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I think that science concepts taught through play creates much interest and active learning among students. They tend to be more engaged and involved in their learning. Older students are interested in learning science through play just as the lower grade levels.

I recently did a project with my students on water density. With just a spoonful of sugar and some food coloring, you can make water more or less dense, and with a little practice, you can make a rainbow jar!

I agree with you Susan. I feel that when students think that they are playing, they are more willing to participate. They also enjoy participating in the hands-on activities, they do not always need to know what the purpose of the "experiment" or activity is, as long as they are doing something. I've only had the opportunity to work with preschoolers, but whenever we talked about science and experiments they all asked "what is going to happen?" We did simple experiments such as: mixing colors, mentos and diet coke, walking on eggs, lava lamp (water, oil, food coloring, and an alka-seltzer tablet), and growing gummy bears (gummy bears in water). And they were always curious. They always asked: "How?" and "Why?" The discussions we had about the experiments were very basic because of the student's young age, but the experiments can be modified for older grades, and there can be higher levels of inquiry.