The water tray provides a wealth of opportunities for teaching different science concepts in early years. You don’t need anything fancy, at a pinch a plastic storage crate will do the trick. Many accessories such as funnels, sponges and sieves can be picked up cheaply in Pound shops or similar.

Here are just a few ideas:

Can you make a plastic tray sink?

Resources

• Clear plastic or polystyrene trays, water tray.
• If you can get hold of it, get a copy of “The cow who fell in the canal”.

Activities

• Use plastic animals to enact a story line.
• Can the “raft” be made to tip or sink?
• How much mass needs to be added to make it sink?

Fruit and vegetables

Resources:

• Water tray, selection of fruit and vegetables e.g. potato, banana, apple, orange, carrot, coconut

Activities:

• Place the different fruit and vegetables in the water
• What do-you think will happen if we put the banana in the water? Will it float or sink?
• What do you think will happen if we peel the banana and put the peel and then the banana in the water?
• What do you think will happen if we cut the banana into pieces?
• What surprised you?
• Do you think the same will happen to the other fruit and vegetables?

Water jets

Resources:

• Water tray, collection of objects for squeezing and squirting e.g. squeezy bottles, syringes, small water pistols, meat busters, water pumps.
• Containers to fill with water and plastic bottles for targets.

Activities:

• Show the children how to fill the squirters. Ask the children to use the squirters to fill the containers. How can you squirt a little/lot of water? Compare the type of squirt that the different squirters make.
• Encourage the children to make jets of water in the playground and against a wall (set rules to keep this safe). Challenge the children to make the water trickle/ go a long way. What does the water look like when it’s squirted? What happens if you squeeze the squirter hard? What happens when the squirter is nearly empty? What happens when the water hits the wall?
• Ask the children to see if they can hit the empty bottles as targets. Investigate which squirter is best for knocking over the targets.

Note : It is best to carry this out outside!

Magic liquids

Resources:

• Golden syrup/honey, cooking oil, water, food colouring, spoons, clear plastic cups, beads

Activities:

• Add a layer of golden syrup to the bottom of the cup. Predict what will happen if you pour the same amount of cooking oil on top. Hold it up to the light.
• Add the same amount of water on top but predict what will happen first.
• Add some food colouring- it will mix with the water,
• Stir it to see what will happen.
• Pour the mixture through a funnel into a bottle, seal and shake. Look at what happens over time.
• Put beads/ sequins in. Where do they float?

Make it move

Resources:

• Water tray, spoons, spatulas, whisks

Activities:

• Ask children to use their hands to move the water very gently. Ask them what happens” when they move their hand with their fingers apart and then together; up and down and from side to side. Challenge them to make the water move in other ways with their hands or fingers.
• Encourage the children to use the spoons etc. to move the water. Ask if they can make the water move in different ways; slowly; quickly.
• Challenge the children to find something to push through the water. What happens to the water when you stop pushing it?

Falling water

Resources

• Water tray, plastic jugs, funnels; watering cans, colanders, teapots, plastic bottles with different sizes and numbers of holes in them.

Activities:

• Read a story about a rainy day, perhaps “A Rainy Day” by Anna Milbourne
• Give the children a selection of containers with holes in them and encourage them to pour water into/out of them.
• What does water feel like when we pour it out of a watering can?
• Challenge children to make just a little trickle of water using a jug. Now can they make a stream of water pour out? Can they make water fall like rain?
• Can they make the water splash in the water tray?
• Explore what happens if you let the water fall from different heights.
• Have a race using the holed bottles. Ask children to predict which one they think will win the race.

Find 5 things that sink/float

Resources:

• A range of classroom objects some small and light, small and heavy, large and light, large and heavy, some solid and some with holes.

Activities:

• To find 5 things that sink and/or things that float.
• Observe how they sink. Did they float for a while and sink, or sink straight away?
• To find objects which float and to put them into a set.
• Look where they float in the water.
• Do they always float? Does it depend on how they are placed in the water?
• Do some float for a while then sink?
• Sort objects into two groups – those that sink and those that float.

Can You Make a Drinks Can Sink?

Resources:

• Empty drinks cans, water tray.

Activities:

• Challenge children to make a drinks can sink.
• Can they make it go quickly/slowly.
• Try adding holes to them (Take care!)

Safety: Take care to tape up any sharp edges of the drinks cans.

Put it in the water

Resources:

• Water tray, selection of materials e.g. kitchen roll, newspaper; paper bags, plastic bags, foil, greaseproof paper, fabrics, sponge, cotton wool.

Activities:

• Encourage the children to describe what the materials feel like and to predict what will happen if they are put into the water.
• Ask the children to dip the materials into the water. What has happened? Does it look different? Does it change colour? Does it change shape? Con you squeeze the water out?
• Let the children play with the materials and use questions to focus their observations/ investigations and develop their vocabulary. E.g. Can you see the water rolling off? Will it float or sink? What happens to wet paper when you pull it? Which materials are waterproof? How can we get the water out of the sponge?

Make a water pusher

Resources:

• A range of syringes – 5, 10, 20ml, water tray,
• coloured sugar paper.

Activities:

• Free play in the water tray.
• Show children how to load a syringe, or let them find out and show each other, but check that they learn the skill.
• Discuss the amount in each size, the force of the push and the distance of the squirt.
• Devise a game with them to see how far each will squirt. Record by using sugar paper which changes colour when wet.
• Test out which squirt can knock over multilink etc, record with pictures.

Safety: Discuss that these are special syringes that are safe to use in the classroom. Discuss the dangers of picking up used ones. Watch out for slippery floors!

Icy animals

Resources:

• Water tray.
• Plastic bags,
• food colouring,
• plastic animals

Activities:

• Beforehand: fill freezer bags with water, put a small plastic animal into the bag, add food colouring to some of the bags and freeze.
• Show the children the blocks of ice. What are they? What do they look/feel like?
• Can you see through them? What’s inside? How did the animals get in there? How can we get them out?
• Direct the children to put a block in the water. Ask them to predict what will happen. Ask them to think about ice in drinks- what happens to the ice?
• Allow the children to touch and watch the ice as it melts. Ask them what they notice about the temperature of the water.

Can you make an ice cube melt faster?

Resources:

• Ice balloons, ice cubes, hand lenses, food colouring.

Activities:

• Make ice balloons by freezing balloons full of water. Add some food colouring to the water to make the ice more interesting.
• Let the children peel off the cover and discover an ice balloon inside.
• Use a range of senses to explore the properties of ice.
• Make observational drawings with chalk on black paper.
• Give each child an ice cube and challenge them to make it melt as quickly as possible- have a race.
• Give pairs of children ice cubes and ask them to try to keep it safe for a long time. Observe what happens.

Bobbing up and down                 

Resources:

• Deep water tray, large hollow ball/ beach ball.

Activities:

• Put the ball in the water and ask the children what happens.
• Ask them how they can make the ball stay underwater. Can you make the ball go under the water?
• What are you doing to the ball?
• What happens when they let go?
• What can you feel?
• What do you think is pushing it?

If you have more ideas. Add them to the comments below!