CFC 21: Science activities for young children

CFC 21 explores science activities suitable for young children and how to set them up safely to support learning. The links on this page take you through the learning outcomes, including activities for two age ranges, resources, health and safety risks, the support children may need, and the learning children can gain. This introduction helps you see the bigger picture: science in early years is about curiosity, exploration and simple cause-and-effect.

Science for young children is not about complicated facts. It is about noticing, testing ideas and asking “What happens if…?” Children learn science through play and everyday experiences—water, sand, ice, plants, light, shadows, magnets, bubbles and simple mixing. When adults provide safe resources and time to explore, children build early thinking skills such as predicting, comparing, sorting and problem-solving.

This unit asks you to list science activities suitable for children aged 18 months to 2 years and for children aged 3 years to 5 years 11 months. The key is choosing activities that match the child’s stage of development and attention span. Younger children usually benefit from simple sensory exploration with close supervision, such as floating and sinking with safe objects in water, bubbles outdoors, or exploring textures like wet and dry sand. Older children can often manage slightly more complex activities, like simple “mixing” experiments (for example, colour mixing with paint or safe water-based dye), growing seeds, or exploring magnets with suitable objects.

You will also describe a science activity for each age range. Good descriptions include what the child does, what the adult provides, and what the child is expected to learn. Keep it practical and realistic for a nursery, pre-school room, or childminder’s home. Children should be actively involved, not watching an adult “perform” an experiment.

Setting up science activities well is a major theme. This includes listing the resources needed and thinking about safety. Resources might include trays, bowls, water, safe objects to explore, aprons, towels, magnifiers, or natural objects. It also includes planning the environment: a stable surface, enough space, and clear boundaries so children can explore without chaos.

Health and safety risk awareness is essential. Risks might include choking hazards (especially with younger children), slips from spilled water, allergies (for example, some sensory materials), sharp edges, or unsuitable small objects. Good practice means checking resources are age-appropriate, supervising closely, setting clear rules in simple language, and following your setting’s procedures. You also think about hygiene, such as handwashing after messy play and safe cleaning of equipment.

Children may need different kinds of support during science activities. Some need encouragement to try, others need help taking turns, and some need language support to describe what they see. The adult’s support should be “just enough”: modelling how to start, offering a short prompt, and asking simple open questions. A calm, curious tone helps. So does patience. Children often need time to repeat actions to understand what is happening.

Here’s a practice example for younger children: in a childminder’s kitchen, a tray of water with a few large, safe objects (a plastic spoon, a large ball, a bath toy) allows a child to explore splashing and floating while the adult stays close, names what is happening (“It floats”, “It sinks”), and keeps the activity safe. For older children: in a nursery garden, children plant cress seeds in small pots, water them, and check changes each day. The adult supports by helping children notice changes (“The shoots are taller today”) and encouraging gentle care.

The unit also asks you to identify the expected learning from each activity. Early science learning can include understanding cause and effect, noticing changes, building vocabulary (wet/dry, heavy/light, float/sink), practising observation, and developing curiosity. Children also practise skills like taking turns, concentrating, and using tools safely. These are valuable learning outcomes in themselves.

As you work through the links on this page, keep your answers grounded in age-appropriate play, safe practice, and realistic adult support. By the end of CFC 21, you should be able to list suitable science activities for the two age ranges, describe one activity for each, identify resources and potential risks, explain the support children may need, and outline the learning children can gain through simple science exploration.

1. Know science activities suitable for young children

• 1.1. List science activities suitable for children aged: • 18 months to 2 years • 3 years to 5 years 11 months
• 1.2. Describe a science activity for each age range

2. Know how to set up science activities to support the young child’s learning

• 2.1. List the resources needed to carry out the science activity for each age range
• 2.2. Identify the possible health and safety risks for the listed science activities
• 2.3. Identify the support a child may need when carrying out the science activities previously listed

3. Know the learning which young children can gain from science activities

• 3.1. Identify what would be the expected learning for the child in each activity listed