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Watch a range of fun science experiment videos that show just how exciting science can be. The cool video clips show what happens to marshmallows in a vacuum, how to suck an egg into a bottle, an amazing tea bag rocket in action, how to test how much sugar is in soda and more.

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20 Awesome Science Experiments You Can Do Right Now At Home

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Morenike Adebayo

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We can all agree that science is awesome. And you can bring that awesomeness into your very own home with these 20 safe DIY experiments you can do right now with ordinary household items.

1. Make Objects Seemingly Disappear Refraction is when light changes direction and speed as it passes from one object to another. Only visible objects reflect light. When two materials with similar reflective properties come into contact, light will pass through both materials at the same speed, rendering the other material invisible. Check out this video from BritLab  on how to turn glass invisible using vegetable oil and pyrex glass.

2. Freeze Water Instantly When purified water is cooled to just below freezing point, a quick nudge or an icecube placed in it is all it takes for the water to instantly freeze. You can finally have the power of Frozone from The Incredibles on a very small scale! Check out the video on this "cool" experiment. 

3. Create Oobleck And Make It Dance To The Music Named after a sticky substance in a children’s book by Dr Seuss , Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid, which means it can behave as both a solid and a liquid. And when placed on a sound source, the vibrations causes the mixture to gloopily dance. Check out these instructions from Housing A Forest  on how to make this groovy fluid funk out in every way.

4. Create Your Own Hybrid Rocket Engine With a combination of a solid fuel source and a liquid oxidizer, hybrid rocket engines can propel themselves. And on a small scale, you can create your own hybrid rocket engine, using pasta, mouthwash and yeast. Sadly, it won’t propel much, but who said rocket science ain’t easy? Check out this video from NightHawkInLight on how to make this mini engine.

5. Create "Magic Mud" Another non-Newtonian fluid here, this time from the humble potato. "Magic Mud" is actually starch found in potatoes. It’ll remain hard when handled but leave it alone and it turns into a liquid. Make your own “Magic Mud” with this video.

6. Command The Skies And Create A Cloud In A Bottle Not quite a storm in a teacup, but it is a cloud in a bottle. Clouds up in the sky are formed when water vapor cools and condenses into visible water droplets. Create your own cloud in a bottle using a few household items with these wikiHow instructions .

7. Create An Underwater Magical World First synthesized by Adolf van Baeyer in 1871, fluorescein is a non-toxic powder found in highlighter pens, and used by NASA to find shuttles that land in the sea. Create an underwater magical world with this video from NightHawkInLight .

9. Make Your Own Lava Lamp Inside a lava lamp are colored bubbles of wax suspended in a clear or colorless liquid, which changes density when warmed by a heating element at the base, allowing them to rise and fall hypnotically. Create your own lava lamp with these video instructions.

10. Create Magnetic Fluid A ferrofluid is a liquid that contains nanoscale particles of metal, which can become magnetized. And with oil, toner and a magnet , you can create your own ferrofluid and harness the power of magnetism! 

12. Make Waterproof Sand A hydrophobic substance is one that repels water. When sand is combined with a water-resistant chemical, it becomes hydrophobic. So when it comes into contact with water, the sand will remain dry and reusable. Make your own waterproof sand with this video .

13. Make Elephant's Toothpaste Elephant’s toothpaste is a steaming foamy substance created by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which sort of resembles giant-sized toothpaste. Make your own elephant’s toothpaste with these instructions.

14. Make Crystal Bubbles When the temperature falls below 0 o C (32 o F), it’s possible to freeze bubbles into crystals. No instructions needed here, just some bubble mix and chilly weather.

15. Make Moving Liquid Art Mixing dish soap and milk together causes the surface tension of the milk to break down. Throw in different food colorings and create this trippy chemical reaction.

16. Create Colourful Carnations Flowers absorb water through their stems, and if that water has food coloring in it, the flowers will also absorb that color. Create some wonderfully colored flowers with these wikiHow instructions .

17. "Magically" Turn Water Into Wine Turn water into wine with this  video  by experimenter Dave Hax . Because water has a higher density than wine, they can switch places. Amaze your friends with this fun science trick.

18. Release The Energy In Candy (Without Eating It) Dropping a gummy bear into a test tube with potassium chlorate releases the chemical energy inside in an intense chemical reaction. That’s exactly what's happening when you eat candy, kids.

19. Make Water "Mysteriously" Disappear Sodium polyacrylate is a super-absorbent polymer, capable of absorbing up to 300 times its own weight in water. Found in disposable diapers, you can make water disappear in seconds with this video .

20. Create A Rainbow In A Jar Different liquids have different masses and different densities. For example, oil is less dense than water and will float on top of its surface. By combining liquids of different densities and adding food coloring, you can make an entire rainbow in a jar with this video .

There you have it – 20 experiments for you to explore the incredible world of science!

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• Nanogirl's Lab

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From explosive science to awesome engineering, watch some of Nanogirl's favourite experiments!

What are ocean currents?

Learn the science of ocean currents with Nanogirl marine biologist, Katey Fish.

How to crush a steel drum using air pressure

Go behind the scenes of a Nanogirl Live! show to see how this amazing experiment works!

Nanogirl's Witches' Brew Halloween Experiment

Double, double, toil and trouble—fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Experiment with our Nanogirl Witches’ Brew this Halloween!

Make a harmonica

Try this simple experiment at home to make your own noisy harmonica using the science of vibration.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fireworks get their colour from different metals mixed in with the gunpowder, which burn brightly when ignited.

How to engineer an Airzooka

Go behind the scenes of a Nanogirl Live! show to see how Nanogirl and Boris can turn an old rubbish bin into an Airzooka that sends smoke rings flying!

How to make rocks and shells fizz

Did you know you can make rocks fizz and bubble? Try this easy experiment at home!

How salty is the sea?

We know sea water is salty - with this easy experiment you can find out just how salty it is where you live!

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 explained, for kids!

There are 100,000 miles of blood vessels in an adult human body. If you laid them end to end, they would stretch around the Equator twice.

Make your own virus-fighting soap

Learn how to make your own, personalised soap to make hand washing fun!

How does soap work?

Ever wondered how soap gets all those nasty germs off your hands when you wash them?

What’s sand made of?

Use an experiment to find out what’s in sand with this easy experiment you can do at home or at the beach!

Halloween Floating Eye Science Experiment

A spooky experiment to learn all about Bernoulli’s Principle with your children this Halloween!

The Eiffel Tower in Paris is 15 cm taller in the summer than it is in the winter due to thermal expansion. It is engineered with special ‘expansion points’ to allow it to grow larger in the heat without damaging itself.

Why do animals have different shaped ears?

Learn the science behind why different animals have different shaped ears, then design and make your own animal ears!

Why do stars twinkle?

Do stars actually twinkle, or is it just an illusion? Find out with this easy experiment using a torch, a bowl of water, a pen and some tin foil.

How to catch ice with string

Use the power of science to catch an ice cube using a piece of string.

Make a balloon rocket

How fast must Santa's sleigh travel to deliver presents to every child in just one day? Practice measuring speed by making a balloon rocket!

Why do boats float?

Nanogirl visited Fern on The Moe Show to reveal the science of why boats float.

Make a ping pong ball fly

Wow your friends with this amazing feat of science - it’s easy when you know how!

Make plastic from milk!

Did you know plastics can be made from lots of different things? Try this easy experiment at home to make your own plastic from milk!

How to make a lemon battery

Nanogirl and Fern the Fairy make a lemon battery using science on The Moe Show.

Make your own blubber

Have you ever wondered how some animals survive in the cold? Well for some, blubber is the answer! Why not try this experiment to see how blubber can protect you from the cold?

Make a dinosaur fossil

Make your own pretend dinosaur fossils at home, all you need is some clay, plaster of paris and of course a dinosaur!

Make your own buzzing bee!

Make this simple toy that really does sound like a buzzing bee.

Make a mini windmill

Make and decorate your very own mini windmill.

Make your own Hoop Glider

Learn how to make your own Hoop Glider and see how far it can fly!

Make your own hydrophone

Learn how to make your own hydrophone to detect underwater sounds!

How to make window wobblers

Follow this easy experiment to make your own wobbly window decorations.

Make your own animal puzzle

Have you ever wondered which animal might be the smartest, and how we might measure intelligence? Make this memory game at home and see how your memory compares to your friends!

How to make a spinning top

What makes a spinning top keep on spinning without falling over? Hint - it's the same type of force that keeps a spinning black hole turning too!

How to make a volcano

Nanogirl and Fern the Fairy make a volcano using the power of baking soda and vinegar on The Moe Show.

Join us for more videos and fun over at Nanogirl’s Lab!

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Silly Science with Simon

Welcome to..., silly science with simon.

Silly Science with Simon is a fun YouTube channel for kids!

Hi! My name is Simon and I love science! I've started a  YouTube channel full of super fun science activities  that you can try at home! I'd love for you to check it out and see some of the silly things that I've done :)

I love hearing from you, so please send me a message on  Facebook  or  Instagram  and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can!

Go to the About Me page to find out more about my background and experience in science.

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Google wallet can now digitize your passes and ids, chatgpt can save you money by replacing all of these apps, quick links, thebackyardscientist, asapscience, the slow mo guys, smartereveryday.

You may think of science as something that can only be explored in universities or laboratories, but you'd be wrong. Science is accessible everywhere, of course, but most easily (and entertainingly) on YouTube. These fun channels talk physics, biology, math, and even perform cool experiments.

While YouTube plays host to all manner of videos---for things like guitar maintenance , building your PC , documentaries , and even just some weird, funny stuff ---it's an excellent repository for science-centric videos. These are the best science YouTube channels, and we're sure that they'll both delight and educate you!

Hosted by the delightful Hank Green (with occasional guest hosts), SciShow is your one-stop shop dedicated to answering weird counter-intuitive scientific questions. It's the perfect channel for anyone interested in science, regardless of whether you're a veteran scientist or just a naturally-curious person.

SciShow covers a wide variety of topics, and videos are filled with fun and entertaining graphics that viewers of all ages can enjoy. Some of our favorite videos on the channel include " How Do Pineapples Eat Us Back? ," " Unexpected Ways Scientists Use GPS ," and " What If All Viruses Vanished? " If you've got a weird science question, odds are, SciShow has an answer.

Watch SciShow

If you're more into the experimental side of science, rather than just discussing scientific concepts, you'll find something to like in TheBackyardScientist , aka Kevin Kohler. The channel features his wild and often dangerous science experiments performed (as you may have guessed) in his backyard.

Although the lighthearted channel highlights a few more serious videos, like " The Impossible Fire Pit Tornado ," hands-down, the best videos here are those that are, uh, a little more carefree. We love " Dangerous Toys---Gas Powered Pogo Stick from 1960s ," " Molten Metal Squirtgun ," and " Fully Automatic Table Saw Cannon ." This channel lets you enjoy all the great ideas your inner child could think up without any of the consequences. What's not to like?

Watch TheBackyardScientist

Want answers to some of the everyday science questions bopping around in your head? Let AsapSCIENCE take a whack at them. The channel features a lot of neat science-oriented YouTube Originals the whole family can enjoy. Gregory Brown and Mitchell Moffit are behind AsapSCIENCE and aim it at "making science make sense."

Ready to become an everyday science champion? Check out our favorite videos from the channel, like " Can We Forage All Our Calories from The Wild? ," " Is School Slowly Destroying Your Brain? ," or " Why the Ancient Greeks Couldn't See Blue ." You'll be Jeopardy-ready in no time!

Watch AsapSCIENCE

Review Geek loves everything from The Slow Mo Guys . The fantastic channel ---run by Brit buds Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy---is filled with videos of science filmed in slow motion. The channel has just about everything you could think of in slow-mo, like explosions, forces of nature, paint, animals, gadgets , weapons, fruit, and so so so much more.

The Slow Mo Guys is the type of channel you could have playing on your TV all day and one that both kids and adults will love watching. The boys' personalities are a ton of fun, and they're always laughing and having a good time. Some of our fave Slow Mo Guys videos include " Slow Mo 4K Kittens ," " Iceland's Geyser in 4K Slow Mo ," " Spark Plug vs Car Window at 800,000FPS ," and " Rainbow Paint on a Speaker at 12,500FPS ."

Watch The Slow Mo Guys

Destin Sandlin, the man behind SmarterEveryDay, is a professional aerospace engineer. With such impressive education at hand, you can bet the channel has some mighty scientific videos at the ready. On it, Sandlin tackles a variety of scientific questions, performs intense (and super cool) experiments, and shows how gadgets (common and otherwise) work or how they're made.

We love " How Carburetors are Made (Basically Magic) ," " How Does the James Webb Space Telescope Work? ," " What Happens When 2 Weedeaters Hit Each Other? ," and " How Neil Armstrong Trained to Land on the Moon ." Sandlin's friendly and knowledgeable personality makes the channel super approachable no matter your science education level.

Watch SmarterEveryDay

Flashy science experiments and explainer-style videos are cool, but many science channels tend to skip over and ignore the more heavy-hitting questions in the universe. Kurzgesagt , German for "in a nutshell," covers this with ease and throws in bright, colorful graphics to make things easier to digest. The channel blends science and philosophy (which tend to be two sides of the same coin) with ease, which is why we're such big fans of the edutainment channel.

Turn your world upside down with videos like " Optimistic Nihilism " and " Why Alien Life Would Be Our Doom ," think about biology with " How Bacteria Rule Over Your Body ," or get cozy with astronomy-centric videos like " The Largest Black Hole in the Universe " or " What if Earth Got Kicked Out of the Solar System? " Although the videos might rattle your views on, well, just about everything, they're incredibly well-researched and educational. And don't worry about that feeling that'll set in after watching a few of Kurzgesagt's videos---that's just the Existential dread setting in. You'll be fine.

Watch Kurzgesagt

The Veritasium channel---run by Dr. Derek Muller---does a great job tackling science at large, and it's no wonder why. Muller completed his Doctorate with a thesis focusing on creating effective multimedia for physics-centric education. As you'd expect, then, the channel is a long-running favorite within the scientific community and a great place to take a deeper dive into physics.

On Veritasium, you'll find videos that blend physics, everyday objects, and issues relevant to life and science education. There are more serious science- and math-centric videos to view, like " Math Has a Fatal Flaw " and " How Imaginary Numbers Were Invented ;" some more socially-focused videos, including " These Pools Help Support Half the People on Earth ;" and more general and lighthearted videos like " Engineering with Origami " and " Microwaving Grapes Makes Plasma ."

Watch Veritasium

Have you seen those fantastic Glitter Bomb videos that get revenge on porch pirates ? That's Mark Rober's genius mind at work, and his channel is a blast to watch. He studied Mechanical Engineering and worked for NASA JPL for nearly a decade, and his engineering experience is what makes the videos on his channel so darn fun!

Aside from the various Glitter Bomb videos (including this fascinating video where he took down phone scammers targeting the elderly), the channel features a variety of playlists for things like DIY builds & inventions, science education, and world records. We love " Shark vs. GoPro ," " Automatic Bullseye, MOVING DARTBOARD ," " Backyard Squirrel Maze 2.0---The Walnut Heist ," and " World's Longest Field Goal---Robot vs NFL Kicker ." And as you might have surmised, the channel features fun video options for both kids and adults.

Watch Mark Rober

Last but certainly not least is Vsauce (aka Vsauce1). The channel's videos span general scientific topics and extend across philosophy, mathematics, pop culture, technology, and psychology. There are two other Vsauce channels, too: Vsauce2 ---covering unusual gadgets, knowledge, and people (and more specifically, things related to probability, dilemmas, and paradoxes)---and Vsauce3 , which discusses fictional worlds, especially those from video games and how they connect to real life and actual science.

We think the best place to start is the regular ol' Vsauce1 channel. There, you'll find unique videos like " How Many Things Are There? ," " Which Way is Down? " " How Earth Moves ," " What is the Resolution of the Eye? ," and " What is the Speed of Dark? " The channel's unique videos cover all kinds of topics and questions you probably didn't know that you wanted to know about, and we're sure you'll enjoy it.

Watch Vsauce

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72 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand

Because science doesn’t have to be complicated.

If there is one thing that is guaranteed to get your students excited, it’s a good science experiment! While some experiments require expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals, there are plenty of cool projects you can do with regular household items. We’ve rounded up a big collection of easy science experiments that anybody can try, and kids are going to love them!

Easy Chemistry Science Experiments

Easy physics science experiments, easy biology and environmental science experiments, easy engineering experiments and stem challenges.

1. Taste the Rainbow

Teach your students about diffusion while creating a beautiful and tasty rainbow! Tip: Have extra Skittles on hand so your class can eat a few!

Learn more: Skittles Diffusion

2. Crystallize sweet treats

Crystal science experiments teach kids about supersaturated solutions. This one is easy to do at home, and the results are absolutely delicious!

Learn more: Candy Crystals

3. Make a volcano erupt

This classic experiment demonstrates a chemical reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (acetic acid), which produces carbon dioxide gas, water, and sodium acetate.

Learn more: Best Volcano Experiments

4. Make elephant toothpaste

This fun project uses yeast and a hydrogen peroxide solution to create overflowing “elephant toothpaste.” Tip: Add an extra fun layer by having kids create toothpaste wrappers for plastic bottles.

5. Blow the biggest bubbles you can

Add a few simple ingredients to dish soap solution to create the largest bubbles you’ve ever seen! Kids learn about surface tension as they engineer these bubble-blowing wands.

Learn more: Giant Soap Bubbles

6. Demonstrate the “magic” leakproof bag

All you need is a zip-top plastic bag, sharp pencils, and water to blow your kids’ minds. Once they’re suitably impressed, teach them how the “trick” works by explaining the chemistry of polymers.

Learn more: Leakproof Bag

7. Use apple slices to learn about oxidation

Have students make predictions about what will happen to apple slices when immersed in different liquids, then put those predictions to the test. Have them record their observations.

Learn more: Apple Oxidation

8. Float a marker man

Their eyes will pop out of their heads when you “levitate” a stick figure right off the table! This experiment works due to the insolubility of dry-erase marker ink in water, combined with the lighter density of the ink.

Learn more: Floating Marker Man

9. Discover density with hot and cold water

There are a lot of easy science experiments you can do with density. This one is extremely simple, involving only hot and cold water and food coloring, but the visuals make it appealing and fun.

Learn more: Layered Water

10. Layer more liquids

This density demo is a little more complicated, but the effects are spectacular. Slowly layer liquids like honey, dish soap, water, and rubbing alcohol in a glass. Kids will be amazed when the liquids float one on top of the other like magic (except it is really science).

Learn more: Layered Liquids

11. Grow a carbon sugar snake

Easy science experiments can still have impressive results! This eye-popping chemical reaction demonstration only requires simple supplies like sugar, baking soda, and sand.

Learn more: Carbon Sugar Snake

12. Mix up some slime

Tell kids you’re going to make slime at home, and watch their eyes light up! There are a variety of ways to make slime, so try a few different recipes to find the one you like best.

13. Make homemade bouncy balls

These homemade bouncy balls are easy to make since all you need is glue, food coloring, borax powder, cornstarch, and warm water. You’ll want to store them inside a container like a plastic egg because they will flatten out over time.

Learn more: Make Your Own Bouncy Balls

14. Create eggshell chalk

Eggshells contain calcium, the same material that makes chalk. Grind them up and mix them with flour, water, and food coloring to make your very own sidewalk chalk.

Learn more: Eggshell Chalk

15. Make naked eggs

This is so cool! Use vinegar to dissolve the calcium carbonate in an eggshell to discover the membrane underneath that holds the egg together. Then, use the “naked” egg for another easy science experiment that demonstrates osmosis .

Learn more: Naked Egg Experiment

16. Turn milk into plastic

This sounds a lot more complicated than it is, but don’t be afraid to give it a try. Use simple kitchen supplies to create plastic polymers from plain old milk. Sculpt them into cool shapes when you’re done!

17. Test pH using cabbage

Teach kids about acids and bases without needing pH test strips! Simply boil some red cabbage and use the resulting water to test various substances—acids turn red and bases turn green.

Learn more: Cabbage pH

18. Clean some old coins

Use common household items to make old oxidized coins clean and shiny again in this simple chemistry experiment. Ask kids to predict (hypothesize) which will work best, then expand the learning by doing some research to explain the results.

Learn more: Cleaning Coins

19. Pull an egg into a bottle

This classic easy science experiment never fails to delight. Use the power of air pressure to suck a hard-boiled egg into a jar, no hands required.

Learn more: Egg in a Bottle

20. Blow up a balloon (without blowing)

Chances are good you probably did easy science experiments like this when you were in school. The baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment demonstrates the reactions between acids and bases when you fill a bottle with vinegar and a balloon with baking soda.

21 Assemble a DIY lava lamp

This 1970s trend is back—as an easy science experiment! This activity combines acid-base reactions with density for a totally groovy result.

22. Explore how sugary drinks affect teeth

The calcium content of eggshells makes them a great stand-in for teeth. Use eggs to explore how soda and juice can stain teeth and wear down the enamel. Expand your learning by trying different toothpaste-and-toothbrush combinations to see how effective they are.

Learn more: Sugar and Teeth Experiment

23. Mummify a hot dog

If your kids are fascinated by the Egyptians, they’ll love learning to mummify a hot dog! No need for canopic jars , just grab some baking soda and get started.

24. Extinguish flames with carbon dioxide

This is a fiery twist on acid-base experiments. Light a candle and talk about what fire needs in order to survive. Then, create an acid-base reaction and “pour” the carbon dioxide to extinguish the flame. The CO2 gas acts like a liquid, suffocating the fire.

25. Send secret messages with invisible ink

Turn your kids into secret agents! Write messages with a paintbrush dipped in lemon juice, then hold the paper over a heat source and watch the invisible become visible as oxidation goes to work.

Learn more: Invisible Ink

26. Create dancing popcorn

This is a fun version of the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment, perfect for the younger crowd. The bubbly mixture causes popcorn to dance around in the water.

27. Shoot a soda geyser sky-high

You’ve always wondered if this really works, so it’s time to find out for yourself! Kids will marvel at the chemical reaction that sends diet soda shooting high in the air when Mentos are added.

Learn more: Soda Explosion

28. Send a teabag flying

Hot air rises, and this experiment can prove it! You’ll want to supervise kids with fire, of course. For more safety, try this one outside.

Learn more: Flying Tea Bags

29. Create magic milk

This fun and easy science experiment demonstrates principles related to surface tension, molecular interactions, and fluid dynamics.

Learn more: Magic Milk Experiment

30. Watch the water rise

Learn about Charles’s Law with this simple experiment. As the candle burns, using up oxygen and heating the air in the glass, the water rises as if by magic.

Learn more: Rising Water

31. Learn about capillary action

Kids will be amazed as they watch the colored water move from glass to glass, and you’ll love the easy and inexpensive setup. Gather some water, paper towels, and food coloring to teach the scientific magic of capillary action.

Learn more: Capillary Action

32. Give a balloon a beard

Equally educational and fun, this experiment will teach kids about static electricity using everyday materials. Kids will undoubtedly get a kick out of creating beards on their balloon person!

Learn more: Static Electricity

33. Find your way with a DIY compass

Here’s an old classic that never fails to impress. Magnetize a needle, float it on the water’s surface, and it will always point north.

Learn more: DIY Compass

34. Crush a can using air pressure

Sure, it’s easy to crush a soda can with your bare hands, but what if you could do it without touching it at all? That’s the power of air pressure!

35. Tell time using the sun

While people use clocks or even phones to tell time today, there was a time when a sundial was the best means to do that. Kids will certainly get a kick out of creating their own sundials using everyday materials like cardboard and pencils.

Learn more: Make Your Own Sundial

36. Launch a balloon rocket

Grab balloons, string, straws, and tape, and launch rockets to learn about the laws of motion.

37. Make sparks with steel wool

All you need is steel wool and a 9-volt battery to perform this science demo that’s bound to make their eyes light up! Kids learn about chain reactions, chemical changes, and more.

Learn more: Steel Wool Electricity

38. Levitate a Ping-Pong ball

Kids will get a kick out of this experiment, which is really all about Bernoulli’s principle. You only need plastic bottles, bendy straws, and Ping-Pong balls to make the science magic happen.

39. Whip up a tornado in a bottle

There are plenty of versions of this classic experiment out there, but we love this one because it sparkles! Kids learn about a vortex and what it takes to create one.

Learn more: Tornado in a Bottle

40. Monitor air pressure with a DIY barometer

This simple but effective DIY science project teaches kids about air pressure and meteorology. They’ll have fun tracking and predicting the weather with their very own barometer.

Learn more: DIY Barometer

41. Peer through an ice magnifying glass

Students will certainly get a thrill out of seeing how an everyday object like a piece of ice can be used as a magnifying glass. Be sure to use purified or distilled water since tap water will have impurities in it that will cause distortion.

Learn more: Ice Magnifying Glass

42. String up some sticky ice

Can you lift an ice cube using just a piece of string? This quick experiment teaches you how. Use a little salt to melt the ice and then refreeze the ice with the string attached.

Learn more: Sticky Ice

43. “Flip” a drawing with water

Light refraction causes some really cool effects, and there are multiple easy science experiments you can do with it. This one uses refraction to “flip” a drawing; you can also try the famous “disappearing penny” trick .

Learn more: Light Refraction With Water

44. Color some flowers

We love how simple this project is to re-create since all you’ll need are some white carnations, food coloring, glasses, and water. The end result is just so beautiful!

45. Use glitter to fight germs

Everyone knows that glitter is just like germs—it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Use that to your advantage and show kids how soap fights glitter and germs.

Learn more: Glitter Germs

46. Re-create the water cycle in a bag

You can do so many easy science experiments with a simple zip-top bag. Fill one partway with water and set it on a sunny windowsill to see how the water evaporates up and eventually “rains” down.

Learn more: Water Cycle

47. Learn about plant transpiration

Your backyard is a terrific place for easy science experiments. Grab a plastic bag and rubber band to learn how plants get rid of excess water they don’t need, a process known as transpiration.

Learn more: Plant Transpiration

48. Clean up an oil spill

Before conducting this experiment, teach your students about engineers who solve environmental problems like oil spills. Then, have your students use provided materials to clean the oil spill from their oceans.

Learn more: Oil Spill

49. Construct a pair of model lungs

Kids get a better understanding of the respiratory system when they build model lungs using a plastic water bottle and some balloons. You can modify the experiment to demonstrate the effects of smoking too.

Learn more: Model Lungs

50. Experiment with limestone rocks

Kids  love to collect rocks, and there are plenty of easy science experiments you can do with them. In this one, pour vinegar over a rock to see if it bubbles. If it does, you’ve found limestone!

Learn more: Limestone Experiments

51. Turn a bottle into a rain gauge

All you need is a plastic bottle, a ruler, and a permanent marker to make your own rain gauge. Monitor your measurements and see how they stack up against meteorology reports in your area.

Learn more: DIY Rain Gauge

52. Build up towel mountains

This clever demonstration helps kids understand how some landforms are created. Use layers of towels to represent rock layers and boxes for continents. Then pu-u-u-sh and see what happens!

Learn more: Towel Mountains

53. Take a play dough core sample

Learn about the layers of the earth by building them out of Play-Doh, then take a core sample with a straw. ( Love Play-Doh? Get more learning ideas here. )

Learn more: Play Dough Core Sampling

54. Project the stars on your ceiling

Use the video lesson in the link below to learn why stars are only visible at night. Then create a DIY star projector to explore the concept hands-on.

Learn more: DIY Star Projector

55. Make it rain

Use shaving cream and food coloring to simulate clouds and rain. This is an easy science experiment little ones will beg to do over and over.

Learn more: Shaving Cream Rain

56. Blow up your fingerprint

This is such a cool (and easy!) way to look at fingerprint patterns. Inflate a balloon a bit, use some ink to put a fingerprint on it, then blow it up big to see your fingerprint in detail.

57. Snack on a DNA model

Twizzlers, gumdrops, and a few toothpicks are all you need to make this super-fun (and yummy!) DNA model.

Learn more: Edible DNA Model

58. Dissect a flower

Take a nature walk and find a flower or two. Then bring them home and take them apart to discover all the different parts of flowers.

59. Craft smartphone speakers

No Bluetooth speaker? No problem! Put together your own from paper cups and toilet paper tubes.

Learn more: Smartphone Speakers

60. Race a balloon-powered car

Kids will be amazed when they learn they can put together this awesome racer using cardboard and bottle-cap wheels. The balloon-powered “engine” is so much fun too.

Learn more: Balloon-Powered Car

61. Build a Ferris wheel

You’ve probably ridden on a Ferris wheel, but can you build one? Stock up on wood craft sticks and find out! Play around with different designs to see which one works best.

Learn more: Craft Stick Ferris Wheel

62. Design a phone stand

There are lots of ways to craft a DIY phone stand, which makes this a perfect creative-thinking STEM challenge.

63. Conduct an egg drop

Put all their engineering skills to the test with an egg drop! Challenge kids to build a container from stuff they find around the house that will protect an egg from a long fall (this is especially fun to do from upper-story windows).

Learn more: Egg Drop Challenge Ideas

64. Engineer a drinking-straw roller coaster

STEM challenges are always a hit with kids. We love this one, which only requires basic supplies like drinking straws.

Learn more: Straw Roller Coaster

65. Build a solar oven

Explore the power of the sun when you build your own solar ovens and use them to cook some yummy treats. This experiment takes a little more time and effort, but the results are always impressive. The link below has complete instructions.

Learn more: Solar Oven

66. Build a Da Vinci bridge

There are plenty of bridge-building experiments out there, but this one is unique. It’s inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old self-supporting wooden bridge. Learn how to build it at the link, and expand your learning by exploring more about Da Vinci himself.

Learn more: Da Vinci Bridge

67. Step through an index card

This is one easy science experiment that never fails to astonish. With carefully placed scissor cuts on an index card, you can make a loop large enough to fit a (small) human body through! Kids will be wowed as they learn about surface area.

68. Stand on a pile of paper cups

Combine physics and engineering and challenge kids to create a paper cup structure that can support their weight. This is a cool project for aspiring architects.

Learn more: Paper Cup Stack

69. Test out parachutes

Gather a variety of materials (try tissues, handkerchiefs, plastic bags, etc.) and see which ones make the best parachutes. You can also find out how they’re affected by windy days or find out which ones work in the rain.

Learn more: Parachute Drop

70. Recycle newspapers into an engineering challenge

It’s amazing how a stack of newspapers can spark such creative engineering. Challenge kids to build a tower, support a book, or even build a chair using only newspaper and tape!

Learn more: Newspaper STEM Challenge

71. Use rubber bands to sound out acoustics

Explore the ways that sound waves are affected by what’s around them using a simple rubber band “guitar.” (Kids absolutely love playing with these!)

Learn more: Rubber Band Guitar

72. Assemble a better umbrella

Challenge students to engineer the best possible umbrella from various household supplies. Encourage them to plan, draw blueprints, and test their creations using the scientific method.

Learn more: Umbrella STEM Challenge

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WHY NOT TRY A FUN SCIENCE EXPERIMENT RIGHT NOW?

Here’s list of great science experiments with instructions that you can do right at home or at school. In order for your science experiment to be safe and successful, be sure to:

• Get your parent’s or teacher’s permission, and their help
• Follow the directions as written

Building a Hovercraft – Video

The egg drop challenge, make ice cream in a plastic bag, build a hovercraft you can ride, eggshell geode crystals, build a soap powered model boat, a density experiment you can drink, make your own rock candy, build a fizz inflator, make a levitating orb, blobs in a bottle, fantastic foamy fountain, build a film canister rocket, the exploding lunch bag, make your own volcano, bend water with static electricity, a color symphony, make a paperclip float, blow up a balloon with yeast, how to make slime – method 1, see some optical illusions, make an electromagnet, try some lava in a cup, make a balloon rocket.

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Hands On As We Grow®

Hands on kids activities for hands on moms. Focusing on kids activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

50 Amazingly Simple Science Experiments for Kids at Home

Science Kindergartners Preschoolers Experiment Resources 30 Comments

Kids love experimenting , and these 50 simple science experiments for kids at home from Brigitte are perfect for all ages! Plus, you probably already have the basic supplies at home.

My daughters and I have had a lot of fun doing science experiments. Each year when we create our spring and summer list , we make sure to include “science days” which are days filled with science experiments.

Sometimes our science experiments don’t work according to plan, but I have been told that all scientists have failures with experiments from time to time.

It’s okay if they aren’t all successes.

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50 Simple Science Experiments with Supplies You Already Have

I love these 50 simple science experiments for you to try with your little scientists. They all use basic household supplies that you probably already have at home!

Most of these are experiments my daughters and I have done together. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Get little ones involved with these easy toddler-friendly science experiment ideas!

Simple Science Experiments with Water

Not only can water  be a blast to play in, but water plus a few basic supplies equals a lot of science fun!

• Make an orange sink and float with an orange buoyancy experiment from Playdough to Plato.
• Compare the amount of salt in different types of water with this salty egg experiment  as seen on Uplifting Mayhem.
• Do a little more sinking or floating with a fun sink or float experiment  even toddlers can do from Hands On As We Grow.
• Use the free printable to record what sinks or floats in an outdoor experiment from Buggy and Buddy.
• Create some beautiful pieces of paper with this rainbow paper experiment from Science Kiddo.
• Talk about solutions as you try the “what dissolves in water” experiment  as seen on Hands On As We Grow.
• Learn about water absorption with this simple experiment from Little Bins for Little Hands.
• Mix some fun colors with this oil and water experiment  from Fun Learning for Kids.
• Make your own lava lamp , just like on  Hands On As We Grow.
• Can you keep all the water in the bag? Try it with a  leak-proof bag experiment  as seen on Hands On As We Grow.
• Learn about surface tension with this  magic finger pepper experiment  found on Hands On As We Grow.
• Make your own  water cycle in a bottle  as seen on A Dab of Glue Will Do.

Simple Science Experiments with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Baking soda + vinegar = a great chemical reaction! This fizzy reaction can fuel a variety of simple science experiments at home.

First of all, we have tested and found out the absolute best combination of baking soda and vinegar to get the best reaction possible. It makes a difference if you add vinegar to baking soda or vice versa! And how much you use!

• Inflate a balloon without blowing into it with a baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment  as seen on Little Bins for Little Hands.
• Practice colors as you do a baking soda and vinegar with color experiment as seen on Hands On As We Grow.
• Have fun outside with an outdoor volcano eruption  as seen on Preschool Inspirations.
• Have more volcano fun by making apple volcanoes as seen on The Resourceful Mama.
• Learn about acids and bases and the chemical reaction that occurs when you make apple seeds dance with a   jumping apple seeds experiment  as seen on JDaniel4s Mom.
• Watch some rice dance with a   dancing rice experiment as seen on Green Kid Crafts.
• Continue your dance party by making raisins dance with a dancing raisin experiment  as seen on 123 Homeschool 4 Me. What other items can you get to dance?
• Learn more about acids and bases by dissolving a sea shell as seen on Teach Beside Me.
• Make an egg shell disappear with this disappearing egg activity  as seen on Premeditated Leftovers.
• See how far you can launch a soda bottle with this baking soda powered boat as seen on Science Sparks.
• Make your own rocks (or eggs) with this fizzy treasure rocks experiment as seen on Living Life and Learning.
• Have some fun this summer with this frozen vinegar experiment as seen on Inspiration Laboratories.

Plant Themed Simple Science Experiments

Enjoy learning about seeds, plant parts, and how plants grow with these simple science experiments.

• Learn about how plants soak up water through their stems with a flower experiment for kids  from Growing A Jeweled Rose.
• Watch seeds sprout as you grow seeds in a jar  as seen on Teaching Mama.
• Learn about the parts of the seed with a seed coat experiment as seen on Gift of Curiosity.
• Build a house out of sponges and then watch it sprout with this sprout house as seen on The Stem Laboratory.
• Learn what liquids allow seeds to grow the best with this seed experiment  as seen on Gift of Curiosity.
• Explore how plants grow towards the light with this shoe-box maze experiment from Plants for Kids.

Animal Themed Simple Science Experiments

Learning about animals can be even more fun with some simple hands-on simple science experiments.

• Find out more about giraffes and create some giraffe spots  as seen on Preschool Powol Packets.
• Learn about how animals in the Arctic keep warm by making an arctic glove  as seen on Steve Spangler Science.
• Discover how penguins stay dry with a penguin feather experiment as seen on Raising Little Superheroes.
• Learn about different bird beaks with a bird beak experiment as seen on Blessed Beyond a Doubt.
• Explore how fish (and hermit crabs) breathe with this gill experiment  as seen on Preschool Powol Packets.
• Learn about sharks with a   shark buoyancy experiment as seen on Little Bins for Little Hands.

Even More Simple Science Experiment for Kids at Home!

If you are still looking for more science fun, you may enjoy the following simple science experiments.

• Find out how sugary drinks hurt teeth with an  eggs-periment  as seen on Feels Like Home Blog.
• Discover geodes (the state rock of Iowa) with this eggshell geode crystal experiment  as seen on Science Bob.
• Learn about air pressure with an egg and bottle experiment  as seen on Science Sparks.
• Find out what causes an apple to brown with this apple science experiment  as seen on Teach Beside Me.
• Make an  edible bubble apple with an experiment as seen on Preschool Powol Packet.
• Learn more about surface tension with a penny and water experiment  as seen on Artful Parent.
• Mix colors like magic with this color changing milk experiment  from Hands On As We Grow.
• Blow up a balloon with this soda and balloon experiment from Learn Play Imagine.
• Practice letters by making beautiful crystal letters as seen on Books and Giggles.
• Make your own indoor hovercraft  as seen on Living Life and Learning.
• Learn about colors with this beautiful butterfly chromatography craft  as seen on Buggy and Buddy.
• Make soap souffle  as seen on Steve Spangler Science.
• After talking about liquids and solids (and finding them in your own home), create oobleck  as seen on Babble Dabble Do. Is it a liquid, or is it a solid?
• Learn about frost by making some indoor frost as seen on Little Bin for Little Hands.
• Make your own homemade butter in a jar as seen on Happy Hooligans.

What scientific experiment will you try first?

About Brigitte Brulz

Brigitte Brulz is a homeschooling mom of two daughters, wife of her high school sweetheart, and author of Jobs of a Preschooler and Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles. She offers free coloring pages and activity ideas on her website at BrigitteBrulz.com .

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Reader Interactions

30 comments.

college brawl says

March 13, 2024 at 1:05 am

Wow, these experiments look like so much fun! I can’t wait to try them out with my kids. We’re always looking for new and creative ways to learn about science at home, and these experiments look like they’ll be perfect for us. Thanks for sharing! 😊

threadsBay says

August 31, 2023 at 3:13 am

I love science experiments! This one is really simple and easy to do.

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Best YouTube Channels with Science Experiment for Kids

Science experiments are fun and educational and there are many books filled with various experiments that you can do at home. And while the books and pictures are great, a lot more can be learned by watching the experiments being conducted. Because science is so visual, watching a video tutorial of an experiment being conducted is often much more helpful that just reading about the experiment.

Because of that, I put together a list of the best YouTube Channels that walk you through science experiments so you can follow along at home.

Best YouTube Channels with Science Experiments for Kids

Hoopla Kids Lab

This is a great channel that has been around for more than 2 year and contains 100+ experiment videos. The videos on the individual experiment are narrated making it easy to follow along to the instruction while doing the experiment at home. While the videos showing multiple experiments are great for watching and observing what happens.

Sick Science!

All of Steve Spangler’s YouTube channels are worth watching, but this is our favorite. The videos are short, catchy, educational and there are 500+ to choose from. The instructions are written on the screen and they aren’t narrated, so children who are able to read along will get the most benefit from watching them.

Doctor Mad Science

This channel shares simple science experiments, hosted by an 13 year old autistic boy named Jordan. My kids have fun watching experiments that are being conducted and explained by another child.

I’d like to think I’ve saved the best for last! You know I couldn’t create a list of the best Science YouTube Channels without mentioning Cool Science Experiment Headquarters. On the channel you will find simple experiments that you can do at home. You’ll see my kids and I conducting the experiment and the videos are narrated so you can easily follow along at home. I’d love for you to subscribe so you can join in the fun too!

Do you have a favorite YouTube Channel that shares experiments that isn’t on the list? Leave a comment and let me know so we can check it out too. Thanks!

Reader Interactions

July 18, 2017 at 9:46 am

TheBackyardScientist https://www.youtubeclassified.com/channel/TheBackyardScientist/

carsandwater https://www.youtubeclassified.com/channel/carsandwater/

Home Science https://www.youtubeclassified.com/channel/Home%20Science/

IncredibleScience https://www.youtubeclassified.com/channel/IncredibleScience/

Hope this help

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Viral Olympic breakdancer Raygun defends her performance

The Australian breaking star went viral with her unique dance moves.

When breaking , or breakdancing, made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics , the sport quickly had its breakout star, b-girl Raygun, a 36-year-old Australian college professor.

Raygun, whose birth name is Rachael Gunn, went viral after her performance Friday in Paris, where she took on b-girls in their late teens and early 20s with unique dance moves that quickly became the focus of memes and jokes on social media.

Gunn did not earn a medal in Paris, losing her three round-robin battles by a score of 54-0.

The online criticisms of Gunn's performance led her to defend her skills, telling reporters that what she brought to her performance was "creativity."

"I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best -- their power moves," Gunn said, according to ESPN . "What I bring is creativity."

"All of my moves are original," she continued. "Creativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn't. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about."

On social media, some users dubbed one move by Gunn "the kangaroo," while others compared her dance moves to when a child asks you to watch their performance.

"I'd like to personally thank Raygun for making millions of people worldwide think 'huh, maybe I can make the Olympics too,'" one user wrote on X, alongside a photo of Raygun's Olympic performance.

The online critiques of Gunn's performance led Australia's Chef de Mission, Anna Meares, to issue public support Saturday for her performance.

"I love Rachael, and I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing," Meares said at a news conference, according to ESPN. "Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has."

2 generational greats on the culture of breaking

On Sunday, the head judge of the breaking competition in Paris defended Gunn, while the head of the World DanceSport Federation said officials are looking out for her "mental safety" after the online criticism.

"Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region," head judge Martin Gilian said at a press conference, according to The Associated Press. "This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo."

Sergey Nifontov, general secretary of the World DanceSport Federation, added of Gunn's mental health, according to the AP, "We offered (the) support of our safe-guarding officer. We are aware about what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place. She has us as a federation supporting her."

According to her Olympics biography , Gunn is a former jazz and ballroom dancer who entered the sport of breaking through her husband, Samuel, who had been breaking for the past decade.

Gunn started breaking in her mid-20s and went on to become the top-ranked b-girl in Australia in 2020 and 2021.

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Last year, she won the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney to earn Australia's first-ever spot in the b-girl competition at the Olympics, according to her bio.

When not breaking, Gunn, who holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies, is a researcher and lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney, where she studies the "the cultural politics of breaking," according to her university biography.

As both a breaker and a researcher, Gunn told the podcast "The [Female] Athlete Project" that her bag, "always has two main things, my knee pads and my laptop."

Tom Cruise skydives into Paris Olympics closing ceremony in epic stunt

While in Paris, Gunn shared a photo of herself on Instagram in Team Australia's uniform along with the caption, "Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you."

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News and ESPN.

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With Purple Gold and Bouncy Metal, a Canadian Chemist Shines on YouTube

Disillusioned with grad school, Nigel Braun dropped out to film chemistry videos in his parents’ garage in Montreal. Then millions began viewing his whimsical and occasionally dangerous experiments.

Nigel Braun, known as “NileRed” among his millions of YouTube fans, with a powerful UV light at his lab in Montreal. Credit...

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By Vjosa Isai

Photographs by Nasuna Stuart-Ulin

Reporting from Montreal

• Aug. 17, 2024

While he can’t turn water into wine, Nigel Braun is making vodka out of thin air.

He is neither miracle worker nor magician. His secret is chemistry, and he films his experiments inside a commercial-grade laboratory in Montreal and shares the videos on his YouTube channel. That’s where 6.5 million subscribers know him as NileRed , like the fluorescent chemical dye, a name he acknowledges sounds vaguely biblical.

Mr. Braun’s videos surged in popularity during the pandemic, reaching 2.5 billion views, and as his audience ballooned, so did his ambitions. His experiments — often whimsical, sometimes practical and occasionally dangerous — range from transforming paint thinner into cherry cola, to developing bulletproof wood, to making carcinogens from scratch.

Over the past decade, since dropping out of grad school, Mr. Braun, 32, has outgrown a hobby workshop in his parents’ garage and two other facilities, settling into a third lab large enough to rival some academic research spaces in Canada.

But Mr. Braun considers himself less a chemist or a science communicator in the vein of Bill Nye and MythBusters than an adventurer. “I want to have a journey,” he said. “I’m not interested in just conveying information.”

Part of his appeal is that he doesn’t care to make chemistry look easy or neat.

Some of the tasks he sets himself on are both epic and arduous, like his many attempts to make purple gold, an alloy of gold and aluminum that gives the metal a unique color, but whose recipe is only vaguely described in one line of ingredients in a patent.

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‘The chainsaw never stops.’ Milei’s support survives his economic experiment.

Javier Milei, Argentina’s president, attends a G-7 meeting in Savelletri, Italy, on June 14, 2024. (Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg)

To say that life hasn’t been easy in Argentina since Javier Milei won the presidency would be to downplay the everyday reality of a nation undergoing the equivalent of economic surgery.

In the eight months since he took office, prices have soared more than 100%, consumer spending tanked and unemployment climbed as Argentines have been submitted to the most brutal austerity shock in recent history.

Yet something unexpected has happened on Milei’s watch: For all the ongoing misery, he remains just as popular as when he stormed to power pledging to take a chainsaw to the state. Even the hardest hit continue to swear by his bitter economic medicine.

Among them is Monica Perez, a 57-year-old butcher shop owner whose smile belies the fact the world’s onetime red-meat capital has seen beef consumption sink to the lowest in more than a century. Where construction workers who make up the bulk of her customers once ordered beef cuts by the kilogram, now they tell her how much money they have to spend and buy whatever that yields.

That’s indicative of a longer-term downward spiral as purchasing power plummeted under the previous left-wing government. It’s a trend that has accelerated under Milei. Perez, though, isn’t giving up on him yet.

“Of course I have hope,” she says at her shop in the neighborhood of La Union, an hour south of the city of Buenos Aires. “Things have to change. Things will change, for the better.”

Argentina is in the early stages of an economic and monetary experiment that will determine whether it can escape decades of decline and recapture some of its earlier swagger as a commodities superpower. Everywhere you look there are signs of decay, and the accompanying strains on its people.

More than half of Argentines now live below the poverty line as Milei’s “shock therapy” exacerbates the already staggering levels of destitution that he inherited.

Since assuming office in December, the libertarian president cut real pensions and public wages, halted nearly all public infrastructure projects, devalued the peso by more than 50% and did away with price controls on everything from milk to mobile phone bills.

As spending is slashed by the most in 30 years, homelessness is on the rise. Entire families have become mainstays outside supermarkets, begging for a bag of rice or pasta, and often ringing doorbells along the streets of the capital asking for used clothes.

Voters surveying the wreckage still accord the president a high degree of loyalty.

Milei’s popularity stands at a healthy 52%, a 1 percentage point bump from February, according to polling firm Management & Fit. His immediate predecessor, Alberto Fernandez, racked up a disapproval rating of 79% by the end of his term, and is now fighting allegations of domestic abuse that risk compounding the now-opposition’s woes.

Cooling inflation - Milei’s central rallying cry - is one leg propping up his support. Monthly price increases fell from a three-decade high of 25.5% in December to 4% in July.

Residual anger at Peronism, the statist movement that’s governed Argentina for 16 of the last 20 years, most recently under Fernandez, helps explain the rest.

Perez, whose butcher shop sits on the corner of an unpaved road which has no access to a public sewage system, laments the decades of state largess with little to show for it beyond a litany of dismal statistics. “The majority of us are exhausted,” she said.

Monica Perez. (Anita Pouchard Serra/Bloomberg)

“That’s why we voted for him,” she added of Milei. “And why he won.”

Argentine leaders have long faced a tightrope walk between economic imperative and political expedience.

It’s a feat that traditionally involves a balance between fixing the economy’s many puzzles that require short-term pain while limiting the political costs and keeping the streets calm, according to Camila Perochena, a historian at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires. Milei threw that model out the window with a whatever-it-takes style that upended politics and shields his approval ratings, for now, from labor strikes and other habitual setbacks.

The result is “an unprecedented moment” under the country’s first economist president. Milei, she said, “has a conviction that he has to prioritize macroeconomic balance without considering the social cost or even the political costs that austerity measures will have.”

To be sure, Milei has tapped the brakes on shock therapy in recent months to keep inflation in check and protect the middle class, as he believes that forms the backbone of his administration, according to one of his top advisers, who asked not to be named discussing the president’s strategy. In July, Milei halted the removal of energy subsidies that had most households footing only 5% of the electricity cost; with inflation in check, the Economy Ministry restarted hiking prices in August.

Since a 54% devaluation in December, the government has rejected calls to speed up its 2% monthly depreciation of the official peso rate - or strip capital controls altogether - because they fear such a move would only juice prices more. To keep the parallel peso closer in line with the official rate, the government is intervening in the FX market, eating into the international reserves dutifully built up in the first months of austerity, rattling Wall Street in the process. Keeping the currency straitjacket in place only further postpones a recovery, most analysts estimate, fanning an already deep recession forecast to shrink the economy 3.7% this year.

So far, the self-styled anti-politician has proven more politically savvy than many anticipated. In June, Milei managed to muscle through the opposition-controlled congress a slew of economic reforms that remake labor laws, incentivize large foreign investments and even hike income taxes. He did so through relentless negotiations and cabinet changes, in spite of repeatedly referring to the legislative body as a rat’s nest. His more radical plans, like dollarizing the economy, sit on the back burner for now.

To untangle the edifice of capital controls put in place by his predecessors, revive activity and return to capital markets, Milei is pinning his hopes on a sizable loan from the International Monetary Fund - which Argentina already owes $44 billion. Yet the government’s currency intervention to keep inflation low flies in the face of the orthodox policy measures prescribed by the Washington-based lender, and the board needs convincing its biggest creditor deserves its 23rd chance. Milei still believes a new program could come as soon as this year.

Ultimately, it’s his ability to stabilize and reactivate the economy upon which he will be judged, according to Perochena, the historian.

Juan Pablo Rudoni is a case in point. His 300-employee modular construction company EcoSan suffered a 40% plunge in sales in the first half of the year, driven by Milei’s decision to cut public works spending that’s rippled across Argentina’s construction sector, one of the largest by employment. EcoSan boomed during the pandemic years by building modular hospitals and continues building housing or offices for industries like mining, oil and gas.

But Rudoni can’t deliver the last project Milei’s predecessors contracted: Two-story apartments and job-training offices destined for city slums. They’re practically finished, sitting idle in EcoSan’s cavernous factory outside Buenos Aires city. But Milei hasn’t even appointed an official to sign certificates that Rudoni needs to get paid and deliver. Meantime, his company’s utility bills have soared between 500% to 600% this year as Milei gradually withdraws subsidies that kept prices at absurdly low levels.

For all that, Rudoni backs Milei’s ambition to make Argentina a pro-business haven, and is willing to bite the bullet on utility bills. But he believes the austerity went too far, too fast. What’s more, Rudoni is opening a new factory later this year that he financed years ago, not anticipating the historic downturn.

He’s giving it until around the end of the year for the economy to pick up. Otherwise, he says, “it’ll be unsustainable for us to be able to keep our personnel and structure.”

“We need to see a light at the end of the tunnel,” added Rudoni. “But the issue is that light doesn’t seem within reach.”

Argentines didn’t turn to Milei blindly, of course. The country has spent more time in recession since the 1950s than any other nation, according to a World Bank report this year. An Argentine born when the country returned to democracy in 1983 has already lived through hyperinflation, record unemployment, sovereign defaults, multiple peso devaluations and several invented currencies that no longer exist. Much of that time has been spent in recession.

More recently, average incomes for white-collar payroll employees have plunged from $1,500 in 2017 to less than $500 last year, before ticking up on Milei’s watch, according to data compiled by Buenos Aires-based consulting firm EconViews.

The president acknowledges the pain and maintains that the “massive effort” being made by Argentines will pay off.

In any case, he’s not offering an alternative.

“Everything that can be cut, we will cut,” he said in a July 19 radio interview. “The chainsaw never stops.”

With assistance from Stephen Wicary.

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Raygun becomes viral sensation during breaking performance at 2024 Paris Olympics: Social media reacts

Breaking , more commonly known as breakdancing, made its debut as an Olympic sport this week at the 2024 Paris Games , with 17 B-girls and 16 B-boys making their way to France with the hopes of securing a gold medal.

On the first day of competition, viewers from across the world were treated to a different kind of introduction — not to the sport itself, but one of its athletes.

Though she was a long way from winning a gold medal, likely no breaker Friday captured the imagination of the international audience more than Rachael Gunn, an Australian breaker who competes under the name “Raygun.”

REQUIRED READING: Follow USA TODAY's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics

Raygun went 0-3 in her head-to-head competitions Friday — falling to Logistx of the United States, Syssy of France and eventual silver medalist Nicka of Lithuania by a combined score of 54-0 — and failed to record a point across those three matches, but for what she lacked in smoothly executed moves, she made up for in the hearts she won over with her demeanor.

Raygun’s short-lived Olympic experience made her a celebrity, one who people became even more enamored with once they learned more about her.

The 36-year-old Gunn, who was one of the oldest qualifiers in the breaking competition, has a PhD in cultural studies and is a college professor at Macquarie University in Sydney. Her research focuses primarily on breaking, street dance and hip-hop culture while her work draws on “cultural theory, dance studies, popular music studies, media, and ethnography.”

“In 2023, many of my students didn’t believe me when I told them I was training to qualify for the Olympics, and were shocked when they checked Google and saw that I qualified,” Gunn said to CNBC earlier this month .

Unlike much of her competition in Paris, Gunn took up break dancing later in life. She didn’t enter her first battle until 2012.

On Friday, a person who began the day as a little-known academic ended it as a viral worldwide sensation.

Here’s a sampling of the reaction to Raygun and her performance:

2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: Meet the members of Team USA competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Social media reacts to Raygun’s breaking performance at 2024 Paris Olympics

I could live all my life and never come up with anything as funny as Raygun, the 36-year-old Australian Olympic breakdancer pic.twitter.com/1uPYBxIlh8 — mariah (@mariahkreutter) August 9, 2024

Give Raygun the gold right now #breakdancing pic.twitter.com/bMtAWEh3xo — n★ (@nichstarr) August 9, 2024

my five year old niece after she says “watch this!” : pic.twitter.com/KBAMSkgltj — alex (@alex_abads) August 9, 2024

I'd like to personally thank Raygun for making millions of people worldwide think "huh, maybe I can make the Olympics too" pic.twitter.com/p5QlUbkL2w — Bradford Pearson (@BradfordPearson) August 9, 2024

The Aussie B-Girl Raygun dressed as a school PE teach complete with cap while everyone else is dressed in funky breaking outfits has sent me. It looks like she’s giving her detention for inappropriate dress at school 🤣 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/lWVU3myu6C — Georgie Heath🎙️ (@GeorgieHeath27) August 9, 2024

There has not been an Olympic performance this dominant since Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint at Beijing in 2008. Honestly, the moment Raygun broke out her Kangaroo move this competition was over! Give her the #breakdancing gold 🥇 pic.twitter.com/6q8qAft1BX — Trapper Haskins (@TrapperHaskins) August 9, 2024

my dog on the lawn 30 seconds after i've finished bathing him pic.twitter.com/A5aqxIbV3H — David Mack (@davidmackau) August 9, 2024

My wife at 3AM: I think I heard one of the kids Me: No way, they are asleep *looks at baby monitor* pic.twitter.com/Ubhi6kY4w4 — Wes Blankenship (@Wes_nship) August 9, 2024

me tryna get the duvet off when i’m too hot at night #olympics pic.twitter.com/NM4Fb2MEmX — robyn (@robynjournalist) August 9, 2024

Raygun really hit them with the "Tyrannosaurus." pic.twitter.com/ZGCMjhzth9 — Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 9, 2024

Raygun (AUS) https://t.co/w2lxLRaW2x — Peter Nygaard (@RetepAdam) August 9, 2024

• Cast & crew

Am I Racist?

A man investigates diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, exposing absurdities through undercover social experiments. A man investigates diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, exposing absurdities through undercover social experiments. A man investigates diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, exposing absurdities through undercover social experiments.

• Justin Folk
• Brian A. Hoffman
• Dallas Sonnier
• 1 Critic review

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia The wig Matt Walsh uses is the same one he used in the movie Lady Ballers.
• Connections Featured in Daily Wire Backstage: Episode dated 23 July 2024 (2024)
• September 13, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Official Website
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• Daily Wire Studios
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• Runtime 1 hour 41 minutes

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