Space Preschool Science Experiments: Venus and Neptune

Do you know how many planets there are? I grew up knowing that it was 9 and now that has changed. Today’s #Playful Preschool lesson is SPACE! My daughter loves all things space courtesy of Bubble Guppies. I figured that instead of teaching her the 9 planets, er I mean 8 planets, I will teach her about the traits of 2 planets through a preschool science experiment.

I am so glad that space was the topic this week as I have been meaning to explore hot and cold with both of my kids. Yes my toddler was a willing participant in our science experiment. The experiment was pretty easy to create and I am sure it is one that your preschooler will enjoy as well.

What You Need

• 2 bowls
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup cold water
• flat surface
• Venus and Neptune quick facts sheet
• white paint
• blue paint

1) Place both bowls on a flat surface and pour the warm water into the first bowl. Add a few drops of white paint to imitate the colour of Venus.

2) Pour the cold water into the second bowl. Add a few drops of blue paint to imitate the colour of Neptune.

3) Call your little scientists over for them to explore.

Please note, I chose warm water instead of hot water because I anticipated that my little scientists would be playing with the water in the bowls.

While they were exploring I asked J 2 questions:

Which bowl has the cold water?  Which bowl has the warm water?

With C, my 1 year old, my approach was different. I placed his hand in the first bowl and said,

Hot. The water is hot.

I then placed his other hand in ‘Neptune’ (the bowl with cold water) and said,

Cold. The water is cold.

While they were exploring I stated a few facts from the Venus and Neptune facts card.

Don’t forget to check out what the other members of the Playful Preschool theme came up with. Thanks for walking with me.

More SPACE themed activities from the #PLAYfulPreschool Education Team: