Science activities with two-year-olds may not last very long but sometimes the children surprise me. One group of four children spent about 15 minutes exploring a set of cardboard tubes with ends covered with either clear plastic wrap, wax paper, or a double layer of black plastic (black construction paper would also work). We looked through the tubes and talked about what we saw— could we see through them? Then I put out small flashlights. Exploration took off!

The twos tried each tube, comparing how much they could see through the material and how much light from the flashlight came through.
The children learned to turn the flashlights on and off, and found out they could hide the flashlights inside two tubes. We talked about being safe by never shining a flashlight into our own or anyone else’s eyes. As children proposed explorations we tried out their ideas. The tiny bathroom really can fit two teachers and four children! The children moved the lights closer and farther away from the wall, noticing how the size of the light beam grew bigger and smaller. One child asked, “Are these toys or are they science?” I said, “They are both, toys and science” which seemed to be an acceptable answer.
Peggy