6 Fall Science Experiments for Kids



Whether your kids are doing virtual learning this year or are physically going to class there’s still lots of fun to be had when your family stays with us! We’ve comprised a list of 6 science experiments for kids to try, while parents can both relax and spend some quality family time together. These are fun, easy to do experiments with materials you can find in and around your cabin. 

While you stay with us make sure to try at least a couple of these experiments with your kids. It’ll get them outside and exploring in nature as well as teach them basic science concepts. Not only that, but they’re fun too! These experiments are sure to be fun memories from your trip that will last a lifetime. 

Why Do Leaves Change Color? 

Photo Courtesy of www.howweelearn.com

This first experiment is brought to us by Sarah on howweelearn.com and is perfect for the fall season! It will teach your kiddos all about why leaves change their colors in the fall. 

Here’s what you need: 

  • 3 leaves (from the same tree)
  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Jar
  • Plastic baggie (or plastic wrap)
  • Paper Coffee Filter
  • Small bowl or pan

Steps:

  1. Have your child break the leaves into tiny pieces and put in the jar.
  2. Pour rubbing alcohol over the leaves until they are just covered
  3. Mash and stir the leaves into the rubbing alcohol until the alcohol turns slightly green. Really give it a good mashing – this is key.
  4. Cover the jar with the baggie or plastic wrap and place the jar in a small bowl and pour hot water into the bowl.
  5. Leave (ha!) the jar in the water for 30 minutes, swishing the jar occasionally to stir the leaves a bit. The alcohol should be a very dark green (leave longer if needed). If you can resist, wait even 45 minutes or an hour.
  6. Cut a strip in the coffee filter so the strip can just reach the rubbing alcohol.
  7. The liquid will travel up the coffee filter and the colors will separate as the alcohol evaporates off the coffee filter. Let this happen for about an hour for the full effect.

S’more Oven 

Photos Courtesy of www.growingajeweledrose.com

Who doesn’t love s’mores!? This experiment was found on growingajeweledrose.com and is perfect for your kids to try out on those cool fall days. This will teach them all about solar energy and leave them with a sweet treat as well! 

Materials:

  • An empty box
  • Aluminum foil
  • Plastic wrap
  • A box cutter/knife
  • Chocolate
  • Graham crackers
  • Marshmallows

Steps:

  1. Use a box cutter or knife to carefully cut the lid of a pizza box on 3 sides, leaving it attached on the back end. 
  2. Line the inside of the box with foil. Then, tightly cover the opening that you cut with clear plastic wrap.
  3. Line the bottom of the box with black paper or foil.
  4. Once the solar oven is assembled it is time to cook up some s’mores!
  5. Have kids build s’mores, and then place them into the solar oven.  Once the s’mores are in the box, close the portion of the lid covered in plastic wrap, and then prop the foil-covered flap open.   

It is now time to observe and wait……after about 20 minutes they will be ready to eat!

Dye Flowers 

Photo Courtesy of www.redtri.com

This experiment is great because your kids can go out in nature and collect the flowers they need. Once they’ve gone out and collected the materials needed, your kids will learn all about how plants suck in nutrients and water. We found this experiment on www.redtri.com by Erin Lem. It’s a fun way to teach plant science and allow your kiddos a chance to get outside too!

Materials:

  • Three white flowers. Some suggestions are daisies, roses, carnations, or even celery!
  • Four glasses of water
  • Food dye: blue, yellow, green, red
  • Sharp knife

Steps:

  1. Mix the food coloring into each of your glasses, until you have four glasses of different colored water. The stronger you make the colors, the better.
  2. Add two flowers to two colors of your choice and set aside. You should have two colors and one flower remaining at this point.
  3. Take your last flower and slit the stem. Now take the two remaining colored glasses and part the stem, placing each half of the stem into different colored glasses. In other words, your flower should now be drinking from two glasses at the same time.
  4. Place the water glasses away from the sunlight and watch what happens. You’ll start to notice some fascinating results within an hour or so, as the colored water creeps up the stem and begins to color the leaves. But wait a few days and keep observing the petals for fuller color displays.

Flower Pigment Experiment 

Photo Courtesy of www.happilyevermom.com

Here’s another great flower experiment, this time from Kate on happilyevermom.com. This experiment is super fun because it not only teaches your kids about flower pigment but gives them a chance to get messy! And what kid doesn’t love to get messy every now and then?

  Materials:

  • Paper Towels
  • Flowers
  • Hammer
  • Aluminum Foil

Steps:

  1. Put down some aluminum foil and then layer your flowers on top. Next, cover the flowers with a paper towel. Then, start hammering!
  2. Watch the pigment from the flowers seep through onto the paper towel.

Learning during Flower Science Experiment

  1. Explain pigment (the substance that can be extracted from each flower which is used to make paints, dye, etc.)
  2. Correspond colors on the paper towel with the flowers underneath – which match?
  3. Hammer at different variations to see what happens to the colors – what happens if you hit lightly versus hitting harder?
  4. Vocabulary words: pigment, absorb, extract, darker/lighter, parts of the flower (petal, leaves, stem)
  5. Bonus: The smashed flowers can create a gorgeous piece of art too!

Apple Science 

Photo Courtesy of www.pre-kpages.com

This is another great experiment for the fall season brought to us Vanessa Levin on www.pre-kpages.com. If you’re planning on picking apples while staying with us, pick up a couple of extras so your kids can try this fun experiment out! It’s a perfect experiment for the little ones, showing them how different liquids can affect the apples and teaches them many early learning concepts. 

Materials: 

  • Small containers
  • Apples (Mercier Orchards is a great place to pick them up!)
  • Lemon juice
  • Vinegar
  • Water
  • Tonic water
  • Soda
  • Apple Science Experiment Recording Sheet (optional)

Steps:

  1. Set out five containers with a few apple pieces in each one. Label the five containers with the name of the liquids you are going to be using.
  2. Pour the appropriate liquids into each cup. Also be sure to set up a “control” cup of apple pieces without any liquid.
  3. Now wait and see what chemical reactions will occur.
  4. After a few hours, check on the progress and discuss your observations. Record observations on a Recording Sheet if you choose.

Pinecone Experiment 

Photo Courtesy of www.lemonlimeadventures.com

Our last experiment is another great one for fall and involves collecting pinecones. We found this one from Dayna on www.lemonlimeadventures.com. This experiment is a fun way for kids to learn more about nature. It will teach them why pinecones open and close depending on air temperature and moisture. 

Materials:

  • 3 Jars
  • 3 Pinecones (all the same size)
  • Warm Water
  • Cold Water
  • Ruler
  • Timer

Steps:

  1. The set-up for this experiment is really quite simple. Start by measuring, sketching and observing your pinecones. Then place 1 pinecone in each jar.
  2. Label each jar and fill two jars with water to the top. One jar should be filled with warm water and one with cold water. The third jar is your control and should be left open with only air to use as a comparison and to document the change you see over time.
  3. What changes do you see? How fast are the changes occurring? Any other observations you notice?

7 Blue Ridge Creepy Crawlers



Halloween is quickly approaching and to get us in the spooky spirit we’ve comprised a list of 7 creepy crawlers located here in Blue Ridge. While many of these creepy crawlers are local to Blue Ridge and might look extremely scary; in most cases, they will not hurt you, as long as they do not feel threatened. So if you run into one of these creatures while you’re out exploring, make sure to leave them be and you’ll stay safe. After all this planet is their home too! How many have you seen? Share your creepy crawler photos with us by tagging @escapetobr on your social posts.

Copperhead Snake

Photo Courtesy of Cheryl Ward

While the Copperhead Snake is one of the most common snakes found in North America, they are also venomous. They get their name because of their copper-colored heads but are also commonly referred to as Water Moccasins. They’re a medium-sized snake, averaging anywhere between 2-3 feet long. They have hourglass-shaped markings on their skin which sets them apart from their commonly confused partner, the Corn Snake, who is not venomous.

The Copperhead can be seen outside in the day during the fall and spring, but in the summertime they are nocturnal. They do; however, like to be out on humid nights after rainfall. Copperheads are masters of camouflage because their brown coloring helps them to blend in with wooded areas. If you look at the picture above we’ve circled the snake so that you can find him. The camouflage helps them to ambush their prey. They mostly use the “sit and wait” method for their hunting, where they bite their prey and then wait for the venom to kill it. And much like other snakes, they eat their food whole. It’s hard to believe, but they only eat 10 to 12 meals a year. Copperheads bite more people every year than any other U.S. snake species. And while they are venomous, their bite is rarely fatal, for their venom is not very potent. 

Praying Mantis

Photo Courtesy of Deanna Hickman-Lockamy

Chances are you’ve probably run into this strange insect before. The Praying Mantis is so named this because the way they stand makes them look as if they are praying. They camouflage in with their surroundings, turning a green or brown color to blend in with the plants around them. They then snatch their prey in the blink of an eye with their spiked long legs.

The mantis can also turn their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings, making them even more of a formidable predator. The females are even more vicious, sometimes even eating their mate after mating. While they may seem like they’d be aggressive towards humans, as far as we know they cannot hurt you. They have no venom and cannot sting. Still, I know I’m certainly not brave enough to hold one in my hand, like Deanna here.  

Timber Rattlesnakes

Photo Courtesy of Stephen Morton

When you think of rattlesnakes you probably think they’re only located in hot, desert climates. But on the east coast, we do have the Timber Rattlesnake, which is a venomous pit viper typically found in eastern North America. It is, in fact, the only rattlesnake species in most of the northeastern United States.

Adult Timber Rattlesnakes can be anywhere between 30 inches to 6 feet long! They can be found in a variety of different habitats from pine forests, to the mountains, swamps, rivers, and farmlands. They do, however, typically stay away from more urban areas. They hibernate during cold weather, so they are only active from late spring to late fall. When they are out and about, they typically stay in the coiled position, ready to ambush their prey. They use their venom to immobilize their prey. Don’t worry too much though, while their venom can be fatal to humans, the Timber Rattlesnakes will not attack unless they feel threatened and they primarily feed on small mammals anyways; so we’re in the clear! Still, if I ran into one of these on a hike I’d turn the other direction! 

Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar

Photo Courtesy of Maura Neill

These funny looking caterpillars will one day turn into the beautiful Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly which you’ve likely seen in nature. But before these little guys can turn into beautiful butterflies they have to go through their life cycle, which takes about 2 months. The Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly will lay its eggs on a large variety of different plants. In about a week, the eggs hatch baby caterpillars. Even right after they’ve hatched you can see their “false eyes” start to come in. These fake eyes are to fool predators into thinking that they’re a snake and then they will hopefully be left alone. They stay in the caterpillar stage for about 3-4 weeks. They are typically green for most of their caterpillar life until they are just about to turn into a chrysalis, then they turn brown. While in the chrysalis stage they almost look like little sticks and they stay this way for 1-3 weeks. Finally, they emerge from their chrysalis as beautiful Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies! The strange-looking caterpillars have an ugly duckling story. They were once odd-looking creatures who transformed into something beautiful!

Trapdoor Spider

Photo Courtesy of Walter Reeves

I’ll be honest, just looking at pictures of this spider freaks me out! I keep screaming every time a picture of them comes up, so they definitely fit under the creepy crawlers category! The Trapdoor Spider is a medium-sized spider that builds underground burrows made of different materials including silk, soil, and vegetation. When in their burrows they are extremely hard to see because the plant and soil materials help to camouflage it. They are nocturnal, so at night the spider waits for their prey while holding on to the trapdoor with their claws. Their prey is captured when they disturb the ‘trip’ lines, alerting the spider. The spider then uses vibrations to find their prey and when it is close enough, the spider leaps out and ambushes it. The Trapdoor Spider mainly eats insects but can also eat arthropods and small vertebrates. In the U.S. the Trapdoor Spiders venom is not very strong and almost feels like a bee sting, but they are still terrifying to look at. In Georgia alone, there are 8 different species of these spiders. 

Hellbender Salamanders

Photo Courtesy of Bita Honarvar & wabe.org

Most of us have probably never run into these creatures walking around Blue Ridge. The Hellbender Salamander is an incredibly rare, giant salamander that lives in parts of Northern Georgia. Believe it or not, the Blue Ridge Mountains have the largest diversity of salamanders anywhere in the world. Since salamanders are amphibians they hibernate until heavy rainfall occurs, so they’re already a rare sight.

The Hellbender Salamanders spend their time hiding under rocks in cold streams. They can grow up to 2 feet long and live to be as old as 20 or 30! They have wide mouths that make it look like they’re almost smiling. But don’t be fooled, they are not cute and cuddly; they’re slimy and very strange looking. They’re prehistoric creatures, dating back to 65 million years ago; long before humans roamed the earth. But today they’re starting to go extinct because the streams they live in are becoming polluted. Hikers also sometimes hurt the Hellbenders when they find them. Even though they may look creepy, make sure you leave the peaceful giants alone if you see them in the wild. 

Black Widow Spider

Photo Courtesy of Natural History Museum of Utah

These spiders are VERY common to North America so I’m sure you’ve had encounters with them before. While they may be small, they have unusually potent venom. While their bites rarely kill humans if you are bit you should seek medical attention right away because it can make you extremely sick. However, female Black Widows are the only bites that can be harmful to humans because of their large venom glands.

The females are the ones who are typically a dark, shiny color and have a red hourglass on their abdomen. Much like the Praying Mantis, female Black Widows also often eat their mates giving them the name “widow spiders”. To catch their prey the Black Widows create their silky, strong web and then nest on the ground in dark areas. When its prey is caught, the spider rushes over and wraps it in silk. There’s a reason there are so many references to Black Widows in pop culture today because these are creatures you don’t want to mess with! 

Blue Ridge Activity Booklet

For more family fun and educational opportunities in Blue Ridge, we put together a fun educational activity booklet for you and your kids to enjoy that you can download here. Visit our Educational Things To Do in Blue Ridge page for historical more educational fun in history, biology, natural science, geology, Native American culture, physical science, and hands on activities.