Gather a peeled hard-boiled egg, matches, a piece of paper and a glass bottle that has an opening a little smaller than the egg. Have mom or dad light the match and drop it into the bottle while the child crumbles up the piece of paper and puts it into the bottle as well. Set the egg on the opening. Watch the air pressure create a vacuum and suck the egg into the bottle.
Create a safe chemical reaction using vinegar, baking soda, balloons and a soda bottle. Have the kids insert a funnel into the opening of a balloon so mom or dad can pour in about 3 tbsp. of baking soda. Fill the bottle half way with vinegar. Children can hold the bottle while a parent carefully fits the opening of the balloon over the opening of the bottle. Hold the balloon up so the baking soda falls into the vinegar when you are ready to see a chemical reaction. Watch carbon dioxide be produced to blow up the balloon when baking soda and vinegar are mixed.
Collect an empty aluminum can and a blown-up balloon for each family member. Put the can on its side on a flat surface and make sure it is not moving. Each person rubs a balloon on his hair for 30 seconds. Hold the balloon very close to the can, but do not touch it. The static electricity built up on the balloon will cause the can to roll toward the balloon. See whose can goes the fastest and farthest before the static electricity wears off. Have a race between all family members to see whose can will cross the finish line first.
The 1970s was a groovy era where many people could find cone-shaped lamps with blobs of liquid oozing around inside. Gather a glass jar, vegetable oil, salt and food coloring to make a lava lamp while sharing some of your crazy and child-friendly stories from the past. Poor two-thirds cup water into the glass jar, add a few drops of food coloring and mix it up. Add one-third cup vegetable oil. Watch the oil rise to the top of the water because it is less dense. After all the oil sets on top of the water, add five shakes of salt. The salt will stick to the oil causing blobs of it to fall to the bottom of the jar because it is heavier than the water. The water will cause the salt to dissolve off of the oil causing the blobs to rise back to the top.
Create a rainbow using a glass jar with a wide mouth, a small mirror, water, a flashlight and a dark room with white walls. Children can fill the jar with water and have parents assist with propping the mirror at an angle on the bottom of the jar. You may need to set a small object underneath one side of the mirror to prop it. Shine the flashlight on the mirror and watch a rainbow appear on the wall. Adjust the angle of the flashlight or mirror if the rainbow is not visible immediately and have family members take turns to see if each person can find the correct angle. The light is reflected on the mirror and bent when passing back through the water. When light bends, it separates into individual colors causing a rainbow.