We have done a lot of STEM activities for kids, but most of them have been aimed at Monkey.
Until recently, Bo has been too little to do much outside of simple toddler STEM projects. But now that she is almost 3 1/2, she is ready to start her own STEM activities. Today, we explored textures and different objects with a simple magnifying glass activity for preschoolers using a science discovery tray.

How to Do a Magnifying Glass Activity for Preschoolers
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
It only takes a few household supplies to set up this preschool magnifying glass activity.
Supplies for your discovery tray:

- Magnifying glass (the higher the magnification the better. I like this one that has three levels of magnification)
- Household objects with different textures (we used beads, yarn, flowers, pinecones, rocks, sand, buttons, wood, and a feather)
- Tray (we used a wood tray)
The Mason Jar Scientist: 30 Jarring STEAM-Based ProjectsCreative Kids Flakes – 600 Piece Interlocking Plastic Disc Set for Fun, Creative Building – Educational STEM Construction Toy for Boys & Girls – Non Toxic, Ages 3+
Straw Constructor STEM Building Toys 300 pcs-Colorful Interlocking Plastic Enginnering Toys- Fun- Educational- Safe for Kids- Develops Motor Skills-Construction Blocks- Best Gift for Boys and Girls …
CoolToys Monkey Balance Cool Math Game for Girls & Boys | Fun, Educational Children’s Gift & Kids Toy STEM Learning Ages 3+ (65-Piece Set)
Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse, Coding STEM Toy, 31 Piece Coding Set, Ages 4+
DK Workbooks: Science, Kindergarten: Learn and Explore
TinkerActive Workbooks: Kindergarten Science
Scientific Explorer My First Mind Blowing Science Kids Science Experiment Kit
Learn & Climb Science Kit for Kids – 21 Experiments Science Set, Hours of Fun.
UNGLINGA Kids Science Experiment Kit with Lab Coat Scientist Costume Dress Up and Role Play Toys Gift for Boys Girls Kids Age 5 – 11 Christmas Birthday Party
Learn & Climb Kids Science Kit – Over 60 Experiments, Fun with Science!
4M 5557 Crystal Growing Science Experimental Kit – Easy DIY STEM Toys Lab Experiment Specimens, A Great Educational Gift for Kids & Teens, Boys & Girls
Discovery Extreme Chemistry Stem Science Kit by Horizon Group Usa, 40 Fun Experiments, Make Your Own Crystals, DIY Glowing Slime, Fizzy Eruptions, Gooey Worms & More
Crayola Color Chemistry Set For Kids, Gift for Age 7+
How to Set Up a Magnifying Glass Activity

Setting up your own science discovery tray is the easiest thing in the world. You only need a few objects and a strong magnifying glass. Use a tray to keep things together.
Most of the objects in our tray were items the girls had collected at some point, which made the activity even more interesting for them.
You could also put together themed magnifying glass discovery trays to explore specific topics, like nature, water, plants, food, insects, toys, cloth, flowers, and hundreds more.
We will definitely be setting up more magnifying glass discovery trays in the future.
How to Do the Magnifying Glass Discovery Science Activity
I love that this preschool STEM activity requires almost no set-up.
I don’t know what magnification our magnifying glass had, but it was strong enough to allow Bo and Monkey to discover all sorts of things about the objects in our discovery tray.

Bo usually doesn’t sit still for long, so I was surprised at how long she was interested in this activity. She picked the objects up carefully one by one and examined them with the magnifying glass.
She held the glass up extremely close to her face, so I’m not sure how different the objects actually looked, but she still found it fascinating.

While I set up the magnifying glass discovery tray for Bo, Monkey thought it looked super-fun and wanted to join in. She focused on how the sand and the rocks looked similar, which launched a discussion about how sand and glass are made.
She had fun discovering small “rocks” in the sand pile we had. I don’t know if she had ever made the connection between rocks and sand before, so it was a learning activity for everyone!
More Discovery Activities for Preschoolers
Creative and Educational Science Discovery Bottles
Color-Mixing Fun: Unicorn Color Changing Discovery Bottle