Do you have a child who is inquisitive and loves to learn by doing? Are they interested science and understanding the world around them? Do they learn best by getting in and giving it a go? If so, then Experimentary is the website for them!
What is Experimentary?
Experimentary is an online science resource for parents, home-schoolers and teachers of primary school-aged children. Run by Brisbane local Dr Rob Bell (previous host of Channel Ten’s science show “Scope”), Experimentary teaches kids valuable science concepts in a fun, interactive way.
Each experiment consists of three engaging videos, explaining what to do and the science behind it, and links to a digital lab book where you can make predictions and enter results. You can do the experiments in any order you like and choose from the varying levels of difficulty.
There are also a whole lot of Science@Home activities – shorter activities that are fun and easy to complete.
Dr Rob and the team are working on new content all the time, so there’s often something new to try each time you log in.
Examples of experiments include:
- Colourful chemistry – Peer into the secret lives of acids and bases with the help of a rainbow of colour chemistry and some purple cabbage.
- Electricity from plants – Poke a potato with pieces of metal and see if they turn into a battery.
- Parachutes – Build and test miniature parachutes and see how they battle gravity.
Examples of Science@Home activities include:
- Pet Antlion – Find, collect, keep and look after your very own antlion.
- Plastic from milk – Make a kind of plastic from milk.
- Making slime – Make your own oozy, gooey slime.
Experimentary is a subscription-based website, with home subscriptions just $24.99 per year per child. Free, all-access trials are available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be hands-on?
Don’t worry if science wasn’t your strong point at school. There are times when adult supervision is recommended (such as working with scissors or hot water), but for the most part, you can assign an experiment to your child and leave them to it. For older kids, you can even set them up with their own user details so they can assign and complete experiments without any input from you.
Do I need a lot of expensive equipment?
Most of Experimentary’s experiments and activities only need equipment and supplies you can find around the house or easily buy from the local shops. You can also view a list of required materials before you select an experiment (and get an estimate of how long it will take too).
Can I use Experimentary as a home-schooling parent?
Experimentary is aligned to the Australian curriculum and when you choose an experiment you can see which part of the curriculum it relates to. This is great for home-schooling parents who need to meet certain requirements as part of their home-schooling plan. For anyone else, it can be a handy tool to extend a child who is interested in science or explain science concepts in a different way to a child who prefers to learn by doing rather than reading a book.
Am I locked into a contract?
Experimentary offers two subscription rates – monthly and annually – and you can cancel at any time. Dr Rob is keen to get as many kids excited about science as he can, so the subscription rates are very affordable.
Testimonials
“I’ve been a subscriber of Experimentary for a couple of years now. My primary school kids (now 8 and 6) love choosing an experiment or activity, collecting everything they need, and then watching what they need to do on the videos. Popular ones with them are anything that involves flinging stuff around or using slime!” – Sarah W.
To find out more about Experimentary, please visit their website.