What your Preschooler will Learn:

About movement, gravity and friction

What you will Need:

Chalk

A timer

A pencil

A matchbox car

An apple

Tape

Rubber Bands

What To Do:

Find a hill. Driveway hills are often great, but you will need to watch your preschooler carefully so they don't run out into traffic.

Using your chalk, mark a start line at the top of the hill and a finish line at the bottom.

Put your matchbox car at the start line and have your preschooler release it. Try not to let them give the car a push.

Using your timer, time how long it takes for the car to reach the finish line.

Take the car back up the hill and have your preschooler give it a push when they release it. Time it again. What changed?

Now start rolling the pencil down the hill, timing it with a push and without a push. Wrap tape around the pencil. Did it slow down? How about a rubber band?

Take your apple and roll it down the hill with the stem pointing off to the side. Time the amount of time it takes to travel from start to finish. What happens if you turn the apple so the stem is pointing up?

Keep up the experiment using other things from around your house. Try stuffed animals, trains, spoons and other kitchen utensils. If your preschooler is old enough, have them note the results of the experiment in their scientific journal.

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Helpful Tips for Parents

• Document seasonal science observations over months and years. A child who tracks the same tree across four seasons has done longitudinal observational science — genuinely impressive.

• Record results with drawings or photographs. Scientists document — preschooler scientists should too. A simple science journal develops both literacy and scientific habit.

• Use correct scientific vocabulary from the start: observe, predict, experiment, hypothesis, result, evidence. Children absorb vocabulary in context without explicit teaching.

• Outdoor science (nature observation, weather tracking, garden study) is as rigorous as lab science and has the added benefit of physical activity and environmental connection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What everyday household materials are best for preschool science?

The essential preschool science pantry: baking soda, white vinegar, cornstarch, salt, sugar, food coloring, dish soap, and water. These materials enable: acid-base chemistry (baking soda + vinegar), non-Newtonian fluids (cornstarch + water = oobleck), color mixing (food coloring), surface tension (dish soap), crystal growing (salt and sugar), and density experiments (sugar solutions). Beyond kitchen supplies: magnets, a flashlight, a magnifying glass, and ice are the other essentials. The best science lab is an accessible kitchen shelf.

How do I build a child's science confidence when they get frustrated by unexpected results?

"Unexpected" is the word to use rather than "wrong" — in science, results that don't match predictions are the most interesting. "The result was different from what we expected — that means we discovered something! Let's figure out why." This reframe makes the unexpected result a success rather than a failure, because it produced a question worth investigating. Science confidence is built by treating all results as valid data, never as failure.

Related reading: See also our nature walks guide and our color mixing science for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🔄 Flexible Thinking — When an experiment produces an unexpected result, children practice adapting their thinking — a form of cognitive flexibility that makes them more resilient learners across all subjects.
• 🤔 Critical Thinking — Making a prediction, testing it, and explaining the result develops logical reasoning — the ability to move from observation to explanation that underlies all scientific, mathematical, and analytical disciplines.
• 🌱 Curiosity & Wonder — Science that feels like magic cultivates the sense of wonder that keeps children asking questions throughout their lives — the foundational attitude that drives all learning and discovery.
• 📏 Early Math & Measurement — Measuring ingredients, comparing quantities, and observing size changes connects science directly to mathematical thinking — making science experiments some of the richest early math experiences available.

Have fun with your preschooler on cool fall days with an easy preschool experiment where you experiment with one of your preschooler's favorite activities, rolling things down a hill. Teach your preschooler about movement, gravity and friction with this fun and easy preschool physics experiment.

Questions to Ask Your Child

Use these open-ended prompts to extend the learning during or after the activity:

• "What do you think will happen before we try it?"
• "Was your prediction right, or did something surprise you?"
• "Why do you think that happened?"
• "What would change if we tried it with something different?"
• "Can you think of a place in real life where you've seen this before?"
• "What question does this make you want to answer next?"

There are no right or wrong answers to any of these questions. The goal is to keep the conversation going, model curious thinking, and give your child practice putting their experience into words.