Have your preschooler create their own perfume fragrance with this easy and fun preschool science experiment. Using products around your own home, you and your preschooler can make a fun mother’s day gift for a mother or grandmother and learn something about science.
What your Preschooler will Learn from this Preschool Science Experiment:
Table of Contents
How to extract scents from plant material
That scents can be transferred from one object to another
Patience; this experiment takes some time
What you’ll Need for this Preschool Science Experiment:
- A container for mixing with some sort of cover. In a pinch, use a paper towel over a small mixing bowl.
- Water
- Smelly plant material. Examples include lavender, rose petals, rosemary, mint, etc. Anything that smells is worth trying.
- Something to grind up the plant material such as a food processor or an herb cutter. In a pinch, a knife will work if you’re patient.
- A timer
- Coffee filter or cheesecloth
What to do:
Step one: Pick your plant material. Have your preschooler smell it.
Step two: Grind up your plant material using your food processor. If you cut up the plant material using a knife, make sure you also smash it or grind it up using a rolling pin or something heavy. You want to extract the smell from inside the leaves and flowers. Have your preschooler smell the plant material now. It should smell a lot stronger.
Step three: Put your plant material into your container.
Step four: Add enough water to cover the plant material.
Step five: Let the entire mixture sit for no less than half an hour, shaking or stirring the mixture every couple of minutes. If you want, set your timer for every five minutes and have your preschooler help you. The longer you let it sit, the stronger smelling your product will be.
Step six: Using your coffee filter or cheesecloth, strain the plant material out of the perfume. Make sure you squeeze the liquid out of the cloth—this is going to be the strongest smelling liquid. Strain it two or three times to get all the plant material out. Have your preschooler smell the coffee filter or cheesecloth. Discard the coffee filter or cheesecloth when you’re done with it.
Step seven: Put the liquid into a small decorated bottle and give as a Mother’s Day Gift.
Variations:
Feel free to experiment with this preschool science experiment. See what scent is created when you mix rose petals and lavender. Try this experiment mixing rosemary and mint leaves. Ask your preschooler what scent they like the best.
For a slightly more effective perfume, try adding a little bit of alcohol (such as vodka) to the water.