50 Science Experiments

We have included 50 of some of our favorite simple experiments. Most of the experiments require very little preparation or cost in materials. Each experiment incorporates the same formula and has three basic sections: Materials Needed; Step by Step Instructions (What to do) and Why It Works. Each video is short and follows along with the instructions at this site. The videos were done in our laboratories and were created in a quick conversational format.

1. Alien Face Balloons

Materials:

  • 2 – 1 ounce plastic cups
  • 10″ or larger balloon
  • Black pen or marker

What To Do:
Draw an alien face on one side of the balloon. Inflate the balloon 10% and then attach the 2 plastic cups to the side of the balloon. Blow the balloon up until it is fully inflated. The plastic cups stick to the sides of the balloon in midair. The face expands and the cups look like alien ears.

Why It Works:
The air in each cup forms a vacuum and stick to the side of the balloon because of the air pressure around it. This vacuum is strong and holds a firm grip to the balloon.

Loading...

2. Magic Ping Pong Ball

Materials:

  • Bendable straw
  • ping pong ball

What To Do:
Bend the straw and place the ball directly over the top of the opening at the top of the straw. Blow hard and continuously. Try to keep the ball suspended for as long as you can.

Why It Works:
The ping pong ball should rise up and stay lifted in the air for a few seconds. The blown air surrounds the ball around its sides. This creates lower pressure at the bottom and higher pressure at the top so the ping pong ball just floats in the air.

Loading...

3. Titanic Index Card

Materials:

  • Water
  • Metal pan or tray
  • 
Index card
  • 2 ounce plastic cup

What To Do:
Fill a small cup completely with water. Lift the cup up and place an index card on top and over a metal tray. Very quickly turn the cup over. The water should stay in the cup even though nothing appears to be holding it up. The water will slowly come out but not until about a minute or two later.

Why It Works:
The air pressure under the card shows that it is stronger than the water pressure inside the cup. This is a partial vacuum created between the water and the card. The low pressure inside the cup plus the vacuum along with the outside air pressure pushing up on the card is greater than the water pressure pushing down.

Loading...

4. Alien Slime

Materials:

  • Wooden craft stick
  • 
Polyvinyl Alcohol (1/2 ounce)
  • Sodium Tetra borate (half teaspoon)
  • 2 – one ounce cups and covers

What To Do:
Pour the sodium tetra borate into the polyvinyl alcohol. Stir with a craft stick until liquids form a solid (similar to slime). Stir for one minute. Take out the solid and play with it. When finished, put cover on cup.

Why It Works:
Sodium tetra borate and polyvinyl alcohol liquids will form a solid substance like flubber. The gel is a fluid polymer that is over 98% water. The water acts like a bridge linking the alcohol to the sodium. The new polymer is endothermic as it flows which means it gets colder in your hands.

Loading...

5. Weird Putty

Materials:

  • Wooden craft stick
  • White glue
  • Sodium Tetra borate
  • Water
  • 2 – one ounce cups

What To Do:
Weird putty is first made by mixing a half ounce of an even mix of water and glue. Similar to the alien slime, add the sodium tetra borate into the water and glue cup. Stir the new mixture with a craft stick until the liquids turn into a solid. Take the solid out of the cup and play with it. The putty can take newsprint off newspapers, and the putty will also bounce. Make sure to keep covered while not in use.

Why It Works:
The sodium tetra borate bonds with the glue and water mixture to form a polymer solid. The glue makes it rubbery enabling it to get that putty feel.

Loading...

6. Paper Rubber Band

Materials:

  • Paper rubber band form
  • Scissors

What To Do:
You will be making a rubber molecule model. Try to make your own models with other types of paper and more or less lines.

Why It Works:
Rubber is unique in that it can stretch, it is elastic. Rubber has special molecules with tons of energy that allows it to stretch and return to its original shape.

Loading...

7. Little Crystals

Materials:

  • Two small plastic cups
  • Colored water
  • Polyacrylamide crystals

What To Do:
Place small amount of crystals (about 25) in cup and add colored water. In about 45 minutes the hard little crystals will absorb all the water and grow, and become slightly wet, soft crystals.

Why It Works:
Water crystals are super absorbent polymers that are being widely used for applications in forestry, gardening and landscaping as a means of conserving water. The crystals will grow about 10 times their size and will help reduce plant watering by at least 50%. They help transplant shock, reduce plant stress, increase soil aeration and should last 3-5 years in the soil. Crystals can be purchased at nurseries under the trade name “Soil Moist”

Loading...

8. Magic Sandcastles

Materials:

  • Magic Sand ½ ounce
  • 
1 ounce plastic cup with lid
  • 
Popsicle stick
  • Water

What To Do:
Place enough water on the sand so that it just covers the top of the sand. Using the popsicle stick, move the sand around very slowly to try to make a wide variety of shapes or sandcastles.

Why It Works:
Magic Sand is regular sand that has been dyed and chemically treated with a hydrophobic chemical (it doesn’t like water). The sand repels the water which creates very interesting patterns. After usage you simply pour off the water and the sand will be as dry and as good as new.

Loading...

9. Instant Snow

Materials:

  • Instant Snow
  • Foam plate
  • 
Zip-lock bag
  • 1 ounce cup with lid
  • 1 ounce cup filled with colored water

What To Do:
Take the lids off the two cups. Then place the cup of Instant Snow directly in the middle of the plate. Do not pour the powder on the plate. On the count of three pour the colored water into the powder and watch what happens. The powder will quickly absorb the water and increase the volume so that it overflows the cup. When finished, store the snow in Zip-lock bag.

Why It Works:
The very absorbing powder is used on movies sets for snow storms and at ski resorts during the off season for sledding on the slopes.

Loading...

10. Mini Flashlights

Materials:

  • AA battery
  • Masking tape
  • Holiday light that has been cut

What To Do:
Start by placing one small piece of tape on the side of the battery so that half the tape is on the battery and half of it is hanging below it. Then do the same thing on top so that you now have two pieces of tape that are half on and half off. Take the copper wires that are exposed from the plastic casing and touch them to both sides of the battery. Push over the tape and the light should be on.

Why It Works:
To make the bulb light up there has to be a flow of electricity. This electricity must flow with the connection of the wires from the bottom and top of the battery. When the electricity is flowing, you have completed the circuit and the electricity can flow in a loop.

Loading...

11. Static Tubes

Materials:

  • Clear 8 oz plastic tubes
  • 
Tube caps
  • Styrofoam pellets

What To Do:
Pour the pellets into the tube and cap it off. Rub the tube on your shirt or pants. Take your finger and touch the outside of the tube. The pellets will start to jump away from your finger very quickly.

Why It Works:
Static electricity is a jump of electricity. The little plastic pellets in the tube are not charged. But when you rub the tube against your shirt or pants along the outside of the tube, your clothes becomes positively charged and the pellets jump around inside the tube.

Loading...

12. Electric Mountain Dew

Materials:

  • Empty Mountain Dew 12 ounce can
  • 12” or larger balloon

What To Do:
Try to move the can using the balloon but without touching the balloon to the can or using the air from the balloon. Place the can on its side on the table.

Why It Works:
When you inflate the balloon and tie it off it has the good potential to change its charge. Rub the balloon on your head and place the balloon near the can. The can should be on its side so that it can roll easier. When the charges jump from the balloon to the can, the can starts to pull the charge and move.

Loading...

13. Dollar Bill Trick

Materials:

  • Paper form
  • Two paper clips
  • Rubber band

What To Do:
Create a sample form to learn this trick and then be able to do the same trick using a dollar bill. The form shows how the bill should be folded three times and where to attach the rubber band and two paper clips. When the bill is ready, the rubber band and both paper clips are close to each other but not touching at this point. When the bill is pulled outward however, the two paper clips will magically be attached to the bottom of the rubber band.

Why It Works:
The placement of the three items is critical to the success of this trick. The rapid force from the pull bring all three items together as they glide along the upper portion of the bill.

Loading...

14. Weird String Maze

Materials Needed:

  • A six foot long piece of string

What To Do:
Tie a knot at the end of the string. Place the string over the left hand but loop it only around the 3 middle fingers. With your other hand, place it in the hanging loop. The object is to move your hand around so that it comes out without a knot on your hand.

Why It Works:
This is a visual trick that uses topology (the science of folding and changing objects from two dimensional to three dimensional). It is also a game of observation as others try to learn from you.

Loading...

15. Index Card Puzzle

Materials:

  • Several index cards
  • 
Scissors
  • Card stock paper
  • Puzzle form
  • Tape

What To Do:
Prior to starting this game, cut an index card, twist part of the index card half way, and tape the answer onto a piece of card stock paper. With scissors in hand, have othesr try to duplicate the card that is on the paper without touching any part of the card or paper.

Why It Works:
This is another game of observation. Try several times to cut the paper the correct way but most will have a hard time duplicating the paper. It almost looks like an impossible puzzle because no matter how you cut it the paper just doesn’t look right. In fact, the problem is that the paper is flipped around so that it now appears three dimensional.

Loading...

16. All Tied Up

Materials Needed:

  • One piece of string that measures 3 feet long

What To Do:
Place each end of the string in both hands and make a fist. At no point can you open up your hand and use your fingers. The object is to move the string in a way that will create a knot on the string. A knot on your arm does not count.

Why It Works:
There is only one solution for this topology game. The trick is to lay the string on the table in the shape of an upside down letter U. Then, fold your arms. With each hand grab the string (one above and the other below). Pull your arms out and forward and then knot will appear on the string.

Loading...

17. Magic Beads

Materials Needed:

  • Pipe cleaners
  • 
UV detecting beads

What To Do:
Place a few beads on the pipe cleaner and twist it into a bracelet. Try different light sources inside to see if there is any reaction. Then either go outside during the day or use an optional black light. Watch what happens.

Why It Works:
The beads are coated with luminol (a glowing chemical) that pick up and change colors with any UV light source like from the sun outside. When you come back inside without this light the beads will turn back to white. Black lights will act in a similar fashion to the sun and make the beads glow brightly. The beads will change colors forever.

Loading...

18. Thaumatropes

Materials Needed:

  • Card stock paper with different
  • Scissors
  • Two rubber bands
  • Single-hole puncher
  • Glue

What To Do:
Cut each matching ../images (one image is partially drawn and the other matches it with missing features) and glue them back to back to each other having one side upside down. Punch a hole near both edges of the new glued two sided image. Thread the rubber bands through the holes and tie them in knots. Grasp the rubber bands between the thumb and forefinger of each hand and roll the rubber bands back and forth very quickly. Watch the new singular image appear from the two sides.

Why It Works:
The thaumatrope was invented in 1826 and is one of the earliest optical toys. The illusion of the image coming together as one image is caused by a phenomenon called persistence of vision. Your eyes take the reflected light and trigger your brain to hold the image for a split second. The persistence of one image while another appears creates an illusion when the thaumatrope is turned.

Loading...

19. Magic 3D Cube

Materials Needed:

  • Form
  • Scissors
  • Tape

What To Do:
Cut the form out along the outside lines. Fold the two middle sections until the sections turn into a cube shape. Tape the two sides that are apart. Place the cube at eye level on table about 2 feet away. Stare at the middle of the cube for at least 10 seconds without blinking. The cube should change from 2D to 3D.

Why It Works:
The paper starts as two dimensional – flat and only with a length and width. But the angles of the cube use a certain pattern to refocus the eye and make it appear 3 dimensional with full depth perception. If you stare and move your head slightly you will be able to see the cube move from side to side.

Loading...

20. Hole in the Hand

Materials:

  • Paper
  • Tape

What To Do:
Roll a piece of paper the long way and tape the middle. Place the tube in your right hand. Look straight ahead through the tube with your right eye and hold your left hand up next to the tube with the palm toward you. You should see that there seems to be a hole through the middle of your palm.

Why It Works:
Your right eye sees inside the tube and your left eye sees your open hand. The brain is confused with this optical illusion because it receives different signals from each eye. So it combines the and you appear to see a hole in your hand. Try making a hole appear on the side of your arm or someone’s head.

Loading...

21. Floating Magnets

Materials:

  • Pencil
  • 
Two ring magnets

What To Do:
Place the two similar poles of the magnets onto the pencil. Then turn one magnet around and see what happens. No matter how you move them, the magnets will repel each other and the top one will appear to float in the air. The pencil is just a guide because in reality the magnet is floating.

Why It Works:
The rings are placed on their polar opposites so that they appear to float up and down on the pencil. When the magnet surfaces are similar they repel and stay an inch or so away from each other.

Loading...

22. Flying Paperclip

Materials:

  • Paperclip
  • Small piece of string
  • Magnet
  • Masking tape

What To Do:
Using the string, tie a knot around one side of the paperclip. Tape the other side of the string down onto the table. Pull the string tightly and place the magnet very close to the paperclip. The paperclip will be attracted to the magnet and start to move in any direction that the magnet travels.

Why It Works:
The iron in the paperclip is attracted to the magnet. The paperclip then appears to be flying or floating in the air.

Loading...

23. Homemade Thunder

Materials:

  • Thunder papers (two forms)
  • 
Masking tape

What To Do:
Fold the triangle edges over the square homemade thunder form. Tape the two sides together so that the triangle is taped to the square. Fold the back in half. There should be a pocket on the back that is now folded in half. With a good forward motion, raise the thunder with the pocket looking away from you, hold the bottom and snap it out. A large bang, like thunder, should be heard.

Why It Works:
As the paper snaps out of the card, it smacks the air in its path, causing the air to vibrate and make a loud crack. Lightning also causes air to vibrate by giving it a hard whack. This results in thunder.

Loading...

24. Flying Helicopter

Materials:

  • Helicopter (form)
  • Paper clip
  • 
Scissors

What To Do:
Cut three short slits in the helicopter – in between A & B, over C and over D. Now fold the letter C on the dotted line backwards. Do the same with the letter D. Fold the letter E backwards and up. Place a paper clip on E to secure it. Fold the letter A forward on the dotted line and B backwards on the dotted line. Place your fingers behind the wings and throw the helicopter high up into the air and hard. The wings will twist and soon fly like a helicopter.

Why It Works:
Helicopters fly similar to airplanes because they need thrust, lift, drag and gravity to work. The thrust is centered on the top for a helicopter however which allows it to move forward and upward.

Loading...

25. Poppers

Materials:

  • Poppers (toy)

What To Do:
Turn the popper inside out and set it on the table. The popper flies up into the air. For something more advanced, invert the popper on your thumb and then release your fingers. The result will be a much higher flight.

Why It Works:
The popper will pop back into its original shape because when inside out it is creating potential energy and then changes into kinetic energy as it pops into the air. The vacuum that is created creates too much pressure and the air pressure is released.

Loading...

26. Hover Cups

Materials Needed:

  • Masking tape
  • Two 12 ounce Styrofoam coffee cups
  • String 3 feet long

What To Do:
Place the two cups upside down to each other and masking tape the middle of the cups so that they stay together. One end of the string should be on top of the middle of the cups. Make 4 or 5 rotations of the string around the cups so that about 6 inches is left hanging down. With the other hand place the bottom three fingers around the string. The thumb should be on the bottom of the cups and the index finger should be on top of the cups. Throw the cups in the air straight and in a horizontal position and at the same time holding onto the string. To get the best spinning or floating action the wrist should snap the cups out of the hand.

Why It Works:
We are trying to create more lift under the bottom part of the cup than the gravity that is pushing the cups downward. With the right snap and hand location on release, the cups should just float in the air and glide down spinning quickly to the ground.

Loading...

26. Hover Cups

Materials Needed:

  • Yo-yo
  • One plastic sunglass lens
  • Pair of sunglasses
  • Friend

What To Do:
Hold the lens by pinching the bottom with your right hand. Place the lens over the right eye. Have the friend stand directly in front of you and swing a yo-yo side to side. You should see a very cool optical illusion with the yo-yo actually swinging in a circle instead of a straight line. Then move the lens to the left eye.

Why It Works:
This experiment demonstrates how 3-D glasses work. Two contrasting shades of lens in one eye and no lens or shade in the other eye creates the illusion that the non-shaded eye tries to pull the lens eye toward it giving it depth. Another interesting part of the illusion is that with the right eye you should see the circle traveling in a counter clockwise direction and the left eye should be traveling in a clockwise direction.

Loading...

28. Balancing Wand

Materials Needed:

  • Clay
  • Tin foil
  • Stick 4 feet long
  • Masking tape

What To Do:
On the bottom of the stick place a wad of clay into a ball shape. Wrap the clay with tinfoil and then tape the tinfoil so that it stays in place. The object is to see if the wand will balance better on one finger – on the side with the clay ball or the other side which just has the end of the wood stick.

Why It Works:
This is an experiment in rotational friction with an end result that fools most people. The side with the weight of the ball will spin less because of rotational friction and therefore will be easier to balance. When the weight is near your hand, with an increase of friction, the stick will be more difficult to balance.

Loading...

29. Balancing Nails

Materials Needed:

  • Cork
  • 
11 – 8d common nails

What To Do:
Push a nail into the center of the cork. The object is to get all 10 other nails to balance on the nail that is on the cork.

Why It Works:
Weight and how it is distributed interact to affect how an object balances. This exciting activity involves the concept of center of gravity. When the center of gravity is below the point at which the object rests, or the balance point, then the object will balance much easier. The nails can be balanced in a couple of different ways. The first nail should be on the table horizontally. The next nail should be placed on top of the bottom nail so that both heads are on top of each other. The third nail should rest on the bottom nail but be the opposite of the second nail. The rest of the nails should also be placed on the bottom nail one by one so that the end result is that there are 4 nails on each side of the bottom nail. The final nail should be put on the top with the head being the opposite of the bottom nail. Place both hands on both sides of the unit, lift it carefully and place it on the head of the nail on the block.

Loading...

30. Marble in the Bottle

Materials:

  • Small clear marble
  • 
Index card
  • 8 ounce bottle with small opening

What To Do:
Place the index card on the top of the bottle. Place the marble on top of the card directly over the opening of the bottle. Using only one finger, try to get the marble to drop into the bottle. Manipulating the card won’t help and you are not allowed to push the marble through the card into the bottle.

Why It Works:
The object is to hit the side of the card very hard so that inertia takes over. If the marble doesn’t feel any force, gravity will then pull the marble down and just drop it into the bottle.

Loading...

31. Balancing Bob or Betty

Materials:

  • Two small washers
  • 2 feet of steel wire
  • 
Slotted craft stick
  • Black pen or marker

What To Do:
Bend the wire so that you have two equal sides. While holding the craft stick, take the center of the wire and place it at the back of the third slot from the bottom. With one hand holding the wire, wrap one side of the wire two times around the stick so that it is nice and tight. Repeat for the other side. Then place a washer about two inches up on one end of the wire and twist it so that it doesn’t fall off. Repeat for the other side. Using a marker, draw a face of a man (Bob) or woman (Betty) on the top of the craft stick. Balance it on your finger. Work the wires a little bit to get the stick to stand straight up (or any other way).

Why It Works:
Similar to other balancing projects, it balances because the additional parts (the washers and wire) move the center of gravity to a point below the lower end of the stick.

Loading...

32. Eiffel Tower

Materials:

  • 50-150 seven or nine ounce plastic cups
  • Flat table or surface

What To Do:
The object is to build the tallest tower of any shape in five minutes. No cup is allowed in another cup and if they fall you must simply try again until time is up.

Why It Works:
The key to this experiment is the base of the structure and the straightness of each row. Most kids will rush through the design because of the time limitations not realizing that going slow and steady really does win the race. It’s a game of strategy and problem solving.

Loading...

33. Paper Bridge

Materials:

  • Two pieces of regular copy paper
  • 
Two – 10 ounce paper cups
  • Small weight

What To Do:
Move two paper cups about 13 inches apart on the table. Place a piece of paper on top of the two cups so that there is a one inch opening at the end of each cup. Balance a small weight on top of the paper using any method. You can fold the paper, bend it or tear it but the cups must remain 13 inches apart.

Why It Works:
Folded surfaces have much less pressure than a flat surface. Simply fold the paper in an accordion style and rest the weight carefully on the top of the paper. The folds will balance the entire load and offer much more stability.

Loading...

34. The Elbow Trick

Materials:

  • Bag of 30 pennies

What To Do:
Stand up and place your right hand on your right shoulder. Now turn your hand so that it is facing the ceiling. The hand now should be parallel to the floor and about equal to your nose. Place a penny on the elbow. With a swinging motion toward the floor, try to catch the penny in the same hand. If you catch one penny, take two more to stack on the first and see how many pennies you can catch.

Why It Works:
It is easier when your elbow and arm are closer to your body. This is a skill in balance and coordination. Practice is important and in no time, most children will master at least one penny.

Loading...

35. Inverting Pop Tops

Materials:

  • Inverting Pop Tops

What To Do:
Strange little tops that are rounded on one side and have a stick coming out the other side. They are shaped like a popsicle. Spin the top as you would any top by holding the stick part and twirling. At first the tops spin normally but then actually turn upside down and spin on the stick side.

Why It Works:
When the top is spun, the frictional force on the hemispherical bottom causes the top to start precessing. This sliding frictional force creates a torque on the spinning mass which causes the top to invert.

Loading...

36. Paper Rockets

Materials:

  • Pencil
  • Straw
  • Paper 1 1/2” x 11” and 3 small pieces 1” x ½”
  • Clear tape

What To Do:
Starting at an angle at the top of the pencil, roll the paper tightly down the pencil. Tape the paper at the top, middle and bottom. Cut off a 1/2” off both ends. Cut and fold 3 fins for the bottom of the rocket and attach them with tape. Place rocket in straw and blow up in the air. Write name on rocket.

Why It Works:
The force of the air simply lifts up on the rocket and pushes it forward. Have contests for distance, altitude and accuracy.

Loading...

37. Balancing Yard Stick

Materials:

  • Yardstick

What To Do:
Hold the yardstick in both hands. Balance the yardstick by first keeping your thumb up, index finger straight out (like you are shooting a gun) and other 3 fingers pulled into your palm. Rest the yardstick on the outstretched index fingers. Try to slowly bring your fingers together until they meet.

Why It Works:
Your fingers share the weight of the yardstick either equally or unequally. There are parallel forces happening here. First there is a frictional force of the finger that is moving. Then there is a regular force that holds on to the other nonmoving finger. When the forces catch up to each other, the fingers will balance in the center (at the 18” mark) every time.

Loading...

38. Rooster Cups

Materials:

  • 8″ or larger plastic cup
  • 18″ of dental floss
  • 
Small sponge
  • Plastic bead
  • 
Small cup of water
  • 
Nail and hammer

What To Do:
Using a small nail and a hammer, punch a small hole through the bottom of the cup. Take a bead and double knot it at the end of one side of the dental floss. The piece of dental floss is pulled through the bottom of the plastic cup. Tie a small piece of sponge to the other end of the dental floss. Moisten the little sponge, grab it with the dental floss near the bottom of the cup and pull it down.

Why It Works:
As you pull the sponge down, the moistened sponge vibrates the dental floss and a loud noise like the sound of a rooster crowing emerges. The vibrations of the floss are caught up into the cup.

Loading...

39. Duck Call

Materials:

  • Scissors
  • Plastic straws

What To Do:
A drinking straw is cut on one end so that the end looks like a v-shape. This end is placed in the mouth. Using a pair of scissors and while blowing into the straw, cut short lengths off the straw until it gets closer and closer to your nose.

Why It Works:
The straw will make different pitches of sounds based upon the remainder of straw left. The more the straw is cut, the higher the pitch.

Loading...

40. Quantum Leap Tube

Materials:

  • Plastic sound wave tube

What To Do:
Swing the plastic tube around slowly at first. Listen to the sound. Then swing it faster. Listen to the new sound.

Why It Works:
Sound waves have both a frequency and a wavelength. Each atom has a certain amount of energy or quantum. By swinging the tube around, the wavelength jumps to a higher level.

Loading...

41. Magic Fish

Materials:

  • Magic fortune-telling fish and its plastic wrapper

What To Do:
Take the fish out of its plastic wrapper. Place the fish on several different surfaces such as a table, chair, floor, etc. Make a flat hand with fingers closed, place the fish on the palm of your hand and say some magic words. The fish will quickly start to move on your hand and eventually fall off your hand.

Why It Works:
The magic fish moves because it first absorbs water from the sweat glands in your hand then loses the water through evaporation. The fish is made of cellophane that is hygroscopic (likes water). As water is absorbed, it moves through small pores in the plastic and then evaporates due to the heat from your hand. Since other surfaces do not have water, the fish remains still.

Loading...

42. Ocean Wave

Materials:

  • 8 ounce plastic bottle
  • Water (4 ounces)
  • Baby oil (4 ounces)
  • 
Food coloring – 3 drops
  • Masking tape

What To Do:
Pour the baby oil into the bottle. Then pour water into the bottle. Add some food coloring into the bottle. Cap the bottle and then place a piece of masking tape around the cap and top part of the bottle.

Why It Works:
Liquids all have different densities (weight) but the same volumes. Oil is lighter than water (it’s less dense) so it rests on top. These liquids are called immiscible because they don’t mix. Liquids that do mix are called miscibles. Waves are created when wind is blown over the top of the water and because of the water polarity which means they are like magnets — they pull along on top. Tides happen because of the moon pulling (gravity) and the earth’s spinning.

Loading...

43. Little Twister

Materials:

  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 1 ounce plastic cup
  • 1 drop of blue Dawn
  • Glitter
  • 
8 ounce plastic bottle
  • 
Water
Medicine dropper

What To Do:
Fill the bottle with water. Open the cup of salt and pour into bottle. Add Dawn and glitter. Cap bottle and shake. A little twister will appear in a few seconds. The chemicals will always mix and will last forever. Compare this experiment with a commercially sold product called Pet Tornado which costs $8 at toy stores.

Why It Works:
The motion is called a vortex, the combination of the motion of the fluid, wind, energy and gravity produce the tornado, with more energy at the center and less energy as you go up.

Loading...

44. The Leak Proof Bag

Materials:

  • Zip-lock bag
  • Water
  • 
Sharpened pencils
  • 
Metal tray or pan

What To Do:
Fill a bag full with water and lock it. Several pencils are then carefully pierced into the water portion of the bag and the bag does not leak. See how many pencils you can stick into the bag.

Why It Works:
Polystyrene has an excellent ability to absorb the shock of puncture and remain tight. Similar to latex rubber, this type of plastic can stretch and seal itself around objects.

Loading...

45. Peanut Creations

Materials:

  • 25 cornstarch peanuts
  • 5 polystyrene peanuts

What To Do:
With the cornstarch peanuts, try to build something in one minute. You won’t be able to build anything three dimensional because the peanuts don’t stick together. Then simply lick the ends of each cornstarch peanut and they will stick to each other.

Why It Works:
Cornstarch peanuts are environmentally safe packaging materials. The cornstarch is formed by molds and shaped and then used for a variety of different uses. Because they are just cornstarch, they easily melt in water.

Loading...

46. Flash Rocks

Materials:

  • Two quartz rocks

What To Do:
In a very dark room or closet, scratch one rock against the other. A flash of orange light will appear at the point of contact. The flash will get brighter with harder and faster scratching.

Why It Works:
The source of the light is an electric arc or miniature “lightning flash” that occurs in quartz materials within the rocks. Substances like quartz are called “piezoelectric” because it is possible to squeeze out separate positive and negative charges within them. By scratching the rocks hard, you separate those charges, and obtain enough voltage to cause an arc when the separated charges recombine in order to neutralize each other. You may also notice a burnt odor when you scratch them. This is from a chemical reaction the arc causes with sulfur compounds inside the rock.

Loading...

47. Screaming Penny & Nuts

Materials:

  • Clear 12” or larger balloon
  • 
Penny
  • 
Stainless steel nuts

What To Do:
Drop a penny into the balloon, inflate the balloon and tie it off. Predict what will happen when the balloon is shaken.

Why It Works:
The penny and nuts will stand on their edge and travel quickly in the balloon in a circle. The reduction of torque inside the balloon causes an angular momentum force which causes them to spin. Gravity eventually pulls them away from this force but while it is happening the friction creates a very cool noise.

Loading...

48. Color Challenge

Materials:

  • A piece of paper with one set of black and white words of names of colors and the same set of words with different colors printed over the words.

What To Do:
What would take longer, reading words that are names of colors or just saying the blotches of colors. Read the words that are in black and white as fast as you can. This exercise should only take them about 20-30 seconds. Then read the names of colors that have been printed with different colors. If you make a mistake, start over again. This exercise will take them several tries typically.

Why It Works:
The experiment is really an optical illusion because your eyes and brain can’t connect with the words that they both see and understand. You will obviously find that the initial reading part is easy but will find it very difficult to read a color that is not the same color as the name of another color.

Loading...

49. Singing Hangers

Materials:

  • Metal coat hanger
  • Two pieces of 24″ dental floss

What To Do:
Make a double knot in each of the dental floss at the two end bottoms of the coat hanger. Lay the hanger on the table and hold one end of the floss up in your hand. With your index finger and thumb, grasp the floss and twist it 10 times around your index finger. Do the same thing to the other side. Stand up from the table, place your two index fingers in your ears, lean over the table, and bang the hanger against the table or chair.

Why It Works:
Another name for this experiment is church bells because when you bang the hanger against the table or chair it sounds like loud church bells. The vibrations are isolated as they hit the metal and travel up the floss and end into your ear. Your eardrums accentuate the noise.

Loading...

50. Magic Sand Wand

Materials:

  • Bottle and cap
  • Sand (or salt)
  • 
Small ball

What To Do:
Fill up a bottle with sand (or salt) and place the small ball on top of the sand. Now see if you can get the ball to travel from one end of the sand to the other end. You can shake or do any type of movement to get the ball to move to the other end.

Why It Works:
The way to move the ball is to start with the ball on the bottom of the sand. With a shaking up motion, the ball lifts up and displaces some of the sand. Since the ball causes friction and is heavier than the sand, the sand slowly builds up underneath the ball and rises to the top.

Loading...