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.

Click here to see the secret of the The Floating Paperclip
Click here to visit Ellen Kahue’s website and blog