How to Have a Family Science Night at Home

Everything you need to create a fun Family Science Night at home: science activities, books, and more!

Have you ever been to a family science night? It's a really fun idea that a lot of schools, libraries and even children's museums do to help get kids interested in STEM. But what if you don't have one nearby, your kids are too little, or you homeschool? This month our Family Dinner Book Club is ready to make it super easy for you to have a fun Family Science Night at home, and we have lots of ideas to get you started.

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How to Have a Family Science Night at Home

This month's Family Dinner Book Club theme is curiosity, and our featured book will definitely make your kids beg to have a family science night at home. Dragons and Marshmallows is book #1 in Asia Citro's Zoey and Sassafras series but let me warn you right now: your kids will want to read ALL of the Zoey and Sassafras books.

Zoey is a curious young girl who uses science, along with some magical animal friends, to help solve problems. This is a fantastic series for kids ages 6 and up, and will have your kids begging to try some science experiments themselves.

Since our Family Dinner Book Club already gives you a themed book list and a themed menu, all you need are these family science activities to make your night complete!

Family Science Night Activities

Start by heading over to Growing Book by Book for your complete list of curiosity themed books. Choose one or more to read together to start preparing for your family science night.

Next, grab your free printable science journal for kids. Print one for each member of the family and for each activity that you will try, so that you can take notes on your experiments and record your findings!



Once you have your books and your science journal, you're ready to try one (or all!) of these fun activities. These are all simple science activities that your entire family can enjoy. Choose the ones that you think your kids will love the most and above all, have fun!

Make Potions

When I was a kid I loved making potions with my best friend. This is a super fun (and simple) science activity for kids. See how to set up a kids potion making station from Mama Papa Bubba here.

And be sure to try these kindness potions from The Imagination Tree. They are perfect for your family science night!

Have a Paper Airplane Design Contest

Explore aerodynamics by making paper airplanes! See how we like to play with paper airplanes here. And check out how Tinkerlab figured out which paper airplane design works best here.

Make a Rocket

Is there anything cooler than rocket science? My boys will go crazy for these ideas (and they are perfect for backyard summer fun).

See how to make a DIY soda bottle rocket from Lemon Lime Adventures here.

Check out Frugal Fun 4 Boys' epic bottle rocket here.

And if those are too intense for your little kids, try these adorable straw rockets (with free template) from Buddy and Buddy.

Experiment with Color

I love doing color experiments with kids. They are so fun and really get their minds moving! Here are some of our family favorites.

Crawling colors mixing science experiment from Parenting Chaos.

Color changing flowers experiment from Pre-K Pages

How to make a color changing sensory bottle from Preschool Inspirations.

Hidden colors fizzy fun from Busy Toddler (perfect for little ones!)

Make Slime

No family science night would be complete without slime. My friend Stacey is the master of making edible slime. I love her edible silly putty recipe with just a few simple ingredients!

This heat sensitive color changing slime from Left Brain Craft Brain is pretty amazing too (remember Hypercolor?)

If you're a slime novice like me (seriously, we have only made it once), you might prefer using one of these slime kits. They have everything you need to make super fun slime in one easy package!

More Fun Science Activities

For more fun science activities and inspiration, grab one of these science activity books!

Complete Your Family Science Night with Dinner

Cooking together is the ultimate way to incorporate science into your family dinner book club science night! Sarah of Chef Sarah Elizabeth has an amazing themed menu for you - click here to see it and get the recipes.

And be sure to share your Family Dinner Book Club Science Night pictures with us on Facebook!

Click here to see all our Family Dinner Book Club projects.