute.

LEGO ZIP LINE

Can you set up a LEGO zip line and see how well it holds up when in motion? This LEGO® building challenge is also a great way to introduce gravity, friction, slope, energy, and motion while getting creative with your LEGO® design. You could also add a pulley mechanism like we did here for this toy zip line.

MAGNET DISCOVER TABLE

Explore magnets with these simple discovery table ideas. Magnets are fascinating science and kids love to play with them!

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Magnet Painting

MARBLE RUN WALL

Pool noodles are amazing and cheap materials for so many STEM projects. I keep a bunch on hand all year-long to keep my kid busy. I bet you didn’t know how useful a pool noodle could be for physics projects.  Learn about gravity, friction, energy and more with hands-on physics fun!

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Cardboard Tube Marble Run

POPSICLE STICK CATAPULT

Want to learn how to make a catapult with popsicle sticks? This Popsicle stick catapult design is an easy physics experiment for kids of all ages! Everyone loves to launch stuff into the air.

We have also made a spoon catapult, LEGO catapult, pencil catapult, and a jumbo marshmallow catapult!

LEGO RUBBER BAND CAR

We made a simple LEGO rubber band car to go along with our favorite superhero book. Again these can be made as simple or as detailed as your kids would like to make them, and it’s all STEM!  

PENNY SPINNER

Make these fun paper spinner toys out of simple household materials. Kids love things that spin and spinning tops are one of the earliest toys made in the US.

POP ROCKS EXPERIMENT

We tested a variety of fluids all with a unique viscosity for this fun pop rocks science experiment. Grab a few packs of pop rocks and don’t forget to taste them too!

RAINBOW IN A JAR

This water density experiment with sugar uses only a few kitchen ingredients but produces an amazing physics project for kids!  Enjoy finding out about the basics of color mixing all the way up to the density of liquids.

RISING WATER EXPERIMENT

Add a burning candle to a tray of water, cover it with a jar and watch what happens!

ROLLING PUMPKINS

It doesn’t get much easier than pumpkin rolling on homemade ramps. And what makes it even better is that it’s also a great  simple physics experiment for kids. 

RUBBER BAND CAR

Kids love building things that move! Plus, it’s even more fun if you can make a car go without just pushing it or by adding an expensive motor. 

SALT WATER DENSITY EXPERIMENT

This easy to set up salt water density experiment is a cool variation of the classic sink or float experiment. What will happen to the egg in salt water? Will an egg float or sink in salty water? There are so many questions to ask and predictions to make with this easy physics experiment for kids.

SHADOW PUPPETS

Kids love their shadows, love to chase shadows, and love to make shadows do silly things! There’s also some fun things to learn about shadows for physics.  Make simple animal shadow puppets and learn about the science of shadows.

SIMPLE PULLEY EXPERIMENT

Kids love pulleys and our homemade pulley system is sure to be a permanent fixture in your backyard this season. Make a pulley simple machine, learn a little physics, and find new ways to play.

SINK OR FLOAT

Use items straight out of the kitchen for our sink or float experiment. You could also test peeling your vegetables or slicing them. Plus I am sure your child will be able to come with other fun things to test! This is a simple physics experiment and totally engaging for young kids.

SOUND EXPERIMENT

Kids love to make noises and sounds is all a part of the physical sciences. This homemade xylophone sound experiment is truly a simple physics experiment for kids. So easy to set up, it’s kitchen science at it’s finest with plenty of room to explore and play!

STATIC ELECTRICITY

Balloons are a must for this one! This simple experiment explores the fun physics that kids love. I bet you’ve even tried it yourself. Although it’s themed for Valentine’s Day, you can make it your own!

BROKEN TOOTHPICK

Is it magic or is it science? Make a star out of broken toothpicks by only adding water, and see capillary action at work.

VISCOSITY EXPERIMENT

Test the viscosity or “thickness” of different household liquids with this easy physics experiment for kids.

WATER DISPLACEMENT EXPERIMENT

Learn about water displacement and what it measures with this simple physics experiment for kids.

VALENTINE PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

5 simple physics experiments with a Valentine’s Day theme including a balloon rocket, static electricity, buoyancy and more!

MORE COOL PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS

• Magnet Powered Car | Science Kiddo
• Rocket Building Station | Lemon Lime Adventures
• Exploring Light with Prisms | Buggy and Buddy 
• The Science of Sound Waves | KC Edventures
• Gravity Art | Artful Parent

SIMPLE PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS MAKE LEARNING A BLAST!

Make sure to bookmark all of our resources to make your science and STEM planning a breeze.

MORE FUN SCIENCE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

• FIZZ AND BUBBLE EXPERIMENTS
• SIMPLE ENGINEERING PROJECTS FOR KIDS
• WATER EXPERIMENTS
• SELF PROPELLED VEHICLES
• EDIBLE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS
• CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS

Looking for easy to print activities, and inexpensive science experiments? 

We have you covered…

Click below to get your quick and easy science activities.