Activities to Try at Home: 2
Here are some try-at-home demonstrations from the Shell Questacon Science Circus.
The Balloon Show
Balloons of all shapes and sizes are used to demonstrate pressure, static electricity, forces and air as a fuel.
Balloon party games
Balloons are great fun because there are so many cool things you can do with them. You can pick up glass jars using just a balloon, make your hair stick on end, and stick cups onto the side of balloons without using glue or sticky tape! An activity you can do at home is to make a balloon kebab!
You will need
- Two balloons
- A wooden skewer
What to do
- Blow up the two balloons to a medium size and tie the top.
- Quickly poke the skewer through the side of the first balloon and see what happens.
- With the second balloon, carefully push the skewer through the dark end of the balloon near the knot where you tied the top. What happened? Can you carefully push the skewer through the other dark patch without bursting the balloon?
What happens?
When you skewer a balloon through the side it pops, but when you push a skewer carefully through the top of the balloon it doesn't pop! This is because the rubber on the side of a balloon is stretched very tightly and will pull away rapidly when the balloon is pierced, hence popping the balloon. At the top or the bottom of the balloon, the rubber is much thicker and not stretched enough to cause the rubber to pull away when a small hole is made by the skewer. In fact, the skewer acts as a plug for the hole, preventing any air from escaping the balloon, hence creating the skewer kebab!
Bubblemania
The lowdown on bubbles! How do you make them? How can you make them last longer? Some interesting properties of bubbles. Bubbles bigger and smaller than you've ever seen.
Making a good bubble mix
To make a strong bubble mix solution the following ingredients are recommended:
- 1 part detergent (Morning Fresh works well)
- 2 parts water
- 10% glycerine (in this case, 0.3 parts)
Making bubbles
To make bubbles stronger, you can add a little more glycerine and leave the bubble mix for a while. The longer you leave the mixture, the stronger and better the bubbles will be. Give the mix a good stir before use and remove any froth before making your bubbles. Bubble making works best on cooler, moist days, otherwise they dry out and pop too fast.
To clean bubble mix from surfaces, spray vinegar over the area and wipe up.
Wash and dry metal bubble frames after each use or they will rust.
You can read about lots more bubble activities from the Tenix Questacon Maths Squad.
Up, Up and Away
Be awoken to the secrets of planes, helicopters, parachutes, balloons and seeds. The props from this show can be made at home or bought at the Science Circus shop.
The best kind of parachute
So you want to drop toy soldiers from high places. Well, as long as you DON'T JUMP AFTER THEM, here is the best way to make a toy parachute.
What to do
The trick is to use something light and strong for the parachute canopy. The Science Circus recommends a large, square piece cut out of a big garbage bin liner.
Fishing line is best for the harness. Cut four pieces of line to the same length.
Tie one end of each piece to the four corners of the parachute. (You might need to use sticky tape to stop the plastic ripping.)
Tie the other ends to the soldier, or Barbie doll, or whatever. (Actually, the whole doll is probably too heavy, maybe you should just use her head).
Holding the parachute in the middle, drop it from a dizzying height. (Try standing on a chair.)
What happens?
Air gets caught under any large, flat surface. The trapped air creates aerodynamic drag, slowing the parachute's fall. Some seeds and animals also glide (fall more slowly) because their wings act a bit like a parachute.
