You’re at the kitchen bench with three materials and a curious child. When you ask what will happen, they don’t need to guess correctly. The useful conversation comes when you put the drops on, look together and compare their prediction with what they can actually see.
Put three samples on a tray
You’ll need:
- a clean, dry piece of paper towel
- a piece of smooth aluminium foil
- a clean, flat piece of plastic
- a level tray, a dropper and a little water
An adult should prepare three samples of approximately the same size and lay each one flat, without folding it. Use one layer of each and leave enough space between them that water can’t travel from one sample to another.
Avoid sharp edges, help with the drops and clear spills. Your child won’t need to read or write independently. They can talk, point or draw while you record their words.
Ask what the water might do
Before adding water, ask about each material: “What do you think will happen?” Then try, “What makes you think that?”
Your child might say, “I think the foil will soak it up.” You could answer, “Let’s put the drops on and watch.” There’s no need to correct the prediction. It’s an idea to test, not an answer to mark right or wrong.
Add two drops and look closely
Place two drops from the same dropper in the centre of each sample. Leave the tray level and watch each sample for the same short amount of time.
Using the same dropper and drop count, similar-sized samples and one layer of each makes it easier to compare what happens. The Primary Connections water investigation uses drops on material samples and invites children to distinguish between water staying on top, rolling off, soaking in and passing through.
Where did the water go?
Look closely before choosing the words. A spreading wet patch may suggest that water is soaking into the material. A visible bead can stay on the surface. Water may move off an edge, or it may pass through and reach the tray underneath.
Soaking in and passing through aren’t the same observation, although both can happen. Water can soak into the paper and then reach the tray underneath. If a drop is no longer visible, look at the sample’s edge and the tray before deciding where it went.
Ask, “What can you see that makes you say it soaked in?” The paper towel might soak up the water, while the foil or plastic might hold a drop on top. Wait to see what happens on your samples before suggesting an explanation.
Put your guess beside what you saw
Your child can draw in this simple record, or you can write their words for them.
| Material | Prediction | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Paper towel | ||
| Foil | ||
| Plastic |
If your child predicted that water would soak into the foil but a bead remains visible, you might write, “We thought it would soak in. We could still see a drop on top.”
Ask, “Was that what you expected?” It’s fine to say, “I’m not sure yet.” If another look would help, repeat the test with fresh, dry samples.
Would another kind of paper behave the same way?
Your child might like to replace the paper towel with a different paper sample and repeat the test while keeping the other conditions alike. If they want to explore water running off, gently tilt the samples afterwards as a separate step.
The results describe these samples with a few drops. Thickness, coatings, folds, holes and waiting time can affect what happens. This small test won’t measure how much water a material can absorb or show that it will always keep water out.
This fits Foundation science: children explore familiar materials, make predictions and talk about what they notice.
Finish by asking, “What would you like to try next?” Whatever the result, you have a useful way to talk about it: “We thought this might happen. Here’s what we saw.”