Science Experiments For Kids: The Magic of Inquiry Science

Science experiments for kids is all about experiencing first-hand how the natural world works.

Science experiments for kids must stress independent thinking.

What makes science so different from any other subject is the ability to do science experiments. The driving force behind any scientific methodology is the ability to test a hypothesis. That testing process, more often than not, involves a science experiment.

Scientists have refined the procedure for conducting scientific experiments over hundreds of years by doing experiments and then finding out what went right, or wrong, and documenting the procedure. The scientific community accepts these results dependent on the methods used, how the experimenters performed their experiments, and how they interpreted the results.

There is no other way we can understand how the natural world works other than testing.

Without experimentation how else could Gregor Mendel develop the laws of modern genetics, or Louis Pasteur develop the first rabies vaccine, or Robert Goddard develop the solid rocket booster? How many light bulbs did Thomas Edison go through before he developed the one that worked?

This is what science is all about; the curiosity to inquire about nature to explain how it works and use those ideas sometimes to make our lives better.

Science experiments in the classroom.

Up until the end of World War II science experiments for kids were pretty much straight forward. The labs were not designed to stimulate curiosity in kids as much as they were designed to show them what to expect when doing certain labs. We call these labs “cook-book” labs because you get the same results all the time. Just like a recipe. Follow the recipe for an apple pie and you get an apple pie, not a chocolate cake. Where’s the inquiry in that?

After World War II the perception that science education needed to change began to build momentum. Not from educators, but from scientists. The very scientists who developed the atomic bomb realized that science could be used to make lives better. And to do that they needed kids who were interested in science and scientific research.

In the late 1940′s and early 1950′s, science education reform was for the most part non-existent. The McCarthy Hearings did have an impact in universities, colleges, and public schools as the search to find card-carrying communists, or communist sympathizers tore at the fabric of American society.

Sputnik and the birth of inquiry science.

Throughout the 1950′s many of the scientists who worked on the atomic bomb during the war began to develop a science curriculum that would place the kids at the center of the experiments. They wanted the kids to experience what scientific research was really all about. They developed a curriculum that stimulated the kids to ask questions, just like real scientists do in real situations.

The entire kid centered, lab-based curriculum was totally designed by scientists, reviewed by scientists, and modified by scientists. Educators were not welcome since they had resisted all attempts to reform science education.

And in one fell swoop, all this changed when the Soviet Union announced the successful launch of the earth’s first artificial satellite. American prestige was damaged. American ingenuity was damaged. The American way of life was threatened and something needed to be done. The call for science and math reform went out and was answered by the group of scientists who were already at work developing an inquiry approach to science classes and science experiments.

The art of science inquiry for kids.

Through the National Science Foundation, schools received millions of dollars in grant money to adopt the new science and math programs. The first hugely successful one in science was the Physical Sciences Curriculum Study. This was followed by a similar program in earth science and the last one was developed for biology.

Kids were at the core of all these programs doing real-world experiments. Not some cook-book activity that their parents and grandparents did before them. But real experiments based on real questions. And the labs all start with a question. For example, instead of telling the kids what photosynthesis is, they might be instructed to prove photosynthesis exists.

The programs were successful and they were expensive. As the grant money dried up and the U.S. economy shrank, these programs began to disappear. School districts could no longer afford the high costs of maintaining science programs that were experiment-based.

Inquiry science today in public schools.

The inquiry-based programs are still around but no longer enjoy the wide-spread popularity they once did. To do inquiry science properly, schools and teachers must have a philosophical and economic commitment that many public school officials refuse. The mentality of today’s school administrator, at every level, is standardized testing. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true. Numbers are in, inquiry is out.

The AP science classes and the IB (International Baccalaureate) programs still approach science from an inquiry viewpoint. The IB program specifically focuses on an inquiry approach. But many of these science courses are two years, not one, so there is the time to develop the skills necessary to do inquiry science properly.

Outside those two programs, schools offer very little inquiry science. Many factors play into why high school kids do not do experiments using inquiry. From funding issues, to class size issues, to teacher qualification issues.

Why I believe in inquiry science.

Inquiry science works. It gives the kids the tools necessary to examine a question, come up with possible solutions, and test those possibilities. It teaches how to be observant, collect data, interpret the data, and then write a conclusion. It teaches how to keep carefully documented notes, a detailed procedure, and a list of material.

When I first began as a science teacher, inquiry was still popular and I was fortunate to work in a district where, even though the budget was non-existent, we still managed to conduct science experiments for the kids that were based in a large part on the inquiry approach. It was rewarding not only for the kids, but for me as a teacher.

The courses you’ll find at ScienceLessonsForKids.com are inquiry science lessons. Your kids will learn to think like scientists.

Use the contact link above to let me know where your kid is and where you want him or her to be.

John Turano