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Water Displacement Experiment for Preschoolers

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This easy water displacement experiment is a fun way to show teach toddlers and preschoolers about water displacement. Using stones and a jug of water, kids will see with their own eyes how water is displaced when an object is submerged in it. It’s a terrific activity to do after reading the book The Crow and the Pitcher too!

When it comes to science experiments for preschoolers, I like to keep things simple and affordable, using items we already have around the house.  This water displacement experiment will show you how to use a simple water play activity to teach a scientific concept to young children.

What is water displacement?

Water displacement happens when an object is submerged in a fluid and the fluid is pushed out of the way (or displaced) to make room for the object.  The amount of water displaced is directly related to the volume of the object.

water displacement science activity for kids

How to demonstrate water displacement to children

An easy way for children to see the displacement of water is to give them a container of water and have them add objects to the water so they can see the water level rising in the container. A fun way to do this is with the simple water displacement activity I’m showing you today.

We have quite a large collection of stones for play so it was easy to pull this activity together, and the hooligans had so much fun with it!

If you think back to your childhood, you may recall a popular fable called The Crow and the Pitcher.  It was one of my favourite fables. It’s a tale about a thirsty crow whose beak did not reach far enough into a half-full pitcher of water for him to get a drink.

Thankfully, the he knew a think or two about water displacement. Being the crafty crow that he was, he dropped stones into the pitcher to raise the level of the water until it was high enough for him to get a drink. 

preschool water displacement experiment with stones and water in container

To demonstrate water displacement to my daycare hooligans, we re-created that story here today using a a few stones, a plastic container and a toy turtle.

You can purchase The Crow and the Pitcher here with my Amazon affiliate link if you’d like to read it to your children before doing this experiment. 

containers for displacement experiment

Items needed for your water displacement activity:

  • a clear, plastic container
  • stones and rocks
  • plastic toy
  • permanent marker

Conducting our water displacement experiment:

We experimented with a few different containers, and discovered that the one with the largest opening worked best.

We filled our container with water, and I marked the level of the water on the container so we could monitor our progress.

.water in container with waterline marked

Then I hooked a plastic toy turtle to the top of the container, and the fun began.

The children worked together, dropping the stones into the container.

kids dropping stones into the container to raise the water level

They were amazed to see how quickly the level of the water rose and I pointed out that the water was being displayed, or moved out of the way, every time they dropped a stone in. Because the only direction the water could move in was UP, the water level was rising.
preschoolers adding rocks to water to observe water displacement
And they grew more and more excited as the water rose higher.
jar filled with rocks and water to observe water displacement
After using up the small stones, the water still hadn’t reached the top of the container, so we got out our larger beach stones and rocks.
experimenting with different sizes of stones to raise the water level
The medium-sized stones still didn’t do the job completely, so the children removed some of them, and experimented with the largest rocks, moving them this way and that, to get them to fit into the container.
It took lots of thought and co-operation to get it just right, and then finally…  SUCCESS!

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Comments

  1. Emma @ P is for Preschooler

    This looks like fun for kids. I have to say that I love your activities that use just everyday items. 🙂

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Thanks, Emma. I love being resourceful when it comes to our crafts and activities. It’s amazing how much fun and learning can be had with things we already have in our homes and classrooms isn’t it?

      Reply

  3. jbmumofone

    I love this idea. So simple but so effective and I bet they had great fun. Am now following lots of your boards on pinterest! Thanks so much for linking to the pin it party and please do join in again next week.

    Reply

  4. Carla

    Just this morning we were watching birds get drinks from a toy filled with water…this would be a great follow-up lesson!! I’m pinning it!

    Reply

  5. jaime

    This is such a great experiment! My little guys will love it. Anything with rocks and water will get their attention:)

    Reply

  11. Deceptively Educational

    This looks like SUCH a fun (and educational) activity! I love this! Stop by my blog tomorrow, as I’ll be featuring this on the new After School Linky Party. While you’re there, share more of your great activities and ideas!

    Reply

  14. Kat

    I remember playing this type of game with my siblings as a child. I love these simple games that keep kids fascinated for a long time.
    ~Kat

    Reply

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