Kari Wilcher runs a great blog. She was looking to teach her pre-school children about the Scientific Method while trying out some kitchen chemistry at the same time. Her plan was to show a dramatic acid-base reaction using lemons, baking soda, and a little dish soap. She writes:
“I firmly believe that children are never too young to be exposed to the scientific method and should follow it. I have found that the scientific method is very easy for them to understand, and follow, when presented to them in a simple way. I like to use a rebus (picture) to help my non-readers understand the directions. I also use these “big” words: data, hypothesis, prediction, and observation. We, including Momma, wear goggles (from the dollar store) and a lab coat (a.k.a. dad’s white button up shirt) because we are real scientists doing real science experiments…and it just makes us cool.”
You will need:
Fresh Lemons
A knife
A small measuring cup & measuring spoon
Baking Soda
Liquid dish soap
A clear cup for the reaction
What to do:
Roll the lemons on the counter like dough. This releases the juice inside the lemon.
Cut the lemon in half (adults only, please) and carefully squeeze out the juice into a small measuring cup. Note how much juice was created from each lemon and put the juice aside.
Into the empty glass place 1 Tablespoon of baking soda.
Add 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap to the baking soda. Stir these up a bit.
Pour the lemon juice into the cup and stir. Now watch the lemon suds erupt!
How does it work?
This is a classic example of an acid-base reaction. This is often done with vinegar and baking soda, but we liked Kari’s “lemon twist.” The baking soda (a base) and the lemon juice (an acid) combine to release Carbon Dioxide gas. The liquid soap turns the bubbles into a foam that often erupts right out of the glass.
What is the equation to change Celsius to Fahrenheit and back? A calculator helps here. To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 degrees and divide by 1.8. To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply by 1.8 and add 32 degrees.
Di you know that -40 degrees is the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius?
The Dr. Oz Show recently took on the topic of whether or not the common guidance that your mother gave you was actually wrapped in myth. You can check out the segment HERE. I was happy to get the call to try to add some visual demonstrations to bring home the concepts of these myths. The segment was a lot of fun, and everyone a the show is amazing. Despite all the big demos, there was some interesting medical science discussed. I spoke with some audience members after the show that had a lot of questions about the myths. While I’m obviously am not a doctor, I thought I’d share my explanation of some of the science behind these interesting myths from the show:
MYTH #1 Eating Too Much Sugar Will Make You Hyper
It seems to be a common idea that when children eat a lot of sugar they quickly become active and energetic. The demonstration with the celery and the gummy bear shows just how much energy can be released from foods. It also showed that, without a doubt, sugary foods pack quite a punch when it comes to releasing energy. Here is where the myth comes in: simply eating sugar does not make you hyperactive. It just gives you a source of energy to tap into. You could eat a candy bar and use that energy to run around the block, but it will not MAKE you want to run around the block. If you decided to read a book, the energy from the candy bar would be stored as fat. As Dr. Oz pointed out, kids tend to eat a lot of sugary snacks in environments that would get them excited and give them reason to run around and be active such as a birthday party, Halloween, or just having a friend over after school.
MYTH #2 Breathing in Helium Will Kill Brain Cells
This was a fun demo. The audience was laughing so much from Dr. Ozs’ Barry White voice, I’m not sure they heard all his explanation. In case you missed it, here’s a recap: At some point in our lives, we are all likely to breathe in a balloon full of helium and enjoy the comical Daffy Duck voice that follows. When I was growing up, I was told that this was a bad idea and that brain cells were being destroyed. The good news is, breathing helium does not kill brain cells. The bad news is that breathing helium can, in fact, kill you — but not because of the helium, rather because the lack of oxygen when you inhale the helium. As you breathe in a balloon full of helium, you are not breathing in any oxygen, which your cells need – usually we get this from the air we breathe. The lack of oxygen that comes from breathing in helium can cause fainting or even asphyxiation and death. This is especially likely if you were to breathe several balloons full of helium without getting enough oxygen in between. The bottom line; avoid breathing any gas that is not already in the air around you.
But why does your voice change with helium? Helium makes your voice sound higher pitched because helium is six times lighter than air and sound travels through helium faster than it does through air. The result is that the low sounds of your voice get “suppressed” by the less dense helium and you hear the high tones of your voice. Our sulfur hexafluoride demo had the opposite effect; because it is more dense than air, it drowns out the higher sounds sounds and emphasizes the lower pitch (really timbre) of our voice. On a sulfur hexafluoride side-note, there is a great guy that I get my liquid nitrogen from that NEVER smiles, I mean, never. That all changed when I visited him with the tank of sulfur hexafluoride, took a breath of it from a balloon, and did my best evil laugh…we got a smile from him.
Myth #3 Bundle-Up in Cold Weather or You’ll Catch a Cold
Well this makes sense, after all they must call it a “cold” for some reason. The producers of Dr. Oz had seen talented science educator Steve Spangler make smoke rings during his appearance on Ellen and they really liked the visual. Since you catch a cold from bacteria and viruses, and NOT a cold environment, we used the smoke ring vortex generator as a way to visualize the germs that were spread out during a cough. It ultimately demonstrated that despite whether you are bundled up or not, germs that cause a cold and flu can still get to you – so wash your hands regularly with a moisturizing foam soap soap.
Myth #4 – Hydrogen Peroxide is a Good Way to Disinfect a Cut?
Before we started this demo, Dr. Oz asked how many people in the audience have used hydrogen peroxide to clean a cut. We were both surprised to see that almost the entire audience raised their hands. Perhaps we should not be surprised, after all, it says right on the bottle that it can be used to disinfect a cut. Hydrogen peroxide works as a disinfectant by releasing oxygen when it comes in contact with an enzyme in the body called catalase. That is why putting hydrogen peroxide on an open cut will create bubbles — the bubbles are actually filled with oxygen and in some cases that oxygen-rich environment can kill bacteria. The downside is that it can also harm healthy cells surrounding the cut. Some evidence also points to the fact that the reaction happens to fast in a cut to make much of a difference. For that reason, hydrogen peroxide is not a good choice for disinfecting most cuts although it is used in other applications for disinfecting. The larger demonstration with the flasks showed a very fast release of oxygen from a 30% hydrogen peroxide solution (store-bought hydrogen peroxide is 3%.) During rehearsal, the flask shot foam so high into the air and it hit the lights above, and we were hoping you would do that during the show. It turns out the bottle of hydrogen peroxide that was used during the show was slightly older and less powerful than the bottle used during rehearsal, but it was still just as messy nonetheless.
Hopefully that explains the myths a bit more. I hope you enjoyed the segment and that it made some medical and not so medical science fun to watch.
Testing for bacteria (germs) can be a great idea for a science fair experiment since there are so many possibilities for science questions, and because because carrying out the experiment is pretty easy using bacteria growing kits, (and yes, we have them at the Science Bob Store.) Besides, who doesn’t like checking out bacteria and fungus?
All good science experiments start with a question – this is what you want to find out by experimenting. Here are a few example questions to get you started using the scientific method for growing bacteria:
Is a dogs mouth cleaner than a humans mouth?
Who has the cleanest mouth in the class?
Do antibacterial soaps really kill bacteria?
Which door handle in the school has the most bacteria?
Does toothpaste kill bacteria in your mouth?
Do dark socks create more bacteria in a shoe than white socks.
Do hand sanitizers work to kill bacteria?
What location in the school contains the most bacteria?
Is there more bacteria in tap water, bottled spring water, rain water, or pond water?
Step 1 – Ask A Question: Let’s imaging that you want to answer the question, “Which door handle in the school has the most germs?”
Step 2 – Research: You can’t just jump in and start experimenting. It’s important to do a little research. Ask the school nurse which door handle he or she thinks the most germs (bacteria) are. Observe and chart which door handles get the most use, survey friends and family to get opinions and write down the results. All this information will help you narrow down which door handles are the most likely to contain germs – and which ones you should choose to use in your experiment.
Step 3 – Make a Hypothesis: This is when you make a prediction based on your research. This is not an “I think…” prediction, it is a statement that will either be proven true or false based on experimenting. An example would be, “The handle to the nurse’s room contains the most bacteria.”
Step 4 – Experiment: This particular science experiment requires a simple bacteria testing kit. You would choose several door handles that you think might contain the most bacteria. These door handles are considered the Independent Variable in your experiment because each handle is independent and you control which ones are chosen. In a typical kit you would touch a separate cotton swab to each door handle, and then touch it to the bacteria growing Petri dish so that you would have one dish for each handle. Take good notes that would include when you collected each sample and where you collected the sample, and be sure to label everything well in any experiment.
Step 5- Collect Data: In this experiment, bacteria will start to grow in the Petri dish over the next few days, and you may be surprised by just how much gross bacteria is lurking in your school. Take good notes each day and determine which dish has the most bacteria growing in it.
Step 6 – Make Your Conclusion: This is when you decide if your hypothesis is correct. If your hypothesis was, “The handle to the nurse’s room contains the most bacteria,” your experiment will show if your hypothesis was right. It is not bad at all if your hypothesis is incorrect, what is important is that you answered your question from step 1. Now pat yourself on the back for your fine scientific discovery using the Scientific Method.
CLICK HERE for information about Bacteria Growing Kits.
CLICK HERE to download and print this Science Fair idea.
Amy Huntley is a former science teacher and Mom that runs a great blog where she shares activities that she has done with her family. This exploration of polymers and bouncing balls caught our eye and we were happy that Amy would share it with us. We’ve adapted it just a bit. The fun part is experimenting, and it is easy to make several of these and change up the recipe and check results. Note that this will not make a bouncy ball like you get at the grocery store, but ours bounced over a foot high and the ball has quite a unique feel to it.
You will need:
Borax (found in laundry section)
warm water
corn starch
glue (clear glue makes a see transparent ball and white glue makes an opaque ball)
2 small mixing cups
a stirring stick (plastic spoon)
food coloring (optional)
Procedure:
Label one cup ‘Borax Solution’ and the other cup ‘Ball Mixture’.
Pour 4 ounces (120ml) of warm water into the cup labeled ‘Borax Solution’ and 1 teaspoon of the borax powder into the cup. Stir the mixture to dissolve the borax.
Pour 1 tablespoon of glue into the cup labeled ‘Ball Mixture’. Add 3-4 drops of food coloring, if desired.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of the borax solution you just made and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the glue. Do not stir.
Allow the ingredients to interact on their own for 10-15 seconds and then stir them together to fully mix.
Once the mixture becomes impossible to stir, take it out of the cup and start molding the ball with your hands. The ball will start out sticky and messy, but will solidify as you knead it. Once the ball is less sticky, continue rolling between your hands until it is smooth and round!
Amy adds:
“My boys loved making these “bouncy” balls. They are not super bouncy like the plastic super balls that became popular when I was a kid, but they are pretty bouncy and fun to play with. We discovered that on the carpet, they have a lot more bounce then they do on the kitchen floor. ”
These are also “temporary” bouncing balls and will lose their elasticity within a few days as they dry. Keeping your bouncy ball in a sealed bag will increase its bouncy lifespan.
The original “Super Balls” got their amazing bounce ability from compressed rubber under thousands of pounds of pressure.
How does it work?
This activity demonstrates an interesting chemical reaction, primarily between the borax and the glue. The borax acts as a “cross-linker” to the polymer molecules in the glue – basically it creates chains of molecules that stay together when you pick them up. The cornstarch helps to bind the molecules together so that they hold their shape better.
Make it an experiment
You can turn this activity into a true experiment by adjusting the amount of borax, glue, and cornstarch to get the highest bounce. You can also experiment to discover the best way to get the bouncy ball to keep its bounce over time. Have fun!
Sarah Toney homeschools four active boys ages 2, 4, 6, and 8 in Tennessee. She recently tried out a simple experiment to help her boys observe a cool chemical reaction.
For Sarah’s experiment you will need:
1 tsp (5ml) dry yeast
1/2 cup (120 ml) hydrogen peroxide (should be handled only by adults)
stirring stick
thermometer
Procedure:
Record the temperature of the hydrogen peroxide and place it in a small bowl.
Add the dry yeast to the peroxide and stir
Watch for changes in the mixture and the temperature
Sarah writes:
“The goal of the experiment was to observe a chemical change that produces heat. My boys got to see the different indicators that a chemical change was taking place- bubbling, fizzing and the temperature on the thermometer was going up. They were actually pretty amazed by this one. I keep listing the ways to tell if a chemical reaction has taken place….they’ve seen the bubbling, they’ve seen the gas given off…..I guess they didn’t really believe that heat could actually be created by just mixing 2 things.”
Another great part of this experiment is that the bubbles produced contain oxygen. This can be demonstrated by lighting and blowing out a wood match or splint. When the smoking match is brought near the bubbles, it re-ignites from the oxygen.
How does it work?
Hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. Than means it is water with an extra oxygen. The yeast contains a chemical called catayse that releases the oxygen creating the bubbles and it also releases heat (an exothermic reaction.) This is a simple version of our Fantastic Foamy Fountain experiment. The instructions for that experiment can be found HERE.
You can make this a true experiment by adjusting the amount of yeast and peroxide to try to get the greatest increase in temperature. You can also dissolve the yeast in water before adding it to the peroxide to see if that has an effect.
Today we were playing around with some balloons (which we often do when things get slow) and we had an idea to add a Halloween twist to a familiar static experiment. It is really quite a lot of fun and super simple. For this bit of spooky science you will need:
A piece of tissue paper
A balloon
Scissors
A head of hair
Spooky Music (optional)
First cut out a ghost shape in the tissue as shown about 1.5 inches (4 cm) long and add some eyes with a marker. If you are using 2-ply tissues, peel apart the 2 layers to get the tissue as thin as possible. Cut out a few ghosts for more fun and place them on a flat surface. You might want to make some out of regular paper to compare. (Some readers found slightly heavier ghosts easier to control.)
2. Blow up the balloon and tie it. Then rub it really fast through your hair for about 10 seconds. This will add a static charge.
3. Slowly bring the balloon near the ghost, and the ghost will begin to rise toward the balloon. (Our ghost “arms” actually reached toward the balloon as we got it near.) If the balloon is charged enough, the ghost will rise and float right up to the balloon, even when it is several inches away. With a little practice, you can get the ghost to rise, float, and even dance around.
TIP: The easiest way to make the ghost rise without it sticking to the balloon is to tape the very tip of the bottom of the ghost to a table. The ghost will rise and move along with the balloon. With a good charge, the balloon can control the ghost from several inches away.
How’s it work?
When you rub the balloon through your hair, invisible electrons (with a negative charge) build up on the surface of the balloon. The electrons have the power to pull very light objects (with a positive charge) toward them – in this case, the tissue ghost!
GLOWING DRINKABLE BEVERAGES Did you know that tonic water will glow under a blacklight? We didn’t either. The quinine in the tonic water glows a very cool looking blue color that we really like. If you’re not crazy about the taste of tonic water, try making ice cubes using the tonic water and then add them to a glass of Sprite or another light colored citrus drink. Switch on the blacklight and you have the perfect Halloween beverage. After a few minutes the entire drink will start to glow. (see photo) It works for making glowing Jello as well.
MAKE SOME HALLOWEEN SLIME Slime and Halloween go together like, well, slime and Halloween. Here’s 2 ways to add a little slime to your October.
DO IT YOURSELF SLIME– If you’ve got a little glue and some powdered borax, you can mix up some slime by following the instructions HERE.
MAKE SOME GHOST BUBBLES Ghost Bubbles are regular soap bubbles filled with dry ice mist. If you know the secret you can even hold them in your hand without them popping. Find out how to make Ghost Bubbles by clicking HERE.
EERIE GREEN PUMPKINS
All your neighbors will have Jack-O-Lanterns that glow orange, but you will impress them with a Jack-O-Lantern that glows green! Best of all, the green glow is simple and safer than traditional candles. Purchase one or two large glowing light-sticks per pumpkin at a party store or hardware store.(We like green, but there are many colors to experiment with) Activate the light stick and simply drop them into the pumpkin, or, to conceal the glow sticks, attach them to the inside of the pumpkin lid by unbending large paperclips to secure them. Place your pumpkin outside on Halloween night and admire the “Oooos” and “Ahhhhs” of Trick-Or-Treaters.
MAKE A HAUNTED, SCREAMING CUP If you think haunted houses are scary, wait until to hear…haunted drinkware! First, check out our Chicken In A Cup experiment, but instead of pulling along the string in short bursts to sound like a chicken (it really does, trust us) pull in one continuous motion. The result is an eerie screaming cup! The only thing better than than trying the screaming cup yourself, is trying the screaming cup with LOTS of your friends all at once. Parents especially seem to enjoy that. The instructions can be found HERE.
BUBBLING POTIONS AND JARS Every mad scientist needs some bubbling potions. While dry ice may be the ultimate bubbling potion, the effect tends to be short-lived, and dry ice can be dangerous around younger Halloween party goers. The solution is a simple aquarium pump. Purchase an inexpensive aquarium pump and some tubing at your local pet store along with a line splitter (if you want more than one bubbling potion.) Set up the pump to send bubbles into various large food jars through the tubes. Add some food coloring, plastic bugs or fake body parts, and you’ve got the sights and sounds of a mad scientists lab that will last all night. For added drama, light up the jars from below using flashlights. You can also create floating eyeballs by drawing an iris and pupil onto ping-pong balls with permanent markers. Make a few that will float around by drilling two very small holes in the ping-pong balls and allowing them to fill with water until they sink. For an added glowing black light effect add our Glow-Bright Concentrate.
GHOST BUBBLE SPHERE If you have got some dry ice around this Halloween, gather your friends and family and try making a Dry Ice Bubble Sphere. It’s easy, and the result will wow anyone at your party. Get all the instructions HERE.
THE STATIC DANCING GHOST Make a paper ghost seem to rise at your command an even dance around. CLICK HERE for instructions to make a static powered dancing ghost.
THE SCREAMING QUARTER EXPERIMENT
If you have some dry ice from the Ghost Bubble Sphere left over, you might want to try this fun little demonstration. Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. As it sublimates, (turns back into a gas) the carbon dioxide gas escapes around the quarter causing the quarter to vibrate and make a rather spooky shrill along with occasional humorous sounds. Always wear gloves when performing this demonstration.
Halloween Science on Live! With Kelly & Michael.
More Halloween Science on Live! With Kelly & Ryan.
Here’s some Halloween Fun you should NOT try at home, but it’s still fun to watch!
Many florists sell colored carnations, but I think it is more fun to make your own! And you can learn a little something about plants in the process. Best of all, you can make the flowers just about any color you want. Start off with some white carnations from your local florist. We paid about $1.00 each here in the US. (If you just want to demonstrate how plants transport water, and watch color move through leaves, you can also perform this experiment using celery.) You will also need:
Food coloring
Some small cups
Water
Decide what colors you would like the flowers to be and then add that color to your glass. You will need to add enough food coloring to create a strong color in the water, just a few drops of coloring will not have much of an effect. (Our blue looked more like black after adding enough color.)
Snip the last centimeter of your carnation steam and place the stem in the colored water. Now just wait. Over the next day you will see signs of the coloring emerge in the petals, and even in the leaves. Our experiments have shown that sometimes the color emerges within a few hours, other times it takes a day or two. You can make green flowers for St Patrick’s day, red for valentines…you get the idea.
Mulitcolor? We tried splitting the stem with a razor (adults only, for that part please) and we then placed each stem into a different color of water. Sure enough the flower became multicolored (see above)…pretty cool. We wonder if it would work with three colors. If you try it, let us know.
So how does it work?
This is the science of TRANSPIRATION. It basically means that the plant draws water up through its stem. The water is then evaporated from the leaves and flowers through openings know as stomata. As the water evaporates, it creates pressure that brings more water into the plant – similar to drinking from a straw. Some trees can transpire dozens (even hundreds) of gallons of water on a hot day. How fast a plant transpires depends on temperature, humidity, and even wind. You may want to set up an experiment that tests the transpiration rate of the flowers by placing your plant-coloring set-up in different areas (sunny & dark, windy& still, dry & humid) and see which flower ends up with the most color – more color=more transpiration.
By the way, most flower shops do not color their flowers this way. There are many different breeds of flowers that are capable of producing a wide variety of flower colors. But we still think this way is more fun. If you try this out with your kids or your class, please let us know how it went.
I recently received a box full of fluorescent minerals to examine. Fluorescent minerals contain crystals that glow (fluoresce) when exposed to ultraviolet light. As you can see, the effect was beautiful.
Minerals under regular light Minerals under our Ultraviolet (blacklight)
Try This:
A blacklight is a great item to have in your science collection. Here is a great nightime science activity that you can try with your kids. Get an inexpensive battery powered blacklight, They are available on our web site or at many party stores or hardware stores. Go into a dark room and switch the UV light on. Now start looking around. Open drawers like toy drawers, clothes drawers, and closets. Many surprising objects are likely to start glowing. White clothing, “neon” colored paper, glow-in-the-dark-objects, even tonic water will glow under a blacklight.Try writing notes using a highlighter marker under the blacklight.
How does it work?
The light waves from an ultraviolet light (blacklight) excite the molecules of certain materials enabling them to reflect back light. In the case of fluorescent minerals, the light that is reflected back is often an entirely different color than the original mineral. Minerals such as calcite, wernerite, and willemite emit a bright colorful glow. Depending on where you live, you might be able to go out at night and find some fluorescent minerals of your own. Did you know scorpions glow under ultraviolet light? Get out and see what you can explore with a blacklight!
Kim Fogarty is the parent of an 8 year old science enthusiast, and when it came time for her daughter’s birthday party, there was no questions as to what the theme was going to be. The party was billed as an event with, “cool chemical reactions, wacky experiments and explosive fun.”
Kim writes: I used ideas garnered from the Internet, including ScienceBob.com (thanks, Bob), and I compiled a party agenda full of active, fun experiments, all which went over very well with the ten girls. As a teacher, I was fortunate enough to rent my school’s science classroom to have the party, but it can be done anywhere you have room to prepare and no worries about a few spills.
For the cake, I made a flask cake that was featured in the March 2009 Family Fun magazine. I also made “lab coats” using t-shirts that were cut down the middle, and we gave each party-goer a pair of kid-sized safety goggles as they arrived. As for experiments, we did Color Symphony, which was a big hit, and also the Fantastic Foamy Fountain (I varied the experiment and used regular hydrogen peroxide and still got exciting results as you can see in the photo.) We also mixed up a batch of “Super Slime” purchased from Science Bob Store. (My daughter is still playing with the slime a month later – currently, she is investigating what happens when you put it in the freezer.) We also played with instant snow and explored some bubbling mystery solutions that they enjoyed.
For goody bags, I made fabric drawstring bags that could be reused (going green, you know) and they were filled with test tube experiments – like growing spheres and insta-snow. Guests also got to take home their “lab coats” (each with a custom name tag) and their goggles. I also included a booklet filled with the experiments and the science behind them, as well as the Internet links to their sources and a couple of sites that promote science for girls – check them out: braincake.org and iwaswondering.org. I highly recommend a science party – everyone who was invited came and had a good time.
7 year old Sarah of Tennessee wondered if all bubble gum was created equal and which of the many brands of bubble gum in the candy aisle would giver her the largest bubble? All this wondering led to a science fair entry that won first place.
Sarah made great use of The Scientific Method to answer her sugary suspicions. Sarah’s hypothesis was, “Gum that is harder, stickier, and has more sugar will make bigger bubbles than gum that is softer, not sticky, and less sugary.” She carefully tested 6 popular brands of bubble gum being sure to chew them all the same and keep careful notes. She measured carefully (with help from Mom) and charted her results. After the sugar rush subsided, she reviewed her data and she was a bit surprised by her conclusion. So what is the most bubbly of the bubble gums? Try it out yourself and find out. Besides any time you can mix candy and science, it’s a good thing. Congratulations on your experiment Sarah!
All posts are reprinted with permission of the author, and they maintain all applicable copyrights. To use any material in this post, please contact them.
Lara runs a homeschooling blog from her home in Arkansas. One day, she gathered her kids and all the materials to make slime but she did not tell them what they would be creating. Using a familiar recipe, the boys were soon measuring, mixing, stretching, and yes, even learning about types of matter and polymers. Here’s Lara’s proportions for her large batch of slime. (See link below for smaller batches and to get some information about the science of polymers)
1 8-ounce (240 ml) bottle of glue
2 cups of (480 ml) warm water, divided
food coloring
1 1/2 (8 ml) teaspoons Borax powder
bowls for mixing
Pour the whole bottle of glue into a big bowl then fill the empty bottle with 1 cup of warm water and add that to the glue. Stir it up until it thins out.Then add several drops of food coloring and mix that in.In a separate bowl mix the Borax and the second cup of warm water until the Borax dissolves.Stirring CONSTANTLY, slowly pour the Borax into the bowl of glue. Stir and stir and stir until it forms into a goopy, slimy, mass. Remember to store it in an airtight container or it will dry out.
This is a clip from a show that highlighted some of Ben Franklin’s science experiments. The host is actor/comedian Kevin Pollak. Here we are demonstrating one of Franklin’s favorite gadgets called a Leyden jar. It was invented in 1745 by Pieter van Musschenbroek and it became an important invention for studying electricity.
A Leyden jar is able to store large amounts of static electricity. The more it is charged with static, the stronger the voltage becomes in the jar. In this clip, actor Marc Evan Jackson is really getting shocked by the Leyden jar, and his reaction is quite real. While the charge in this clip was harmless, a large leyden jar can hold enough of a charge to kill a person.
Ben Franklin would connect several Leyden jars to create a powerful shock. All of the leyden jars lined up reminded Franklin of of a battery of cannons side by side. Franklin would later be the first to call stored up electricity a “battery.”
Experiment yourself with electricity kits availableHERE.
What would the science world be without vinegar & baking soda? It would be a little less exciting at the Community School of West Seattle. Michelle Taylor teaches a K-2 program there and she decided to add a little science excitement to her classroom. With a little vinegar, baking soda, a bottle and a balloon, her students were able to to observe chemistry at work inflating the balloon. (Instructions for this experiment below)
“You could hear the screams all through the school – it was so exciting.”
We wanted to know if time travel was possible, so we decided to go to the one man who would know better than anyone… world renowned physics expert, Albert Einstein. Okay, it’s not actually Albert Einstein, (he died in 1955) it’s Marc Spiegel, an amazing actor and storyteller who becomes Einstein as he travels the country and the world exciting students about physics.
As you will hear, time travel IS possible. The way that time and space work together, it is possible to visit the future. The only catch is, you have to travel much, much faster than anyone has ever traveled. When he says you need to travel 80% the speed of light, that’s 148,800 miles per SECOND! At that speed you could go around the world 12 times in just on second. That’s seriously fast. Yet in theory, if you could go that fast deep into space and then return, you would be in the future.
Color mixing is not just about art, it is science too. Melissa Beckman runs a blog called “Chasing Cheerios” in which she chronicles the homeschooling of her young daughter. Science is alive and well at the Beckman home, and Melissa is not afraid to post when experiments work…and when they don’t. She recently posted a simple and visual experiment (that did work) that involved mix colors using a multi-well paint tray (available HERE.) A simple yet fun activity for homeschooling or easily transferred to a classroom activity, if desired, where students could work in pairs, log results, and experiment with plants.
Melissa writes…
First, O squeezed a few drops of food coloring into 3 different glasses. Then she poured water into the glasses. It was fun to watch the water change color as she poured it in, and she said “Ohhh. Beautiful!” Then I showed her how to use the dropper to transfer a little bit of water to each bowl… She then added blue water to the yellow water to make green! She was VERY impressed! (SB Note: Challenge students to mix together the colors of the rainbow in order – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple.) After she was finished experimenting with color mixing, we went outside and picked flowers to try our science experiment again. We put a white flower in each color, and we’re hoping they’ll change colors.
SB Note: If trying out Melissa’s final experiment with flowers, add enough food coloring to the water to make a very dark color. As the flower pulls up water and transpires it out through the petals and leaves, the color is transferred. It is an excellent way to show how water is carried through a plant. For a real twist, split the stem and put each half into a different colored water. Fresh white carnations will often begin coloring the petals within an hour.
Get instructions for coloring flowers using transpiration HERE.
Ian Stewart, a teacher at the St. Andrews School in Hamilton, New Zealand was looking for a way to make learning about density a hands-on experience. Then he stumbled across our Blobs In a Bottle lava lamp experiment (link below) at sciencebob.com. The students got to work creating their own blobs in bottles as they explored molecular polarity and liquid density. They used different shaped bottles to see if it changed the effect, and they added different colors as well. Ian reports the experiment was a success and the students were able to bring their experiment home to keep the discovery process going.
SO WHY DON”T OIL & WATER MIX?
The Blobs in a Bottle experiment is an excellent way to teach about the sometimes confusing concept of density in liquids. Density, in this experiment, is demonstrated when the oil floats above the water. This is not because the water is “heavier” than the oil. In fact, all the oil in the bottle likely weighs more than all the water in the bottle, but a glass of of water would weigh more than an equal sized glass of oil. This is because there is more matter (sometimes more easily referred to as “stuff”) packed into the equal amount of water. Another way to think about it would be to compare a brick made of clay, and one the exact same size made out of styrofoam or wood. Even though they are the same size, the styrofoam is less dense. The clay brick has more “stuff” packed into the same amount of space – it is more dense! See, I told you it can get confusing.
Density, however is NOT why the oil and water do not mix. No, that is due to a little thing called molecular polarity. Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to magnets that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not allow them to bond together. Instead, they are like magnet that repel away from each other. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now you’ll at least look at that vinegrette salad dessing in a whole new way.
Students at the Blanford St. Mary’s School in the UK put the Scientific Method to work.
A morning with balloons flying across your room is always a great way to start the day. This is why year 2 students at the Blanford St. Mary’s School in The United Kingdom were challenged by their teachers Rosemary Rees and Sarah Thornton to answer a science question that was part of our Balloon Rocket experiment. (see link below) They were asked, “Does the shape of the balloon affect the distance the rocket travels?” This became a great way to bring the SCIENTIFIC METHOD to life in the classroom.
The scientific method is an organized way to answer a science question. First, students discussed their thoughts based on the knowledge that they had gained from using balloons of different shapes in the past. For some, this lead to a hypothesis – an answer to their science question based on what they know.
They then came up with a way to test their hypothesis a experiment. (This is the fun part!) The students set up a balloon rocket course in the classroom and began testing out the balloons. They tested round balloons and narrow balloons, being sure to use the same amount of air in each. They measured after each flight and kept notes on each distance. After all the balloon flying, they got to the final step. They looked at all the data from the experiment to figure out if their hypothesis was correct. So which kind of balloon traveled the farthest? Why not try it our yourself, or if you just can’t wait, visit their blog to find out the answer.
Ellen Kahue, a teacher in South Carolina cleverly used our Floating Paperclip experiment (link below) to teach how water strider insects are able to move across the surface of water without sinking.
Understanding surface tension can be a bit tricky, but once you see a paperclip “float” on water, the concept begins to make sense.
Students were challenged to get the paperclip to float on their own. If you’ve ever tried this, you know it can be very difficult…unless you know the secret.
Ellen used the lesson to show how water striders take advantage of surface tension. These insects spread their weight out on their legs which allows them to stay supported, and easily move across on the surface of the water.
