Fall science activities are some of the best because they are simple to put together and loads of fun for children!
Nature provides the perfect materials for these: leaves, acorns, pumpkins, apples, and more! These fall science experiments and activities are perfect for fall science lesson plans, leaf experiments for preschoolers, and nature studies. If you ever need activity ideas for fall, here are some of my favorite fall science ideas to do!
Pine Cone Experiment
Materials:
- 3 Jars
- 3 Pinecones (all the same size)
- Warm Water
- Cold Water
- Ruler
- Timer
- Writing utensils
The set-up for this experiment is simple. First measure, sketch and place each pine cone in a jar.
Label each jar and fill the jars with water to the top (one jar with warm water and one with cold water). For our control group, we left the middle one open with only air to use as a comparison and to document the change we saw over time.
The pinecones will being to change in front of your eyes! Depending on the type of pine cones it may take a few hours. You can start notating the change with drawings and make some discoveries! (Pinecones float, glass that is curved mixed with water makes a magnifying effect, etc.).
Continue the experiment overnight or for a few days and see what happens!
Apple Science Experiment
Materials:
- Small containers
- Apples
- Lemon juice
- Vinegar
- Water
- Tonic water
- Soda
To set up the experiment, set out five containers with a few apple pieces in each one. We labeled the five containers with the name of the liquids we were going to use.
Once everything was set up, pour the appropriate liquids into each cup and set up a “control” cup of apple pieces without any liquid. Then it was time to wait and see the chemical reaction!
After a few hours, check on your apples and talk and record about your observations. There is an enzyme in the apples, that when exposed to oxygen, turns the apple brown. Lemon juice, for example, keeps the apples from browning, because it slows down this enzyme. Keeping the apples submerged regardless, will help to cut off the oxygen supply to the apples.
Acorn Experiment
The supplies listed below are for our acorn activities that encourage fine motor, math, and science skills.
Materials:
- acorns
- muffin tin
- nut cracker
- tweezers
- magnifying glass
- bowl of water
- mini strainer
Practicing transferring one to one counting skills with all of the acorn. Ask your little one questions like how many acorns do we have left or how many do you need? Basic counting skills with a bit of problem solving (how many are left = count empty sections) as well as fine motor practice.
The nutcracker has provided many opportunities for hand strengthening. Little ones just love to crack nuts! They will work hard to crack acorns and they might even hold a tiny insect surprise inside.
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Pine Cone experiment orginally published by Lemon Lime Adventures.
Apple experiment orginally published by Pre-K Pages.
Acorn experiment orginally published by Little Bins Little Hands.
