A dry plastic comb An indoor faucet A head full of clean dry hair. 1. Turn on the faucet and slowly turn down the water until you have a VERY thin stream of water flowing. 2. Take the plastic comb and brush it through your hair ten times. 3. Now slowly bring the comb close the the flowing water, (without actually touching the water) If all goes well, the stream of water should bend towards the comb! Magic you ask? Not really. When you brushed that comb through your hair, tiny parts of the atoms in your hair, called ELECTRONS, collected on the comb. These electrons have a NEGATIVE charge. Remember that, its important. Now that the comb has a negative charge, it is attracted to things that have a POSITIVE charge. It is similar to the way some magnets are attracted to certain metals. When you bring the negatively charged comb near the faucet it is attracted to the POSITIVE force of the water. The attraction is strong enough to actually pull the water towards the comb as it is flowing! If you want to try another experiment with your comb, tear up pieces of tissue until they are as a small as you can get them...I mean really small! Then charge your comb again by brushing it through your hair, and bring it close to the tiny pieces of tissue. If the pieces are small enough they will jump off the table to the comb the same way that the water was pulled to the comb.It is all thanks to the wonders of static electricity. The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does water temperature affect how much the water bends? 2. Does the size of the comb affect the static power? 3. Does the amount of moisture in that air affect the static power? Try it after someone has taken a shower in the room. 4. Does the material that the comb is made of affect the static power? more at sciencebob.com

A large iron nail (about 3 inches) About 3 feet of THIN COATED copper wire A fresh D size battery Some paper clips or other small magnetic objects 1. Leave about 8 inches of wire loose at one end and wrap most of the rest of the wire around the nail. Try not to overlap the wires. 2. Cut the wire (if needed) so that there is about another 8 inches loose at the other end too. 3. Now remove about an inch of the plastic coating from both ends of the wire and attach the one wire to one end of a battery and the other wire to the other end of the battery. See picture below. (It is best to tape the wires to the battery - be careful though, the wire could get very hot!) 4. Now you have an ELECTROMAGNET! Put the point of the nail near a few paper clips and it should pick them up! NOTE: Making an electromagnet uses up the battery somewhat quickly which is why the battery may get warm, so disconnect the wires when you are done exploring. Most magnets, like the ones on many refrigerators, cannot be turned off, they are called permanent magnets. Magnets like the one you made that can be turned on and off, are called ELECTROMAGNETS. They run on electricity and are only magnetic when the electricity is flowing. The electricity flowing through the wire arranges the molecules in the nail so that they are attracted to certain metals. NEVER get the wires of the electromagnet near at household outlet! Be safe - have fun! The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the number of times you wrap the wire around the nail affect the strength of the nail? 2. Does the thickness or length of the nail affect the electromagnets strength? 3. Does the thickness of the wire affect the power of the electromagnet? more at sciencebob.com

The Incredible Hoop Glider!

The Incredible Hoop Glider!

A regular plastic drinking straw 3 X 5 inch index card or stiff paper Tape Scissors 1. Cut the index card or stiff paper into 3 separate pieces that measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 5 inches (13 cm.) 2. Take 2 of the pieces of paper and tape them together into a hoop as shown. Be sure to overlap the pieces about half an inch (1 cm) so that they keep a nice round shape once taped. 3. Use the last strip of paper to make a smaller hoop, overlapping the edges a bit like before. 4. Tape the paper loops to the ends of the straw as shown below. (notice that the straw is lined up on the inside of the loops) 5. That's it! Now hold the straw in the middle with the hoops on top and throw it in the air similar to how you might throw a dart angled slightly up. With some practice you can get it to go farther than many paper airplanes. Can we really call that a plane? It may look weird, but you will discover it flies surprisingly well. The two sizes of hoops help to keep the straw balanced as it flies. The big hoop creates "drag" (or air resistance) which helps keep the straw level while the smaller hoop in at the front keeps your super hooper from turning off course. Some have asked why the plane does not turn over since the hoops are heavier than the straw. Since objects of different weight generally fall at the same speed, the hoop will keep its "upright" position. Let us know how far you were able to get the hoop glider to fly by submitting it to our BLOG PAGE. The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the placement of the hoops on the straw affect its flight distance? 2. Does the length of straw affect the flight? (You can cut the straws or attach straws together to test this) 3. Do more hoops help the hoop glider to fly better? 4. Do the hoops have to be lined up in order for the plane to fly well? more at sciencebob.com

The Incredible Hoop Glider!

The Incredible Hoop Glider!

A regular plastic drinking straw 3 X 5 inch index card or stiff paper Tape Scissors 1. Cut the index card or stiff paper into 3 separate pieces that measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 5 inches (13 cm.) 2. Take 2 of the pieces of paper and tape them together into a hoop as shown. Be sure to overlap the pieces about half an inch (1 cm) so that they keep a nice round shape once taped. 3. Use the last strip of paper to make a smaller hoop, overlapping the edges a bit like before. 4. Tape the paper loops to the ends of the straw as shown below. (notice that the straw is lined up on the inside of the loops) 5. That's it! Now hold the straw in the middle with the hoops on top and throw it in the air similar to how you might throw a dart angled slightly up. With some practice you can get it to go farther than many paper airplanes. Can we really call that a plane? It may look weird, but you will discover it flies surprisingly well. The two sizes of hoops help to keep the straw balanced as it flies. The big hoop creates "drag" (or air resistance) which helps keep the straw level while the smaller hoop in at the front keeps your super hooper from turning off course. Some have asked why the plane does not turn over since the hoops are heavier than the straw. Since objects of different weight generally fall at the same speed, the hoop will keep its "upright" position. Let us know how far you were able to get the hoop glider to fly by submitting it to our BLOG PAGE. The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the placement of the hoops on the straw affect its flight distance? 2. Does the length of straw affect the flight? (You can cut the straws or attach straws together to test this) 3. Do more hoops help the hoop glider to fly better? 4. Do the hoops have to be lined up in order for the plane to fly well? more at sciencebob.com

The Incredible Hoop Glider!

The Incredible Hoop Glider!

A regular plastic drinking straw 3 X 5 inch index card or stiff paper Tape Scissors 1. Cut the index card or stiff paper into 3 separate pieces that measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 5 inches (13 cm.) 2. Take 2 of the pieces of paper and tape them together into a hoop as shown. Be sure to overlap the pieces about half an inch (1 cm) so that they keep a nice round shape once taped. 3. Use the last strip of paper to make a smaller hoop, overlapping the edges a bit like before. 4. Tape the paper loops to the ends of the straw as shown below. (notice that the straw is lined up on the inside of the loops) 5. That's it! Now hold the straw in the middle with the hoops on top and throw it in the air similar to how you might throw a dart angled slightly up. With some practice you can get it to go farther than many paper airplanes. Can we really call that a plane? It may look weird, but you will discover it flies surprisingly well. The two sizes of hoops help to keep the straw balanced as it flies. The big hoop creates "drag" (or air resistance) which helps keep the straw level while the smaller hoop in at the front keeps your super hooper from turning off course. Some have asked why the plane does not turn over since the hoops are heavier than the straw. Since objects of different weight generally fall at the same speed, the hoop will keep its "upright" position. Let us know how far you were able to get the hoop glider to fly by submitting it to our BLOG PAGE. The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the placement of the hoops on the straw affect its flight distance? 2. Does the length of straw affect the flight? (You can cut the straws or attach straws together to test this) 3. Do more hoops help the hoop glider to fly better? 4. Do the hoops have to be lined up in order for the plane to fly well? more at sciencebob.com

(The World's Easiest Lava Lamp)

A clean 1 liter clear soda bottle 3/4 cup of water Vegetable Oil Fizzing tablets (such as Alka Seltzer) Food coloring 1. Pour the water into the bottle. 2. Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bottle until it's almost full. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate. 3. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but any color will look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and then mix with the water below. 4. Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom and let the blobby greatness begin!5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle. To begin, the oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than the water or, more specifically, less dense than water. The oil and water do not mix because of something called "intermolecular polarity." That term is fun to bring up in dinner conversation. Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to magnets that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not allow them to bond together. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now you’ll at least look at that vinegrette salad dessing in a whole new way. When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom and started dissolving and creating a gas. As the gas bubbles rose, they took some of the colored water with them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water. Cool, huh? By the way, you can store your "Blobs In A Bottle" with the cap on, and then anytime you want to bring it back to life, just add another tablet piece. The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the temperature of the water affect the reaction? 2. Does the size of the bottle affect how many blobs are produced? 3. Does the effect still work if the cap is put on the bottle? 4. Does the size of the tablet pieces affect the number of blobs created?

(The Elephant's Toothpaste Experiment)

A clean 16 ounce plastic soda bottle 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide liquid (20-volume is a 6% solution, ask an adult to get this from a beauty supply store or hair salon) 1 Tablespoon (one packet) of dry yeast 3 Tablespoons of warm water Liquid dish washing soap Food coloring Small cup Safety goggles NOTE: As you can see from the picture, foam will overflow from the bottle, so be sure to do this experiment on a washable surface, or place the bottle on a tray. 1. Hydrogen peroxide can irritate skin and eyes, so put on those safety goggles and ask an adult to carefully pour the hydrogen peroxide into the bottle. 2. Add 8 drops of your favorite food coloring into the bottle. 3. Add about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap into the bottle and swish the bottle around a bit to mix it. 4. In a separate small cup, combine the warm water and the yeast together and mix for about 30 seconds. 5. Now the adventure starts! Pour the yeast water mixture into the bottle (a funnel helps here) and watch the foaminess begin! Foam is awesome! The foam you made is special because each tiny foam bubble is filled with oxygen. The yeast acted as a catalyst (a helper) to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. Since it did this very fast, it created lots and lots of bubbles. Did you notice the bottle got warm. Your experiment created a reaction called an Exothermic Reaction - that means it not only created foam, it created heat! The foam produced is just water, soap, and oxygen so you can clean it up with a sponge and pour any extra liquid left in the bottle down the drain. This experiment is sometimes called "Elephant's Toothpaste" because it looks like toothpaste coming out of a tube, but don't get the foam in your mouth! The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the amount of yeast change the amount of foam produced? 2. Does the experiment work as well if you add the dry yeast without mixing it with water? 3. Does the size of the bottle affect the amount of foam produced?

Hydrogen Peroxide