Experiment Girl - Sink or Float?

By the time I got to this experiment last week I was on my last leg of coming up with experiments and counting down the days until I got to (I mean had to) send the kids back to school.  So in an act of desperation on my part I decided to do one of the easiest things ever, grab items from around the house and see if they would sink or float.  It turns out that this is really exciting for a three year old so I guess my lack of inspiration was an unintended win!

Sink or Float?

Immediacy of results: Immediate

Prepwork required: None

Time: Depends on how many items you grab

Materials

A tub filled with water

Any items around the house that can get wet.  Items that we used were:

Whisk

Ice cream scoop

Ariel princess

Teething ball

Small basketball

Teething ring

Little People Lamb

Little People Donkey

Small frisbee

Fisher Price Egg

Step 1. Search the house for toys that can get wet.

Step 2. Ask your child whether they think each individual item will sink or float.  Charlotte's expert hypothesis was that everything would float.

Step 3. Fill the tub with water and let your child splash around.

Step 4. Once they're tired of splashing give them each item and let them drop them into the water to see if they will sink or float.  If you really want to get scientific talk about why things sank or floated.

Our items that floated: Small basketball, teething ring, Little People Lamb, Frisbee, Fisher Price Egg, Little People Donkey

Our items that sank: Teething ball, ice cream scoop, Ariel, whisk