Earth Day, April 22, is part of the larger Earth Month which focuses on caring for the environment. In Earth Month, the big 3 words are reduce, reuse, recycle. Teachers can demonstrate good Earth Month habits all year long by recycling materials, reusing them as classroom materials and reducing landfill waste. Here are science experiments and science crafts made from recycled egg cartons. Repurpose recycled egg cartons into science crafts and hands-on science games.
Sensory exploration science games: Students practice sensory exploration using recycled egg cartons labeled with five senses and descriptive words. Sort picture cards or small objects representing items. Use one recycled egg carton per sense. Label with words like these.
Taste: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, metallic, tart
Smell: spicy, bitter, sour, soapy, flowery, fruity, moldy
Touch: furry, fuzzy, smooth, cool, warm, hard, rough, scratchy, bumpy, squashy (malleable), sticky
Sound: squeak, ring, buzz, beep, pop, clang, snap, crackle, scrape, scratch
Attribute sorting science games. Label recycled egg cartons with words or pictures of attributes to sort. Tailor science games to unit. Items may be sorted by color, shape, size, living/non-living, animal category, wood/metal/plastic, habitat. Play as a scavenger hunt in which students search for objects to fit each attribute category.
Science vocabulary games: Labeling and sorting materials into recycled egg cartons builds science vocabulary, adjective usage and description. Discuss which items may fit several categories.
Ecology experiments for Earth Day using recycled egg cartons.
Paper or Plastic? Use cardboard and Styrofoam recycled egg cartons to demonstrate what happens to both in a landfill. Place a piece from each carton in water and soil put them in the window. Note any changes to each over time. Use this to explore biodegradable materials and renewable resources for Earth Month. Discuss how pollution is an environmental hazard and harms plants and animals.
Geology science experiments for Earth Month: Use recycled egg cartons to classify and identify rocks and minerals. Students should label the sections of recycled egg cartons and sort by:
hardness on the MOHs scale
rock type (metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous)
mineral composition (calcite, silicate, carbonate, etc.)
uses (building, abrasion, decoration, chemistry, etc.)
Biology life science games. Label the sections of recycled egg carton science crafts with taxonomy classifications from the kingdoms (plantae, animalia, etc). Students might sort by subcategories KPCOFGS (kingdom, phyllum, class, order, family, genus, species). Students cut pictures or make tiny cards with names of members of various groups. They sort pictures or words into categories. They can test each other in partners or in groups. Label the bottom of the egg carton with answers for self-checking. This can be adapted to any age or grade depending upon what you are studying.
STEM Systems science crafts. Most all science experiments are based on a system or cycle. Use recycled egg carton science crafts to make 3D flow charts or graphic organizers Places objects in each section to represent parts of the cycle and draw arrows to show how they interact. Demonstrate electrical current, the water cycle. food chains, human body systems, habitats, plant development and insect metamorphosis.
Science Timelines. Use a recycled egg carton to demonstrate how things change and develop (or regress) over time. Make timelines of science inventions, transportation, etc. Use this with any area of science that you teach.
