Sharing Science with Children:
A Guide for Parents
- Why do leaves fall from trees?
- What is snow made of?
- How do gears work?
- Where does the sun go at night?
Children ask a lot of questions. Ever curious, they use all of their senses to
explore the world and discover new things.
Children and science are natural partners. Science is all about searching for
answers. It is observing, investigating, testing ideas - things that children
love to do.
Today's children are tomorrow's scientists and science users. They will rely
even more than we do on science and technology - for jobs, communication,
food, health care, energy, and care of the environment.
Science learning begins at home, with you as your child's most important
teacher. By sharing science with your children, you can help them:
- feel the excitement of discovery
- build thinking and problem solving skills
- learn to answer their own questions
- develop a positive attitude about science and technology
- grow to understand and enjoy the world around them
This guide suggests ways you can help your children learn about science at
home and in your community.
Science is a part of life - every day.
- Science is a way of looking at the world.
- Scientists ask questions and try to answer them. They experiment to see if
their ideas make sense. So do children. "How do zippers work?" "Where does the
rain go?" "What will happen if...?" When your children ask questions and try
to find answers, they are beginning to do science!
- Science skills are used in everyday life.
- When you observe, compare, sort, experiment, record or share information,
are practicing science skills. A child arranging leaves by shape is using the
same thinking process a scientist uses to sequence genes of a human cell.
- Science is information about things and how they work.
- Although science is more than just facts, science knowledge helps us
build on our discoveries and understand things that happen each day.
"What a good way to begin science. Take apart a toy; see how it works. See the
cleverness of the gears... Learn something about the toy, the way the toy is
put together, the ingenuity of the people devising it."
-Richard Feynman, Nobel laureate in Physics
"The natural world is every child's first laboratory, where questions like
"Why?" and "How?" are early initiations into the excitement and challenge of
science and technology. Encourage your children to read, too. Not just what
they have to read for class or work, but to learn from the wisdom and joys and
mistakes of others. No time is wasted if you have a good book along as a
All of today's parents and community leaders must try to inspire the young of
the world, through books and great people, so that all children are provided
with a sense of life that transcends the artificial boundaries of race,
gender, class, and things."
-Marian Wright Edelman
Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund,
a national voice for children
- Let your child take the lead.
- Build on your child's interests. If
your child loves to cook, let him measure
and mix ingredients, pour the batter into a mold, see mixtures change as
they're heated. Children love to "know all about" their favorite topics. This
confidence carries over to other areas of science, and to life as well.
- Take time to do science.
- Science is exploring, observing, handling materials, testing ideas, and
talking about what our explorations tell us. Give your children a chance to
repeat experiences, to practice skills, to deepen their understanding.
- Talk with your children.
- Encourage your children to talk about their experiences. Listen to them,
about what they observe, think, and feel. Ask questions, especially those with
more than one answer.
- It's okay to say "I don't know."
- Science is all about searching for answers. Observe and experiment
find answers to your children's questions. Go to the library, use other
resources. Start by looking for information together, and soon your children
will try it on their own.
- Enthusiasm is catching.
- Let your children see that you have questions about the world, too. Enjoy
child's curiosity and discoveries. Show your children that you think learning
is important and fun.
- Be ready for science moments.
- Sometimes science opportunities happen when you least expect them. Your
may notice a spider spinning its web on the way to the store, or soil getting
washed away on a rainy day, or a full moon shining. It's worth getting a
little wet or dirty, or losing a little sleep sometimes.
- Remember safety.
- Teach good safety habits.
Use materials that are non-toxic and right for your
child's age. Supervise children when using heat or chemicals - even simple
ones like vinegar and baking soda. Take away hazards - cleaning aids, poisons,
sharp objects, things that can break. Teach kids how to prevent accidents and
what to do if one occurs.
"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder he needs the
companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him
the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."
-Rachel Carson, Biologist
Eight-year-old Brian offers to help his mother make pancakes. Brian measures
each ingredient and his mom mixes them in a bowl.
As they spoon the batter onto a hot skillet, Brian remarks "This is so wet,
Mom. What makes it turn into a pancake?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure," his mother answers, "I've never thought about it before.
Let's watch closely as it cooks and try to find out."
Science starts at home...
As these parents help their children learn to wash, cook, and use tools, they
are also helping them develop important science skills...
- observing, noticing change
- exploring, experimenting, understanding cause and effect
- estimating, measuring, using scale, building from a model
- sharing information
Twelve-year-old Randy asks his dad to help him build a model windmill for a
school science project. Randy shows his father the drawing he's made and
together they measure the lengths of wood. Randy saws the wood, with a little
help from his dad. When he's finished, Randy touches the saw blade.
"Hey, Dad, I wonder why this metal is warm...and the wood, too." Randy hands
the saw to his father.
"It sure is," his dad agrees. He pauses a moment. "Rub your hands together
real fast, son, - how does that feel?"
Randy tries it. "My hands feel warm, too."
"How is that like sawing the wood?" his dad asks.
Science at home supports science at school!
Science concepts explored in school classrooms are the same ones you can
explore in daily life. Here are some everyday examples - you and your children
can find many more!
- How some metals rust when they get wet
- What happens to an egg when it boils
- Why children outgrow their clothes
- How days turn into nights
- How utensils are arranged in a drawer
- Cycles found in nature
- The way food is organized in the supermarket
- A tower built out of blocks
- A map of a town or museum
- The directions to assemble toys or household equipment
- How a toy train compares in size with a real train
- What thermometers, rulers, and bathroom scales measure
- Different sizes of liquid containers
- Kinds of books at home or in the library
- Different plants you see in the park
- The variety of people and cultures in your community
- Cause and Effect
- The way shadows are created and change
- How a damp towel mildews if left crumpled on the floor
- How eyeglasses fog when a person comes inside from the cold
- Structure and Function
- How the shape of our teeth helps us eat
- Why chairs are shaped the way they are
- How the design of a fish's tail helps it swim
Five-year-old Maria sees her mother washing dishes and asks if she can help.
Her mom pulls a stool up to the sink. Maria stirs the warm soapy water and
scoops up a handful of bubbles.
"Look Mom!" Maria blows the bubbles off her hand and watches them float in the
air, then pop where they land. She tries it again and again, seeing how much
she can scoop up and how long it takes for the bubbles to pop.
"I can see you've got a project going," her mother says with a smile. "Why
don't I get you a dishpan of your own?"
Mother finishes the dishes as Maria experiments with the bubbles next to her.
Young People and Learning
Being aware of how your children grow and change helps you share in the
learning process. The chart below offers clues to the way children change,
though there are wide differences within each age group. Each child is unique
and makes sense of the world at his or her own pace.
Children ages 3-5
- Are curious, active, eager to explore.
- Explore their surrounding in their own way, often doing
things over and over.
- Learn most through playing with real things.
- Sort things by what they are used for, or by how they look or feel.
- Often use trial and error to solve problems and explore questions.
- Tend to focus on parts, not the whole; on now, not a sequence of events.
- Often confuse cause and effect, and what's real and imaginary.
- Are developing independence. Want to do things for themselves.
- Often talk to themselves as they play.
- Are working on skills like pouring liquids, working zippers, using crayons,
paint brushes and other simple tools.
- Believe that they are the center of the world and that others see things as
Children ages 6-8
- Begin to use logic to solve problems and answer questions in "hands-on"
- Still use trial and error often.
- Apply past discoveries and experiences to new situations.
- Are developing an understanding of measurement including length, amount and
- Use stories and information from books to build on their own experiences.
- Make and test simple predictions.
- Are more aware of other people's views.
- Are becoming more independent. Can plan and carry out activities and
return to them the next day.
- May be very talkative. A growing vocabulary helps them express ideas.
Discussion is part of their learning.
- Are becoming more skillful with tools such as scissors, pencils, hammers and
Children ages 9-12
- Tend to be more selective about what interests them.
- Are developing the ability to think about and solve problems in their heads.
- Still learn best through "hands-on" experiences. Do experiments, collect and
- Can begin to evaluate their own thought process and approach to solving
- Understand cause and effect.
- Use measurement and mathematics to solve problems.
- Are able to see relationships among objects and ideas.
- Use information from books and resources.
- Can plan and stay with a project over a period of days or even weeks. More
willing to practice a skill until mastered.
- Accept and learn from the views of others.
- Begin to develop ethics and awareness of the larger community.
- Learn to use science equipment like simple microscopes, thermometers,
Science in Everyday Life
Doing science doesn't require a lot of money or special equipment. Here are
some everyday experiences that can become science experiences.
- watch a spider spin its web, take your pet to the vet, ask to see x-rays at
the doctor's, follow a caterpillar as its changes into a butterfly, watch a
mosquito bite, look for animal tracks in the mud or snow, ask about the tools
a dentist uses, act out how different animals move, watch a cut heal
- watch the sky, look at weather maps in newspapers, read thermometers, choose
appropriate clothing, fly a kite in the wind, dry clothes on a clothesline,
splash around in puddles, look for signs of seasonal changes, ask family and
friends about the climates where they live, watch TV weather reports, ask
older relatives about the worst weather they remember, keep a weather diary
for one month
- Energy and Conservation
- replace flashlight batteries, find your electric meter and measure how much
electricity your family uses, recycle household materials, experiment with
kitchen magnets, rub a balloon on your hair to make static electricity,
identify and use kitchen tools, save water, ride a bike instead of taking a
car ride, see how far a marble will roll
- Earth & Space
- compare different street surfaces, observe changes in the moon's shape
sky, notice the variety of building materials, read about NASA's space program
in the library or newspaper, read maps of all kinds, grow and examine salt and
sugar crystals, make models of airplanes and boats, collect rocks and group
the ones that are similar, see how shadows change during the day, enjoy a
- plant seeds in a window box, sort vegetables and fruits, compare clothing
fabrics, grow mold on bread, identify trees, care for house plants, create a
compost pile, collect all kinds of seeds, sprout lima beans and other
"kitchen" seeds, examine parts of a flower, adopt a tree and record seasonal
changes, take a walk in a park
- Physical & Chemical Properties
- measure and mix ingredients while cooking, sink and float toys in the
the hinges on a squeaky door, make and play musical instruments, dissolve
sugar in hot and cold tea, blow soap bubbles, sort objects (leaves, shells,
rocks), organize the kitchen cupboards, turn water into ice and steam, find
and compare plastics in your home, create heat in three ways, bounce light
Some Next Steps
Get involved in your child's day care or school.
- Ask about the science program:
- Do the children do "hands-on" science projects?
how often? What can you do at home to support their science program?
- Find out what you can do to help:
- Do they need chaperones for science field
trips? Funds raised for science equipment? Help collecting or preparing
Check with community organizations.
Ask about science-related programs in your area. Groups to contact include:
PTAs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire, Inc., YWCAs, YMCAs, Boys and Girls
Clubs, 4-H, nature or science center groups, religious youth groups. If local
branches don't yet offer science programming, why not suggest they start?
Explore science in your area...from A to Z!
Airports, Aquariums, Beekeepers, Botanical gardens, Buildings under
construction, Chemical plants, Dairies, Farms, Flower shows, Forests, Gardens,
Gravel pits, Greenhouses, Hardware stores, Health clinics, Industrial plants,
Mines, Museums, Nature centers, Newspaper plants, Observatories, Parks,
Planetariums, Playgrounds, Quarries, Recycling centers, Science centers,
Sewage treatment plants, Shorelines, Television stations, Utility companies,
Water purification plants, Weather stations, Wildlife sanctuaries, Zoos
Share this guide with other parents.
Take advantage of resources.
Science centers and museums feature hands-on exhibits, offer science programs
and activities for all ages, and serve as an educational resource for their
communities. Contact the Association of Science-Technology Centers (202)
783-7200 for a center near you.
National Science & Technology Week (NSTW), a year-round program of the
National Science Foundation, presents activities, events and hands-on
innovative teaching materials to engage the public in active science and
engineering experiences. For free activity packets, write: NSTW, NSF, Room
527, 1800 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20550.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) actively works to educate the public about
chemists and chemistry, and to encourage scientists for tomorrow through
science education, publications, volunteers and community networking. Contact
ACS's Public Outreach Office, 1155 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036,
National Head Start Association (NHSA) supports parents and education staff in
Head Start programs across the country. Early childhood play-to-learn
experiences stimulate children's natural curiosity and science interest. NHSA,
201 N. Union Street, Suite 320, Alexandria, VA 22314.
National Council of La Raza (NCLR), a national Hispanic organization, produces
Project EXCEL to support families and communities learning together. For
Parent Outreach information, contact NCLR, Los Angeles Program Office, 900
Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1520, Los Angeles, CA 90017.
Sharing Science with Children: A Guide for Parents
Developed by the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science
Thomas H. Krakauer, Ph.D., Executive Director
Georgiana M. Searles, Director of Education
Laura Nault Massell, Project Director
Non-commercial duplication is encouraged.
For more copies of this guide or others in the Sharing Science series, A Guide
for Scientists and Engineers, or A Guide for Teachers write: Georgiana M.
Searles, North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, P.O. Box 15190, Durham,
North Carolina 27704.
The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science gratefully acknowledges funding
- National Science Foundation
- American Chemical Society
- American Society for Microbiology
- Schering-Plough Research
- American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science
- Society of America
- National Science & Technology Week and its corporate sponsors:
- AT&T, Miles Inc., Ford Motor Company, IBM
North Carolina Museum of Life and Science