Free Experiments
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Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Force & Movement
Read more »Floating Paper Clip
Paper clips sink in water, right!? Using a piece of paper towel and a steady you can get them to float. Its all about the surface tension of the water. Try adding a drop of liquid detergent to upset the balance. Or floating the paper clips in different liquids. Lots of fun!
Suitable for kids aged 5+You Need:- Container or bowl of water
- Paper towel
- Paper clips
What to do:- Drop a paper clip in the water, and watch it sink to the bottom. Why does it sink?
- Tear off a piece of paper towel about half the size of a dollar note (size doesnt matter, as long as its bigger than the paper clip).
- Place the piece of paper towel gently on to the water so it floats.
- Carefully place a paper clip on
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Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Force & Movement
Read more »Egg In A Bottle
This classic science demonstration never ceases to amaze. Get a hard-boiled egg through a small bottle neck opening and into the bottle without touching it. A great way to learn about air pressure.
Suitable for kids aged 10+ with parental supervisionCAUTIONThis experiment requires the use of matches and a small flame. Please exercise caution, and only perform under adult supervision.You Need:- A hard-boiled egg with the shell removed
- A glass bottle with a mouth slightly smaller than the egg (fruit-drink bottles work well)
- Small piece of newspaper about 10cm square
- Matches
What to do: -
Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Force & Movement
Read more »Make this rocket quickly and easily out of drinking straws. Then blast it high into the air using air pressure. Fun and completely safe!
Suitable for kids aged 5+ with parental supervision.You Need:- A drinking straw (preferably one that bends near the end)
- Half a wider drinking straw (with a large enough diameter to slide easily over the other straw) Note: you can always make one of these out of paper
- Masking tape
What to do:- Pinch one end of the wide half-straw and stick a piece of masking tape over it, to seal the end closed. This is your straw rocket.
- Slide your rocket straw over the straight end of the
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Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Force & Movement
Read more »Make an age-old toy: The Cartesian Diver. It floats in a bottle filled with water, but when you squeeze the bottle, the diver mysteriously plunges to the bottom.
Suitable for kids aged 5+ with parental supervision.You Need:- An empty soft drink bottle with cap (any size, your diver will dive further in a bigger bottle)
- A third of a straw
- Paper clip
- Small chunk of modelling clay
- Glass or cup to test your diver in
- Water
What to do:- Fill the bottle with water.
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Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Force & Movement
Read more »Balancing Act Science Magic
Do the impossible balance a can on its bottom rim and amaze your friends
Suitable for kids aged 6+You Need:- Two empty 375ml cans
- 100mls of water approx
What to do:- Pour about 100mls of water secretly into one can.
- Have someone try to balance the other empty can on its bottom rim (see picture). It is impossible.
- Then amaze them, by easily balancing your magic can on its bottom rim (they dont need to know it has water in it).
Why is it so?
This science trick is -
Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Weather
Read more »An easy and fun way to learn about convection currents!
Suitable for kids aged 7+You Need:- Teabag with a string and label
- Non-flammable plate
- Scissors Lighter or match
- Lighter or match
What to do:Remember - always ask an adult for help with matches and don't do this experiment near any flammable materials.- Remove the staple, label and string from the teabag.
- Pour the tea into a bin.
- Unfold the teabag.
- Turn the teabag into a cylinder - make
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Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Weather
Read more »Spinning Earth And Ocean Marble
Can you keep your ocean-marble on the spinning cardboard-earth for three whole rotations!? A fun way to model the spinning earth and learn about how spin effects weather.
Suitable for kids aged 6+ with parental supervision.
Young children will need an adult to help make the model earth, it requires cutting thick cardboard and measuring. No assistance should be needed for the actual spinning of the cardboard earth.You Need:- Large piece of thick cardboard
- Push pin
- String
- Blutak
- Scissors
- Pencil
- 60cm ruler
- Foil
- Marble
What to -
Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Weather
Read more »Cause a tsunami by erupting a canister full of bubbling gas underwater
Suitable for kids aged 10+ with parental supervisionCAUTIONThe canister lid comes off with a lot of force, stand back and be careful to stay right out of its way.You Need:- Empty film canister with tight fitting lid or something similar
- Plasticine
- Alka-Seltzer tablet (available from the supermarket)
- Tub or bucket (preferably transparent)
- Water
What to do:- Mould enough plasticine around the bottom of the film canister to give it the appearance of a volcano and enough weight to keep it down in the tub of water.
- Fill
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Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Weather
Read more »Sugar Landscape
Use a sugar cube to explore how rain changes our landscape
Suitable for kids aged 4+You Need:- Sugar cube
- Eyedropper or pipette
- Small plastic lid (or saucer) to sit the sugar cube on
What to do:- Practice using the eyedropper by sucking-up some cold tap water from a glass (or other container), then gently squeezing the water back into the glass one drop at a time. Dont squeeze too hard or the water will come squirting out as one stream. You need to be able to master raining one drop at a time to continue with
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Posted: July 26, 2017Categories: Weather
Read more »Make your own hot air balloon
There is something very cool about things that fly - this homemade hot air balloon is no exception.
Suitable for kids aged 8+ with parental supervisionYou Need:- Garbage Bag
- Duct Tape (or a plastic packing strip)
- Hair Dryer
What
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Energy Stick
Completely safe to touch and handle, simply complete the circuit by touching both electrodes at the end of the stick simultaneously.
