Benjamin Franklin Activities for Kids
Benjamin Franklin Activities for Kids – Beyond Another History Lesson
Benjamin Franklin is one of those people we all know but maybe don’t fully understand. He was a printer, a writer, an inventor, a diplomat, and the mind behind some of the biggest ideas in early America.
But what many people forget is that Franklin was also deeply curious about science, and not just electricity. He didn’t have modern equipment, but he had endless curiosity, simple materials, and a desire to understand how the world works.
Honestly? That makes him perfect for a homeschool family or any curious kid. Introduce Benjamin Franklin into your learning time, on a rainy weekend, or even to celebrate his birthday (January 17th).
So… Who Was Ben Franklin
- He was born in 1706, the 15th of 17 children
- He became a printer, writer, and humorist (Poor Richard’s Almanack)
- He was an avid Chess player and played at least 4 instruments (guitar, violin, harp, and glass harmonica, which he improved upon)
- He helped write the Declaration of Independence and was a Signer
- He was an Ambassador to France (though the title was a bit different)
- He was a signer of the U.S. Constitution
- He helped create America’s first volunteer fire department
- He helped establish the first organized postal system and became the first Postmaster General
- He invented
- bifocals
- the Franklin stove
- the lightning rod (this saved many lives during and after his day)
- swimming paddles
- He was obsessed with how lightning and electricity worked – he wanted to prove that lightning was electricity (hence the kite and key experiment)
- He was an early ocean scientist who charted and named the Gulf Stream
- He dabbled in thermodynamics (Michael Faraday believed Franklin’s contributions worth examining)
Most of us grow up knowing Benjamin Franklin as a Founding Father, a signer of the Constitution, the face on the $100 bill, the man with the kite and key. But what many don’t realize is that Franklin was also one of America’s earliest scientists. He approached the world with curiosity first, titles second. His journals, letters, and experiments show a man constantly observing, testing, and questioning how nature works. That side of him is the one families rarely explore… and it’s where all the fun is.
⭐ Let’s look at Three Franklin’s Scientific Findings
⚡Franklin and Electricity
Before Benjamin Franklin, electricity was a confusing mystery, people saw sparks, shocks, and static, but no one understood what “it” actually was. In fact, it was often used as tricks at parties… and most had no idea that lightning was electricity.
Franklin didn’t invent electricity… he explained it.
What he discovered:
- An electric charge isn’t created, it moves.
If one object loses charge, another gains it. This is what we now call the Law of Charge Conservation. - Objects can be “positive” or “negative.”
He introduced this naming system, which we still use today. - Lightning is electricity in nature.
His kite experiment didn’t “discover” lightning but it proved lightning behaved the same way as sparks in a lab. - The lightning rod works because it gives electricity a safe pathway to the ground.
This invention protected homes, ships, and entire cities.
Franklin realized electricity works like water, it flows from one thing to another. He didn’t “find” electricity… he finally explained how it behaves.
❄️Franklin and Early Thermodynamics
Franklin loved studying heat, air, and temperature just as much as electricity. Long before modern physics existed, he was asking questions scientists still ask today.
What he noticed:
- Heat moves.
Warm air rises, cold air sinks, and heat travels from hot things to cooler ones. - Dark colors absorb more heat than light colors.
He tested this by laying out different colored fabrics in the sun. - Evaporation cools things down.
He soaked a thermometer in alcohol and blew on it, the temperature dropped. This was an early observation of evaporative cooling, used today in AC units and refrigerators. - Metal conducts heat better than wood.
Which inspired the design improvements in the Franklin stove.
Franklin didn’t call it “thermodynamics,” but he was studying the same ideas… how heat moves, how things warm up or cool down, and how materials behave.
🌊Franklin & the Gulf Stream
Benjamin Franklin wasn’t just curious about storms in the sky, he was curious about the “weather” of the ocean too. While traveling across the Atlantic for diplomatic work, he noticed something sailors had been quietly complaining about for years:
Some ships took weeks longer than others… even when the weather was the same.
So, Franklin started asking questions and observing.
What he noticed:
Warm water moves differently than cold water.
While crossing the Atlantic, Franklin learned from Nantucket whalers that they avoided a ribbon of warm, fast-moving water because it slowed them down. Franklin took measurements himself and realized the following…
▪️Ships moving against this warm current lost major speed.
▪️Ships riding with it arrived much faster.
He charted it, mapped it, and gave it a name, The Gulf Stream, and he theorized that the ocean has “pathways,” just like winds in the sky.
This was a brand-new idea at the time. People believed oceans were mostly still except for wind and tides. Franklin proposed that oceans have their own currents that flow like rivers within the sea. Sailors thought it was odd, many didn’t believe him, but he was absolutely right.
Warm currents change weather and climate.
Franklin noticed that the Gulf Stream carried warm Caribbean air along with it, which influenced storms, humidity, and even temperatures along the East Coast and Europe.
This was early climate science, long before climate science existed.
Franklin didn’t call it “oceanography,” but he was doing it. He figured out that the ocean has invisible “roads” of warm water that can help ships travel faster… or slow them way down. His Gulf Stream map is still taught today.
🔎EASY Franklin-Inspired Experiments:
Franklin didn’t have modern tools, but he had curiosity and that’s something every child already has. These experiments help kids see what Franklin noticed, using nothing but everyday items.
⚡Lightning in a Bottle Experiment
You’ll Need:
- 1 balloon
- 1 clean, dry plastic bottle
- 5–10 tiny pieces of paper or tissue
- A wool sweater or your hair (works great in winter)
What to Do:
- Cut up the tiny paper pieces and place them inside the bottle.
- Blow up the balloon and tie it.
- Rub the balloon on your hair or a wool sweater for 10–20 seconds.
- Slowly bring the balloon near the outside of the bottle.
- Watch the paper jump, stick, or swirl.
What’s Happening:
The balloon steals electrons from your hair → it becomes negatively charged. Your hair becomes positively charged.
Electricity wasn’t created — it moved and the tiny papers feel the imbalance and react.
🌊Color Stream Experiment
You’ll need:
- 1 clear bowl
- cold water
- warm water
- food coloring
Instructions:
- Fill the bowl with cold water with a couple drops of red food coloring
- In a separate cup, mix warm water with a couple drops of blue food coloring.
- Gently pour the warm colored water into one corner of the bowl.
- Watch
→ the warm “current” rises
→ it creates a flowing ribbon
→ it moves differently than the cold water
What kids learn:
Warm water moves, rises, and creates its own pathways… just like the Gulf Stream.
☀️Color and Heat
You’ll Need:
- 1 black piece of fabric or old T-shirt
- 1 white piece of fabric or old T-shirt
- 2 small plates
- 2 ice cubes
What To Do:
- Lay the black fabric on one plate and the white fabric on the other
- Place one ice cube on each fabric.
- Put both plates in the same sunny spot or under the same lamp.
- Watch which ice cube melts quicker.
What’s Happening:
- Dark colors absorb more heat (light energy).
- Light colors reflect more heat.
- The warmer the surface… the faster the ice melts.
This was one of the earliest observations leading to what we now call heat absorption and thermodynamics. Franklin didn’t really know it yet, but he was studying the same ideas.
🧪 Want to Try the Experiments?
If you want to do these and keep doing hands-on science this year… without constantly hunting for supplies, I put together a Homeschool Science Must-Haves List on Amazon. These are the exact tools I use for most of our experiments (including the Franklin ones above), plus a few things that help you stretch learning into future units.
👉 See the Homeschool Science Must-Haves List here » Here
📄 Free Printable: My Science Log
If your kids enjoy hands-on science, I put together a one-page Science Log that works for these Benjamin Franklin activities and for my Isaac Newton post, Penguin STEM post, and all our other STEM posts throughout the year.
👉 Download the free Science Log here
Want to Explore Benjamin Franklin Even More?
If your family is enjoying learning about Ben Franklin, I put together a curated Amazon list with:
- children’s books (early readers, chapter books, and teen options)
- adult biographies + history picks
- Franklin novelty items (yes… even a bobblehead)
- “wit & wisdom” calendars
- activity books and fun extras
See my Benjamin Franklin Book and Fun List → here
It’s a great way to keep the learning going, especially around his birthday or during American history studies.
Benjamin Franklin Learning Pack – Coming Soon!
I’m currently building a printable Benjamin Franklin pack that will include:
- biography + timeline pages
- quote coloring sheet
- note booking pages
- simple STEM prompts
- a kid-friendly “What I Learned” booklet
It’s still in the works, but if you want to be notified when it’s ready, you can sign up for the list to be notified when it’s done… just head here!
💙 Final Thoughts on Benjamin Franklin
Franklin’s world was full of questions, ideas, and simple experiments and that’s what makes him so fun to explore at home. You don’t need fancy tools or a perfect lesson plan. Just curiosity, a few household items, and a willingness to try something new.
If you try any of these Benjamin Franklin activities for kids above (or fall down a Ben Franklin rabbit hole like we did), I’d love to hear how it goes. Comment below or head over to Instagram or Facebook, share your pics, and tag me @bemandfam… I’d love to see them!
Learning at home doesn’t have to be complicated, or just for the homeschooled, it can be small moments that build connection and spark interest. Here’s to raising curious kids… one little experiment at a time. 💙
BEM and Fam 🙂
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