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Easy Sensory Science Tray

A companion sheet — print it, scribble on it, keep it or recycle it

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What we're doing

One tray, three materials, no instructions to follow.

  • About 25 minutes
  • Science
  • Hands-on

Gather these

  • A shallow tray
  • Rice, oats or lentils
  • Scoops, jars, tongs

Step by step

  • Fill the tray about two centimetres deep.
  • Add three tools and nothing else.
  • Sit nearby without directing.
  • Talk about what happened afterwards, if they want to.

Worth talking about

Properties of materials
Capacity
Cause and effect
VOLEIOEasy Sensory Science TrayPage 1 of 3

Record what happened

There's no wrong way to fill this in

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What we did

Write, list or draw — whatever suits today.

Skills we touched on

SkillHow it showed up

Reflect together

What surprised you about easy sensory science tray?
What was the easiest part? What was the fiddliest?
What would you change if you did it again tomorrow?
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Take it further

Three doors out of the same activity

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If it felt tricky

Use one material and one scoop.

If it felt easy

Add a weighing scale and predict which container holds most.

If you'd rather do it differently

Take the tray outside and use soil, water and leaves.

Next time, we could

  • Try it outdoors
  • Invite a friend or sibling
  • Stretch it over a whole week

Our own ideas