Summer is a time to turn on the faucet, break out the hose, and get a little wet.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Create miniature streams and ponds in the backyard with water and rocks. Experiment with moving rocks around to see how the direction of the flow changes.
• Make juice cubes by pouring juice into an ice cube tray and freezing. Then place the cubes in a glass outside to see them change back to a liquid.
• Draw or paint a sidewalk mural with colored chalk or paint. Wash it off with a hose and record what happens.
• Make lemonade. Measure out all the ingredients and experiment with how the taste changes when you add a little more sugar or a little more lemon.
• Make "ice hands" by filling plastic gloves with water and freezing them. Make observations about how they feel and look compared to a regular glove.
• Play in the rain. Take advantage of summer storms by watching them from a porch or window (and outside when the lightning stops). Measure the rain fall, collect hail, and count the lightning strikes and thunder booms. Talk about the clouds and how the air feels before, after, and during a storm.
• Make homemade beach bubbles and bubble wands
• Create a microhabitat - beach in a bottle - using a plastic bottle and objects found at a beach, lake, or creek.
• Water the lawn, shrubs, or garden to learn why water is necessary for sustaining life.

Don’t forget break out the hose or sprinkler and have a good time running through it.