If you have kids who love to mix, pour and test, then a science themed party may be a great option. I put together this science party for my daughter’s birthday. We were very short on time so the planning was pretty last minute. However, somehow it all came together quickly and we ended up having a lot of fun with it.
Science Party Decorations
Do you recall the periodic table of elements from your high school chemistry days? If not, don’t worry – just google it! It turns out these scientific charts actually come in a pretty rainbow of colours. I was able to use these colours as the basis of my party styling.
For this party I mainly just decorated the wall behind the dessert table. I had two panels of twisted crepe paper strips in pink, white, yellow and blue. Then I filled in the space in between. I hung a “Happy Birthday” sign, and used blue tac to attach a range of scientific images. There were equation strips, flasks and test tubes. I made molecule models out of cardstock circles and cake pop sticks. In the centre I wrapped aluminium foil around thin wire strips and bent them into an atom shape, filling in the middle with more coloured circles. Finally I displayed any ‘sciency’ items I had around the house, like toy robots or bits and pieces from my son’s chemistry kit.
I had water bottles for each of the kids labeled H2O (what else?!) We served the usual chips, cheese platters and hot finger foods for this party. I kept the themed foods for the dessert table. After everyone had eaten it was time to get on with our fun science activities. As I said, I was short on time when planning for this party and I only picked these experiments a few days before. I didn’t have time to test any of them but luckily they all worked out great!
Science Party Experiments and Activities
1. – Floating m’n’ms
Each child placed some m’n’m lollies in a small dish of water. We waited for a few minutes and then could see that the m’n’m labels had lifted off and were floating in the dish. The kids were equally interested in the colourful patterns made as the sugary coating dissolved.
2. – Make a Model
Next, the kids made some crazy models of atoms and molecules using toothpicks and jubes. Marshmallows could have worked here too.
3. – Ice Cubes Matchsticks
In this experiment we proved that it is possible to pick up an ice cube using only a matchstick. We had ice cubes floating in bowls of water. We laid a matchstick across each ice cube and tried to lift it – nothing happened. Then we sprinkled salt over the matchstick/ice cube, waited 30 seconds and then tried lifting it again. This time the ice cubes lifted out of the water.
4. DIY Fizzy Sherbert
The kids had fun mixing their own bottles of sherbert. We used 1 teaspoon of citric acid, 2 teaspoons of icing sugar, 3 teaspoons of jelly crystals and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. They poured their mixes into these small bottles and test tubes as a take home treat.
5. Potion Mixing
We put bicarbonate of soda, a few drops of dish detergent and some food colouring into cups. Then we poured in white vinegar for a messy foaming reaction! We got lots of laughs and squeals from this one.
6. Exploding Soft Drinks
Finally, for our grand finale, we headed out to the yard for the classic mentos and fizzy drink experiment. Making sure that everyone stood well back, we dropped mentos lollies into full bottles of soft drinks. We tried three different flavours to test which would give us the biggest reaction.
One tip for the experiments is to try and have all of the equipment for each activity packed into it’s own bag or box. Then you can easily grab the bag and know that you will have all the items ready to give out to the kids. This includes cups, spoons, plates, detergent, bicarb soda and so on. It’s also good if you can enlist the help of a couple of other adults to act as lab assistants. They can pass around equipment, help kids with measuring ingredients and mop up those inevitable spills before they get out of hand!
Science Party Dessert Table
The birthday cake for this party was pretty simple to put together , which is handy when you are short on time. I covered a rectangular cake in chocolate ganache and white fondant. Then I arranged laminated cut outs of the periodic table over the top
As well as the cake, we served cupcakes decorated with pink and blue sugar crystals and atom toppers. We also had strawberry milk and coloured candy balls in the party theme colours.
But I think my favourite dessert table treats may have been the popping candy and the jelly filled syringes because they really added to the ‘sciency’ feel. And I could see that the kids at the party appreciated these science themed treats as well!
Science Party Favours
In addition to their fizzy sherberts, each child went home with these little chocolate robots. I actually used my Lego minifigures silicon mold to make these because I thought the minifigs were blocky enough to pass as robots.
Feeling inspired to host your own science themed party for the kids in your life? Then be sure to check out our science party printables pack. It will help you on your way to creating a party that is atomic fun!