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Blue Sky – Red Sunset
Tweet Whenever it’s not completely filled with clouds, we can see that the sky is blue. As our world turns the sun rises and sets, and as it sets it looks red. These two observations are related. You will need: A torch a transparent container with flat parallel sides (a 10-litre [2½- gallon] aquarium is [...]
Watery Lenses
Tweet How to Make a Water Drop Magnifier You Will Need Styrofoam or polystyrene plate Cling Film Tape Scissors Eye dropper (optional) Bowl or container Small objects: blades of grass, flowers, coins, stamps, beetle, ant, fly etc Water Instructions Cut a hole out of the middle of the plate – about the size of [...]
Thermal Things
Tweet A simple thermal energy experiment While our planet receives thermal energy from the sun, some devices consume energy, which is also given off in the form of thermal energy. This is a simple experiment which will demonstrate energy consumption as we measure how much thermal energy light bulbs give off. You will need a [...]
Cheshire Cat
Tweet Make a friend disappear, leaving only a smile behind. Under most circumstances, both of your eyes receive fairly similar views of the world around you. You fuse these views into a single three-dimensional picture. This experiment lets you explore what happens when your eyes receive different images. You will need: A handheld mirror, approximately [...]
Bird in the Cage
Tweet Following on nicely from the Thaumotrope Illusion… You will need: 4 white posterboards or pieces of paper bright red, green and blue coloured paper black marker pen scissors Adult help. Instructions: Cut the same simple shape, such a bird or a fish, from each of the three coloured papers. Glue each shape on [...]
Newspaper Camouflage
Tweet Test your friends’ predatory abilities and see if the animal adaptation of camouflage really does help animals escape detection! How easily can people see hidden, camouflaged pieces of paper? You will need: Pencil scissors 2 or more sheets of newspaper with text only 3-5 sheets of various coloured sugar paper Instructions First, get a [...]
Saltwater Circuit
Tweet Did you know that you can use salt water to make a light bulb shine? It sounds crazy, but it’s true! This is because salt water is a good conductor of electricity. You will need: a cup or beaker masking tape water insulated copper wire salt 9-volt battery aluminum foil 3.7-volt light bulb in [...]
Star Attraction
Tweet WATCH STARS IN MOTION WITH THIS EASY TO MAKE DEVICE A good idea for your Space Corner – if you have one…or as a stand-alone activity • A dark, solid-coloured umbrellaYou will need: • Star-shaped stickers or dot stickers • An experiment partner Instructions Stick star-shaped stickers on the inside of a [...]
A Very Simple Rainbow for a Sunny Day
Tweet There are lots of ways to make the spectrum colours appear. Here is a really simple one. You will need Water A sunny day! A white wall A small mirror A shallow dish Instructions Put some water in a shallow dish. Prop up a small mirror in the water at an angle. Place [...]
Watch TV…upside down on a piece of paper!
Tweet You can make an image with your magnifying glass of almost anything: a window with the sun shining through it, a tree outside in the garden, or even the dog in your neighbour’s garden. However, these are rather boring things to look at, especially when your home or school contains something much more entertaining. [...]