Big Science for Little Hands is Science World’s professional-development workshop series for Early Childhood Educators. We provide two-hour workshops where participants try out a variety of fun, hands-on science activities suitable for early learners.
There are six workshops to choose from.
Explore how amazing the human body is with a variety of sensory activities and discover how doing science is just like being a detective! As scientists and detectives, we investigate our surroundings, practise and develop skills such as observing, making predictions and comparisons and sharing our findings. This workshop will help you to see the connections between hands-on sensory activities and science. You will go away with lots of activity ideas you can use the very next day!
Explore all the different ways that bubbles float and fizzy mixtures pop and explode!
Water is amazing! It can be a solid, liquid and gas and both fresh and salty. In this hands-on workshop, we will explore the properties of both fresh and salt water and how this connects to density. We will also investigate ways to explore rocks and other natural objects with young children and how these activities connect to investigating the natural world.
Join us for Science World’s new STEM-based workshop for child care providers that work with young children. We will explore and try out some fun, hands-on ways to introduce young children to coding through stories, dance, playdoh, games, nature’s life cycles and treasure hunts without them ever having to go near a computer screen or tablet!
Discover what is super special about YOU! Explore all that your body can do, both inside and out.
Fees do not include GST
For more information and to request a workshop, email [email protected].
These free activities are meant to serve as a starting point for early-childhood scientific exploration. There are currently eighteen themed resources available for download from our website:
The Air Up There: Activities to explore wind and air.
The Air Up There II*: Explore floating and flying through the air, and never forget it's there.
Amazing Me: Discover the amazing things your body can do, both inside and out.
Balance This*: Practice your own acrobatics and build mini acrobats.
Bubble & Fizz*: Explore how bubbles are formed (and popped!).
Gadgets and Contraptions: Explore simple machines and how they work.
Mysterious Mixtures: Dissolving, separating, mixing and combining.
Reflections and Shadows: Activities to explore light, mirrors, reflection and shadows.
Rockin' Rocks*: Dig for fossils, or create your own.
Round The Circle: Circles and wheels, rolling and spinning.
Salt & Fresh Water*: Explore how salt affects water and observe the details of creatures that live in oceans.
Size Matters: Explore growing and shrinking.
Sticky Stuff: Velcro, glue and other sticky things.
Structures*: Explore what materials and designs are best for building.
Super Sleuths: Practice science process skills such as observing, comparing and contrasting and using tools like magnifiers.
Super Slueths II*: Use your senses in unsual ways.
Trees & Plants*: Activities to explore what plants are.
Wet & Dry: Wet and dry bags, sponges and sand castles.
*Produced in collaboration with the Nanaimo Science and Sustainability Society
Looking for more science ideas? Check out our favourite science websites.
Questions to ask while exploring science with preschoolers. Available in 8 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Farsi, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Punjabi.
About the sticker
Survivors
Artist: Jeff Kulak
Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.
About the sticker
Egg BB
Artist: Jeff Kulak
Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.
About the sticker
Comet Crisp
Artist: Jeff Kulak
Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.
About the sticker
T-Rex and Baby
Artist: Michelle Yong
Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.
About the sticker
Buddy the T-Rex
Artist: Michelle Yong
Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.
About the sticker
Geodessy
Artist: Michelle Yong
Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.
About the sticker
Science Buddies
Artist: Ty Dale
From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.
About the sticker
Western Dinosaur
Artist: Ty Dale
From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.
About the sticker
Time-Travel T-Rex
Artist: Ty Dale
From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.