Science plays an essential role in everybody’s lives. You can’t walk down the street or look outside without seeing science in action. But science is more than just a concept — it enables a way of thinking that’s crucial for growth, especially in children. Science inspires people to think about why things happen, learning cause-and-effect and other important relationships.
As parents and teachers, it’s our responsibility to shape children for future success. One great way to teach children science concepts is in their natural habitat — on the playground! Here, you’ll learn some science activities to play on the playground with your child or students to inspire personal and educational development.
What Is the Importance of Science in Education?
Science studies the “why” questions in the world. More specifically, it studies the structure and behavior of the world through experiments and observation.
Children are actively discovering the world and learning how to interact with their surroundings and peers. Science encourages children to learn and interact on a deeper level, creating a well-rounded perception and understanding of different concepts. It teaches children how to ask questions, gather and organize information, solve problems and apply new knowledge.
When children are interested in science, you’re inspiring future pharmacists, explorers, geographers, mathematicians and other professionals in valuable fields. You could be teaching the child who will find a cure for cancer or the child who will take civilization to Mars. But, right now, students need to gain a basic foundation in an environment they’re comfortable with — like while playing on the playground.
How to Make Science Fun and Engaging for Kids
Children engage in science concepts without even realizing it. The best way to make science fun and engaging is to let children play, educating them as they explore. As an example, think about all of the science concepts children engage with on the playground:
- Motion and gravity: When a child interacts with a swing, they’re practicing different forces to perform a swinging motion.
- Balance: Naturally, children are going to climb around playground equipment, requiring gross motor skills like balance.
- Light: Children have a built-in friend with them on the playground — their shadow. Children learn light concepts by studying their shadow, the blocking of light.
- Life science: Being in nature exposes children to different life forms, like insects and growing plants.
You likely don’t have to convince children to play on the playground. As a parent or educator, make the experience educational by incorporating playground science experiments.
3 Science Activities to Play on the Playground
Three science playground games you can consider playing with your children or students are:
1. Does Your Shadow Grow?
Light and shadows create easy learning opportunities. Before starting this activity, go over the concept of shadows. Explain that when you stand your back to the sun and block the light, the outline of your body will appear on the ground. Inspire your children or students to explore more questions, like:
- Are shadows always the same size?
- What happens when the sun isn’t out?
- Is the sun the only source of light that creates shadows?
Once they are excited and ready to learn, pass out the following materials:
- A piece of paper with the times 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
- Two popsicle sticks per student
- Tape measure
- A writing utensil
Next, pair up your students and journey to the playground. Perform this science activity with these steps:
- Model how to measure your shadow, which will require a student’s help. Have a student stand with their back to the sun and place a popsicle stick at the top of the shadow. Add another at the base of the shadow at the back of their foot.
- Measure the space in between both popsicle sticks.
- Record the measurement in the appropriate space on the paper.
- Give your students time to measure their own shadows with their partners.
- Repeat the process at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
As the sun gets higher, the shadow becomes shorter. Explain to your students why this happens — when the sun is lower in the sky, people and objects block more light — and welcome the inflow of curious questions.
2. What Makes a Swing, Swing?
One of the most popular playground activities is swinging. But have your children or students ever asked themselves what makes them capable of swinging? This activity will explore this idea. For this, you’ll need:
- Access to swings
- One piece of paper per student
- A writing utensil
Before heading outside, introduce the concept of gravity, potential energy and kinetic energy. These are the three determining forces that enable us to swing. Then, ask your students if they have any ideas about how swinging works. Test their theories on the playground.
Complete this playground science experiment with these steps:
- Select a volunteer to sit on the swing.
- Stand behind the student and gently push them forward.
- Break down the actions of the swing into three digestible steps — the peak to one side, the peak to the other and the low, middle point.
- Have your students draw a diagram of the swinging movement on their paper.
- Challenge them to label the effects of potential energy, kinetic energy and gravity.
After you let your children or students practice their critical thinking skills, explain what concepts apply to the swinging process. Kinetic energy is the middle part when the swing is physically projecting forward or backward. Potential energy is the short pause at each peak, and gravity is the downward force pulling the swing back to the ground.
3. How’s Your Balance?
Gravity also plays a big role in other playground activities, like balancing. In fact, gravity plays a big role in everything we do, including bending over to pick something up, which we’re exploring in this science activity! For this gravity experiment, all you’ll need is access to a playground.
Before you begin your lesson, talk about physical balance and how it relates to the center of gravity. When standing upright, your body is perfectly balanced, and you don’t have to worry about falling to one side. When you bend over, however, gravity challenges this center of balance.
Follow these steps to do this playground activity:
- Pair your children or students.
- Tell one student to stand and instruct the other student to watch them from the side.
- Have the standing student slowly bend at the hips, keeping their legs straight.
- Allow the second student to observe that, for the first student to keep their center of gravity, half of them moves forward and the other half moves backward.
Finish the lesson with critical thinking questions, like, “What would happen if the student leans backward instead of forward?” Or, “What would change if we did this experiment on the moon?”
Explore the Power of Science at Science Explorers
Children learn best in fun environments, like on the playground. Keep your children interested in learning by signing them up for a fun, engaging program at Science Explorers. We’re a fun learning environment that allows kids to explore STEM principles in a way that’s educational and within their comfort zone.
Register your science explorer for our virtual or physical summer camps, virtual field trips or family science nights today! Have any questions? Contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-877-870-9517.