Octopus Science Experiments for Preschoolers

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This fun science experiment lets your preschoolers explore what it might be like to be an octopus!



Did you know that octopuses have NO bones?! What would that feel like?! What are bones anyway? Where are your bones? Have a discussion with your preschoolers about what bones are, where they are, what they do, and what it might be like to not have any. Then introduce this simple science activity!

Octopus Science Experiment:


Preparation:

1- Draw an octopus on a gallon-sized zip-lock baggie with a permanent marker.

2- Cut a hole, about an inch in diameter (mine might have been a little less), in a paper plate or bowl. This is your octopus "cave!"


With your kiddos:

1- Show them the octopus! Ask what they know about octopuses! Tell them that they don't have any bones. How would you walk if you didn't have any bones? Could you swim?

Octopuses can quickly take water into their bodies and spray it out to "swim" in the ocean.

Today, we're going to do a science project to explore what it would be like to not have any bones!

2- Since octopuses can take water into their bodies, we're going to add some water to our octopus!


3- Octopuses can also have very colorful skin, so let one or two of your kids add some food coloring to the water! If you place the baggie over a white table or butcher paper, it looks like it has colorful skin!


4- Now ask your kiddos if a big ol' octopus can fit through a little tiny crack in the rocks...like this one in the "cave!" Let them carefully work it through!




5- Ask them if it could fit through if it had bones? If they want, add toothpicks to the bag to represent an animal with bones (like a shark, though shark bones are made of cartilege). Would a predator like a shark or dolphin be able to follow an octopus through that little crack in the rocks? What other advantages might an octopus have because it doesn't have any bones?

7- Let your preschoolers experiment with their "octopus" in other ways! Remember a real experiment is one where they think of a problem or something to test, and they conduct the experiment, analyze the results, and come up with their own conclusions! Young children LOVE the scientific method!!


More Octopus Fun Science Facts:

* Octopuses have 3 hearts!
* Octopuses are very smart!
* Octopuses can change colors very quickly!

We did this octopus science project as part of the Virtual Book Club for Kids! This week the theme for our book and science experiment is OCEAN, and the featured book is Pout Pout Fish. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the solution to the Pout Pout Fish problem because kissing everyone is not something I want to encourage, but I love the idea of spreading kindness and happiness, so that is what I emphasized to my children. It was also good to talk about ways to spread kindness and happiness without actually kissing everyone. :)  And we *always* love a fun book to jump into an Ocean Theme! So, here's a quick link to Pout Pout Fish on Amazon


and here are links to the Virtual Book Club's hosts! There's a fun activity on each blog, and then be sure to stop by the Facebook page for any live conversations!

Clam Counting Game - Rainy Day Mum
Octopus Science Activity - Preschool Powol Packets (You are HERE!)
Paper Mache Whale Craft - To Be A Kid Again






Please note: The octopus and the ocean background in the first picture in this post are copyrighted by JoyCreating and TeachKABC123, respectively.
Happy Educating,
Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!






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