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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 [...]
Sponge Rock
Tweet This experiment will show you how a piece of chalk can absorb a great deal of water in a short time. You will need: A piece of chalk Cup of water A Spring Balance or Newton Meter (either way it needs to show grams) Instructions 1. Weigh the chalk with the spring balance [...]
Frozen Rock
Tweet Do this experiment to see what kinds of rocks break down the most when frozen, thawed and frozen again. You will need: Several different kinds of rocks, such as granite, sandstone, or limestone Plastic bottle or container Water Freezer …and several hours – this is a long format experiment. Instructions Look at each [...]
Suspended Bottle
Tweet This is another of those experiments that look like magic – but are really science of course. You will need: Coke bottle or any other plastic screw top bottle Uncooked Rice A pencil or chopstick or any other straight rod Instructions 1. Fill the bottle with uncooked rice. 2. Plunge the pencil straight [...]
The Super-Bounce!
Tweet Energy is constantly changing forms and transferring between objects. Try seeing for yourself how this works. Use two balls to transfer kinetic (or moving) energy from a big ball to a smaller one and see what happens. To revisit this classic science experiment you will need: A large, heavy ball such as a basketball [...]
What A Pickle!
Tweet Turn a gherkin into a battery! You will need: a gherkin (aka dill pickle) a pencil aluminium foil (unused) a small knife (eg penknife) 2 alligator-clip leads a piezo buzzer 12V (small 12V buzzer) Try Maplins or a similar supplier Instructions 1. Fold a sheet of foil several times to make a thick [...]
Investigating Soft and Hard Water
Tweet Tap water in many parts of the country contains minerals that can interfere with the cleaning ability of detergents. Water softeners remove these minerals. In this experiment, you will make “hard” water from distilled water, which contains no minerals, and is therefore “soft.” You can then compare the sudsing ability of a detergent in [...]
Hot Air Balloon
Tweet 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 children aged 8+ with adult supervision You Will Need: Plastic refuse bag Hair dryer Duck / Gaffa tape (or a plastic packing strip) Safety note: This experiment should [...]
Recycled Paper Seedling Pots
Tweet It’s easy to forget that making paper consumes trees and energy. These recycled paper-pots are not only fun to make, but they give new life to old catalogues and newspapers – reducing waste and helping the earth. Grow a seed in your new eco-pot, then, when it’s time, plant the seedling – pot and [...]
Travelling Nutrients
Tweet Water is often called the Universal Solvent because it can dissolve more substances than any other liquid, often carrying these dissolved particles with it. When water travels through soil, nutrients (food) and dissolved particles travel with the water to be deposited somewhere else. Here is an experiment to visually demonstrate how this process happens. [...]