friction experiment grade 3

Simple At Home

Simplifying Home and Family

Exploring Friction: Hands-on Friction Activities for Kids

Science is one of those things best-taught hands-on so children can really get a grasp for what they are learning. Two great concepts to teach your child hands-on are Exploring force and friction.

Putting these together to create a day of fun and learning is a great way to keep the kids busy. This simple Science Experiment Exploring Friction is fun and creates are when you are done.

painting with friction, art for kids, science for kids, exploring friction

This simple Science Experiment Exploring Friction

This one was pretty easy and a great way for the older kids to get a “feel” for friction. As the ball slides you can feel it slip when covered in paint. All you need is:

A box or a tray with sides
Bouncy balls or marbles. Different sizes would be fun to try.

This friction experiment doubles as fun kids art.

We decided to go with the primary colors so the kids could watch them mix and blend as the balls rolled back and forth. I taped the paper down to the tray on the underside to keep everything where I wanted it as the tray flopped every which way. That was a good choice on my part.

At one point the kids got a little carried away and bouncy balls went everywhere leaving children and the yard painted. The giggles involved were worth the mess and as you all know Baby Bear did not mind one bit. She had already covered herself in marker.

This Exploring Friction art project was so much fun and the end result was pretty cool.

Exploring friction with kids.

Teaching kids about friction can be a lot of fun when you incorporate hands-on activities and experiments. Here are some engaging ideas to help kids understand the concept of friction:

Sliding and Rolling Races: Have kids race different objects down a ramp or slide to show how different materials and shapes are affected by friction. Use a variety of items such as a toy car, a ball, and a block. Ask them to predict which will reach the bottom first and why. After the race, discuss the role of friction in the results.

Rug vs. Tile Experiment: Have your child push a toy car or slide a book on different surfaces (like a rug and a tile floor). Ask them why it’s easier to move on one surface than the other. This can help them understand that smoother surfaces produce less friction.

Shoe Experiment: Have your kids try walking or running with different types of shoes (sneakers, flip flops, socks, or barefoot) on various surfaces (grass, pavement, carpet, etc.). Discuss how different materials and surfaces create more or less friction.

Sandbox Friction: If you have access to a sandbox, bury a few objects and have your child try to pull them out. Discuss how the sand creates friction, making it harder to pull the items out.

Ice Skating: If possible, go ice skating. Ice creates less friction than many surfaces, which is why it’s slippery. It’s a great way to demonstrate how reduced friction affects movement.

Craft Stick Friction: Take two craft sticks and try to slide them against each other. Then, wet the sticks and try again. Discuss why it’s harder to slide the wet sticks, as the water increases the friction between them.

Balloon Experiment: Rub a balloon on different materials (like a wool sweater or your hair). The friction creates static electricity, causing the balloon to stick to these surfaces.

Brake Pad Experiment: Use two pieces of sandpaper to simulate car brake pads. Have your child press and slide the pieces together, feeling the heat generated from the friction.

Remember, when teaching kids about scientific concepts like friction, it’s important to let them explore, observe, and make predictions. This helps them develop critical thinking skills and a better understanding of the science behind everyday phenomena.

Simple At Home - Making Life Simple Again

21 comments

This looks like a fun way to teach friction! Thanks

This is such a great idea. Children always learn best when it’s fun, involving, and visual. I love it!

That would be fun! It looks like some fancy modern Art too. My son and I would love to do that stuff.

Yes, yes, yes! This is awesome. My boys LOVE to do STEM projects like this!!!

That looks like a lot of fun. I would love to do this with my girls. I know that they would just love it.

This looks like so much fun. My kids would love to do a project like this to explore what friction is all about.

This is a great way to explore friction. I will have to do this experiment with my kids this weekend.

What a great way to make science accessible and dare I say it FUN for kids! Great activity for a rainy day or a homeschool family!

This is a really great idea. Fun and educational for the kids. I need to do this with mine.

That marble art is really cool! I want to try that with my three kids.

This is such a great way to teach children. With a lot of kids being visual learners – this is defiantly a great way to help them learn.

So fun! I love that learning doesn’t stop when the school bell rings. Kids love to learn through hands-on experimentation and exploration.

This is so cool. My kids love doing science projects like this.

How much fun! We are homeschoolers and are going to try this. I’m always looking for fun ways to teach.

This is a great way to explore friction. I will have to do this experiment with my nieces!

The experiment resulted in a pretty piece of art too! I really like this kind of learning.

This is so fun, my kiddos would totally love this!

I love learning about fun kids activities that combine the arts with science. Your kids study of friction is just brilliant.

This is a cool way to get kids interested in the practical applications of science. Awesome.

Wow that is a nice piece of art!My nephews would have a ball with this and I would too watching them and chilling!

follow @ guineverelily

[instagram-feed feed=1]

Looking for something?

Simple Friction Experiments for kids

Today, I taught 3-6 year olds about friction! I love taking fundamental science topics and teaching them to young kids in a way that they can understand and learn from. There are lots of experiments for kids that you can try and this one worked so well that I wanted to share it with you.

To me, kindergarten is all about kids being introduced to as many things and ideas as possible.

I find that science experiments for kids, especially when they are hands-on, help them gain an understanding of the world around them.

This experiment required a little bit of prep, but it was easy and fairly quick.

If you have children who are interested or asking questions related to friction, this experiment for kids is a great place to start for kids at any age.

Our activity today involved a bunch of old wooden blocks covered with different materials and a ramp! To cover each of the blocks with a different material, you will need:

Small Wooden Blocks
Foam (I used part of an old drawer insert/ bath mat)
Electrical Tape
Packing Tape
Plastic Wrap
Bubble Wrap
Aluminum Foil
Cotton Batting
Construction Paper
Parchment Paper
Mesh Material
Long Piece of Wood to Create a Ramp
Large Plastic Towel Clips and Thin Piece of Wood (Optional – These are to create sides on the ramp).

Prepare each block by gluing or sticking a different material to it. You don’t need to use the same materials as I did. I simply walked around my house and used materials that I had on hand.

The important thing about the materials that you choose is selecting a variety of materials. Make sure that some are slippery and others are not.

Since I was working with a large group of children, I made duplicates of each block. So I had two blocks covered with a piece of silk and two covered with felt etc.

Once the materials have all dried onto the blocks, you are ready to do your experiment.

The Experiment

I started by showing the children the blocks. Next, I passed them around and had children feel the different materials. I asked them what they noticed and asked them to describe what they felt.

Children noticed right away that each of the blocks felt different. They noticed that some were “soft” and others were “flat”. It is important to give children time to take note that the blocks are different. But will it make a difference?

Next, I gave small groups of children a long piece of wood to create a ramp. They attached 2 sticks to the sides with large towel pins. These acted as bumpers so that the blocks wouldn’t fall off.

You don’t need to create bumpers at the sides, but it does help to keep the blocks on the ramp when sliding the blocks down the ramp. You could also use a plastic slide to do this experiment.

Next, children guessed which blocks would go down the ramp the fastest and why. Would something smooth cause a fast slide? What about the felt? Everyone made a prediction before we started.

Children started by choosing a few different blocks. They set one at the top of the ramp and then let go. Children quickly discovered that not all of the blocks slid down the ramp. Some didn’t move at all!

Children experimented over and over and let the blocks slide down their ramp and watched how the different coverings affected how the block slid. They noticed that the material the block was covered with was making a difference in how it slid.

Was the block fast or slow? Did it even make it to the bottom? What similarity did you notice about the materials going fast?

Children then started to notice which types of materials caused the blocks to slide the fastest. The smooth blocks slid fast and far!

They then started racing blocks by letting two go at once at the top.

I introduced the word friction to children when they told me that the tape covered block went faster than the felt. We talked about the fact that the tape created less friction so it moved faster.

Once everyone was done, we discussed which blocks slid best and what these blocks all had in common. Children commented that the smooth blocks were all the fastest.

I explained that because it was smooth, there was less friction between it and the ramp. Therefore, it goes down without being slowed.

To continue this idea I asked children what would happen if their slide in the playground was made of carpet instead of plastic? They knew that this would not be a good material for a slide, because they would get stuck at the top.

This allowed them to relate their experiment to their real world and understand that materials each have different qualities and characteristics.

It is not important for children at a young age to understand the technicalities of friction. What this experiment for kids does show is that materials are different and depending on the characteristics of the material they behave differently.

Children begin to notice the way different materials feel different. They begin to notice that their world is filled with different materials and each of these materials serve a purpose.

Sometimes you want to create friction, other times you want to avoid it. There is a material for each.

I am always amazed at how much learning happens with experiments for kids like this. Later in the day children were playing, but also experimenting again, by sliding different things down the playground slide.

They noticed that a pebble slid faster then their mitten because there was less friction with the pebble. The experiment we did together helped them to understand their world and things they play with on a daily basis.

I love the fact that this experiment for kids is hands-on and play based. Children learn as they play and experiment.

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Window Chalk Markers for Glass Washable, 10 Colors Jumbo Liquid Chalk Marker with 10mm 3 in 1 Nib Thick Wide Tips, …

Jigsaw Puzzle Mat Roll Up, 2000 1500 1000 Pieces Saver Large Puzzles Board Gift for Adult Kid, Storage Transport Pr…

Holmgren 48pcs Natural Feathers Bulk – 6 Styles 48pcs Assorted Natural Feathers, Peacock Feathers, Pheasant Feather…

Join hands-on teaching ideas.

Join Hands-On Teaching Ideas to gain access to my Free Resource Library filled with lots of printable learning resources, from a choice board full of STEM activities and experiments for kids to escape room games, you can download anything that interests you for your classroom or home. Subscribe here.