Materials Needed:
- Large plastic bin or tub
- Washable toy cars
- Water
- Tear-free baby soap or mild dish soap
- Sponges, small cloths, or soft brushes
- Towels
- Optional: A small amount of mud or dirt (to make cars 'dirty')
Let's Get Started!
Have you ever seen a car go through a car wash? It gets all soapy and bubbly, and then comes out clean and shiny! Today, we're going to have our own mini car wash and learn a little bit about how soap and water work together to make things clean. It's like a bubbly science experiment!
Activity 1: Making Bubbly Water!
First, let's fill our bin with some water. Not too full! Now, let's add a few squirts of soap. What do you think will happen? Let's stir the water with our hands or a sponge. Look! What are those things floating on top? Bubbles! Soap helps make bubbles when mixed with water. Feel the bubbles! Are they wet? Slippery?
Activity 2: Wash the Cars!
Oh look, our toy cars are a bit dirty! (If they aren't, you can add a tiny bit of mud or washable marker smudges). Let's put them in our bubbly water wash. Use the sponges and cloths to scrub the cars. See how the soap and water help lift the dirt away? The bubbles help trap the dirt. Swish the cars around. Are they getting cleaner? Let's rinse them with a little clean water if needed.
Activity 3: Drying Station!
Now that the cars are clean, let's take them out and dry them carefully with our towels. We need to dry them so they don't get water spots! Look how clean and shiny they are now!
Wrap-up Chat:
Wow, we washed the cars! What did we use? (Water and Soap). What did the soap and water make? (Bubbles!). How did the bubbles feel? What did the soap and water do to the dirty cars? (Made them clean!). You were a great car wash scientist today!